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NASA’s Parker Solar Probe has taken its first visible light images of the surface of Venus from space.

Smothered in thick clouds, Venus’ surface is usually shrouded from sight. But in two recent flybys of the planet, Parker used its Wide-Field Imager, or WISPR, to image the entire nightside in wavelengths of the visible spectrum – the type of light that the human eye can see – and extending into the near-infrared.

The images, combined into a video, reveal a faint glow from the surface that shows distinctive features like continental regions, plains, and plateaus. A luminescent halo of oxygen in the atmosphere can also be seen surrounding the planet.

“We’re thrilled with the science insights Parker Solar Probe has provided thus far,” said Nicola Fox, division director for the Heliophysics Division at NASA Headquarters. “Parker continues to outperform our expectations, and we are excited that these novel observations taken during our gravity assist maneuver can help advance Venus research in unexpected ways.”

Such images of the planet, often called Earth’s twin, can help scientists learn more about Venus’ surface geology, what minerals might be present there, and the planet’s evolution. Given the similarities between the planets, this information can help scientists on the quest to understand why Venus became inhospitable and Earth became an oasis.

“Venus is the third brightest thing in the sky, but until recently we have not had much information on what the surface looked like because our view of it is blocked by a thick atmosphere,” said Brian Wood, lead author on the new study and physicist at the Naval Research Laboratory in Washington, DC. “Now, we finally are seeing the surface in visible wavelengths for the first time from space.”

Unexpected capabilities

The first WISPR images of Venus were taken in July 2020 as Parker embarked on its third flyby, which the spacecraft uses to bend its orbit closer to the Sun. WISPR was designed to see faint features in the solar atmosphere and wind, and some scientists thought they might be able to use WISPR to image the cloud tops veiling Venus as Parker passed the planet.

“The objective was to measure the speed of the clouds,” said WISPR project scientist Angelos Vourlidas, co-author on the new paper and researcher at Johns Hopkins University Applied Physics Laboratory.

But instead of just seeing clouds, WISPR also saw through to the surface of the planet. The images were so striking that the scientists turned on the cameras again during the fourth pass in February 2021. During the 2021 flyby, the spacecraft’s orbit lined up perfectly for WISPR to image Venus’ nightside in entirety.

“The images and video just blew me away,” Wood said.

Glowing like an iron from the forge

Clouds obstruct most of the visible light coming from Venus’ surface, but the very longest visible wavelengths, which border the near-infrared wavelengths, make it through. On the dayside, this red light gets lost amid the bright sunshine reflected off Venus’ cloud tops, but in the darkness of night, the WISPR cameras were able to pick up this faint glow caused by the incredible heat emanating from the surface.

“The surface of Venus, even on the nightside, is about 860 degrees,” Wood said. “It's so hot that the rocky surface of Venus is visibly glowing, like a piece of iron pulled from a forge.”

As it passed by Venus, WISPR picked up a range of wavelengths from 470 nanometers to 800 nanometers. Some of that light is the near-infrared – wavelengths that we cannot see, but sense as heat – and some is in the visible range, between 380 nanometers and about 750 nanometers.

Venus in a new light

In 1975, the Venera 9 lander sent the first tantalizing glimpses of the surface after landing on Venus. Since then, Venus’ surface has been revealed further with radar and infrared instruments, which can peer through the thick clouds by using wavelengths of light invisible to the human eye.

NASA’s Magellan mission created the first maps in the 1990s using radar and JAXA’s Akatsuki spacecraft gathered infrared images after reaching orbit around Venus in 2016. The new images from Parker add to these findings by extending the observations to red wavelengths at the edge of what we can see.

The WISPR images show features on the Venusian surface, such as the continental region Aphrodite Terra, the Tellus Regio plateau, and the Aino Planitia plains. Since higher altitude regions are about 85 degrees Fahrenheit cooler than lower areas, they show up as dark patches amidst the brighter lowlands. These features can also be seen in previous radar images, such as those taken by Magellan.

Beyond looking at surface features, the new WISPR images will help scientists better understand the geology and mineral make-up of Venus. When heated, materials glow at unique wavelengths.

By combining the new images with previous ones, scientists now have a wider range of wavelengths to study, which can help identify what minerals are on the surface of the planet.

Such techniques have previously been used to study the surface of the Moon. Future missions will continue to expand this range of wavelengths, which will contribute to our understanding of habitable planets.

This information could also help scientists understand the planet’s evolution. While Venus, Earth, and Mars all formed around the same time, they are very different today. The atmosphere on Mars is a fraction of Earth’s while Venus has a much thicker atmosphere.

Scientists suspect volcanism played a role in creating the dense Venusian atmosphere, but more data are needed to know how. The new WISPR images might provide clues about how volcanoes may have affected the planet’s atmosphere.

In addition to the surface glow, the new images show a bright ring around the edge of the planet caused by oxygen atoms emitting light in the atmosphere. Called airglow, this type of light is also present in Earth’s atmosphere, where it’s visible from space and sometimes from the ground at night.

Flyby science

While Parker Solar Probe’s primary goal is solar science, the Venusian flybys are providing exciting opportunities for bonus data that wasn’t expected at the mission’s launch.

WISPR has also imaged Venus’ orbital dust ring – a doughnut-shaped track of microscopic particles strewn in the wake of Venus’ orbit around the Sun – and the FIELDS instrument made direct measurements of radio waves in the Venusian atmosphere, helping scientists understand how the upper atmosphere changes during the Sun’s 11-year cycle of activity.

In December 2021, researchers published new findings about the rediscovery of the comet-like tail of plasma streaming out behind Venus, called a “tail ray”. The new results showed this tail of particles extending nearly 5,000 miles out from the Venusian atmosphere. This tail could be how Venus’ water escaped from the planet, contributing to its current dry and inhospitable environment.

While the geometry of the next two flybys likely won’t allow Parker to image the nightside, scientists will continue to use Parker’s other instruments to study Venus’ space environment. In November 2024, the spacecraft will have a final chance to image the surface on its seventh and final flyby.

The future of Venus research

Parker Solar Probe, which is built and operated by the Johns Hopkins Applied Physics Laboratory in Laurel, Maryland, isn’t the first mission to gather bonus data on flybys, but its recent successes have inspired other missions to turn on their instruments as they pass Venus.

In addition to Parker, the ESA (European Space Agency) BepiColombo mission and the ESA and NASA Solar Orbiter mission have decided to gather data during their flybys in the coming years.

More spacecraft are headed to Venus around the end of this decade with NASA’s DAVINCI and VERITAS missions and ESA’s EnVision mission. These missions will help image and sample Venus’ atmosphere, as well as remap the surface at higher resolution with infrared wavelengths. This information will help scientists determine the surface mineral make-up and better understand the planet’s geologic history.

“By studying the surface and atmosphere of Venus, we hope the upcoming missions will help scientists understand the evolution of Venus and what was responsible for making Venus inhospitable today,” said Lori Glaze, director of the Planetary Science Division at NASA Headquarters. “While both DAVINCI and VERITAS will use primarily near-infrared imaging, Parker’s results have shown the value of imaging a wide range of wavelengths.”

Mara Johnson-Groh works for NASA’s Goddard Space Flight Center in Greenbelt, Maryland.
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Slow recovery for vulnerable households can slow the recovery of the entire community. Scott Olson/Getty Images

The tornadoes and wildfires that devastated communities from Kentucky to Colorado in the final weeks of 2021 left thousands of people displaced or homeless. For many of them, it will be months if not years before their homes are rebuilt.

That’s especially hard on low-income residents.

As a professor of urban planning, I study the impact of disasters on affordable housing, resilience and recovery. The losses of hundreds of homes in towns across the Midwest and in Boulder County, Colorado, show two sides of that impact and illustrate why communities need to plan now to protect their most vulnerable residents as their towns recover. In doing so, they also protect their economies.

Why low-income households face higher risks

Middle- and low-income households tend to occupy the riskiest homes in communities for a few key reasons.

First, land values tend to be lower in areas that are risky or otherwise less desirable, such as low-lying areas that are known to flood, near toxic facilities or in outlying areas that fail to enforce codes designed to protect homes. The housing that gets built there tends to be more affordable.

A woman and teenager stand outside a damaged house.
‘It could happen anywhere, but I just never thought here,’ said Chasity Walton, whose home in Mayfield, Kentucky, was hit by a tornado on Dec. 15, 2021. Brandon Bell/Getty Images


Second, as communities grow, older homes become more affordable through a process called “filtering,” where wealthier households move into newer housing, leaving older, more dilapidated homes available for lower-income households. Older homes were often built under less stringent building codes and typically are less-well maintained, which can make them more physically vulnerable.

Third, durable patterns of historical segregation and ongoing discrimination in real estate and lending can compound these problems by limiting Black and Hispanic families’ ability to afford lower-risk neighborhoods.

Research has shown consistently that lower-income households are not only more likely to suffer damage in a natural disaster, but they are more likely to take much longer – two to three times longer – to recover.

Poverty and other household characteristics, such as being headed by a single mother, having racial or ethnic minority status, low levels of education, a disability, or renting rather than owning one’s home, define what researchers call “social vulnerability.”

A man with a can sits on cabinets in what remains of his kitchen after a tornado. The roof and walls are gone.
Research shows that socially vulnerable households have less capacity to prepare for and respond to disasters. Brendan Smialowski/AFP via Getty Images


The location and quality of housing, combined with the vulnerability of residents, means that those most affected by disasters are often those least able to recover from them.

Slow recovery affects the entire community

Communities need to understand that slow recovery for vulnerable households can slow the recovery of the overall community.

Researchers have found that housing recovery is strongly linked to business recovery. Workers need housing so they can return to work, and businesses need workers so they can resume operations.

Rockport, Texas, where Hurricane Harvey made landfall in 2017, offers a cautionary tale. A year after the hurricane, hotels and restaurants – even those that were part of national chains – struggled to reopen for Rockport’s critical tourist season due to the loss of affordable housing for workers. Many of those workers had relocated to San Antonio, two and a half hours away.

 

A man in sweatpants and no shoes appears distraught standing in the parking lot of a damaged motel.
When rental properties are destroyed by disasters, workers who keep local restaurants and businesses running often have little choice but to leave. Gunnar Word/AFP via Getty Images


Many homes can’t be replaced for the same price

Housing recovery typically gets left to the market. For homeowning households with good insurance, the market works reasonably well. But for lower-income households, including renters, it can be difficult to return to their homes or even their original neighborhoods.

In depressed markets with low-value homes, like many of those impacted by the December tornadoes in Kentucky and the Midwest, replacement values are not enough to rebuild equivalent housing. Home values in these areas may average under US$100,000. It is nearly impossible to build a home for that today.

Hot markets like Boulder County, Colorado, face a different challenge. Rebuilding in those markets allows developers and speculators to take advantage of redevelopment opportunities. Research suggests that affordable housing will almost always be replaced by more expensive housing targeted to a wealthier demographic. And for low-income residents who rent and lose their homes to disasters, there is little chance that they will be able to return to their original development. Little is known about where they end up.

An aerial view of a neighborhood mostly reduced to rubble with the exception of one home.
The fire in Boulder County, Colorado, wiped out entire neighborhoods in December 2021. Michael Ciaglo/Getty Images


Safety nets exist but are inadequate.

Short-term assistance from FEMA’s Individual Assistance Program helps displaced households find temporary housing and make repairs to homes that qualify. Assistance can also come from Community Development Block Grants from the Department of Housing and Urban Development, but these funds take months and even years to arrive, and spending plans submitted by states often misdirect funds and have almost no oversight.

What can be done?

What then, can be done to ensure vulnerable residents can rebuild and return? A few communities have tried new ideas.

La Grange, Texas, which flooded during Hurricane Harvey in 2017, is experimenting with community land trusts. These involve cooperative ownership of land coupled with individual ownership of units. Residents must occupy the unit for a prescribed period of time and gain only a small percentage of increases in land value, with the rest going to the co-op. This approach allows residents to pool resources for land purchases and maintains affordability over time.

Boulder County relaxed its rental rules to help displaced residents find temporary homes after the fire.

Monitoring recovery funds closely is also important to ensure they help those most in need. Following the 2008 Hurricanes Ike and Dolly, the Texas Low Income Housing Information Service, now called Texas Housers, sued the State of Texas, claiming the state recovery plan failed to address the needs of the most vulnerable Texans. The resulting agreement brought an additional $3 billion in aid, and ongoing monitoring of funding has ensured it helped rebuild hundreds of homes for low-income families.

Nearly every community in the United States is increasingly vulnerable to some kind of natural disaster due to climate change. A Washington Post analysis of federal disaster declarations found that 40% of Americans lived in counties that were hit with extreme climate-related weather in 2021 alone.

Planning disaster recovery to ensure that the most vulnerable members of communities can return will result in greater resilience and community vitality.

[Learn more about disaster recovery and resilience in The Conversation’s climate change webinar with Shannon Van Zandt on Feb. 23, 2022. Register here.]The Conversation

Shannon Van Zandt, Professor of Architecture and Urban Planning, Texas A&M University

This article is republished from The Conversation under a Creative Commons license. Read the original article.

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Gov. Gavin Newsom on Wednesday signed legislation extending COVID-19 supplemental paid sick leave for workers, and early budget action to provide an additional $6.1 billion in tax relief, tax credits and direct grants for small businesses hit hard by the pandemic, bolstering the state’s historic COVID relief efforts and investing in California’s iconic entrepreneurial economy.

“As California continues to lead the nation’s economic recovery, today’s action deepens our commitment to supporting the workers and businesses that have sustained us all during this unprecedented pandemic and are driving our economy,” said Gov. Newsom. “We’re ensuring that workers have the time they need to take care of themselves and their loved ones, expanding our nation-leading small business relief grant program and supporting the businesses whose innovation and entrepreneurial spirit help make California the 5th largest economy in the world.”

Outlined by the governor, Senate President pro Tempore Toni G. Atkins and Assembly Speaker Anthony Rendon in January, SB 114 by the Committee on Budget and Fiscal Review ensures that employees continue to have access to up to 80 hours of COVID-19 supplemental paid sick leave through Sept. 30, 2022, which may be used by employees who have been advised to quarantine, those caring for COVID-impacted family members, attending a COVID-19 vaccination appointment, and more.

Small businesses employing 25 or fewer workers are exempt from the legislation, which is retroactive to sick leave taken beginning Jan. 1, 2022.

“Paid sick leave is key to ensuring workers don’t have to make the impossible choice between going to work sick or losing wages needed to pay rent and keep food on the table,” said Art Pulaski, executive secretary-treasurer of the California Labor Federation. “By signing COVID paid sick leave into law today, Gov. Newsom provided critical protection to front line workers and families across the state, and underscored California’s commitment to the essential workers that have given so much to help our communities weather this devastating pandemic.”

Building on last year's robust support for small businesses impacted by the pandemic — including $6.2 billion in tax relief for small businesses that received Paycheck Protection Program loans — Gov. Newsom on Wednesday signed SB 113 by the Committee on Budget and Fiscal Review to provide an additional $6.1 billion in tax relief, tax credits and direct grants to the hardest hit businesses.

SB 113 includes provisions that:

Provide a nearly $500 million tax cut for restaurants and venues: By conforming state tax policy for the federal Restaurant Revitalization Fund and federal Shuttered Venue Operators grant programs, grants received by such businesses will not be considered taxable by the state — translating into a tax cut totaling nearly $500 million over the coming years.
Restore $5.5 billion in tax credits and deductions for California businesses: By restoring business tax credits, including for research and development and the net operating loss deduction for businesses one year early, the near-term benefit for such businesses is estimated to reach $5.5 billion.

Invest $150 million in COVID-19 relief grants for California’s small businesses: SB 113 invests an additional $150 million in California’s Small Business COVID-19 Relief Grant Program to fund applicants on the waitlist — the program has provided grants of up to $25,000 for small businesses impacted by the pandemic.

“This business relief package of more than $6 billion will help to offset losses employers have incurred, help create good paying jobs, and will speed up our economic recovery from the pandemic,” said Jennifer Barrera, CEO of the California Chamber of Commerce. “While we have more work to do, this sends the right message that California is investing in the success of our business community.”

“Paid sick leave is a life or death issue for grocery workers like me and the customers in our stores,” said Samantha Webster, a grocery store worker at Safeway in Hercules and a member of the United Food and Commercial Workers Local 5. “I’m proud of the way grocery workers came together to demand this important public health measure. Having access to supplemental paid sick leave will now let me stay home if I need to and not have to worry about getting my customers and co-workers sick.”

From the beginning of the pandemic, the administration has taken action to protect and support California’s workforce, including expanding access to job-protected paid family leave and workers’ compensation; more resources for critical child support services for essential employees and vulnerable populations; additional weekly unemployment benefits; building a pipeline of personal protective equipment to help workers stay safe on the job; and support for employees to isolate and quarantine outside their home, among other measures.

“I’m grateful to the Governor and our leaders in the Legislature for taking this urgent action to support teachers like me with the paid sick leave we need to keep ourselves, our families and colleagues safe while providing a safe learning environment for students,” said Johanna Garcia Normart, a teacher at Eden Gardens Elementary in Hayward. “This extension will help our schools continue to meet the unprecedented pandemic challenges we face every day.”

“Paid COVID sick leave really matters for all workers, and especially for health care workers, who need it in order to provide quality safe services to our patients and communities, and in order to take care of ourselves and families, too,” said Mayra Castaneda, a health care technologist and member of SEIU UHW.

For full text of the bills, visit: http://leginfo.legislature.ca.gov.
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LAKE COUNTY, Calif. — Lake County’s sheriff, district attorney and chief deputy district attorney spoke to the Middletown Area Town Hall on Thursday evening about crime in the south county and challenges law enforcement is facing due to changing laws and hiring.

Sheriff Brian Martin, District Attorney Susan Krones and Chief Deputy District Attorney Richard Hinchcliff spoke to MATH members and fielded questions during the first half of the group’s monthly meeting, held via Zoom.

They were asked to speak to the group, whose members have been concerned about crime in their communities.

One aspect of the discussion involved homelessness. Martin explained that driving factors include mental health, drug and alcohol abuse, high housing costs, voluntariness, domestic violence and lack of family support.

He referenced the 2021 point in time count that found 241 people in Lake County who met the federal definition of homeless, down from 572 the previous year. Of those, 36% self-identified as having chronic health issues, 19% said they receive disability benefits and 227 said they have lived in Lake County for more than five years.

Of that group, 177 people said they were homeless because of Lake County’s wildland fires.

Among those reported to be homeless, Martin said the ages range from 5 months to 94 years old.

Martin also discussed the impacts of prison realignment, which began in 2011. By 2014, county jail populations had skyrocketed and the Lake County Jail capacity, which was rated for 286 inmates, reached its highest level, at more than 400.

He said lawsuits were filed in several counties due to jail overpopulation, and in 2014, 19 of 58 county jail systems were operating under court-ordered population caps.

Martin, Krones and Hinchcliff would fault voter ballot measures such as Proposition 47, the “Safe Neighborhood and Schools Act, passed in 2014, and Proposition 57, passed in 2016, for negatively impacting efforts to reduce crime.

Martin said Proposition 47 reduced a number of felonies to misdemeanors, including property crimes valued at less than $950 — shoplifting, grand theft, receiving stolen property, forgery, fraud and bad checks — as well as personal use of most illegal drugs.

Adding to the challenge are record case backlogs. Martin said many offenders now are failing to even show up for court appearances. Court clerks in Lake County are now adding a notation to case numbers indicating how many times a person has failed to appear in the same case. Martin said one individual has failed to appear eight separate times.

Martin said the 2021 Humphrey decision by the California Supreme Court found that the state's practice of requiring cash bail in most cases is unconstitutional. As a result, courts must now consider all non-monetary alternatives to detention, such as electronic monitoring, check-ins with pretrial case managers, community housing or shelter, stay away orders, and drug and alcohol testing and treatment.

He said courts also must consider a defendant's ability to pay and set bail at the defendant can reasonably pay.

If the court concludes that public or victim safety, or the arrestee's appearance in court, can't be reasonably assured if the individual is released, it may detain them only if it finds clear and convincing evidence that no nonfinancial condition of release can reasonably protect those interests, Martin said.

Martin also discussed the challenges in staffing for his department while at the same time incidents are growing in number.

In 2005, the sheriff's department had 163 employees. Today it has 118, with Martin noting during the discussion that he has 30 vacancies. The sheriff’s office received reports of 39,799 incidents in 2021, of which 5,337 were in the Middletown area.

In reviewing crime statistics for 2021, Martin said he noted that burglaries jumped for some reason in Middletown and Hidden Valley Lake.

Out of the 19 burglaries that occurred in that area, five were in Hidden Valley — three of them took place outside of the gates in the shopping center — and 14 occurred in Middletown.

The Hidden Valley Lake cases included a pharmacy smash-and-grab, a golf cart that was stolen and recovered and appeared to be the work of juveniles — deputies found tracks from “smaller than adult size feet” during the investigation — along with a stolen firearm from a house in which the suspect likely knew the victim, and two construction site burglaries, Martin said.

In one of those construction site burglaries, the victim is not assisting. However, in the second, a suspect has been identified and linked to crimes in the city of Clear Lake. Martin said the property has been recovered and they are awaiting an arrest warrant from the District Attorney's Office.

Regarding the 14 burglaries in the Middletown area, Martin said one of them involved the theft of three bags of pellets from a store, theft of money from a laundromat, a weed eater that was stolen from a storage shed in an apartment complex, money stolen from the closet of a residence, two residential burglaries at homes near Highway 29, a storage container lock that was cut and a weed eater stolen, a suspect arrested for being under the influence and found to have committed a burglary earlier in which he stole a car and a residential burglary in which guns were stolen in the victim is not assisting.

Another residential and community burglary involved a suspect who was arrested and has had seven counts filed against him by the district attorney. However, that suspect, identified by Martin as 29-year-old Luke Parker of Kelseyville, was released from jail and is at large. Martin warned people not to attend to apprehend Parker themselves.

Other burglaries in that group of 14 included one in connection to a domestic violence case, commercial burglaries on Main and one at Crazy Creek Gliders, for which there was a partial property recovery, and a burglary at an antique store, Martin said.

Martin urged community members to secure their property, don't leave items in plain sight, get security cameras, and alarm systems, know their neighbors and get serial numbers of property.

Those with security cameras can join the sheriff’s camera registry program at http://www.lakesheriff.com/Programs/Cameras.htm.

District attorney’s staff discusses law changes

Krones said under the new laws there is no incentive for people to stop stealing.

She said she’s among a group of 27 district attorneys from across the state that have filed an injunction against the California Department of Corrections for an increase to good conduct credits given to prisoners convicted of serious violent felonies.

She said new laws that went into effect in January take away the discretion of judges in sentencing in some situations, requiring them to give the middle terms unless aggravating factors are proved.

Another sentencing guideline involves younger offenders. If an individual is under age 26 when offense committed, the presumptive term is the low term, she said.

“We have an uphill battle to get even to the midterm, even in the most horrendous of offenses,” Krones said.

She also explained the no bail practice, which was implemented for most offenses due to COVID-19. “This has continued for the last two years.”

No bail and the Humphreys decision have added to the problem, with most people now being released or cited. As a result, “We’ve had a lot of failures to appear over the last two years,” Krones said.

Hinchcliff said Proposition 47 has “caused a huge increase in petty thefts in this county and all across the state,” explaining that people can commit repeated crimes with thefts of under $950 and never be prosecuted for a felony.

Hinchcliff, who was raised in Lake County and has been with the District Attorney’s Office for 27 years, said there are many people working in the agency who care about the community and have stayed to serve it.

“We’re doing everything that we can,” but Hinchcliff said their hands have been tied by voters passing bad laws that impact law enforcement.

He outlined the three biggest problems that he thinks need to be addressed to reduce crime:

• There is not enough treatment for people with mental health issues and drugs. He said it’s estimated that more than 90% of homeless individuals who are committing crimes day after day have serious mental health and drug issues.
• People must quit voting for laws that reduce the seriousness of crimes and law enforcement’s ability to arrest and prosecute people. “We need to reverse some of the damage that has been done in the last 15 years” by changing the laws back, Hinchcliff said.
• The District Attorney’s Office needs more staff. After a decade of getting only one 3% raise, the county has found money for raises and Hinchcliff said he hopes it helps. About five years ago, he said the office had 13 trial prosecutors, in addition to him and the district attorney. Now, those 13 have been reduced to eight. At the same time, they have just over half of the four secretary positions they have filled, which can cause case backlogs.

During a question and answer period, community members pressed Martin in particular on what they can do to partner with the sheriff’s office to get more response and presence.

Martin suggested involvement in Neighborhood Watch and volunteering at the sheriff’s office. He also urged them to reach out to their legislators about the tools that have been taken away from law enforcement.

He also fielded complaints about dispatcher responses to callers.

When asked about whether he had enough money to cover his hiring needs, Martin said yes, but added that money isn’t the issue and that if he can’t find the people to hire, the money doesn’t matter.

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.
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LAKE COUNTY, Calif. — With boots on the ground, advocating for students and providing resources to families, the Lake County Office of Education attendance liaisons work hard to improve attendance in Lake County schools.

The Office of Education’s new program, Communities for School Success, was implemented in partnership with Lake County school districts to address the high chronic absenteeism rates in Lake County schools. Chronic absenteeism is defined as missing two or more days of school, excused or unexcused, a month.

Angie DeMaria, a former Teacher at Terrace Middle School in Lakeport, is responsible for the implementation of this program and overseeing a staff of seven attendance liaisons.

An attendance liaison is an individual who works directly with students to find solutions to improve their attendance rates. Each liaison is assigned to a single school district.

Since the start of the 2021-22 school year, the attendance liaisons have reached out to 675 K-12 Lake County students. Of those students contacted, 65% of them showed improvement in their attendance.

“When students improve their attendance rates, they improve their academic prospects and chances for graduating,” said Lake County Superintendent of Schools Brock Falkenberg.

Students who are chronically absent are more likely to be behind in core subjects and drop out of school.

"I had a student that had an attendance rate of 53% in September. I worked with the school to enroll them in an alternate education program. Since enrollment in November, their attendance rate has been 100 percent,” said Attendance Liaison Brianna Kauble.

Barriers that are preventing regular school attendance include trauma, transportation, cultural differences or even students not finding school engaging or fun.

“Upon our first site visit, it was clear that the student had a major disconnect from school,” said another attendance liaison, Reyna Looney. “With incentives in place, the student has not missed a day of school for any reason since the 15th of November.”

Attendance Liaison Natahsa McKenny said COVID-19 has created anxiety and depression for students due to distance learning. Coming back to campus was not an easy transition for them.

“There are two students that stand out the most. Both were having anxiety about being back on campus. They made the decision to transfer to the continuation school. Since the students have made the transfer, they have gone to school every day and seem much happier,” McKenny said.

This Learning Communities for School Success program is a partnership between the Lake County Office of Education and the Lake County school districts and is grant funded through the California Department of Education.

For more information on attendance, visit www.lakecoe.org/Attendance.
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LAKE COUNTY, Calif. — At the request of the county superintendent of schools, the Board of Supervisors has approved consolidating a special Middletown Unified School District Board election with the state primary in June.

Superintendent of Schools Brock Falkenberg asked the board to approve having the Registrar of Voters Office handle the election and consolidate it with the statewide primary on June 7.

Falkenberg submitted to the board a resolution of the Lake County Office of Education ordering the special election and seeking the consolidation with the primary.

The supervisors unanimously approved the request on Tuesday as part of its consent agenda.

The special election was triggered after a group of community members filed a petition to challenge the Dec. 1 appointment of Annette Lee to the Middletown Unified board.

Lee was chosen to fill the seat vacated a month and a half earlier by LaTrease Walker, who quit over her objections to COVID-19-related mandates.

Walker has since helped organize the petition against Lee, which was submitted to Falkenberg’s office on Dec. 30, just under the 30-day deadline after Lee’s appointment.

The petition’s proponents needed to collect 92 valid signatures, or 1.5% of the number of voters registered in the district’s last election, which totaled 6,129.

Falkenberg said his office received 185 signatures, of which 125 were deemed valid.

He said they also received one request to have a name removed from the petition.

Consolidating the election is meant to help cut the costs to Middletown Unified.

Registrar of Voters Maria Valadez told Lake County News she had estimated a stand-alone election could be as high as $50,000, based on a similar election held by another school district.

On Tuesday, she said that as long as no other school district asks to be consolidated, the cost could be about a third or half that $50,000 estimate.

Districts have until 88 days before the election — which this year is March 11 — if they want to place a measure on the ballot, and Valadez said she has had no indications so far that will happen.

She also cautioned, “The cost of everything has gone up.”

The Middletown Unified seat that will be on the ballot for the special election will also be on the ballot in November, as the term expires at the end of this year.

Some candidates for local offices are now circulating in-lieu petitions to reduce the costs of fees to file to run.

Valadez said school board candidates don’t do those in-lieu petitions, so candidate filings have not yet begun.

She said the filing period for the Middletown Unified seat will run from Feb. 14 to March 11.

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.
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Processed marijuana seized by the Lake County Sheriff’s Office on Tuesday, Feb. 8, 2022, in Clearlake Oaks, California. Photo courtesy of the Lake County Sheriff’s Office.

LAKE COUNTY, Calif. — The investigation of a water theft in the Clearlake Oaks area led this week to an arrest and the Lake County Sheriff’s Office’s largest seizure of illegal marijuana, estimated to be worth several million dollars.

On Tuesday, the Lake County Sheriff’s Office Roadmap Task force and the Sheriff’s Office Marijuana Enforcement Unit, conducted an investigation regarding water theft in the area of Henderson Drive.

During their investigation, detectives located three residences used to dry and process marijuana, the sheriff’s office reported.

Authorities said the investigation revealed all three residences were being used to illegally process marijuana for sales and were connected with the reported theft of water.

The sheriff’s office said the residences were secured by detectives and a search warrant for all three residences was obtained and executed late on Tuesday afternoon.

Detectives located and seized a 12 gauge shotgun, 2,326 marijuana plants and approximately 7,600 pounds of processed marijuana, a large majority of which was packaged and ready for sale.

The marijuana is estimated to have an approximate value of $7 million, the sheriff’s office said.

Detectives contacted and detained Salvador Diaz Maciel, 52, at one of the residences. Maciel was subsequently arrested and initially booked at the Lake County Correctional Facility for illegal cultivation and processing of marijuana.

The seizure of 7,600 pounds is the single largest seizure of processed marijuana by the Lake County Sheriff’s Office, to date, the agency reported.

“While licensed cannabis growers struggle to remain compliant with the regulations required of this industry, and further struggle to remain financially viable while dealing with the associated costs, such as fees, permits, and taxes, there continues to be a black market for this product,” said Sheriff Brian Martin.

“Operations such as this one pump large amounts of unregulated and untaxed cannabis into the market,” Martin said. “They avoid the costs that legitimate growers have to encumber by stealing water, avoiding taxes, and not complying with any regulations. These operations adversely impact the legal industry, have negative impacts on the environment, and are frequently the cause of other criminal activity. We will continue our efforts against large scale illegal operations such as this one.”

Anyone with information related to this investigation is asked to contact the Lake County Roadmap Task Force or Lake County Sheriff’s Office Marijuana Enforcement Unit at 707-262-4200.

Some of the more than 2,300 marijuana plants seized by the Lake County Sheriff’s Office on Tuesday, Feb. 8, 2022, in Clearlake Oaks, California. Photo courtesy of the Lake County Sheriff’s Office.
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LAKE COUNTY, Calif. — The National Weather Service’s Eureka office reported that unseasonably warm temperatures are expected across the North Coast through the weekend.

Forecasters said a system of high pressure is moving past the Pacific Northwest and impacting California’s northwest coast.

That system is reported to be contributing to drying and warming the region to record-breaking or near record-breaking temperatures, which could continue into Sunday.

The conditions led the National Weather Service to issue a hazardous weather outlook for northwest California and Lake County, warning of a minor fire risk on Wednesday and into Thursday due to high winds at ridgetops, low relative humidities and marginally receptive fuels.

The forecast for the rest of this week calls for daytime temperatures into the high 70s, with nighttime conditions in the high 40s.

Winds of up to 15 miles per hour are forecast, particularly in the south county, on Thursday and Thursday night.

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.
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LAKE COUNTY, Calif. — The California Governor's Office of Emergency Services said the cleanup of properties impacted by the August Cache fire in Clearlake has been completed.

Cal OES reported that state contractors have cleared the remains — burned metal, concrete, ash and contaminated soil — from all 78 homes and property in Lake County whose owners enrolled in the state's Consolidated Debris Removal Program.

At the same time, they also completed the cleanup work on all 19 properties in Mendocino County impacted by last year’s Hopkins fires.

In total, state-managed crews removed 5,024 tons of debris from Mendocino County and 9,308 tons of debris from Lake County, Cal OES reported.

Metal and concrete is diverted for recycling, while ash, debris, and contaminated soil is disposed of at lined landfills approved by the Regional Water Quality Control Board.

Under the program, administered by Cal OES and the California Department of Resources Recycling and Recovery, or CalRecycle, in collaboration with county officials, participating property owners incur no direct costs.

Property owners opted into the program by submitting a right-of-entry form to their county, which allows the state to begin work on their property and incur no direct costs for the removal of burned metal, concrete, ash and contaminated soil from their properties.

Statewide, crews have removed debris from 1,138, or 66.4%, of the 1,715 parcels enrolled in the full program. An additional 377 properties are participating in the hazardous trees-only element of the program.

State and federal officials are reviewing additional commercial parcels that may be subsequently approved for debris removal.

Steps left to complete

Before homeowners can begin rebuilding, cleared properties need additional work including:

• Separate contractors collect soil samples for verification at a laboratory that they meet state environmental health and safety standards.

• Contractors next may install erosion control measures.

• Certified arborists or professional foresters assess wildfire-damaged trees in danger of falling on the public or public infrastructure for removal by separate contractors.

• Finally, state officials inspect the property to verify all completed work meets state standards. Debris officials submit a final inspection report to local officials to approve the property for reconstruction.

To date, 15 properties in Lake County have completed the entire debris removal process and been returned to county officials to begin the permitting process.

Property owners can track progress on the Debris Operations Dashboard for the 2021 statewide wildfires.

The dashboard is updated every hour and provides users with the ability to search by county or address.
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Rep. Mike Thompson (CA-05) announced that more than $56 million is on the way to California from the Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act to install electric vehicle, or EV, charging stations along key roads and highways.

Congressman Thompson said he worked to secure these investments to create good-paying jobs, improve charger access for California drivers, help protect California’s environment and support American car manufacturers’ rapidly growing EV production.

“Electric vehicles play a vital role in combating climate change and providing a cleaner environment by reducing carbon pollution across the country,” said Thompson. “The EV investments from the Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act will create good-paying jobs by incentivizing the production of electric vehicles and investing in the expansion of EV charging stations across the country. As more money comes to California from this law, I look forward to ensuring that it is distributed equitably to all of our communities.”

The United States’ network of 100,000 chargers is currently insufficient to service the growing number of EV owners — and also struggles with inconsistent plug types, payment options and data availability.

The Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act is investing in good-paying union jobs to address these shortcomings, advancing our goal to expand the U.S. network to 500,000 chargers and grow electric vehicle sales to 50 percent of the automobile market by 2030.

Thompson represents California’s Fifth Congressional District, which includes all or part of Contra Costa, Lake, Napa, Solano and Sonoma counties.
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While the National Football League’s top two teams are preparing to battle it out on the field this weekend, the California Highway Patrol is making its game plan to keep the motoring public safe long after the celebrations have ended.

Millions of people will watch the Super Bowl this year, with some attending parties and others heading to the big game in Southern California.

In anticipation of the festivities, the CHP is teaming up with the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration to remind football enthusiasts that fans don’t let fans drive drunk.

“Getting behind the wheel while impaired can end tragically,” CHP Commissioner Amanda Ray said. “Instead, make responsible decisions if your plans include alcohol and help keep everyone safe by planning for a sober ride home. Do not turn a day of fun into a lifetime of regret.”

Preliminary data from the CHP’s Statewide Integrated Traffic Records System show that five people died, and 105 others were injured in alcohol-involved crashes on California’s roadways on Super Bowl Sunday last year.

That same day, CHP officers made 229 arrests for driving under the influence.

If you are hosting a Super Bowl party, be responsible and help keep impaired drivers from getting behind the wheel. Offer nonalcoholic beverage choices for designated drivers and remind your guests to designate a sober driver before the game begins.

Call 9-1-1 if you observe what you suspect to be an impaired driver. Be prepared to provide dispatchers with the vehicle’s description, location, license plate number, and the vehicle’s direction of travel.
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LAKE COUNTY, Calif. — The California Department of Fish and Wildlife’s Cannabis Enforcement Program is reporting on its activities in Lake County last year.

Last week, the agency released its year-end numbers for the 2021 calendar year, looking at its operations statewide.

CDFW said its 68 dedicated cannabis enforcement officers work with county, state and federal partners to investigate illegal cannabis cultivation operations. Their goal is to uncover and curtail operations that result in significant environmental damage.

Statewide in 2021, CDFW eradicated 2.6 million illegal cannabis plants, destroyed 487,270 pounds of illegal cannabis flower, served 1,125 search warrants, seized 794 firearms, and removed 32,230 pounds of trash and 404 illegal water diversions from public lands.

In Lake County, CDFW last year eradicated 83,735 cannabis plants, seized 4,756 pounds of processed cannabis, served 31 search warrants and seized 32 firearms, said Janice Mackey, a spokesperson for CDFW’s Cannabis Program.

“The numbers represent all operations where CDFW was either the lead agency or in a support role,” said Mackey.

She added that there could have been other enforcement operations during the year in which CDFW was not involved.

CDFW said that illegal cannabis cultivation continues to move away from public land operations to private property.

The public is encouraged to report environmental crimes to the CalTIP hotline by calling 888-334-2258 or by texting information to “TIP411” (847411).

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