Monday, 24 February 2025

Register

News

Posted On

Members of the AmeriCorps National Civilian Community Corps Team Blue 2 and Red Cross installed free smoke detectors in Clearlake Oaks, Calif. Courtesy photo.

CLEARLAKE OAKS, Calif. – AmeriCorps National Civilian Community Corps Team Blue 2 assisted the Red Cross in its efforts to save more lives through Sound the Alarm, a part of the Red Cross’ Home Fire Campaign.

According to the U.S. Fire Administration, the risk of dying in a home fire is cut in half in homes with working smoke alarms.

Wildfires break out in Lake County every year, and the Red Cross and AmeriCorps team Blue 2 want to make sure residents have the best tools with which to protect themselves.

Eleven young adults from around the United States committed to serving together for 10 months, Blue 2 worked with Red Cross volunteers in Clearlake Oaks.

They installed 81 free smoke alarms and educated residents about fire prevention and safety, protecting 31 homes overall.

“We were very welcomed by the community and learned about fire safety right alongside them,” said Blue 2 Assistant Team Leader Isa Baldwin Zurek. “The impact of replacing old, non-functioning alarms with new, working ones is tremendous.”

Since 2015, Sound the Alarm has installed 1,651,273 smoke alarms, made 684,260 households safer, and saved 582 lives.

To learn more about Sound the Alarm, visit www.redcross.org/sound-the-alarm.

Elora Bossert is a member of AmeriCorps National Civilian Community Corps Team Blue 2.
Posted On

LAKE COUNTY, Calif. – Lake County Animal Care and Control has another big group of dogs waiting for homes this week.

Dogs available for adoption this week include mixes of Anatolian Shepherd, black mouth cur, boxer, Chihuahua, Labrador Retriever, pit bull and shepherd.

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.

If you're looking for a new companion, visit the shelter. There are many great pets hoping you'll choose them.

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”).

“Lucy” is a female Anatolian Shepherd in kennel No. 9, ID No. 12168. Photo courtesy of Lake County Animal Care and Control.

‘Lucy’

“Lucy” is a female Anatolian Shepherd with a medium-length white and black coat.

She already has been spayed.

She’s in kennel No. 9, ID No. 12168.

This female shepherd is in kennel No. 11, ID No. 12180. Photo courtesy of Lake County Animal Care and Control.

Female shepherd

This female shepherd has a short tricolor coat.

She’s in kennel No. 11, ID No. 12180.

“Will” is a male pit bull terrier in kennel No. 12, ID No. 11958. Photo courtesy of Lake County Animal Care and Control.

‘Will’

“Will” is a male pit bull terrier with a short black coat.

He’s in kennel No. 12, ID No. 11958.

“Bon-Bon” is a male Chihuahua in kennel No. 17, ID No. 12157. Photo courtesy of Lake County Animal Care and Control.

‘Bon-Bon’

“Bon-Bon” is a male Chihuahua with a short tricolor coat.

He already has been neutered.

He’s in kennel No. 17, ID No. 12157.

This female black mouth cur in kennel No. 21, ID No. 12156. Photo courtesy of Lake County Animal Care and Control.

Female black mouth cur

This female black mouth cur has a short tricolor coat.

She’s in kennel No. 21, ID No. 12156.

This male boxer is in kennel No. 24, ID No. 12123. Photo courtesy of Lake County Animal Care and Control.

Male boxer

This male boxer has a short tricolor coat.

He’s in kennel No. 24, ID No. 12123.

“Bear” is a male Labrador Retriever in kennel No. 27, ID No. 12205. Photo courtesy of Lake County Animal Care and Control.

‘Bear’

“Bear” is a male Labrador Retriever with a short black coat with white markings.

He’s in kennel No. 27, ID No. 12205.

“Bear” is a male Labrador Retriever in kennel No. 28, ID No. 11986. Photo courtesy of Lake County Animal Care and Control.

‘Bear’

“Bear” is a male Labrador Retriever with a short black coat.

He’s already been neutered.

He’s in kennel No. 28, ID No. 11986.

This male Chihuahua-terrier mix is in kennel No. 29a, ID No. 12112. Photo courtesy of Lake County Animal Care and Control.

Chihuahua-terrier mix

This male Chihuahua-terrier mix has a short black coat.

He’s in kennel No. 29a, ID No. 12112.

This young female Labrador Retriever in kennel No. 33a, ID No. 12189. Photo courtesy of Lake County Animal Care and Control.

Female Labrador Retriever

This young female Labrador Retriever has a short black and white coat.

She’s in kennel No. 33a, ID No. 12189.

This young female Labrador Retriever is in kennel No. 34a, ID No. 12191. Photo courtesy of Lake County Animal Care and Control.

Female Labrador Retriever

This young female Labrador Retriever has a short black and white coat.

She’s in kennel No. 34a, ID No. 12191.

This young female Labrador Retriever is in kennel No. 34b, ID No. 12192. Photo courtesy of Lake County Animal Care and Control.

Female Labrador Retriever

This young female Labrador Retriever has a short black and white coat.

She’s in kennel No. 34b, ID No. 12192.

Lake County Animal Care and Control is located at 4949 Helbush in Lakeport, next to the Hill Road Correctional Facility.

Office hours are Monday through Friday, 11 a.m. to 5 p.m., and 11 a.m. to 3 p.m., Saturday. The shelter is open from 11 a.m. to 4 p.m. Monday through Friday and on Saturday from 11 a.m. to 3 p.m.

Visit the shelter online at http://www.co.lake.ca.us/Government/Directory/Animal_Care_And_Control.htm .

For more information call Lake County Animal Care and Control at 707-263-0278.

Email Elizabeth Larson at This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. . Follow her on Twitter, @ERLarson, or Lake County News, @LakeCoNews.
Posted On

LAKEPORT, Calif. – The Lake County Registrar of Voters Office released an update on the ballots remaining to be counted in the Lakeport Fire Protection District’s Measure M parcel tax.

The all-mail special election was held on Tuesday, with preliminary results released that night that showed the measure appears headed for victory with more than the required supermajority of 66.7 percent.

However, the election results are not final. More ballots remain to be counted, as the Registrar of Voters Office continued to receive ballots postmarked by May 7 through Friday.

On Friday, the Registrar of Voters Office said 69 ballots were dropped off at the polls on election day.

The elections office also received by Friday 320 ballots mailed and postmarked on or before May 7.

There are 48 ballots that require further review for various reasons and one provisional ballot, officials said. Provisional ballots and ballots requiring further review may be entirely counted, partially counted or not counted.

Altogether, approximately 438 ballots remain to be counted during the 30-day official canvass period, according to the elections office.

Those will be added to the nearly 1,900 ballots counted and reported by Tuesday evening.

Officials said approximately 5,982 ballots were mailed out for the election.

The Registrar of Voters Office said there are many checks and balances when certifying election results.

The process of certifying election results, also known as the official canvass, is mandated by state law to make sure the public can have confidence in the integrity of the final results.

Lake County has not historically updated results between the unofficial election night results and the final certified results of the election. Instead, the county prioritizes the careful steps required to complete the canvass.

Officials said interim unofficial results have no bearing on the final outcome of Measure M. Only final certified results will determine whether Measure M receives at least 66.7 percent to pass and become effective, or less than 66.7 percent to not pass.
Blog Left ad
Posted On

LAKE COUNTY, Calif. – Lake County Animal Care and Control has three cats waiting for homes this week.

The following cats at the Lake County Animal Care and Control shelter have been cleared for adoption.

This female domestic short hair cat is in kennel No. 68, ID No. 12183. Photo courtesy of Lake County Animal Care and Control.

Female domestic short hair

This female domestic short hair cat has an all-black coat.

She already has been spayed.

She’s in kennel No. 68, ID No. 12183.

“Scout” is a male domestic short hair cat in kennel No. 100, ID No. 12147. Photo courtesy of Lake County Animal Care and Control.

‘Scout’

“Scout” is a male domestic short hair cat with a gray tabby and white coat.

He’s already been neutered.

He’s in kennel No. 100, ID No. 12147.

This male domestic short hair is in kennel No. 137, ID No. 12163. Photo courtesy of Lake County Animal Care and Control.

Male domestic short hair

This male domestic short hair has an orange tabby coat.

He’s in kennel No. 137, ID No. 12163.

Lake County Animal Care and Control is located at 4949 Helbush in Lakeport, next to the Hill Road Correctional Facility.

Office hours are Monday through Friday, 11 a.m. to 5 p.m., and 11 a.m. to 3 p.m., Saturday. The shelter is open from 11 a.m. to 4 p.m. Monday through Friday and on Saturday from 11 a.m. to 3 p.m.

Visit the shelter online at http://www.co.lake.ca.us/Government/Directory/Animal_Care_And_Control.htm .

For more information call Lake County Animal Care and Control at 707-263-0278.

Email Elizabeth Larson at This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.. Follow her on Twitter, @ERLarson, or Lake County News, @LakeCoNews.
Posted On

The Double Asteroid Redirection Test, or DART. Credits: Johns Hopkins Applied Physics Laboratory.


The Double Asteroid Redirection Test, or DART – NASA’s first mission to demonstrate a planetary defense technique – will get one chance to hit its target, the small moonlet in the binary asteroid system Didymos.

The asteroid poses no threat to Earth and is an ideal test target: measuring the change in how the smaller asteroid orbits about the larger asteroid in a binary system is much easier than observing the change in a single asteroid's orbit around the Sun.

Work is ramping up at the Johns Hopkins Applied Physics Laboratory in Laurel, Maryland, and other locations across the country, as the mission heads toward its summer 2021 launch – and attempts to pull off a feat so far seen only in science fiction films.

Observing Didymos

To navigate the DART spacecraft to its intended target – a binary asteroid that consists of a small moon, Didymos B, orbiting a larger body, Didymos A – scientists need to understand how the system behaves.

Scientists have been making efforts to observe Didymos from Earth since 2015, and now, an international campaign coordinated by Northern Arizona University’s Cristina Thomas, DART’s Observing Working Group Lead, is making critical observations using powerful telescopes worldwide to understand the state of the asteroid system before DART reaches it.

Current observations will help researchers to better understand the extent of the impact made when DART slams into its target – Didymos B – in September 2022.

The most recent observation campaign took place on Cerro Paranal in northern Chile, where scientists viewed Didymos using the Very Large Telescope, which is run by the European Southern Observatory. The “VLT” comprises four telescopes, each with 8.2-meter mirrors; two of them were used in the recent observations.

“The Didymos system is too small and too far to be seen as anything more than a point of light, but we can get the data we need by measuring the brightness of that point of light, which changes as Didymos A rotates and Didymos B orbits,” said APL’s Andy Rivkin, DART investigation team co-lead, who participated in the observations.

The brightness changes indicate when the smaller moon, Didymos B, passes in front of or is hidden behind Didymos A from our point of view.

These observations will help scientists determine the location of Didymos B about Didymos A and inform the exact timing of DART’s impact to maximize the deflection.

The investigation team will observe Didymos again from late 2020 into the spring of 2021. Final ground-based observations will occur as the spacecraft travels toward the asteroid, as well as after impact occurs.

Research with impact

The telescope observations are key to understanding Didymos, but they’re not quite enough to fully understand Didymos B, DART’s target.

“Even though we are performing ground-based observations, we don’t know much about Didymos B in terms of composition and structure,” said Angela Stickle, DART’s Impact Simulation Working Group lead from APL. “We need to anticipate a wide range of possibilities and predict their outcomes, so that after DART slams into Didymos B we’ll know what our measurements are telling us.”

Structure is essential to the equation; in Didymos, researchers aren’t sure whether DART will impact an asteroid composed of solid rock, loose rubble or something “softer,” more akin to sand. A softer surface would absorb more of DART’s force and may not be pushed as drastically as if DART hit a harder surface.

Extensive modeling and simulation, part of a large international campaign that started in 2014, is being done in conjunction with Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory and other members of the investigation team to help researchers predict what will happen to DART’s target after impact.

They’ve considered these various factors – along with the added momentum from DART’s impact and the resulting debris ejected from the crater it creates – as they’ve run various simulations. These simulations help the team shape its expectations for impact.

Eyes on DART and Didymos

Researchers will have the ability to eventually see the Didymos asteroid system close-up – albeit briefly – thanks to DART’s onboard DRACO imager and a planned ride-along CubeSat, the Italian Space Agency’s LICIACube.

Released just before impact, the shoebox-sized LICIACube would document DART’s impact and its aftermath. The CubeSat recently passed its preliminary design review and has moved into the next phase of development.

DRACO – the Didymos Reconnaissance and Asteroid Camera for Op-nav – is DART’s only onboard instrument. It will serve primarily as DART’s optical navigation system, capturing images that help the spacecraft reach its target.

DRACO will feed its images into the APL-developed Small-body Maneuvering Autonomous Real-Time Navigation (SMART Nav) algorithm – the system that, in the spacecraft’s final hours, will precisely and automatically guide DART into Didymos B. SMART Nav is preparing to undergo a series of tests on simulated spacecraft avionics, which will boost engineers’ confidence that the system will be ready to operate successfully when the mission will be relying on it.

Wired for success

While much of the work on DART so far has been modeling and simulation, many parts of the spacecraft have started to take shape. A full-scale mock-up of DART now serves as a placeholder for the assembly of cables and connectors that will eventually make up the wiring harness.

The mission has signed off on the manufacturing of several flight hardware components, specifically the spacecraft’s solar arrays – which passed the critical design review stage – as well as the radio and power system electronics.

In a recent design change, DART will now be able to complete its mission by relying on small hydrazine thrusters in addition to having the ability to utilize the electric propulsion system, NASA’s Evolutionary Xenon Thruster Commercial ion engine, which will also push the start of the primary launch window to July of 2021, shortening the mission flight time. “For a mission that relies on one chance, it’s a move that will provide DART with more options to ensure it hits its mark,” said Ed Reynolds, DART project manager at APL.
Posted On

Imagine being in a life-threatening emergency, picking up your phone to call 911, and having no service or dial tone. Imagine being fast asleep and never receiving an emergency alert to let you know flames were closing in and about to engulf your home.

This is the situation millions of Californians have faced over the last several years as mega-fires have raged in or near their community.

Currently, when telecommunications services go down – affecting 911 service or the ability for emergency officials to send alerts – telecommunication companies are not required to report real-time information about the location of the outage, how many individuals are affected, and what the estimated time of repair is. This means the public is in the dark and are put in harm’s way.

“Californians cannot afford to be without the most up-to-date information during times of disaster,” said State Sen. Mike McGuire, who represents the North Coast, including Lake County. “That’s why we have introduced SB 670, which would require telecommunications carriers to report outages to the State Office of Emergency Services when outages affect 911 service and emergency notification systems. Failure to report outages affecting 911 service or emergency alerting capabilities can wreak havoc on communities and puts the public’s safety at risk.”

SB 670 is a simple step to mitigate the risks during times of total crisis and phone outages by requiring telecommunications providers to report 911 service outages or outages affecting emergency alert and warning technologies to the California Office of Emergency Services in real time. This seems like it should already be happening – but it’s not.

This common-sense approach will ensure coordination between state and local emergency officials and telecommunication companies. SB 670 will provide emergency officials with real time data and the crucial information they need to keep our communities safe.

“The night of Oct. 8, 2017, changed the lives of tens of thousands of Californians forever. Whether you were one of the nearly 100,000 evacuated, one of the 6,000 who lost their home, one of the thousands who fled in the middle of the night through the flames or one of the dozens who lost a loved one due to the fire – your loss should not go in vain,” McGuire said. “We have a new normal in California. It’s clear there are significant shortcomings in our emergency alerting system and residents deserve warnings. We moved forward on emergency alert legislation last year, and now it’s time to tackle another massive challenge facing this state: Mandating reporting when 911 goes dark and emergency alerts go silent.”

While the California Public Utilities Commission and FCC have a shared responsibility to oversee all components of 911 services, outage reporting to the PUC is provided hours, and sometimes days, after the outage occurs and not in real time to the State Office of Emergency Services or local emergency managers.

For example, during the Camp fire in Paradise, which began around 6:33 a.m. on Nov. 8, 2018, the CPUC received their notification of the outage from the FCC over 5 hours later at 12:01 pm after thousands of homes had been destroyed.

The Tubbs fire in Santa Rosa began at approximately 9:43 p.m. on Oct. 8, 2017, and the CPUC received their notification from the FCC over six hours later at 4:12 a.m. the next morning – thousands of homes were destroyed in that timeframe. By that time, the Tubbs Fire had burned into central Santa Rosa.

The California Office of Emergency Services never received formal notification which means local governments never received formal notification either. This is simply unacceptable.

SB 670 would require providers of telecommunication services to provide notification to CalOES whenever there is a 911 service outage or any outage affecting emergency warning capabilities within 60 minutes of the outage starting.

CalOES would then be responsible for notifying the affected local county OES. This would ensure all of the necessary emergency officials are getting the information they need to keep residents safe.

SB 670 passed with unanimous, bipartisan support from both the Senate Governmental Organization Committee (16-0) and the Senate Energy, Utilities and Communications Committee (13-0).

The bill is currently in Senate Appropriations before going to the full Senate for a vote.
Posted On

Coffee is the national beverage of Ethiopia. Berbere spice blend, used in many dishes, is based on dried chilis and includes warm spices such as turmeric, cardamom, cinnamon and cloves. Tiny black Nigella seeds, a common seasoning, complete the picture. Photo by Esther Oertel.

Each drop of rain that falls to Earth has been recycled untold times. There is no new water under the sun; the atmospheric waters that swirl throughout our planet are ancient.

Perhaps the rain that last fell, the water that gathered in fields and drained into soil filling our wells, held drops from the Nile or from Lake Tana on an Ethiopian plateau.

If so, we’ve shared life-giving liquid with our brethren from “the land of origins” in the Horn of Africa, otherwise known as Ethiopia.

As denizens of this brilliant jewel called Earth, we dine at a common table, beneficiaries of the nourishment that our planet provides. Food is the perpetual tie that deliciously binds, bringing us closer to the rest of our human family.

I invite you to join me in an armchair adventure to a land of beginnings and mysteries, a place where hands reach to a common platter to eat, where feeding one another is a sign of love and deep respect.

Ethiopia, a large country with twice the terrain of France, sits in the middle of the Horn of Africa. The Horn juts from the east side of the continent into the Arabian Sea, separated by the Gulf of Aden from the Arabian Peninsula to the north.

A land-locked country, Ethiopia is surrounded by six countries. Going clockwise from the noon position are Eritrea, Djibouti, Somalia, Kenya, South Sudan and Sudan.

Though once plagued by famine, Ethiopia’s economy has grown in recent years. It sits 6th among the 54 countries of Africa when ranked by gross domestic product.

Ethiopia is called the land of origins for good reason. The eastern part of Africa, and most specifically Ethiopia, is dubbed the cradle of civilization; it is believed that the human species originated there, eventually migrating to other parts of the world.

The earliest fossils of recognizable modern humans, homo sapiens, were found in the Omo Valley, which lies in the southwest part of the country.

Another (perhaps less significant) item has its origins in Ethiopia: coffee, which is a key culinary component there.

Coffee is considered Ethiopia’s national drink and its enjoyment is ingrained in Ethiopian culture. Coffee is drunk throughout the day, and rarely alone.

“Buna teta,” which means “come drink coffee,” is an invitation to partake of elaborate coffee ceremonies which can sometimes take hours.

Ethiopians also consume coffee as food; green coffee beans cooked in butter are a popular snack.

It is said that the discovery of this robust bean was made by a ninth century Ethiopian goat-herder named Kaldi. He noticed energizing effects when his flock nibbled on the red berries of what is now known as a coffee bush.

Arabica is considered the superior of the two coffee species widely cultivated throughout the world today (with Robusta being the other), and an amazing 5,046 documented varieties of this species have been found in the ecosystems of Ethiopia’s forested mountains.

Suffice it to say that despite the name, Arabica is not native to Arabia, but to Ethiopia.

On the high central plateaus that make up most of Ethiopia, an indigenous cereal called teff grows, first cultivated by the Ethiopians some 3,000 years ago.

The tiny, sandy-colored seeds of this plant are ground for flour to make injera, a spongy, fermented flatbread which is the staple food of Ethiopia.

To create the unique texture of injera, the dough needs a full three days (or “three moons”) to ferment. (If it’s your first batch, it will require a starter, which takes an additional four days.)

Much of Ethiopian food is in the form of deeply spiced stews, and for injera to properly soak up their beautiful liquids, it must have many holes in its spongy surface. Getting it just right is an important skill.

Injera is cooked on a large, round griddle called a mitad, and the spiraling technique takes many years to master.

In much the same way that creating a proper batter and the cooking method are perfected arts, the complex process of rolling injera in stew to catch the flavorful liquid takes years of practice. The procedure requires a deft hand and is often referred to as “dancing with fingers.”

While many Ethiopian stews are made with meat – beef, lamb, goat, or chicken – there are a variety of vegetarian stews made with things such as lentils, split peas, and chickpeas.

Vegetarian dishes of all types abound, in fact, due to Christian and Muslim practices of abstaining from meat at various times of the year.

Spicy red lentil stew, for example, is a staple dish in Ethiopia, as are collard greens.

A trio of aromatics – onions, garlic and ginger – are commonly used to flavor stews and vegetables, as are a variety of richly appetizing and often piquant spice blends.

Perhaps the most quintessential of these blends is berbere, which is used in many (if not most) Ethiopian dishes. This complex mix of spices is based on dried chilis and includes a plethora of other spices, many with sweet notes.

An internet search will yield recipes for making a simplified version of berbere; however, it’s possible to order authentic berbere online.

The berbere in my pantry includes more than a dozen spices: paprika, coriander, cayenne, cardamom, allspice, ginger, garlic, turmeric, black pepper, cumin, salt, cloves, fenugreek, cinnamon and nutmeg.

The amount of heat from the chilis varies from mixture to mixture and home to home, with many versions in play.

Ground nigella seeds are also a common flavoring, adding a smoky, earthy essence to foods, not unlike a milder, sweeter version of powdered truffle.

Spiced clarified butter is a key ingredient in many dishes, and smoked milk made with the smoke of olive twigs adds a unique flavor component to some foods. (An Ethiopian version of scalloped potatoes is made with smoked milk.)

A variety of beverages are made in homes throughout Ethiopia, including tej, a fermented honey wine, abesh wuha, a water flavored with fenugreek, and perhaps the most unusual, helemur, a tea-like drink made from roasted dough.

Spris is a refreshing, colorful drink made with thick layers of blended fruit. One version includes avocado, mango, and papaya pureed separately and stacked within a glass. A squeeze of lime on top completes the concoction.

Ethiopia is considered one of the safest countries in Africa; violence there, including against travelers, is relatively rare.

Hospitality is important to Ethiopians (entertaining friends in one’s home is frequently enjoyed), so it’s no surprise that a recent travel site poll named Ethiopia the most welcoming country in Africa.

Since food is served on communal platters and diners eat using their hands, hand washing ceremonies are performed both prior to eating and just afterward. The eldest member of the group begins the meal by taking the first handful of food.

Ethiopia is a country that is rumored to have the Ark of the Covenant secretly housed within its borders, is one of just two in Africa that have never been colonized by Europeans, and one whose 20th century emperor sparked a religion. (Rastafarians believe Haile Selassie is a Messiah.)

These facts are strangely fascinating; however, in my opinion one of the most charming components of life in Ethiopia is the custom known as gursha, where a guest at table is honored by being hand-fed a morsel of food wrapped in injera as an act of respect. The person receiving gursha then returns the favor.

Perhaps we can start such a trend here.

The recipe for today is my take on chicken in a sauce made of tej with oranges and is inspired by Yohanis Gebreyesus in his book, Ethiopia: Recipes and Traditions from the Horn of Africa.

A small investment in a packet of berbere spice blend is well worth the taste of this dish.

Tej, fermented honey wine, is difficult to find outside of Ethiopia, but thankfully dry white wine with added honey can be substituted.

The combination of flavors in the sauce danced on my tongue, at once spicy, sweet and earthy. I hope you enjoy it as much as I did.

Chicken in tej sauce with oranges, which is the recipe included in the column. Photo by Esther Oertel.

Chicken in Tej sauce with oranges

4 chicken thighs, bone in and skin on
1 tablespoon olive or other oil, plus more for greasing pan
½ - 1 tablespoon berbere spice blend
Salt and pepper
1 or 2 medium carrots
1 or 2 medium stalks celery
2 yellow onions
Handful fresh thyme
Handful fresh Italian parsley
1 cup tej or medium-dry white wine with 1 tablespoon honey added
¼ cup heavy cream
1 tablespoon cornstarch
2 medium oranges

Preheat oven to 400 degrees.

Grease a large cast iron skillet or other roasting pan.

Place chicken thighs in skillet. Rub them with oil and sprinkle berbere spice blend evenly over them, then season with salt and pepper.

Roughly chop carrot(s), celery stalk(s), and onions. Place around chicken thighs in pan.

Add thyme and parsley to pan.

Cover pan with aluminum foil and cook in oven for about 30 minutes.

Remove aluminum foil and continue cooking until chicken registers 165 degrees and the skin is golden brown and crispy, about 20 to 40 minutes longer. (This will vary depending on the size of the chicken thighs.)

If it looks like the vegetables are in danger of burning, add a bit of water.

While chicken is cooking, peel oranges with knife, removing all the white pith. Remove segments by cutting between each membrane. Reserve the juice from the process by working over a bowl.

Whisk the honey into the wine and set aside for sauce.

When chicken is ready, remove from pan to a plate and cover with foil to rest.

Place warm skillet or roasting pan on stovetop and turn to medium heat.

Add wine to pan and deglaze pan, scraping up any bits of vegetable with a large spoon or spatula.

Allow wine to simmer and reduce for a few minutes.

Add cream and allow to lightly simmer briefly for warming and further reduction.

Whisk cornstarch into ¼ cup water and stir into sauce.

Taste and add an additional pinch of berbere spice blend to taste if desired.

Turn off heat and strain sauce with a fine sieve.

Mix in oranges and reserved juice.

Serve chicken drizzled with sauce and oranges.

Esther Oertel is a writer and passionate home cook from a family of chefs. She grew up in a restaurant, where she began creating recipes from a young age. She’s taught culinary classes in a variety of venues in Lake County and previously wrote “The Veggie Girl” column for Lake County News. Most recently she’s taught culinary classes at Sur La Table in Santa Rosa, Calif. She lives in Middletown, Calif.
Posted On

CLEARLAKE, Calif. – The Clearlake City Council will hold a special meeting on Monday to discuss the process for filling the vacancy resulting from Mayor Nick Bennett’s resignation.

The council will meet beginning at 3:30 p.m. Monday, May 13, in the council chambers at Clearlake City Hall, 14050 Olympic Drive.

On Thursday night, Bennett – who has served on the council since May 2016 – announced he was resigning due to health issues and moving to South Dakota, as Lake County News has reported.

“I would like to thank my fellow council members and city staff. It has been truly an honor to serve our community,” Bennett said.

On Monday, the council will discuss what City Manager Alan Flora said are the two available options – appointing a successor, as the council has done over the past several years, or put the vacancy up for special election.

“We are saddened to see Mayor Bennett step down from the council. He served the public for decades as a member of law enforcement and, in his retirement, chose to continue service to his community as a member of the city council. We wish him well as he takes the next journey in his life,” Flora said.

The council also will consider appointing a new mayor and, if needed, a vice mayor if the current vice mayor, Russ Cremer, moves up in leadership.

The council also will hold a closed session to discuss the city’s litigation against Pacific Gas and Electric Co.

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, @LakeCoNew.
Posted On

Mars Curiosity rover self portrait. Courtesy image.

Dust is not just a household nuisance; it’s a planetary one, particularly on Mars. Before astronauts visit the Red Planet, we need to understand how the dust particles that often fill the atmosphere could impact them and their equipment.

The global Martian dust storm of summer 2018 – the one that blotted out sunlight for weeks and put NASA’s beloved Opportunity rover out of business – offered an unprecedented learning opportunity.

For the first time, humans had eight spacecraft orbiting Mars or roving its surface – the largest cadre of robotic explorers ever to watch a global dust storm unfold.

Global dust storm advancing

Scientists around the globe are still analyzing reams of data, but preliminary reports include insights on how massive dust storms could have affected ancient Martian water, winds, and climate, and how they could affect future weather and solar power.

Martian dust storms are common, especially during southern hemisphere spring and summer. They tend to last a couple of days and can cover regions of the planet the size of the United States.

But planet-encircling ones are unpredictable, sometimes lingering for months. Why?

“We still don’t know what drives the variability, but the 2018 storm gives another data point,” said Scott Guzewich, an atmospheric scientist at NASA’s Goddard Space Flight Center in Greenbelt, Maryland, who’s a lead in NASA’s dust storm investigation.

NASA first saw a global dust storm up close in 1971 when our Mariner 9 spacecraft — the first to orbit another planet — arrived at a dust-engulfed Red Planet. Since then, we’ve seen global storms in 1977 (twice), 1982, 1994, 2001, 2007 and 2018.

Here are a few things we saw from space and from the ground during the recent global dust storm that helped address some open questions and exposed new ones:

Could global dust storms have blown away the planet’s water?

Scientists have found loads of evidence that Mars had rivers, lakes and maybe even oceans of water billions of years ago. Dry riverbeds, ancient shorelines, and salty surface chemistry are all clues. But why did much of the water disappear? And how?

“The global dust storm may give us an explanation,” said Geronimo Villanueva, a Martian water expert at NASA Goddard.

Villanueva worked with colleagues at the ESA (European Space Agency) and Russia’s Roscosmos space agency to confirm that powerful, global dust storms appear to loft water vapor from its typical altitude of 12 miles (20 kilometers) above the Martian surface to much higher elevations of at least 50 miles (80 kilometers). NASA's Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter observed a similar phenomenon in 2007.

By thrusting water into the upper atmosphere, global dust storms may interfere with the planet’s water cycle, preventing H2O from condensing and falling back down to the surface. On Earth, H2O falls back down as rain or snow. The same process could have existed on Mars billions of years ago.

At higher altitudes, where the Martian atmosphere is especially tenuous, solar radiation can easily penetrate to break up the water molecules and blow their component elements into space, Villanueva and his colleagues speculate.

“When you bring water to higher parts of the atmosphere, it gets blown away so much easier,” said Villanueva, who has spent his career piecing together the history of water on Mars.

Villanueva and his colleagues reported on April 10 in the journal Nature that they found evidence of receding water vapor by using the ExoMars Trace Gas Orbiter at Mars, a spacecraft managed by ESA and Roscosmos.

The orbiter measured water molecules at different altitudes before and after the 2018 storm. Scientists saw for the first time that all types of water molecules (there are lighter and heavier ones) reached the “escape region” of the upper atmosphere, which was an important insight into how water may be disappearing from Mars.

Now, said Villanueva​, scientists will have to take this new information into account in their predictions about how much water flowed on ancient Mars and how long it took for it to disappear.

Global dust storms don’t seem to significantly reshape Martian sand dunes

For scientists who track sand dunes shift inches across the surface, the global dust storm offered critical evidence in their investigation of wind patterns on the Red Planet. Only the forceful winds during a global dust storm would be able to move the planet’s extensive dunes, scientists once thought, given that Mars’ super thin atmosphere makes 100-mile-per-hour wind feel like a breeze.

Yet images from orbiters and landers throughout the decades have revealed that Martian sand moves all the time, implying that it doesn’t need strong gusts to do so. This was a surprise to researchers.

Now that scientists finally got to watch a global dust storm from the ground through the eyes of NASA’s Curiosity rover, they noticed another surprising characteristic of Martian wind: strong gusts don’t appear to move sand more than normal.

“This has added to the overall mystery of how wind behaves on Mars,” said Mariah Baker, a Ph.D. student at Johns Hopkins University in Baltimore, Maryland, who helps track changes in Martian sand ripples

Ongoing analysis of the entire Martian globe will reveal whether Gale Crater, where Curiosity is roving, was unique.

The heart of the storm was over Opportunity, after all, which was roving on the other side of the globe from Curiosity. Plus, wind may behave differently inside Gale Crater, scientists note.

“Were we being sheltered?” Guzewich asked. “That’s possible.”

If it turns out sand dunes didn’t shift much anywhere on Mars during the storm, there could be a good reason, Baker said: “Winds swirling dust around in the atmosphere might not be the same thing as winds on the surface.”

Some scientists think that when dust gets lifted into the atmosphere during a global storm, blocking sunlight from reaching the surface, it shuts down the wind-generating process close to the ground that, under normal conditions, is induced by temperature fluctuations between the air and surface.

Whatever the reason turns out to be, understanding the behavior of sand dunes today helps us reveal Mars’s ancient climate, said Baker: “We can look at wind-shaped sandstones on the surface and look at dunes that are moving now, and say, ‘OK, what does that say about the conditions that were here billions of years ago when these dunes were moving and now are cemented into the rock record?’”

Dust devils, which are rotating columns of air and dust, are common on Mars. They form when hot air from the surface rises, creating a current of air that forms a whirlwind. These devils are useful for cleaning off dust from the panels of solar-powered spacecraft, like InSight, as they pass over them. Thus, it’s important to understand how often they occur.

Curiosity is powered by a nuclear battery, which allowed it to collect data while Opportunity hibernated, with minimal sunlight reaching its solar panels.

Through Curiosity, we learned that dust devils disappear during a dust storm, right when we need them most, and for months afterwards. This happens because of an interruption in the same wind-generating process that might affect the movement of sand dunes.

Guzewich said that understanding a global storm’s impact on dust devils is important in planning how to power equipment during future Mars missions: “You need to be prepared to go a while before your next dust devil passes over and cleans you off.”

Lonnie Shekhtman works for the NASA's Goddard Space Flight Center in Greenbelt, Maryland.
Posted On

The Lake County Library invites readers to select a few of the library’s new books to read over the summer. Courtesy photo.

LAKEPORT, Calif. – The Lake County Library invites residents to read up a storm with the 2019 Summer Reading Program.

The program is open to all ages, so everyone can join in the fun.

Signups begin Saturday, May 18, at all four Lake County Library branches.

Each library will host “Super Sign-Up Saturday” from 10:30 a.m. to 1 p.m. with a fun craft for kids. You can sign up any time during the program which ends July 27.

Once you sign up you can keep track of your reading progress when you return your books to the library.

There are three programs, each targeting a different age group from children to adults.

When young people aren’t engaged in educational activities during the summer, they experience learning loss.

Reading just five books over the summer can prevent summer learning loss. Rich, engaging and free educational activities like summer reading programs are excellent tools to address the achievement gap.

Library summer reading programs began in the 1890s as a way to help children maintain their reading skills when school was out for the summer. Summer reading programs have been happening in Lake County for decades.

There have been many studies that show that students who read often achieve higher academic success than students who rarely read. Also, students who read just for fun are more likely to do better in school.

A study performed by Dominican University in 2010 found that students who were part of a library summer reading program had better reading skills at the end of the third grade than students who didn’t participate.

The Lake County Library kids program is recommended for children ages from newborn to 14. When you sign up at your local library you can pick up a reading log and start reading library books. When you return library books to the front desk, the library staff will log your page count. For every page you read you get a reading point. For every 50 points you get a sticker for your reading log. At end of the program in August, there will be a party for the children who participate.

Tweens and teens ages 11 to 18 can sign up for the Teen program. Visit the library desk when you return books to get reading credit. For every 200 pages you read, you will be entered in a grand prize drawing. There will also be a variety of events for teens over the summer at the library.

The Lake County Library has a summer reading program for adults. It’s a fun way to challenge yourself to read more this summer.Just like the Teen program, for every 200 pages you read, you will be entered in a grand prize drawing.

For each of these programs, if you read at least 1,000 pages the Friends of the Library will donate a book to the library with your name inside to commemorate your reading achievement.

The Lake County Library Summer Reading Program is supported in part by the Friends of the Lake County Library and Friends of Middletown Library.

For more information contact the library at 707-263-8817 or visit the library website at http://library.lakecountyca.gov.

Jan Cook is a library technician for the Lake County Library.
Posted On

LAKE COUNTY, Calif. – The Lake County/City Area Planning Council is conducting two meetings next week on two local traffic corridors in Lakeport and on the Northshore.

The meetings will take place on Tuesday, May 14, in Lakeport and Thursday, May 16, in Lucerne.

The Lakeport workshop takes place from 6 to 8 p.m. May 14 in the council chambers at Lakeport City Hall, 225 Park St., and is co-hosted by the Lake County/City Area Planning Council and the city of Lakeport.

It will focus on the 11th Street Corridor Multi-Modal Engineered Feasibility Study, and will offer the public an opportunity to help improve access and safety for walking, bicycling, and transit users on 11th Street and the surrounding area.

Project team members will be available after 7 p.m. to discuss community members’ needs and interests.

The Lucerne meeting will take place from 6 to 7 p.m. May 16 at the Lucerne Alpine Senior Center, 3985 Country Club Drive.

The workshop will look at improved access and safety for walking, bicycling and transit users along Highway 20 in the communities of Nice, Lucerne, Glenhaven and Clearlake Oaks.

At 7 p.m., the Lucerne Area Town Hall Meeting will begin, and a presentation about the project will be given during the town hall meeting.

Families and children are welcome at the meetings. Snacks and refreshments will be provided.

Funding for the studies is paid for by a grant from the California Department of Transportation.

For more information contact Cayla McDonell, This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. or 916-448-1198, Extension 324.
Posted On

Mayor Nick Bennett, seated, received a standing ovation from his council colleagues including Dirk Slooten (left) on Thursday, May 9, 2019, after his public announcement that he is stepping down from the city council in Clearlake, Calif. Photo by Elizabeth Larson/Lake County News.

CLEARLAKE, Calif. – Clearlake’s mayor said Thursday that he is stepping down as he prepares for a move out of state that is necessitated by health issues.

Mayor Nick Bennett’s announcement came at the end of the Clearlake City Council’s Thursday night meeting, during which he and his fellow council members continued fine-tuning commercial cannabis rules and considered equipment needs for the Public Works Department, which is doing more road work thanks to the Measure V sales tax.

He said Thursday’s meeting will be his last, as he and his family are preparing to leave Lake County this Sunday.

“I'm stepping down due to some health reasons I need to have addressed,” he said, adding that the issues are “physical, not mental.”

Bennett, who has served on the council since 2016, thanked his fellow council members, past and present, along with city staff, saying that it’s been an honor to serve.

Bennett received a standing ovation from the council and city officials.

His vice mayor, Russ Cremer, joined with other council members in presenting Bennett with a plaque honoring his service.

Cremer said it had been a genuine pleasure working with Bennett, whose quiet wisdom he appreciated and who had taught him a lot.

Bennett exchanged handshakes and hugs with council colleagues Cremer, Phil Harris, Joyce Overton and Dirk Slooten before adjourning the meeting.

Bennett told Lake County News he and his family are moving to Hot Springs, South Dakota, where they have owned a home for some time.

Hot Springs is the county seat of Fall River County. It’s in southwestern South Dakota and is called the “Southern Gateway of the Black Hills,” with Mount Rushmore about an hour’s drive away.

It’s a big move for Bennett, who has roots in Lake County and was raised in Middletown.

He served honorably in the United States Army before beginning his law enforcement career in the 1960s. He worked at Bay Area agencies including the police departments in South San Francisco and East Palo Alto. In 1996 he returned to Lake County, working as a sergeant at the Clearlake Police Department until his retirement in 2015.

In addition to thanking his council colleagues and staff, Bennett, in a followup Facebook post late Thursday night, thanked his supporters “and even detractors who kept me on the straight and narrow and most of all my family who has always stood beside me.”

Next, the council must decide how to fill the vacancy resulting from Bennett’s departure.

City Manager Alan Flora said a special council meeting is planned at 3:30 p.m. Monday to discuss filling the seat.

Flora said there are two options: Fill the seat by appointment within 60 days or put it on the ballot during the next election, which would be in March.

Based on the practice within the last several years, it’s likely that the council will opt for appointment.

That’s how Bennett himself initially joined the council. He was appointed in May 2016 to fill the vacancy resulting when Denise Loustalot resigned. Later that year, he ran for the seat and was elected.

The council also chose to appoint a new member when Councilman Russell Perdock resigned in February 2018, selecting Cremer the following month. Cremer won his first election in November.

In addition to deciding how to address the vacancy, the council will need to determine its leadership for the rest of the year.

While Cremer is vice mayor, City Clerk Melissa Swanson said that when the mayor’s seat becomes vacant, the vice mayor doesn’t automatically become mayor.

Editor’s note: The article has been updated with a new time for the Monday meeting.

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.
Councilwoman Joyce Overton hugs Mayor Nick Bennett on Thursday, May 9, 2019, after his public announcement that he is stepping down from the city council in Clearlake, Calif. Photo by Elizabeth Larson/Lake County News.

LCNews

Responsible local journalism on the shores of Clear Lake.

 

Memberships:

 

Search