NORTH COAST, Calif. – A fatal three-car collision on Highway 20 in Mendocino County led to a temporary closure of the roadway as emergency personnel worked at the scene.

Radio reports indicated the wreck occurred just before 11:15 a.m. on Highway 20 at Potter Valley Road.

On arrival, firefighters found one dead and several people seriously injured. At least one female crash victim had to be extricated from a vehicle, according to scanner and witness reports.

Witness reports stated that one of the vehicles involved included a minivan – with several children inside – along with a full-sized pickup truck and a Jeep-type vehicle.

The highway was completely closed as firefighters and California Highway Patrol officers responded, based on reports from the scene.

In addition to resources responding from Mendocino County fire agencies, Northshore Fire was asked to send one ground ambulance, a request that was canceled with a second air ambulance asked to respond instead, according to scanner reports.

Initial reports stated that seven crash victims were transported for medical care, including the patients CalStar 4 and REACH 6 took by air.

Shortly after 1:30 p.m. CHP’s Ukiah Dispatch Center said one-way traffic control was in effect through the crash area, with the highway reported to be fully reopened about 45 minutes later.

Additional information will be posted as it becomes available.

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.

LAKEPORT, Calif. – “Sail Away,” the 45th quilt block on the Lake County Quilt Trail, has been Installed at 1860 High St. in Lakeport.

Mike Borg is sponsor of the “Sail Away” quilt block and owner of the building on which it is installed.

Borg feels this pattern of a sailboat with a mountain and valley border is very appropriate since the site is on the shore of Clear Lake looking out onto Mt. Konocti.

The mountain and valley pattern mimics the mountains and valleys surrounding our beautiful lake.

Back in the 1940s this building housed the woodshop of the nearby Clear Lake High School.

The Hospice of Lake County currently occupies this building. Grief counseling is part of the use of this site. The sail boat is used in many traditions to symbolize the “passing” from our earthly
life to the ethereal spirit life.

The GPS location of “Sail Away” is Latitude: 39.054, Longitude: -122.916.

The quilt block was drawn and painted by the Lake County Quilt Trail team, a group of dedicated quilters, graphic artists, painters, writers, carpenters and a videographer.

Also, this week “Blazing Star” moved to the 3600 block of Main Street in downtown Kelseyville from its original 2010 location at Big Oak Ranch on Gaddy Lane.

Owners of the building and the 8-foot by 8-foot “Blazing Star” are Brian Fisher and JB Ballesteros.

The Lake County Quilt Trail is an agricultural and tourism project designed to promote community pride.

For more information about the Lake County Quilt Trail visit www.lakecountyquilttrail.com or go to the quilt trail’s Facebook page.

NORTHERN CALIFORNIA – On Friday, several U.S. Representatives from Northern California called on the Brown Administration to withdraw and fully revise their proposed Bay Delta Conservation Plan (BDCP) in light of draft environmental documents being found “biased” and “insufficient” by federal agencies in public comments made available Thursday.

The U.S. Bureau of Reclamation, U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, and National Marine Fisheries Service provided these comments to the California Department of Water Resources (DWR) as part of a review of the draft environmental impact report/environmental impact statement.

The members of Congress condemning the plan included Congressman Mike Thompson (CA-5) and Congressman John Garamendi (CA-3), who represent Lake County.

“These reports confirm what we’ve been saying all along – this proposed BDCP is not a workable solution to California’s water challenges,” said Thompson.

“It’s rushed, flawed, hurts wildlife and puts the interests of South-of-Delta water contractors ahead of North-of-Delta farmers, fishers and small business owners,” he added. “Until we have a plan that is transparent, based on sound science and developed with all stake-holders at the table, then any process that moves us closer to building these tunnels will recklessly risk billions of California tax dollars and thousands of jobs.”

“The peripheral tunnel plan is incredibly destructive, and because it does not add one drop to our water supply, incredibly unproductive. The current plan concludes that massive water diversions south of the Delta are needed and then twists arguments to meet that conclusion. Instead, we need a scientific process, freed from the blinders of bias, to meet the legally mandated co-equal goals of ecological conservation and reliability of water supply – both of which are essential to the state’s economy,” said Garamendi.

“As an alternative to the current BDCP, I have proposed a framework that would expand our water supply and protect the Delta through greater water conservation, recycling, and storage, levee improvements, and the protection of existing water rights. We need a water system that meets the needs of all Californians,” Garamendi added.

"We have said from day one that any proposal related to the Sacramento-San Joaquin Delta must be based on sound science and an accurate cost-benefit analysis,” said Rep. Jerry McNerney (CA-09). “The recently-released reports clearly show that Governor Brown's misguided plan for the Delta is based on neither.”

He continued, “To continue to move forward without taking into consideration the concerns of all stakeholders, the countless jobs that could be lost, and the billions of taxpayer dollars at stake is a clear disservice to the people of California.  I will continue to fight against any plan that would divert more water from the Delta, and to stand up for the families, farmers and small business owners who rely upon a healthy Delta for their livelihoods."

“The governor’s administration told us time and again that their process would be governed by unbiased, sound science. But these federal reports confirm the opposite,” said Rep. George Miller (CA-11).

“As we suspected, this process has been rushed, biased, and excludes viable alternatives at the behest of big irrigators and agencies that stand to gain huge profits from their increased access to northern water,” Miller said. “To proceed any further without major revisions that take into account the concerns of all stakeholders, not just those with political and financial influence, would be shortsighted, unproductive, and ultimately a failure.”

“The federal agency comments on the BDCP’s draft environmental documents continue to show not only that the project doesn’t solve the water problems that face our state, but that the BDCP as written is truly flawed,” said Rep. Doris Matsui.

“Until we have a process that includes all stakeholders and is based on sound science, we are wasting precious time and taxpayer money,” Matsui continued. “This is time and money that we do not have. In the meantime, the environment of the Delta continues to decline and our state’s water problems continue to grow.  We must get on track with a process that will produce a viable solution for California’s future.”

“As someone who played a major role in California’s landmark 2009 water reforms, I have been concerned from the very beginning that the Bay Delta Conservation Plan is not meeting the high standards and requirements established in that legislation,” said Rep. Jared Huffman (CA-02). “These reports are just the latest in a series of wake up calls showing that the BDCP is headed in a dangerous direction. We need a plan for the Bay-Delta that is based on science and follows the law, and it looks to me – and clearly, to many others – like the BDCP continues to fall short.”

MIDDLETOWN, Calif. – When the new Middletown Public Library opened on April 12, a door to new possibilities also was opened.

One of them was an enhanced Children's Summer Reading Program.

The number of youngsters enrolled this summer – 22 preschoolers and 93 kindergartners through sixth grade – speak to its success. “Teen Read” coordinator Tamsen Nash has simultaneously conducted a teens reading program for 10 young people, with that program ending Saturday, Aug. 3.

Prior to the new library's opening, the summer reading program existed in the much smaller Gibson Library, which opened in 1930 but was outgrown by Middletown's increased population.

Then, with the new library's opening at 21256 Washington St. this spring, Marcine Crowhurst, vice president of Friends of the Middletown Library, stepped up to establish a more comprehensive program with all the bells and whistles.

Crowhurst's emergence was accompanied by an unprecedented outpouring of aid in the form of sponsorships and volunteers from the Middletown community.

“My passion in life is that every child will be a reader. So we began to organize (the reading program),” said Crowhurst. “I've had tremendous support from Fran Rand, who is the president of Friends of the Library, then I received some funding from the Lake County Library Friends.”

Gehlen Palmer, who anchored the library desk at Gibson (as he does at the new library) and doubled in running the summer reading program at Gibson, compared the then and now of the program.

“There were very few kids. Sometimes you'd get quite a few kids lined up, but then the follow-through wasn't good because I didn't have people like Marcine to come in and help,” said Palmer, who also is the program's artist.

Palmer's normal hours are 1 p.m. to 6 p.m. Tuesday through Friday, and 1 p.m. to 3 p.m. on Sunday, but he has donated his time in the morning, when the preschoolers come in, to assist with the reading program.

“It's important for kids to become readers and I understand that with younger kids their scheduling is usually that they do a story time and have a little snack and take a nap in the morning,” he explained.

Crowhurst recalled the limitations for the program at the Gibson Library.

“Over there we were never able to have a very large group. We thought we would have a children's librarian and we didn't,” said Crowhurst, who is a retired reading specialist.

Crowhurst looked like anything but retired last Tuesday as she read to a group of 16 preschoolers in the morning.

In both the morning and afternoon, she oversaw a craft day that involved youngsters in a number of hands-on activities.

Other readers have included Patty Buck, a teacher at Middletown Christian School; author Alethea Eason, a reading specialist at Minnie Cannon Elementary School; St. Helena Montessori Preschool teacher Saro Deacon; retired international educator Will Crowhurst; and past vice president of the Friends of Middletown Library and library volunteer Jacquie Sticklind.

Additionally, Luann Napier, Friends of the Library member and volunteer; Cheyene Buck, a student at George Fox University; Veronica McGee, Middletown School District Bilingual Education; and Colleen Comstock, a grandmother and preschool program volunteer, have read to the children.

Dr. Ian van Zyl of Happy Smiles Dental Practice presented a “Dental Health” program.

Reikor Deacon, teacher and guitarist at Minnie Cannon Elementary, and Saro Deacon led the children in singing activities.

For the fourth-to-sixth grade group, Barry Kraft, a Shakespearean actor no less, provided lively readings from a variety of age-group materials.

Kraft acknowledged that, as Crowhurst said, he performed in a number of plays at ultra-cultural Ashland, Oregon.

“I was in Julius Caesar four times,” he said. “Playing Caesar once, Brutus once, Cassius once and Mark Anthony once, I covered 'the big four.'”

He also read to all ages in the library at Ashland and taught kindergarten through eighth grade in San Francisco.

“He came here in May and read to adults,” said Crowhurst. “He volunteers his time and he's wonderful to have in the community. Without publicity, people don't know what they're missing.”

In addition to Palmer, Lakeport librarian Barbara Green and new county librarian Christopher Veach, said Crowhurst, were helpful in initiating the program and provided encouragement.

“My experience has been as a classroom teacher, resource specialist, reading specialist and literacy coach. So this was all new for me,” she said.

Regarding the many contributions of the Middletown community, she added, “I could see that we weren't really going to be able to organize a reading program without members. We are blessed with our new facility. Hopefully there will be funding in the future for a children's librarian.”

Sponsors of the reading program, all from Middletown, include Friends of the Lakeport Library, Friends of the Middletown Library, the Middletown Tribe, Hardester's in Middletown, The Big Chill, Hidden Valley Lake, Mt. St. Helena Brewing Co., Funtopia, Star Gardens, Jolly Cone and Happy Smiles.

The Middletown Library Children's Summer Reading Program will conclude on Thursday, July 25, with a 2 p.m. awards celebration.

The library wants to continue special reading activities throughout the rest of the year, including a teen book discussion group, author events and a teen volunteer program throughout the school year.

For more information, contact the Middletown Library at 707-987-3674.

Email John Lindblom at This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. .

High above our planet in the realm of satellites and space stations, the familiar rules of Earth do not apply.

The midday sky is as black as night. There is no up and no down. Dropped objects do not fall, and hot air does not rise.

Of all the strange things that happen up there, however, it is possible that the strangest happens to coffee.

Physics professor Mark Weislogel of Portland State University has given a lot of thought to coffee (and other fluids) in space, and he describes what happens.

“For starters,” he said, “it would be a chore just getting the coffee into the cup. Absent the pull of gravity, pouring liquids can be very tricky.”

“But, for the sake of argument, let’s suppose you are on the space station and you have a cup of coffee in your hand.”

The most natural thing would be to tip the cup toward your lips, but when you do …

“The coffee would be very hard to control,” he continued. “In fact, it probably wouldn't [come out of the cup]. You'd have to shake the cup toward your face and hope that some of the hot liquid breaks loose and floats toward your mouth.”

On the bright side, you will probably be wide awake by the time the cup is empty.

Coffee is not the only liquid that misbehaves in space. Cryogenic fuels, thermal coolants, potable water and urine do it, too. The behavior of fluids is one of the most un-intuitive things in all of space flight.

This poses an extreme challenge for engineers designing spacecraft systems that use fluids. “Our intuition is all wrong,” lamented Weislogel. “When it comes to guessing what fluids will do in new systems, we are often in the dark.”

To develop a better understanding of fluids in microgravity, Weislogel and colleagues are conducting the Capillary Flow Experiment onboard the International Space Station.

For instance, one of the devices in their experiment suite looks at “interior corners.” If two solid surfaces meet at a narrow-enough angle, fluids in microgravity naturally flow along the join – no pumping required.

This capillary effect could be used to guide all kinds of fluids through spacecraft, from cryogenic fuel to recycled waste water.

The phenomenon is difficult to study on Earth, where it is damped by gravity, yet on the space station large scale corner flows are easy to create and observe.

Weislogel and colleagues have already been granted three patents for devices invented as a result of their work.

One is for a microgravity condensing heat exchanger. Another describes a device that separates and controls multiphase fluids. The third patent is for – you guessed it – a low-gravity coffee cup.

Astronaut Don Pettit, who worked with the Capillary Flow Experiment during his time on board the ISS, helped invent the cup, and he shares the patent along with Weisogel and two mathematicians, Paul Concus and Robert Finns, who performed the first theoretical analysis of the phenomenon.

Basically, one side of the cup has a sharp interior corner. In the microgravity environment of the space station, capillary forces send fluid flowing along the channel right into the lips of the drinker.

“As you sip, more fluid keeps coming, and you can enjoy your coffee in a weightless environment-- clear down to the last drop,” said Pettit. “This may well be what future space colonists use when they want to have a celebration.”

Indeed, the patent application specifically mentions “toasting” as one of the uses of the device.

It’s easy to imagine what they might be toasting: toilets and air conditioners and fuel tanks and recycling systems, working better thanks to capillary flow experiments on the ISS.

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

MIDDLETOWN, Calif. – The Sheriff’s Narcotics Task Force arrested a Santa Rosa man and seized methamphetamine and Vicodin tablets following a traffic stop this week.

Lt. Steve Brooks said 51-year-old Peter Jessie Molina was arrested on Monday night.

At 10:45 p.m. Monday a narcotics detective observed a vehicle traveling in front of him on south bound Highway 29, just south of Middletown. The vehicle crossed over the double yellow lines on three occasions. The detective also observed the vehicle cross over the fog line several times, Brooks said.

The narcotics detective conducted an enforcement stop on the vehicle at the intersection of Highway 29 and Shady Grove in Middletown. He contacted Molina, who Brooks said was the driver.

Brooks said Central Dispatch conducted a records check of Molina and advised that his driving privileges were suspended and he had two warrants for his arrest.

As the narcotics detective was speaking to Molina, he noticed Molina appeared to be very nervous. Molina denied having anything illegal in the vehicle. Molina was detained for the warrants and driving on the suspended license, Brooks said.

The detective deployed his narcotics detection K9, who has been trained specifically for detecting the odor of five different controlled substances. Brooks said the K9 alerted to the odor of narcotics coming from inside the vehicle.

The detective located four plastic bags. Two of the plastic bags contained a white crystalline substance and other two bags contained an orange colored crystalline substance, Brooks said.

The detective recognized the contents of the bags to be methamphetamine. There was also a glass “meth” pipe containing a white and brown residue and 16 Vicodin tablets located with the methamphetamine, according to Brooks. Molina admitted the methamphetamine was his and he was going to Clearlake to sell it.

The narcotics detective tested the crystalline substance using a narcotics identification kit. The test flashed blue, indicating a presumptive positive for methamphetamine. The approximate weight of all four bags of methamphetamine was 52.4 grams. Brooks said the estimated street value of the methamphetamine is $5,240.

Molina was arrested for possession of a controlled substance for sale, transportation of a controlled substance, possession of a specified controlled substance, possession or purchase for sale of a specified controlled substance, transportation of a specified controlled substance and possession of controlled substance paraphernalia. He was transported to the Lake County Hill Road Correctional Facility and booked.

The Sheriff’s Narcotics can be contacted through its anonymous tip line at 707-263-3663.

LAKE COUNTY, Calif. – There is a big group of dogs available from animal organizations around the county this week.

Dogs, big and little, pups to mature dogs, are featured from Lake County Animal Care and Control and the SPCA of Clear Lake are featured this week.

In addition to the animals featured here, all adoptable animals in Lake County can be seen here: http://bit.ly/Z6xHMb .

SPCA OF CLEAR LAKE

All dogs have been spayed or neutered, are microchipped and current on all their vaccinations and started on heartworm preventative. For more information on the dogs listed below, contact the SPCA of Clear Lake, 707-279-1400.

'Mohawk'

“Mohawk” is a Cairn terrier mix with a bit of a funny hairdo, thus the name.

He is a fun and friendly little guy, and he loves people and animals alike.

He has a great smile and a sparkling personality.

'Joker'

“Joker” is a border collie mix.

Just look at his face and you'll get an idea of why he got his name. He looks like he’s wearing a joker's mask.

This beautiful dog also is as friendly and smart as he is handsome.

'Bentley'

“Bentley” is a cattle dog mix.

He is house trained, has gentle manners, loves to take walks and is great on the leash.

'Arthur'

“Arthur” is a blue nose pit bull mix who was found abandoned in a van.

He is very sweet and walks well on a leash. Arthur does not jump or pull and he makes the sweetest grunting noises.

Come on by and take a look at this sweet boy.

LAKE COUNTY ANIMAL CARE AND CONTROL

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”).

Male Chihuahua mix

This male Chihuahua mix is of undetermined age.

He weighs 4.4 pounds, has a long black and tan coat, and has been neutered.

Find him in kennel No. 4, ID No. 37111.

'Bella'

“Bella” is a 2-year-old Pomeranian-dachshund mix.

She has a long black and white coat, weighs 11 pounds and has been altered.

Shelter staff said Bella is great with women and children but needs a home with no men.

Find her in kennel No. 4, ID No. 36294.

Labrador Retriever mix

This male Labrador Retriever mix is 1 year old.

He has a short black coat and weighs 53 pounds. It was not reported if he had yet been altered.

He's in kennel No. 5, ID No. 37105.

Pit bull terrier mix

This male pit bull terrier mix is 3 years old.

He has a short blue coat and has not yet been neutered.

Shelter staff said he's an outstanding, calm and charming dog that was attacked by another dog before entering the shelter.

He has no food aggression. A cat-free home would be best for him.

He’s in kennel No. 10, ID No. 36931.

‘Cat’

This German Shepherd mix has been dubbed “Cat.”

He is 2 years old, weighs 46 pounds and has been neutered.

Shelter staff said Cat is a beautiful, smart and obedient dog with an easy going temperament.

His previous owner taught him some tricks, he has no food aggression, is great with children, has no interest in cats and is dominant with other dogs. He would make a wonderful companion.

Find him in kennel No. 11, ID No. 36825.

Female pug mix puppy

This female pug mix puppy is 12 weeks old.

She has a short brown coat, weighs almost 4 pounds and has been spayed.

Find her in kennel No. 19b, ID No. 36962.

Male pug mix puppy

This male pug mix puppy is 12 weeks old.

He has a short brown coat, weighs almost 4 pounds and has been neutered.

He’s in kennel No. 19c, ID No. 36963.

'Baby'

“Baby” is a 10-month-old female red heeler mix.

She has a short coat, weighs 24 pounds and has been spayed.

She's in kennel No. 20, ID No. 36374.

Hound mix puppy

This female hound mix puppy is 13 weeks old.

She has a short black and white coat and has been spayed.

She’s in kennel No. 21a, ID No. 36994.

Hound mix puppy

This female hound mix puppy is 13 weeks old.

She has a short brown and white coat and has been spayed.

She’s in kennel No. 21b, ID No. 36995.

Bluetick Coonhound mix

This male Bluetick Coonhound mix is 2 years old.

He has a short black and white coat and has not yet been altered.

He's in kennel No. 22, ID No. 37191.

Male terrier mix

This male terrier mix is 3 years old.

He has a short tan and white coat and has not yet been neutered.

Find him in kennel No. 25, ID No. 37185.

'Oden'

“Oden” is a 2-year-old male boxer mix.

He's got a short brown brindle and white coat, a docked tail, weighs 53 pounds and has been neutered.

He's in kennel No. 27, ID No. 37136.

To fill out an adoption application online visit http://www.co.lake.ca.us/Government/Directory/Animal_Care_And_Control/Adopt/Dog___Cat_Adoption_Application.htm .

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, 8 a.m. to 5 p.m., and 1 p.m. to 3 p.m., Saturday. The shelter is open from 10:30 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. Monday through Friday and on Saturday from 1 p.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.

LAKEPORT, Calif. – On Friday, the Lake County District Attorney's Office moved to dismiss drug and human trafficking charges against two men in preparation for the US Attorney's Office taking over the drug aspect of the prosecution.

Ryan Alan Balletto, 30, of Lakeport, Calif., and Patrick Steven Pearmain, 25, of Clearlake, were arrested May 1 on marijuana cultivation and weapons charges, as Lake County News has reported.

Later, both men had been charged by District Attorney Don Anderson's office with human trafficking, statutory rape, oral copulation on a person under age 16, sodomy, false imprisonment, and annoying or molesting a child relating to a teenage girl who allegedly had been kept at the grow site. Balletto also was charged with lewd and lascivious acts on a child under age 14 or 15.

But on Friday all of the drug, human trafficking and sex-related charges were dropped without prejudice, said Anderson.

That's because the US Attorney's Office is preparing to come in and take over the drug prosecution, Anderson explained.

Anderson said that the US Attorney's Office already has gotten federal indictments secured for both men.

“It originally was a federal investigation that started the whole thing,” Anderson said of the case.

At Balletto’s 681-acre property near Clearlake Oaks, authorities found nearly 1,500 marijuana plants and a large and sophisticated cache of military grade sniper and assault rifles, automatic assault rifles and pistols, and ammunition, high capacity magazines, military grade body armor and military grade scopes.

Lake County officials stepped in after they became aware that the men allegedly had been holding a 15-year-old runaway girl from Los Angeles at the property, Anderson said.

Case records indicate that Los Angeles County officials contacted local authorities about the missing girl, who they believed had been brought to Northern California by Balletto for use in a child pornography operation.

It's alleged that the girl – who is estimated to have been at the property for about a month before the arrests occurred – was at times held in a large, specially constructed box as punishment, according to Anderson.

Anderson said he and one of his deputies, Ed Borg, who was handling the cases against Balletto and Pearmain, met with federal prosecutors about how to move forward.

“We agreed that they'll do the guns and the marijuana,” said Anderson.

He said the federal punishment for the charges the men are facing is much more severe than the penalties they would receive in local court, with the possibility that the men could serve life in prison rather than just a few years in state prison or the local jail.

In the meantime, Anderson said his staff will continue its investigation into the sex crimes and human trafficking aspect of the case, with a view to possibly refiling at some point in the future.

“There's still a lot more work that needs to be done,” he said.

Anderson said that, regardless of what the US Attorney's Office does, his office can file charges again if it's warranted.

He said federal officials are expected to come and transfer Balletto and Pearmain to federal custody in the Bay Area on Monday.

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.

NASA's Hubble Space Telescope has discovered a new moon orbiting the distant blue-green planet Neptune, the 14th known to be circling the giant planet.

The moon, designated S/2004 N 1, is estimated to be no more than 12 miles across, making it the smallest known moon in the Neptunian system.

It is so small and dim that it is roughly 100 million times fainter than the faintest star that can be seen with the naked eye.

It even escaped detection by NASA's Voyager 2 spacecraft, which flew past Neptune in 1989 and surveyed the planet's system of moons and rings.

Mark Showalter of the SETI Institute in Mountain View, Calif., found the moon July 1, while studying the faint arcs, or segments of rings, around Neptune.

“The moons and arcs orbit very quickly, so we had to devise a way to follow their motion in order to bring out the details of the system,” he said. “It's the same reason a sports photographer tracks a running athlete – the athlete stays in focus, but the background blurs.”

The method involved tracking the movement of a white dot that appears over and over again in more than 150 archival Neptune photographs taken by Hubble from 2004 to 2009.

On a whim, Showalter looked far beyond the ring segments and noticed the white dot about 65,400 miles from Neptune, located between the orbits of the Neptunian moons Larissa and Proteus.

The dot is S/2004 N 1. Showalter plotted a circular orbit for the moon, which completes one revolution around Neptune every 23 hours.

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

The California Department of Fish and Wildlife is reminding residents across the state to be bear aware.

Over the last few months, several bears have been observed in and near residential areas, including areas where they have not been present for many decades.

While bear activity is common this time of year, wildlife management staff say it is possible that a healthy population and a dry winter may be attracting bears to urban environments earlier than normal.

Bears are more commonly found in residential areas toward the end of summer or right before hibernation in the fall months.

“The thriving population, coupled with a dry spring could be playing a role in the uptick of activity. We want to encourage residents who live in areas near bear habitat to be extra diligent securing their trash and bear-proofing their homes,” said CDFW state bear program coordinator, Marc Kenyon. “We want Californians to enjoy bears. However, we don’t want bears to become reliant on food intentionally or otherwise provided by people.”

California has one species of bear– the black bear. With more than 30,000 bears in California, it is not surprising that during the summer months CDFW offices receive many calls about bears rummaging through trash bins, raiding campsites or making their way into residential areas.

CDFW recommends the following tips for businesses, campers and homeowners:

• Purchase and properly use a bear-proof garbage container.
• Wait to put trash out until the morning of collection day.
• Don’t leave trash, groceries, or animal feed in your car.
• Keep garbage cans clean and deodorize them with bleach or ammonia.
• Keep barbecue grills clean and stored in a garage or shed when not in use.
• Don’t leave any scented products outside, even non-food items such as suntan lotion, insect repellent, soap or candles.
• Keep doors and windows closed and locked.
• Harvest fruit off trees as soon as it is ripe, and promptly collect fruit that falls.

For more information, visit: http://www.dfg.ca.gov/keepmewild/bear.html .

LOWER LAKE, Calif. – Caltrans said a repaving project on Highway 29 south of Lower Lake will begin on Monday, July 22.  

This $1.7 million project will repave about seven miles of Highway 29 from Lower Lake to near Hidden Valley Lake with a thin asphalt overlay to provide a smoother, safer, driving surface.  

The new asphalt layer will be porous, which allows water to drain through the surface. This will provide better traction and reduce tire road spray during wet weather.

Work is anticipated to be completed by the end of August.

Work hours will be 5:30 a.m. to 4 p.m., weekdays.

One-way traffic control will be in effect, and motorists should anticipate up to 10-minute delays.  

The contractor is Windsor Fuel Co. of Pittsburg.

For the most current road information on all California State highways, please call 1-800-427-7623 (1-800-GAS-ROAD) or visit www.dot.ca.gov .

KELSEYVILLE, Calif. – The Lake County Sheriff's Office has released the name of a woman who died following a head-on collision near Kelseyville on Thursday.

Lt. Steve Brooks identified the woman as Lee Ann White, 63, of Hidden Valley Lake.

White died of her injuries at Sutter Lakeside Hospital following the crash, which occurred shortly after noon on Highway 29 north of Highway 281, as Lake County News has reported.

White was driving her 1995 Mitsubishi Expo northbound when 60-year-old Janet Lee Mix of Clearlake crossed into White's path and hit her head-on, the CHP.

Mix, who was driving southbound, had allowed her 1999 Toyota Sienna to drift onto the highway shoulder and made an unsafe turning movement to get back onto the road, which caused the vehicle to cross the southbound lane and travel into the northbound lane, where she hit White.

Mix, who had moderate injuries, was arrested for driving under the influence of drugs and released to Sutter Lakeside Hospital, where White also was transported, according to the CHP.

Two children riding in Mix's vehicle, a 7-year-old boy and a 10-year-old girl, suffered major injuries, with the boy flown to UC Davis Medical Center with the girl taken to Sutter Lakeside Hospital, the CHP said.

The CHP said the crash remains under investigation.

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.