The California Department of Public Health has released final data on sexually transmitted diseases, or STDs, in California in 2018.

According to the data, syphilis, gonorrhea and chlamydia cases are continuing to increase throughout California and are at the highest levels in 30 years.

In Lake County, overall cases of all STDs have climbed precipitously from 2014 to 2018, according to the new report.

The data shows the following:

– Chlamydia: 175 cases in 2014 to 331 cases in 2018, an 89-percent increase; ranked No. 24 statewide for chlamydia incidence rate.

– Gonorrhea: 68 cases in 2014, peaking at 203 cases in 2016. The 2018 case number is 171, for a 151-percent increase. Statewide rank is No. 5.

– Primary and secondary syphilis: three cases in 2016 to six cases in 2018, a 100-percent increase. Statewide rank is No. 40.

– Primary and secondary syphilis for females ages 15 to 44: No cases reported for 2014 to 2016; number of cases for 2017 and 2018 was suppressed as per agency Data De-Identification Guidelines. No ranking given.

– Total early syphilis: Three cases in 2014 to 10 cases in 2018, a 233-percent increase. Statewide rank is No. 41.

– Total early syphilis for females ages 15 to 44: No cases reported for 2014 to 2016; number of cases for 2017 and 2018 was suppressed as per agency Data De-Identification Guidelines. No ranking given.

– Congenital syphilis by year of birth: No cases from 2014 to 2017, one case in 2018. Statewide rank is No. 9.

Particularly concerning, the number of congenital syphilis cases was 14 percent higher than the previous year and nearly 900 percent higher than in 2012.

Congenital syphilis can be fatal to infants: there were 22 stillbirths or neonatal deaths in 2018.

STDs can cause a number of serious health problems. If left untreated, chlamydia and gonorrhea can cause pelvic inflammatory disease and lead to infertility, ectopic pregnancy and chronic pelvic pain.

Syphilis can cause permanent loss of vision, hearing and other neurologic problems.

The highest rates of STDs are among young individuals ages 15 to 24.

“STDs are preventable by practicing safe sex, and many can be cured with antibiotics,” said acting State Public Health Officer Dr. Charity Dean. “Regular testing and treatment are essential prevention strategies, even for people who have no symptoms. Most people infected with an STD do not know it.”

CDPH is collaborating with local health departments and organizations throughout the state to coordinate efforts to control STDs, hepatitis C and human immunodeficiency virus infection, or HIV.

The 2019-2020 state budget includes increases in funds to help address the rise in STDs, including:

· $40 million over four years to enhance the capacity of local health departments to identify, monitor and respond to communicable diseases.

· $5 million per year for STD prevention and control by local health departments and community based organizations.

· $5 million per year for HIV prevention and control by local health departments and community based organizations.

· $5 million per year for Hepatitis C prevention and control by local health departments and community based organizations.

· $2 million per year to enhance local health department capacity for STD prevention and control.

LAKEPORT, Calif. – The Smart Start Collective has announced the launch of its resource Web site aimed at connecting expectant parents and the families and caregivers of Lake County’s infants, toddlers and preschoolers with the wide array of local resources available to them.

“There are so many wonderful programs and services in our community to help parents give their children the best possible start in life; this Web site is a single, user-friendly source for families to find what they are looking for and learn about local resources they might never have thought to seek out,” said Carla Ritz, executive director of First 5 Lake County.

Emillie Feenan, director of the Maternal, Child and Adolescent Health program for Lake County Public Health described the Web site as, “A prime example of what we can do when we come together as a collective to create a resource to help not only our families, but providers as well. It is exciting to know that we will have a resource guide for our 0-5 and perinatal population that is up to date and accurate. This is a huge win for our community.”

The Smart Start concept was introduced by Sutter Lakeside Hospital in 2017 with the introduction of it monthly safe sleep seminars to provide education on risk reduction for Sudden Infant Death Syndrome and provide expectant parents in attendance with a “Smart Start Baby Bundle” including a pack-n-play, diapers, wipes, clothing, and other items to help them implement the skills they learned.

Sutter Lakeside also invited community partners to give short presentations at the classes, sharing information about the resources they provide to those in attendance.

Within a year, Adventist Health Clear Lake adopted and funded this model and began to offer the Smart Start Safe Sleep classes as well.

In December, representatives from local agencies and organizations serving families with young children came together as the “0-5 Network Forum” and spent a half-day together mapping Lake County resources in the areas of health and medicine, child growth and development, basic needs and resources, and parenting education.

Using this information, volunteer Blaze King designed and built the Smart Start Lake County Web site as a capstone project for his information technology degree program through California State University, Monterey Bay.

He spent countless hours creating a site that would be Americans with Disabilities Act-compliant, mobile-friendly, bilingual and intuitive to use.

As the 0-to-5 Network Forum members worked together with King to make the Web site a reality, the consensus was that their efforts on this project and other joint efforts going forward would all share the similar goal of helping Lake County parents to give their children the best possible start in life, and thus changed their name from the 0-to-5 Network Forum to the Smart Start Collective.

“I am part of this collective because I do believe it takes a strong community to make changes. I believe in the work we do and feel that little steps will leave giant footprints in the future. This Web site is just the beginning for our families to connect with the wealth of resources Lake County has to offer,” said Angela Cuellar-Marroquin, Lake County Child Care Planning Council and QRIS coordinator for Lake County Office of Education.

Sutter Lakeside Hospital has continued to expand on its Smart Start efforts by applying for and receiving a grant from First 5 Lake to add a bilingual Family Resource Navigator position to their staff.

In July, the Family Resource Navigator began contacting participating parents, who opted in to the program at the safe sleep seminars, and she will continue reaching out by phone and mail multiple times in their baby’s first year of life to help parents navigate services systems and access needed resources.

Agencies and organizations currently participating in the Smart Start Collective are Adventist Health Clear Lake, Easterseals Northern California, E-Center WIC, First 5 Lake County, Lake County Child Welfare Services, Lake County Department of Public Health – Maternal Child & Adolescent Health, Tobacco and Lead Prevention Programs, SNAP-Ed, Oral Health Program Lake County Department of Social Services, Lake County Office of Education – Healthy Start, Child Care Planning Council, Bloom, Lake County Tribal Health Consortium, Lake Family Resource Center, Mendocino Community Health Clinics – Lakeview Health Center, Mother-Wise, North Coast Opportunities – Rural Community Child Care Resource & Referral Partnership Health Plan, Redwood Coast Regional Center, Redwood Community Services and Sutter Lakeside Hospital.

NORTH COAST, Calif. – On Wednesday, Oct. 9, the Mendocino-Lake Community College District Board of Trustees welcomed Noel O’Neill to its board as provisional trustee for area No. 1, which includes Willits and Fort Bragg.

The board vacancy is a result of the recent resignation of Paul Ubelhart, who served on the board for 15 years.

O’Neill ran unopposed for the seat on the board, and was interviewed in a public meeting format at the regularly scheduled October meeting.

The board discussed O’Neill’s qualifications following his interview and agreed by majority vote that he would be an excellent candidate to fill the opening.

“I am very appreciative to Mr. O’Neill for continuing to serve the public in this very important role as a trustee for area No. 1,” said Board President Robert Jason Pinoli. “His background will be invaluable to the important work we have before us. I am also pleased that Mr. O’Neill fills the last vacant seat making our board whole once again.”

O’Neill, a retired Licensed Marriage and Family Therapist, has more than 35 years of experience working in the behavior health industry, most of which he spent working for Mendocino County Behavioral Health.

He also has ties to Mendocino College, having worked as a part-time academic counselor and instructor from 2001 to 2008.

O’Neill currently is a council member for the California Behavioral Health Planning Council and serves on the Mendocino County Juvenile Justice Commission.

He is an advocate for student support programs in higher education and due to his background has a familiarity with the unique challenges students sometimes face when going through the college process.

“I am very eager to serve as a trustee on the Mendocino College Board representing area one where I have lived for more than half of my life. It is a privilege to both advocate for my immediate community and also support the overall growth and development of this amazing academic institution,” O’Neill said.

“We are thrilled to have Mr. O’Neill join our College Board of Trustees representing the coast and north county. With so many initiatives guiding us towards improving student success measures, Mr. O’Neill’s proficiency in higher education and behavioral health will enable him to provide valuable input regarding current and future student needs,” said interim Superintendent/President Eileen Cichocki.

The Mendocino-Lake Community College District Board of Trustees is responsible for the performance of the Mendocino-Lake Community College District, which serves approximately 8,000 students at locations in Ukiah, Fort Bragg, Lakeport, Willits and online, by providing vital educational services to the various communities in the region.

Each year more motorcycles are ridden on California’s roadways.

Through a federal grant, the California Highway Patrol has developed the Get Educated and Ride Safe II campaign, also known as GEARS II, to promote motorcycle safety and awareness.

The GEARS II goal is to reduce the number of motorcycle-involved crashes and crash victims.

The number of motorcycle-involved crashes increased approximately five percent in Federal Fiscal Year 2017 from the previous year and increased three percent in Federal Fiscal Year 2018.

Although crash numbers may continue to rise, the CHP is working to make that percentage as low as possible.

“Motorcycle safety is a top concern,” CHP Commissioner Warren Stanley said. “Improving motorcyclist and motorist safety through education and enforcement is the focus of this year’s GEARS grant.”

With the $700,000 grant, the regions with the highest number of motorcycle incidents will see enhanced motorcycle safety operations.

A year-long series of motorcycle traffic safety education campaigns, including the “May is Motorcycle Safety Awareness Month,” is planned.

The campaigns will promote the use of U.S. Department of Transportation approved motorcycle helmets for all riders and will work to raise motorists’ awareness of sharing the road with motorcyclists.

The campaigns will also focus on the most dangerous traffic violations, including speeding, improper turning, and driving under the influence of alcohol and/or drugs.

Funding for this program was provided by a grant from the California Office of Traffic Safety through the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration.

LAKE COUNTY, Calif. – Lake County Animal Care and Control has a big group of new cats and kittens ready to be adopted.

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

Female domestic short hair

This female domestic short hair has a tortoiseshell coat and gold eyes.

She is in cat room kennel No. 4a, ID No. 13054.

Male domestic short hair

This male domestic short hair cat has a calico coat and gold eyes.

He is in kennel No. 4b, ID No. 13057.

Domestic short hair kitten

This male domestic short hair kitten has a gray tabby and white coat and gold eyes.

He is in kennel V No. 10, ID No. 13033.

Male Siamese

This male Siamese has a short cream and seal point coat and blue eyes.

He is in cat room kennel No. 15, ID No. 13066.

Female domestic short hair

This female domestic short hair has a torbie and white coat and gold eyes.

She already has been spayed.

She’s in cat room kennel No. 16, ID No. 12983.

Male domestic short hair

This male domestic short hair has a buff coat and gold eyes.

He is in cat room kennel No. 36, ID No. 13039.

Male domestic short hair cat

This male domestic short hair cat has a gray and white coat and green eyes.

He is in cat room kennel No. 63, ID No. 12710.

Male domestic short hair kitten

This male domestic short hair kitten has a flame point coat and blue eyes.

He’s in cat room kennel No. 96a, ID No. 13040.

Male domestic short hair kitten

This male domestic short hair kitten has a black coat and green eyes.

He’s in cat room kennel No. 96b, ID No. 13041.

Male domestic short hair kitten

This male domestic short hair kitten has a black coat and green eyes.

He’s in cat room kennel No. 96c, ID No. 13042.

Female domestic long hair

This female domestic long hair cat has a seal point coat with blue eyes.

She is in cat room kennel No. 132, ID No. 13021.

Male brown tabby

This male brown tabby has a long coat and green eyes.

He’s in cat room kennel No. 143, ID No. 13006.

Male domestic short hair

This male domestic short hair cat has a flame point coat and blue eyes.

He is in cat room kennel No. 144, ID No. 13036.

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.

I have magical memories of pomegranates from my childhood. After school, I and a friend or two would buy a pomegranate from our local small-town market and spend the afternoon picking out the jewel-like seeds from the membrane that held them fast to eat one by one.

This was a painstaking process, for each small seed had to be plucked individually, but we didn’t mind. At that point in our lives, we had nothing but time, and the sweet, juicy flavor of the fruit was well worth our effort.

It’s been a long time since I’ve eaten a pomegranate in that fashion, for truly – as I’ve heard it said – “only a child has the time to eat a pomegranate.” We adults look for ways to make the process quick and easy. Pomegranates, along with long sessions of cloud watching, have fallen by the wayside in my adult years.

Pomegranates remind me of every Arabian Nights story I’ve ever read, of ancient Hebrew Scriptures, of fanciful stories in Greek mythology, and of medieval European art. Not to mention my carefree memories of pomegranate consumption in childhood.

Amazing that so much can be wrapped up in a brightly colored spherical fruit, eh?

Pomegranates are native to the historical region of Persia (modern day Iran) and the Himalayan ranges of India. They’ve been cultivated in various places in Asia, the Middle East, and Mediterranean Europe for several millennia. They truly are an ancient fruit.

A warm weather crop, pomegranate trees are drought resistant and do well in arid areas. For this reason, in the U.S. they’re grown mainly in California and Arizona.

In our hemisphere they’re in season from October through February, and in the southern hemisphere their season is from March to May.

The pomegranate is a berry – and a large one at that – and they hang on the boughs of the shrub-like trees that bear them like Christmas ornaments. It’s quite a striking presentation, as when pomegranates are in season, the trees are resplendent in bright gold fall foliage, a contrast to the red of the fruit.

The scores of tiny, bright, flavorful red globules that glisten within the leathery exterior of a pomegranate are called arils, and within each one of these is an edible seed. It is the arils that hold the juicy flavor of the fruit.

As might be expected, pomegranates are featured in traditional Persian cuisine, as well as in the cuisine of such places as India, Pakistan, Turkey, and Greece. The arils are added to salads, soups, and relishes, and the juice is used in sauces, desserts, and glazes for meats.

In these cuisines, pomegranate is paired with a wide variety of foods, including raisins, lentils, eggplant, lamb, yogurt, garlic, walnuts, and avocados. A thickened version of pomegranate juice, also known as pomegranate molasses, is often used in cooking. This is made by cooking the juice until it reduces and thickens.

If you’re looking for a good pomegranate recipe (or several dozen of them, for that matter), I highly recommend a website devoted to the marketing of pomegranates, that of the Pomegranate Council, whose U.S. address is in the city of Sonoma.

They have a mouth-watering array of dishes utilizing pomegranates, as well as instructions on things such as how to make juice or how to get the seeds out of the fruit. They can be found at www.pomegranates.org.

Generally, juice is made by liquefying the seeds in a blender, then straining through cheesecloth. It’s interesting how many times the warning, “caution: pomegranate juice stains” is used in all the instructions I’ve seen. Apparently, there’s a reason pomegranate juice was used as dye in ancient times.

Several sites (as well as a person or two) recommend an underwater method of removing the seeds from the skin. When this method is employed, the arils sink and the membrane floats to the surface, making for easy separation and gathering of the prized jewel-like arils. Once done, a good supply is available for making juice, using in recipes, or eating out of hand.

To do this, cut the crown off the pomegranate and score the skin from top to bottom in several places so it will open up. Then plunge the entire thing underwater as you separate the seeds from the rind by hand.

Pomegranate has been discovered to be a “super fruit” of sorts in terms of our health. It’s high in antioxidants – higher even than antioxidant power houses red wine and green tea – which bode well for cancer prevention and heart protection.

Its health benefits are legion, with an amazing list of things it enhances, protects, or prevents within our bodies. According to my research, it is said that pomegranates are high in vitamins A, B, and C, iron, calcium, and other essential minerals.

In addition, the antioxidants they contain are beneficial for blood circulation, making them useful for helping to prevent heart disease, arteriosclerosis, and inflammatory conditions.

Studies indicate they assist with ailments such as type 2 diabetes, high blood pressure, and menopausal symptoms. As well, they help with the retention of LDL cholesterol (the so-called “good cholesterol”) in the bloodstream.

I can tell you one more thing they’re good for: the enjoyment that comes when gazing upon a thing of beauty. Just Google images for pomegranates and you’ll see what I mean. It’s one of the most beautiful food-related image searches I’ve ever done. They’re truly the most photogenic of fruits.

I just love it when appetizers are easily prepared and still manage to provide a wow. The recipe below does just that. Not only is it beautiful, it tastes amazing. Enjoy!

Easy pomegranate – cream cheese plate

1 block cream cheese
Pomegranate seeds
Honey for drizzling

Place cream cheese whole on a serving platter and drizzle generously with honey. Sprinkle abundantly with pomegranate seeds. Arrange hearty crackers of your choice around the cream cheese.

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.

LAKE COUNTY, Calif. – Pacific Gas and Electric reported Saturday afternoon that it has completed the process of restoring power to 738,000 customers in 34 counties who were impacted in a public safety power shutoff that began on Wednesday.

The company said it initiated the shutoff – believed to be the largest of its kind carried out by any utility in the state – in response to a wind event that brought with it increased fire risk.

In Lake County, the all clear was given on Thursday afternoon to begin system inspections in order to restore power to the more than 37,409 customer accounts that had been shut off.

Power began to come on across Lake County on Thursday night, with the restoration process continuing through Friday and into Saturday.

Sumeet Singh, PG&E’s vice president for asset and risk management and the Community Wildfire Safety Program, said at a press briefing that the company on Saturday had confirmed 50 instances of weather-related damage to its system in the shutoff-impacted areas, and were reviewing another 100 locations with potential damage.

As examples, he showed pictures of trees and branches that had fallen into overhead power lines in Glenn, Shasta and Napa counties.

A map presented at the briefing appeared to indicate four damage locations in Lake County, with a total of 13 overall in the North Bay.

Bill Johnson, PG&E’s president and CEO, emphasized that safety – and no other motivation – was behind the shutoff.

“These outages were intended solely – solely – to keep our communities safe from wildfire. And we achieved that purpose. We did not have catastrophic wildfire in our service area here in Northern and Central California like the ones going on in Southern California at the moment, despite the fact that winds that surpassed our safety threshold were blowing over vast, dry areas,” he said.

Johnson said vegetation coming into contact with energized distribution lines is the primary cause of fires involving electrical equipment.

“We will do better in communicating with all of our customers in future events,” Johnson said.

He thanked partners at various state and local agencies and the thousands of PG&E employees and contractors who had inspected 25,000 miles of line – a distance he pointed out is the same circumference as the Earth – and restored power to the impacted customers within 48 hours of the all clear.

Johnson acknowledged that the shutoff was not popular and that, as a result, PG&E has been the subject of intense scrutiny and criticism over the past week.

He addressed several misconceptions and story lines in the public, including PG&E turning off power to save its own skin or that its system was in shambles.

“What is true is the risk of wildfire has grown exponentially,” said Johnson, with more of PG&E’s system now in high fire threat areas.

He explained that in 2012, the state’s high fire threat area designation applied to 15 percent of PG&E’s system. This year, more than half of the system is in the high fire threat area.

“The fire risk geography has more than tripled in seven years,” he said, noting that more than 120 million trees across the state are dead, dying or diseased. “All of this has happened with unnerving speed.”

One of the ways PG&E can deal with the threat is turning off the power. “It’s the opposite of what we want to do,” said Johnson.

Johnson, who took over the leadership of PG&E earlier this year, admitted that PG&E has given people little reason in recent years to trust it because of events in which it didn’t keep people safe.

He said the company is trying to live up to its commitments and intends to earn back that trust.

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

LAKE COUNTY, Calif. – Preparations are under way for the Lake County Land Trust’s annual “Dinner with Direction: Geography of Hope.”

The dinner will be held on Saturday, Oct. 19, at The Lodge at Blue Lakes, from 4 to 8 p.m.

The event will feature a silent auction, live music, a fund-a-need paddle raise, and Dr. Tosha Comendant, conservation science manager for Pepperwood Preserve, as the evening’s keynote speaker.

“We’re very excited. We plan on this event really taking the Lake County Land Trust to the next level of land conservation and stewardship. It will be an inspiring night,” said Val Nixon, Lake County Land Trust Board president. “There are so many people in Lake County who are really committed to our environment and who understand what is at stake.”

Tickets, $85 each, can be purchased by visiting the Land Trust’s Web site or by calling 707-262-0707.

Dinner, a selection of Lake County wines and entertainment are included in the price. Guests wishing to stay the night can make arrangements at the Lodge at Blue Lakes, who will donate ten percent of the proceeds (with ten or more bookings) to the Lake County Land Trust.

Proceeds from the event will go toward the maintenance and stewardship of the Lake County Land Trust’s existing properties and acquisition of land parcels that are part of the Land Trust’s Conservation Priority Plan.

This plan identifies the areas that are most critical for the health of our watersheds, especially Clear Lake; as well as wildlife corridors, and historically or biologically unique lands.

The Lake County Land Trust owns and/or manages four properties, including Rabbit Hill in Middletown, the Rodman Preserve in Upper Lake, Boggs Lake in the Cobb/ Kelseyville area, and the Big Valley Wetlands/ Melo Property in South Lakeport along the shores of Clear Lake.

The trust, with lots of community support, also protected the Black Forest near Buckingham, and oversees three conservation easements.

The Lake County Land Trust would like to thank their sponsors for this event: Adventist Health Clear Lake, Community First Credit Union, Clear Lake Dental, The Law Office of Dennis Fordham, Katzoff & Riggs LLP, Jonas Energy Solutions, Foods Etc. of Clearlake, Friends of Jessica Pyska, Tje Koski, Joyce & Russell Porterfield, and Kathy & Brad Barnwell.

For more information, contact the Lake County Land Trust at This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. or 707-262-0707.

LAKE COUNTY, Calif. – Lake County Animal Care and Control has many new dogs this week, including a group of terriers.

Dogs available for adoption this week include mixes of boxer, Chihuahua, dachshund, German Shepherd, Labrador Retriever, terrier and wirehaired terrier.

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 Labrador Retriever

This male Labrador Retriever has a short yellow coat.

He is in kennel No. 19, ID No. 12930.

Female wirehaired terrier

This female wirehaired terrier has a long black and tan coat.

She is in kennel No. 21a, ID No. 13069.

Female dachshund

This female dachshund has a short brown and tan coat.

She is in kennel No. 21b, ID No. 13070.

‘Dante’

“Dante” is a male German Shepherd with a medium-length black and tan coat.

He’s in kennel No. 23, ID No. 12972.

Male terrier

This male terrier has a coarse brown and black coat.

He is in kennel No. 27, ID No. 13050.

Female boxer

This female boxer has a short white coat.

She is in kennel No. 29, ID No. 13048.

Male terrier

This male terrier has a short brown and tricolor coat.

He is in kennel No. 31, ID No. 13027.

Male Chihuahua

This male Chihuahua has a short brindle coat.

He is in kennel No. 33, ID No. 13018.

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.

Gov. Gavin Newsom on Saturday signed into law a package of bills to fight animal cruelty and promote animal welfare.

They include first-in-the-nation legislation to ban the sale of new fur products, groundbreaking legislation that bans animals like elephants and bears from being used in circus acts and legislation prohibiting hunting or killing bobcats in California.

AB 44 by Assemblymember Laura Friedman (D-Glendale) implements a statewide prohibition on the sale and manufacture of new fur products in California.

“California is a leader when it comes to animal welfare and today that leadership includes banning the sale of fur,” said Gov. Newsom. “But we are doing more than that. We are making a statement to the world that beautiful wild animals like bears and tigers have no place on trapeze wires or jumping through flames. Just YouTube the videos showing the cruel way these animals – often stripped from their mothers as babies – are trained to do dangerous tricks. It’s deeply disturbing.”

AB 44 would make it unlawful to manufacture, sell, offer for sale, display for sale, trade, give donate or otherwise distribute a fur product in the state. The prohibition would apply to clothing, handbags, shoes, slippers, hats, or key chains that contain fur and provides for a civil penalty for each violation.

The new law exempts leather, cowhide and shearling, as well as fur products used for religious purposes.

The law also has provisions that exempt taxidermy products, fur from an animal lawfully taken with a hunting license, and used fur.

The governor also signed the following legislation into law:

SB 313 by Senator Ben Hueso (D-San Diego) bans the use of bears, tigers, elephants, monkeys and other wild animals in circuses.

AB 1254 by Assemblymember Sydney Kamlager-Dove (D-Los Angeles) prohibits hunting, trapping or killing bobcats in California until 2025 at which point the state can issue limited licenses and implement a bobcat management plan that protects the species.

AB 128 by Assemblymember Todd Gloria (D-San Diego) protects California’s wild and domestic horses from slaughter. AB 128 requires the operator of an animal auction yard to determine and post online any identifying brand, tattoo, or implanted microchip an animal may have before being sold at auction. The operator is also required to maintain records of sales for one year and make such records available to specified officials and to post notice at an auction that the sale of horses in California for slaughter for human consumption is a felony. The bill also requires a purchaser of an animal at auction to sign a sworn statement, under penalty of perjury, agreeing to comply with provisions of the Penal Code relating to the slaughter and sale of horses or horse meat for human consumption.

AB 1260 by Assemblymember Brian Maienschein (D-San Diego) adds more types of animals – iguana, skink, caiman, hippopotamus, and three types of lizards – to the import and trade prohibition of dead animals and dead animal parts.

If you could travel back in time 3.5 billion years, what would Mars look like?

The picture is evolving among scientists working with NASA's Curiosity rover.

Imagine ponds dotting the floor of Gale Crater, the 100-mile-wide (150-kilometer-wide) ancient basin that Curiosity is exploring. Streams might have laced the crater's walls, running toward its base.

Watch history in fast forward, and you'd see these waterways overflow then dry up, a cycle that probably repeated itself numerous times over millions of years.

That is the landscape described by Curiosity scientists in a Nature Geoscience paper published today. The authors interpret rocks enriched in mineral salts discovered by the rover as evidence of shallow briny ponds that went through episodes of overflow and drying.

The deposits serve as a watermark created by climate fluctuations as the Martian environment transitioned from a wetter one to the freezing desert it is today.

Scientists would like to understand how long this transition took and when exactly it occurred. This latest clue may be a sign of findings to come as Curiosity heads toward a region called the "sulfate-bearing unit," which is expected to have formed in an even drier environment. It represents a stark difference from lower down the mountain, where Curiosity discovered evidence of persistent freshwater lakes.

Gale Crater is the ancient remnant of a massive impact. Sediment carried by water and wind eventually filled in the crater floor, layer by layer.

After the sediment hardened, wind carved the layered rock into the towering Mount Sharp, which Curiosity is climbing today.

Now exposed on the mountain's slopes, each layer reveals a different era of Martian history and holds clues about the prevailing environment at the time.

"We went to Gale Crater because it preserves this unique record of a changing Mars," said lead author William Rapin of Caltech. "Understanding when and how the planet's climate started evolving is a piece of another puzzle: When and how long was Mars capable of supporting microbial life at the surface?"

He and his co-authors describe salts found across a 500-foot-tall (150-meter-tall) section of sedimentary rocks called "Sutton Island," which Curiosity visited in 2017. Based on a series of mud cracks at a location named "Old Soaker," the team already knew the area had intermittent drier periods. But the Sutton Island salts suggest the water also concentrated into brine.

Typically, when a lake dries up entirely, it leaves piles of pure salt crystals behind. But the Sutton Island salts are different: For one thing, they're mineral salts, not table salt. They're also mixed with sediment, suggesting they crystallized in a wet environment — possibly just beneath evaporating shallow ponds filled with briny water.

Given that Earth and Mars were similar in their early days, Rapin speculated that Sutton Island might have resembled saline lakes on South America's Altiplano. Streams and rivers flowing from mountain ranges into this arid, high-altitude plateau lead to closed basins similar to Mars' ancient Gale Crater. Lakes on the Altiplano are heavily influenced by climate in the same way as Gale.

"During drier periods, the Altiplano lakes become shallower, and some can dry out completely," Rapin said. "The fact that they're vegetation-free even makes them look a little like Mars."

Signs of a drying Mars

Sutton Island's salt-enriched rocks are just one clue among several the rover team is using to piece together how the Martian climate changed. Looking across the entirety of Curiosity's journey, which began in 2012, the science team sees a cycle of wet to dry across long timescales on Mars.

"As we climb Mount Sharp, we see an overall trend from a wet landscape to a drier one," said Curiosity Project Scientist Ashwin Vasavada of NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory in Pasadena, California. JPL leads the Mars Science Laboratory mission that Curiosity is a part of. "But that trend didn't necessarily occur in a linear fashion. More likely, it was messy, including drier periods, like what we're seeing at Sutton Island, followed by wetter periods, like what we're seeing in the 'clay-bearing unit' that Curiosity is exploring today."Up until now, the rover has encountered lots of flat sediment layers that had been gently deposited at the bottom of a lake. Team member Chris

Fedo, who specializes in the study of sedimentary layers at the University of Tennessee, noted that Curiosity is currently running across large rock structures that could have formed only in a higher-energy environment such as a windswept area or flowing streams.

Wind or flowing water piles sediment into layers that gradually incline. When they harden into rock, they become large structures similar to "Teal Ridge," which Curiosity investigated this past summer.

"Finding inclined layers represents a major change, where the landscape isn't completely underwater anymore," said Fedo. "We may have left the era of deep lakes behind."

Curiosity has already spied more inclined layers in the distant sulfate-bearing unit. The science team plans to drive there in the next couple years and investigate its many rock structures.

If they formed in drier conditions that persisted for a long period, that might mean that the clay-bearing unit represents an in-between stage — a gateway to a different era in Gale Crater's watery history.

"We can't say whether we're seeing wind or river deposits yet in the clay-bearing unit, but we're comfortable saying is it's definitely not the same thing as what came before or what lies ahead," Fedo said.

For more about NASA's Curiosity Mars rover mission, visit https://mars.nasa.gov/msl/ and https://nasa.gov/msl .

KELSEYVILLE, Calif. – A group of community volunteers have formed a nonprofit dedicated to fundraising for Kelseyville’s tennis courts and promoting tennis for players of all ages.

The Lake County Tennis Association was officially formed in May.

Its purpose is to provide a vehicle to conduct fundraising efforts designed to target maintenance and improvement costs, to carry out funding for future replacement of the old Gard Street courts with new ones, and to promote ongoing tennis opportunities among the young and old for the entire county.

The Gard Street tennis courts, located in Kelseyville at the corner of Second and Gard streets, have provided the community and high school students with a tennis sanctuary for generations.

The six tennis courts are located on the Kelseyville Unified School District property, providing a facility for the Kelseyville High School tennis team and tennis enjoyment to the general public.

Generations of community tennis players have enjoyed the use of the courts over the years and many have devoted their time, effort and money to keeping the courts maintained and usable as a viable tennis facility for all.

Kelseyville Unified Superintendent Dave McQueen recalls playing on these courts while attending high school.

The association said the mortality of these facilities is all too real when faced with the costs of maintaining and/or replacing tennis courts in small and rural communities. These tennis courts are the only viable courts remaining in the entire Lake County which are presently serving the students and community.

Three of the six courts have struggled with disrepair over the years due to ground movement and playing surface wear which have resulted in a constant battle against the effects of weather extremes in our area.

Two of the six courts are practice courts on the badly cracked original asphalt play surface which existed for the old Gard Street grammar school.

The sixth court was removed and remains as a weed patch serving as a reminder of the fate looming for the rest of the courts if people were to just stop caring.

This is why a handful of concerned community volunteers formed the Lake County Tennis Association.

The association will conduct fundraising efforts at local, state and national levels, including the US Tennis Association, for future maintenance monies and possible replacement of six new courts for the facility.

The group’s future dream features six brand new courts on site for all to enjoy tennis.

Completed repairs on three courts

An exhaustive, two-week repair process was completed on Sept. 27. It consisted of the complete removal, repair and replacement of the playing surface on the three courts facing Gard Street.

This project required more than 600 work hours by 25 volunteers from the local tennis community. It was carefully planned and executed by the association members, resulting in approximately $5,500 of material cost which was paid for by Kelseyville Unified.

The new court surfacing was installed over a heavy coating of a special bonding agent which will provide increased protection against future blistering caused by moisture and poor adhesion.

Association welcomes members

The Lake County Tennis Association is offering voluntary, annual memberships for $50 per individual or $100 per family. Students are free and so are families with a student participating on a tennis team.

All contributions can be provided with nonprofit, tax-exempt information. Support from a caring community will make a difference in the quest of the Lake County Tennis Association.

On Saturday, Oct. 12, at 4 p.m. at the Clear Lake Riviera Community Hall, 9689 Highway 281, Kelseyville, a meet and greet will be hosted by the Association for all members and future members who wish to attend.

Special thanks are extended to the following founding Lake County Tennis Association Board Members for their participation: Mike Shay, Richard Hernaez, Di Roger, Kim Shay, Iris Angeleri, Andy Dobusch, Ellen Karnowski, Jane McKnight and Connie Wright.

Memberships by community members will greatly assist the goals of the tennis association and can be obtained by contacting Mike Shay at This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. or by phone at 310-486-8427.