KELSEYVILLE, Calif. – Nearly a year’s worth of negotiations have resulted in an agreement on salary and benefits for teachers in the Kelseyville Unified School District.

The updated collective bargaining agreement between the district and the Kelseyville Unified Teachers Association was ratified at a special meeting of the district’s board of trustees on April 30, according to district Superintendent Dave McQueen.

The vote was 4-0, with Trustee Gary Olson – whose wife is a teacher in the district – recusing himself, McQueen said.

The agreement – part of the teachers’ overall contract, which McQueen said goes through 2013 – is effective July 1 of this year through June 30, 2014, according to district documents.

“It was a long, tedious process,” said Rico Abordo, president of the 85-member association.

While sacrifices were made on both sides, “This was an agreement we feel we can live with and are appreciative it got settled and resolved,” Abordo said.

Abordo explained that the association’s contract with the district is for three years, but every year salary and benefits are open for discussion. The negotiations on the collective bargaining agreement lasted for about 10 to 11 months.

The new agreement’s main points revolve around a cap on health benefits and minor salary increases this year and next, as well as renewed stipends for bilingual teachers and an increase to $32 per hour for those teaching summer school.

McQueen said the benefits cap and salary were the main changes. “Everything else is pretty much the way it’s been.”

One of the bargaining issues was a $16,000 cap on health benefits that becomes effective July 1.

“That was monumental. That was the pivotal issue,” said Abordo.

McQueen agreed that it was a key issue. That’s because previously the district’s teachers had no cap on health benefits, he said.

Abordo said Kelseyville’s teachers have considered insurance part of a compensation package that was the highest in terms of benefits in the county.

With the rising cost in health care – and the district getting an annual increase in insurance costs averaging between 7 and 12 percent – not having a cap had made the district financially unhealthy, McQueen explained.

The health care cap agreement for the teachers brings all of the district’s employee bargaining units into line, with the same $16,000 cap, McQueen said.

District projections show that the cap will save the district close to $1.2 million over the coming two school years. This year’s costs total $1.6 million, and were projected to grow to nearly $1.8 million next year and $1.95 million in 2013-14. Now 2012-13 and 2013-14 are estimated to cost just over $1.25 million each.

McQueen said the changes will help the district plan for the future and have more accurate multiyear projections.

Abordo said the association is reviewing a tiered rate structure for health benefits with five plans available. They will meet to discuss and identify those plans Thursday, as all changes must be made by July 1.

The other key aspect of the agreement was a 2 percent salary increase, effective this coming July 1, and a 2.5-percent salary increase effective July 1, 2013.

“The salary increase helped to kind of soften the blow of the huge hit that they’re taking in taking the cap,” said McQueen. “They’re still losing but they’re not losing as much.”

Abordo said a salary increase was a long time in coming. “We have not had any movement on our salary schedule for six years.”

Even with the salary increase, the district is projected to save close to $900,000 over the coming two fiscal years due to the health insurance savings, according to district documents.

The California Department of Education last year placed Kelseyville Unified in qualified status over concerns that it couldn’t meet its financial obligations. Since then the Lake County Office of Education has offered financial oversight for the district.

McQueen said the Lake County Office of Education signed off on the collective bargaining agreement.

One subsequent point of disagreement between the district and teachers’ union was the layoff of the equivalent of 7.75 full-time teaching positions, which the Kelseyville Unified Board of Trustees voted to approve at a special meeting on Tuesday night.

Abordo said the union believed the district could have safely maintained those jobs.

He said the district is “grossly understaffed,” and counting retirees and the recent layoffs will be down 13 additional staff members.

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

A fleet of 100 floating robots took a trip down the Sacramento River on Wednesday, May May 9, in a field test organized by engineers at the University of California, Berkeley.

The smartphone-equipped floating robots demonstrated the next generation of water monitoring technology, promising to transform the way government agencies monitor one of the state's most precious resources.

The Floating Sensor Network project, led by associate professor Alexandre Bayen, a researcher at the Center for Information Technology Research in the Interest of Society (CITRIS), offers a network of mobile sensors that can be deployed rapidly to provide real-time, high-resolution data in hard-to-map waterways.

One area that stands to benefit from this technology is the Sacramento-San Joaquin River Delta, with its complex network of channels that direct drinking water to two-thirds of California's population and irrigation water for 3 million acres of agriculture. Water from Clear Lake empties into the Delta.

Having a high volume of sensors moving through the water can shed light on processes that are influenced by how water moves, such as the spread of pollutants, the migration of salmon or the mixture of salt and fresh water in the Delta's ecosystem, the researchers said.

Wednesday's field test gave researchers a picture of how water moves through a junction in the river with a resolution never before achieved.

"We are putting water online," said Bayen, who holds joint appointments in UC Berkeley's departments of electrical engineering and computer sciences and of civil and environmental engineering.

"Monitoring the state's water supply is critical for the general public, water researchers and government agencies, which now rely upon costly fixed water sensor stations that don't always generate sufficient data for modeling and prediction,” Bayen said. “The mobile probes we are using could potentially expand coverage in the Delta – on demand – to hundreds of miles of natural and manmade channels that are currently under-monitored, and help agencies responsible for managing the state's limited water supply."

Such a flexible system could be critical in the event of an emergency, including a levee breach or oil spill, the researchers noted.

The sensors could be thrown into action from a dock, shore, boats or even helicopters.

"If something spills in the water, if there's a contaminant, you need to know where it is now, you need to know where it's going, you need to know where it will be later on," said Andrew Tinka, a Ph.D. candidate in electrical engineering and computer sciences and the lead graduate student on the project. "The Floating Sensor Network project can help by tracking water flow at a level of detail not currently possible."

The Wednesday launch in Walnut Grove, Calif., marked a milestone in the project, which is supported by CITRIS and the Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory (Berkeley Lab).

It was the first time researchers deployed their full arsenal of floats, each equipped with GPS-enabled mobile phones encased in 12-inch-long watertight capsules marked with fluorescent tape.

The researchers wrote specific programs to run on the open source platforms used in the robots and on the smartphones.

The project is an evolution of earlier research led by Bayen called Mobile Century and Mobile Millennium, which uses GPS-enabled smartphones to monitor traffic flow.

Instead of a map of traffic, the Floating Century mobile probes created a map of water flow.

Every few seconds, the phones in the floats transmitted location data back to servers at Berkeley Lab's National Energy Research Scientific Computing Center (NERSC), where the data was assimilated using a computer model called REALM (River, Estuary and Land Model).

Information was processed to create a map that allowed researchers to track the devices on their computer monitors.

"Not only is this project interesting from a data collection perspective, but it also presents a new challenge for us on the data processing side," said Shane Canon, head of the Technology Integration Group at NERSC. "While the total amount of data is not unusual, the streaming rate is higher than we usually see, and the researchers are looking to access the data in near real-time."

The REALM model was developed by researchers at the Berkeley Lab and the California Department of Water Resources. It was later expanded to integrate data from mobile robots by Qingfang Wu, a UC Berkeley graduate student in civil and environmental engineering.

"Part of the novelty of this project is the use of the NERSC computer cluster to run large-scale data assimilation problems," said Wu. "The floating sensor project demands the ability to process hundreds of parallel versions of REALM and integrate the results into an estimate of the hydrodynamics of the Delta."

Although the sensors in the test were set up to monitor the speed of water currents, the researchers said the floats could be equipped with sensors for a variety of measurements, including temperature, salinity, or a contaminant of interest.

Of the 100 floats in the fleet, 40 were autonomous devices fitted with propellers to help them move around obstacles or targeted areas.

"The major constraint on floating sensors in inland environments is their tendency to get stuck on the shores," said Tinka. "Currently, using floating sensors requires close human supervision. We are developing autonomous, actuated sensors that can use propulsion to avoid obstacles."

The Floating Sensor Network's fleet of robots includes prototypes with advanced capabilities, including models that can dive below the surface of the water, versions equipped with salinity sensors to measure the water quality in rivers, and versions with depth sensors that can map out the shape of the channels in which they float.

"Our development efforts show the versatility of this technology and how it can adapt to the challenges faced in different applications," said Bayen.  "For example, the capability to measure depth is particularly important in situations where it is impractical or dangerous to send personnel to do the job, such as in military operations in combat zones. Floating sensor fleets also provide capabilities which can be used to improve our understanding of the shape of domestic rivers and deltas."

The floating sensor network has been tested in collaboration with the U.S. Department of Homeland Security and the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers to assess water discharge downstream from broken levees. The researchers are also planning a deployment to monitor the ecosystem of Lake Tahoe in the coming months.

Floats are retrieved at the end of experiments, but the researchers acknowledged the possibility that devices can get lost. The researchers said they expect the expense of individual sensors to go down with continuing advances in mobile communications so that the system can better tolerate a certain level of device dropout.

"In the future, cost and size will go down, while performance and autonomy will go up, enabling monitoring at unprecedented scales," said Bayen. "We expect this to become an invaluable tool for the future management of a critical resource in this state and around the world."

Visit the Floating Sensor Network at http://float.berkeley.edu/ for more information on the program.

Sarah Yang writes for the UC Berkeley News Center.

HIDDEN VALLEY LAKE, Calif. – A 19-year-old Clearlake woman died and two other young women were injured in a single-vehicle crash Tuesday night near Hidden Valley Lake.

Leah Davidson Hernandez died at the scene of the wreck, which occurred just before 7 p.m. on Highway 29 north of the Spruce Grove Road Extension and Arabian Lane, according to the California Highway Patrol.

The driver in the crash, 23-year-old Nina A. Litzin of Clearlake, was arrested on suspicion of driving under the influence, the CHP reported.

Hernandez was riding in the front passenger seat of a 1997 Chrysler Sebring convertible which Litzin was driving, with Tamara L. Davidson, 21, also of Clearlake, riding in the backseat, the CHP said.

The CHP investigation determined that Litzin was driving the Chrysler southbound in a reckless manner when she lost control.

A driver reported to the CHP that a vehicle was swerving behind them, attempted to pass and then went off the roadway and over an embankment.

The CHP said Litzin's Chrysler went off the west roadway edge, narrowly missing a guardrail.

The car continued down the embankment, hitting a tree and several rocks, before it rolled over and Hernandez was ejected from the vehicle, sustaining fatal injuries, according to the report.

The CHP said Litzin suffered a broken back and Davidson sustained minor injuries. Both were flown out to Santa Rosa Memorial Hospital in separate REACH air ambulances.

Before she was transported, Litzin was placed under arrest, the CHP said.

The CHP said it's still trying to determine whether the women were using seatbelts.

The crash's exact cause also is still under investigation, the agency said.

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LAKE COUNTY, Calif. – If you're a new county resident or need to update your voter registration, the deadline to do so is coming up in less than two weeks.

The Lake County Registrar of Voters Office advised new residents of Lake County and registered voters who have moved to a new address, changed their mailing address within the county, or changed their name that they may need to reregister in order to be eligible to vote in the upcoming statewide Presidential Primary Election.

Don't delay – the last day to register to vote for the June 5, 2012 Presidential Primary Election is Monday, May 21.

The completed voter registration form must be either personally delivered to the Registrar of Voters Office on or before May 21 or postmarked on or before May 21 and received by mail by the Registrar of Voters Office.

Please be aware that pursuant to Section 2101 of the California Elections Code: “A person entitled to register to vote shall be a United States citizen, a resident of California, not in prison or on parole for the conviction of a felony, and at least 18 years of age at the time of the next election.”

Residents may register to vote at the Lake County Registrar of Voters Office, Room 209, Lake County Courthouse, 255 N. Forbes St. in Lakeport, or may phone the Registrar of Voters Office at 707-263-2372 for information.

Registration also are available at most local post offices, libraries, senior centers, city offices and chamber of commerce offices.

CLEARLAKE, Calif. – A Clearlake man was arrested Tuesday morning for allegedly stabbing his ex-girlfriend and a man in a homeless encampment.

Anthony Kropaczewski, 42, was arrested in the case, according to a report from Det. Ryan Peterson of the Clearlake Police Department.

Peterson reported that Clearlake Police officers on Tuesday responded to the area of Ray’s Food Place on the report of a male and female in a verbal fight. Witnesses reported that the female appeared to have blood on her face.  

Once officers arrived they located a female, identified as 29-year-old Rachel Patterson of Clearlake, who advised officers that she had been stabbed in the stomach in the homeless encampment behind Ray’s Food Place. Patterson identified the person who stabbed her as Kropaczewski, her ex-boyfriend, Peterson reported.

Lake County Fire medical personnel arrived and transported Patterson to St. Helena Hospital Clearlake for medical treatment. She subsequently was flown via REACH air ambulance to Santa Rosa Memorial Hospital due to the injuries, according to Peterson's report. Patterson later was released from Santa Rosa Memorial Hospital after she was medically treated.  

During the investigation, Peterson said police officers were advised by a bystander that a second possible stabbing victim was located in the same homeless encampment where Patterson had been assaulted.

Officers responded and located 31-year-old Clearlake resident Brian Fitzke. Peterson said Lake County Fire medical personnel responded to attend to Fitzke’s injuries, which were determined not to be life threatening and he was not transported to a medical facility.  

Fitzke also identified Kropaczewski as the person who had stabbed him, Peterson said.

Kropaczewski was located and detained at his residence. After in-field lineups were conducted and statements from witnesses were obtained, Kropaczewski was placed under arrest for violations including criminal threats, domestic violence, assault with a deadly weapon and possession of a concealed dagger, according to Peterson.

With Kropaczewski’s assistance, the knife used in this incident was located and booked into evidence at the Clearlake Police Department, Peterson said.

Anyone with information in regard to this incident is requested to contact Peterson at the Clearlake Police Department, 707-994-8251.

NICE, Calif. – On Tuesday several families that had been subject to tribal disenrollment several years ago were evicted from their homes on Robinson Rancheria.

Tribal member E.J. Crandell said about five homes were evicted beginning Tuesday morning.

The tenants evicted on Tuesday were tribal members disenrolled in late 2008, including Karen Ramos, Inez Sands, Robert Quitiquit and Reuban Want, Crandell said.

The home of Luwana Quitiquit, who had died in December, also was targeted for the eviction, according to Crandell.

Sgt. Steve Brooks of the Lake County Sheriff's Office said the evictions were conducted by the Robinson Rancheria Police Department and the Bureau of Indian Affairs.

He said personnel from the Lake County Sheriff’s Office were present during the evictions and acting in a support role only. Brooks said they were only on scene in case a crime was committed against the officials who were conducting the evictions.

Northshore Fire was staged in case of emergency, according to Chief Jay Beristianos.

District Attorney's Office staff also were reported to be on scene, Crandell said.

The disenrollments arose in the wake of a disputed June 2008 election during which Crandell challenged Tribal Chair Tracey Avila.

Crandell won the election, which he alleged later was overturned by an election committee composed of Avila's family members.

The tribal council, led by Avila, later would disenroll approximately 67 individuals, one of them posthumously.

An effort to evict the families began after the Bureau of Indian Affairs upheld the disenrollments. The tribal council formed a tribal court, which ruled against the five tenants in January 2011, according to court documents.

In documents associated with a federal court action the tribe brought against the tenants in August 2011, the tribe alleged that it was evicting the group for failure to pay a monthly administration fee as rent in violation of tenant agreements.

However, the tenants argued in their response that they resided in homes they contracted to purchase through a federally funded, low-income housing program, and that they were actually targeted because they had been disenrolled.

That federal case was dismissed, on the agreement of both parties, this past March.

Crandell said tenants were presented with eviction documents from the tribal court. He said the documents had not been presented to the group's current attorney.

The move comes less than a week before tribal leaders are set to meet as part of the Lake County Indian Gaming Local Community Benefit Committee to discuss giving grants from the Indian Gaming Special Distribution Fund – to which Robinson Rancheria and Big Valley Rancheria contribute – to local agencies. Both the sheriff's office and the District Attorney's Office have applied for those funds.

That meeting is set to take place at 9 a.m. Monday, May 14, in conference room B in the Lake County Courthouse, 255 N. Forbes St., Lakeport.

Last year, a dispute between Sheriff Frank Rivero and Robinson Rancheria resulted in his department getting none of the funds, as Lake County News has reported.

Avila, meanwhile, is scheduled to appear in court later this month for the scheduling of a preliminary hearing in a felony grand theft case against her.

She is alleged to have stolen more than $60,000 from the Elem Indian Colony of Pomo Indians in Clearlake Oaks while she worked for that tribe as a fiscal officer from February 2006 to September 2008.

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On Tuesday night Congressman Mike Thompson (CA-1), founder and co-chair of the Congressional Wild Salmon Caucus, along with Republican Rep. Don Young (AK-At Large) led representatives in rejecting an amendment to H.R. 5326, the Fiscal Year (FY) 2013 Commerce, Justice and Science and Related Agencies Appropriations Act, that they said would harm Pacific Coast salmon.

The amendment, introduced by Rep. Paul Broun (GA-10), would have eliminated $15 million from Pacific Coast Salmon Recovery Funds (PCSRF).  

The amendment was struck down by bipartisan vote of 239-168. The bill would fund PCSRF at $65 million for FY2013.

“A strong salmon population is an important component of a strong economy,” said Thompson. “The PCSRF has been tremendously successful in rehabilitating salmon and by cutting the fund by more than 23 percent would devastate salmon recovery and kill local jobs.”

“Alaskans know firsthand the economic benefits of a strong fishing industry,” said Young. “By helping to rehabilitate salmon populations across America, these recovery funds go a long way in building and maintaining healthy fishing industries. I was happy to see that my colleagues recognized this last night and rejected this misguided amendment in a bipartisan manner.”

The PCSRF was established by Congress in 2000 to restore, conserve, and protect Pacific salmon and steelhead and their habitats. PCSRF also seeks to maintain the healthy populations necessary for exercising tribal treaty fishing rights and native subsistence fishing.

With funding from the PCSRF, states and tribes have undertaken 10,214 projects, which have resulted in significant changes in habitat conditions and availability, as well as the establishment of planning and monitoring programs that support prioritization and tracking for salmon and steelhead population conservation.

The salmon industry is important to California’s economy. When the salmon industry was shut down in 2008 it was found that the salmon industry contributed $1.7 billion to California’s economy and 23,000 jobs were lost.

Studies show that if salmon could be fully recovered it could contribute up to $5 billion to California’s economy and create 94,000 jobs.

With the help of the PCSRF, there have been significant improvements from 2000 to 2011 including:

• 879,194 acres of habitat improved or added for salmonid use
• 5,336 miles of stream made accessible to spawning populations
• Marking programs tagging 238,643,775 fish, improving stock identification and supporting more effective fishery management practices.
• Biologists are predicting that as many as 820,000 fish - the most in at least seven years - will return to spawn in the Sacramento-San Joaquin River Delta this year.
• The California King Salmon Fishery is open for the first time in four years.

In 2010, 787,740 pounds of salmon were caught in U.S. waters, totaling 11 percent of all fish captured that year, and generating more than $554 million.

Thompson represents California’s 1st Congressional District, which includes the Counties of Del Norte, Humboldt, Lake, Mendocino, Sonoma, Napa and Yolo.

LAKEPORT, Calif. – An elderly Lakeport man had to be flown to a regional trauma center for treatment Tuesday night after falling from his sailboat and spending several hours in Clear Lake.

The 77-year-old man, whose name was not released, was found by paramedics in tules near Konocti Vista Casino’s marina at around 9:30 p.m. Tuesday, according to Dan Copas, a firefighter/paramedic with Lakeport Fire Protection District.

About an hour before the man was located firefighters and sheriff’s deputies were dispatched to the casino on the report of a subject in the water near the marina.

Copas said nine Lakeport Fire personnel, along with an engine and two medic units, responded to the scene to look for the man.

Copas said the man had launched his sailboat between 4 p.m. and 4:30 p.m. with his daughter’s help, then went sailing by himself.

The circumstances that led to the man falling into the water aren’t entirely clear, but Copas said the information emergency personnel received indicated that a rope on one of the boat’s sails broke and the man went to fix it.

From there, they aren’t sure if he was knocked into the water or lost his balance and fell, Copas said.

“He was out there for an extended period of time,” said Copas.

Just how long he was in the water wasn’t certain, but Copas estimated four to five hours.

The man’s daughter went looking for him, found him and tried unsuccessfully to get him into her boat, Copas said.

She then tried to drag her father’s sailboat to shore, which Copas said also didn’t work.

Next, the woman gave her father a rope and towed him to shore. Copas said she somehow managed to get 150 feet into the tules, near a tree. She tied a life vest in the area as a marker.

“So we ended up finding him in the tules in about a foot of water, lying down,” said Copas.

Copas and two others got out of the sheriff’s boat being used in the search and swam through the water and tules to reach the man.

It took them quite a while to locate the man, Copas said.

“We had to find our way to him because he was not visible from the water at all,” Copas said.

When they did find him he was hypothermic, Copas said.

Paramedics got the man to shore at Konocti Vista, and Copas said the man was flown by REACH air ambulance to Santa Rosa Memorial Hospital.

There was no word on his condition Wednesday.

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LUCERNE, Calif. – Three people were injured as the result of a Tuesday night crash between a motorcycle and a vehicle in Lucerne.

The head-on wreck was reported at about 8:45 p.m. on Highway 20 at Oakcrest Drive, according to the California Highway Patrol.

Both lanes of traffic were blocked as Northshore Fire Protection District firefighters and the CHP responded to the scene, radio reports indicated.

REACH and CalStar air ambulances responded, landing at Lucerne Harbor Park.

Two of the crash victims were subsequently flown to regional trauma centers, according to radio reports. A third patient was transported to Sutter Lakeside Hospital.

The CHP said the highway was reopened shortly before 9:30 p.m., with fire officials clearing the scene about an hour after the call was first dispatched.

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LAKE COUNTY, Calif. – Warm weather is arriving, and swimming pools, lakes and streams provide enjoyment and welcome relief from the heat. At the same time, they pose some hazards.

This is a good time to review safety tips in order to enjoy the water safely and avoid recreational water illness, according to county health officials.

Swimming or wading in areas of lakes and ponds that are frequented by certain birds (such as ducks, geese, gulls), mammals (such as muskrats and raccoons) and snails can lead to an itchy allergic rash hours to days later called “swimmer’s itch.” The condition is not serious and generally goes away in a week.    

The condition can be avoided by:

• Not swimming near or wading in marshy areas where snails are commonly found.
• Drying off with a towel or showering immediately after leaving the water.
• Not attracting birds (e.g., by feeding them) to areas where people are swimming.

The appearance of cyanobacteria (“blue-green algae”) blooms in various locations around Clear Lake has been common in recent years.  

The greasy film on the water, thick mats and annoying smell tend to keep people away from the most affected areas.   

Although cyanobacteria are capable of producing toxins, it is impossible to predict when that will occur.   

Scientific studies have linked cyanotoxins to gastrointestinal upset, liver or nerve damage that can be serious, and rashes.   

Confirmed reports of such illness are infrequent worldwide and have not been associated with Clear Lake, according to the Lake County Health Services Department.

Water testing in recent years has shown Clear Lake to be safe for recreational water sports. Still, it is prudent to avoid areas where there is a visible accumulation of mats or an oily appearance on the surface of the water.   

Drinking untreated lake water is never recommended for humans or pets, even if the water is boiled, the agency said.

For those who prefer swimming pools, water should be properly treated and people with diarrhea should stay out.

Anyone with questions about water quality for swimming and recreation may call the Environmental Health office in Lakeport at 707-263-1164.

For more information on Recreational Water health issues, please visit www.cdc.gov/parasites/swimmersitch/faqs.html , www.cdc.gov/healthywater/swimming/rwi/rwi-prevention-week/ or www.co.lake.ca.us/Government/Directory/Environmental_Health/Blue-Green_Algae.htm .

LUCERNE, Calif. – A Lucerne woman whose vehicle collided with a motorcycle in Lucerne Tuesday night has been arrested on suspicion of driving under the influence.

Jolyn Jennifer Johnson, 31, was arrested after being treated at Sutter Lakeside Hospital for injuries she received in the wreck, which the California Highway Patrol said occurred at 8:45 p.m. Tuesday.

Johnson hit a 2003 Harley Davidson motorcycle ridden by Orland residents Bobby Glen Hendry Jr., 33, and Terra Noel England, 24, injuring both, the CHP said.

The CHP report said Johnson was driving her 2004 Infiniti eastbound on Highway 20. As she was making a left turn onto Oak Crest Avenue she pulled directly into the path of the motorcycle, driven by Hendry.

Hendry was unable to avoid the collision and the right front of Johnson’s Infiniti hit the front of the motorcycle, the CHP said.

The crash’s impact caused both Hendry and England to be thrown from the motorcycle and into the westbound lane of traffic, according to the CHP report.

Two air ambulances landed at Lucerne Harbor Park and transported Hendry and England to Santa Rosa Memorial Hospital for treatment of moderate injuries, the CHP reported.

The CHP said Hendry was knocked unconscious, and suffered a laceration to his left knee and abrasions. England had a fractured right arm, and complained of pain to her left leg and hip.

Johnson was transported to Sutter Lakeside Hospital where she was treated for neck and back pain, the CHP said. She subsequently was arrested for DUI.

The crash in Lucerne was one of two serious wrecks occurring in the county on Tuesday night, both involving allegations of driving under the influence.

An earlier crash near Hidden Valley Lake claimed the life of 19-year-old Leah Hernandez of Clearlake, as Lake County News has reported.

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LAKE COUNTY, Calif. – Unusual cloud formations and vivid rainbow colors in the sky got the attention of many county residents on Tuesday.

A picture taken by Joe Steiner was posted by friend Shannon Kimbell-Auth on Facebook Tuesday. It showed a mass of clouds with an explosion of color.

Pictures Lakeport resident Russell Bishop posted on his Facebook page also showed the colors against an unusual cloud column.

Lake County News asked Alan Buis, a spokesman for the National Aeronautics and Space Administration's Jet Propulsion Laboratory at the California Institute of Technology in Pasadena, about the cloud formations and what they were.

Buis consulted with a number of scientists, and Steve LaDochy, a meteorologist at California State University, Los Angeles, and a Jet Propulsion Lab employee, offered the scientific explanation of what Lake County residents witnessed.

In Steiner's photo, what's seen is cloud iridescence, which is diffraction of sunlight by different sized cloud droplets. The typical clouds associated with cloud iridescence are cirrocumulus and altocumulus, LaDochy explained in an email.

Regarding the cloud shown in Bishop's photo, LaDochy notes in his email response, “I’ve seen these in Canada, but not quite like this down here. It is called a circumzenithal arc and is associated with ice crystals (often in thin cirrus clouds at very cold temperatures).”

He said the ice crystals cause a refraction of sunlight that enters the top of plate-like crystals and exits out one of its sides. It requires a fairly low sun, at less than 32 degrees, to accomplish it.

“A more common refraction is a halo around the sun due to ice crustals or sundogs, where the halo is brightest on the sides of the halo making it look like 3 suns. Romans thought this brought good luck,” LaDochy said.

The ice crystals that give rise to the optical wonders come from cirrus clouds high in the atmosphere, where temperatures are below -20 degrees Fahrenheit, LaDochy explained.

“They are not rain clouds, but can cause some pretty optical effects when the sun shines through them. Sometimes contrails will get a bit of these effects, but not often,” He said.

LaDochy added, “People should look up more often.”

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