LAKE COUNTY, Calif. — The annual Lake County Burn Ban for 2023 is lifted as of 9 a.m. Monday, Oct. 23, with Cal Fire’s determination that wildfire risk has been reduced.
Burn permits are required for all outdoor burning in the Lake County Air Basin.
Burn permits can be obtained online at www.lcaqmd.net and follow the quick links to burn permits, at www.southlakecountyfire.org/home/permits/ or in person at the Lake County Air Quality Management District office. Appointments are required for all in person burn permit issuance.
A smoke management plan is required for multi-day burns, overnight burns, standing vegetation burns, whole tree or vine removal, burns over 20 acres, and any other burn where significant smoke impacts may occur or sensitive receptors may be impacted.
A smoke management plan can be obtained at the Lake County Air Quality Management District office; call 707-263-7000 to make an appointment. Bring a map showing the burn location (https://gispublic.co.lake.ca.us/portal/home/), burn site coordinates (GPS locations), parcel number or address, acres to be burned, and details of vegetation to be burned.
A fee is required for all burn permits, payable at the time the permit is issued. Smoke management plans, agricultural burn permits and residential burn permits are $33, land development/lot clearing burn permits are $99. In person payments may be made by cash, check, or money order. Online permit payment is by credit card only.
Only clean dry vegetation that was grown on the property may be burned. Residential burn permits require a one acre or larger lot of record, a burn location that is at least 100 feet from all neighbors, and at least 30 feet from any structure in order to qualify.
Land development/lot clearing burn permits may only be issued where no other feasible method of vegetation disposal is possible. Read your burn permit carefully and follow all the conditions.
Please be considerate of your neighbors. A permit does not allow you to create health problems for others. You can be liable for health care costs, fines, and other costs resulting from your burning.
Consider composting or using the vegetative waste pickup provided with your waste collection service as an alternative to burning leaves.
Lake County’s joint fire agencies and air quality management district’s open burning program has incorporated both fire safety and air quality management since 1987.
The Lake County Air Quality Management District thanked the community for its cooperation this burn season.
LAKE COUNTY, Calif. — Lake County Animal Care and Control has more dogs and puppies available for adoption this week.
Dogs available for adoption this week include mixes of boxer, Chihuahua, collie, dachshund, German shepherd, hound, Labrador retriever pit bull, Rhodesian ridgeback, Siberian husky, shepherd and treeing walker coonhound.
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.
This week’s dogs include “Mom,” a 3-year-old female Labrador retriever-pit bull mix with a black and white coat. She is in kennel No. 29, ID No. LCAC-A-6120.
Another dog ready for her new home is a 3-year-old female pit bull terrier with a brindle coat with white markings. She is in kennel No. 20, ID No. LCAC-A-6103.
The adoptable dogs also include a 1-year-old female shepherd mix with a tan and black coat. She is in kennel No. 26, ID No. LCAC-A-6104.
Those dogs and the others shown on this page at the Lake County Animal Care and Control shelter have been cleared for adoption.
Call Lake County Animal Care and Control at 707-263-0278 or visit the shelter online for information on visiting or adopting.
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. — With the help of a SWAT team, the Clearlake Police Department took a Clearlake Oaks man into custody on Friday morning in connection to an attempted homicide case.
Treyvon Lashawn Jones, 27, was arrested following a search warrant service, Clearlake Police reported.
Clearlake Police Lt. Ryan Peterson said in a Friday news release that on Sept. 12 the department began investigating a shooting in the 14000 block of Uhl Avenue near Austin Park.
During the investigation, Peterson said it was determined that several subjects were involved in an altercation, which led to a shooting.
There were no injuries during the incident, and all three suspects fled the scene, Peterson said.
Peterson said that, as a result of the investigation, probable cause was developed to arrest the three involved subjects.
One was a juvenile who was arrested on Sept. 19 for numerous charges related to this incident, Peterson said. The other juvenile has not been arrested at this time. The names of the juveniles are not being released due to their age.
The third subject police identified in connection to the case is Jones, Peterson said.
He said the Clearlake Police Department requested assistance from the Mendo/Lake Regional SWAT team in securing the residence and arresting Jones.
Lauren Berlinn of the Lake County Sheriff’s Office said that at 7 a.m. Friday, the Mendo/Lake Regional SWAT team assisted the Clearlake Police Department in successfully serving the search warrant in the 12000 block of East Highway 20 in Clearlake Oaks.
The Lake County Sheriff’s Office issued a Nixle alert at 7:10 a.m. Friday notifying the community of the operation and asking community members to avoid the area.
Peterson said Jones was located and arrested at the residence.
Jail records showed Jones was taken into custody at 7:30 a.m. Friday. He was booked into the Lake County Jail for attempted homicide.
At the completion of the initial service of the search warrant, the scene was turned over to the Clearlake Police Department, Berlinn reported.
Peterson said the Clearlake Police Department was grateful to the Mendo/Lake Regional SWAT team for their assistance in bringing the warrant service to a safe conclusion.
Anyone with information regarding this investigation is encouraged to contact Clearlake Police Det. Christopher Kelleher at 707-994-8251.
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.
Ending pandemics is a social decision, not scientific. Governments and organizations rely on social, cultural and political considerations to decide when to officially declare the end of a pandemic. Ideally, leaders try to minimize the social, economic and public health burden of removing emergency restrictions while maximizing potential benefits.
Vaccine policy is a particularly complicated part of pandemic decision-making, involving a variety of other complex and often contradicting interests and considerations. Although COVID-19 vaccines have saved millions of lives in the U.S., vaccine policymaking throughout the pandemic was often reactive and politicized.
A late November 2022 Kaiser Family Foundation poll found that one-third of U.S. parents believed they should be able to decide not to vaccinate their children at all. The World Health Organization and the United Nations Children’s Fund reported that between 2019 and 2021, global childhood vaccination experienced its largest drop in the past 30 years.
COVID-19 is here to stay. Reflecting on the ethical considerations surrounding the rise – and unfolding fall – of COVID-19 vaccine mandates can help society better prepare for future disease outbreaks and pandemics.
Ethics of vaccine mandates
Vaccine mandates are the most restrictive form of vaccine policy in terms of personal autonomy. Vaccine policies can be conceptualized as a spectrum, ranging from least restrictive, such as passive recommendations like informational advertisements, to most restrictive, such as a vaccine mandate that fines those who refuse to comply.
Because of ethical considerations, vaccine mandates are typically not the first option policymakers use to maximize vaccine uptake. Vaccine mandates are paternalistic by nature because they limit freedom of choice and bodily autonomy. Additionally, because some people may see vaccine mandates as invasive, they could potentially create challenges in maintaining and garnering trust in public health. This is why mandates are usually the last resort.
However, vaccine mandates can be justified from a public health perspective on multiple grounds. They’re a powerful and effective public health intervention.
Mandates can provide lasting protection against infectious diseases in various communities, including schools and health care settings. They can provide a public good by ensuring widespread vaccination to reduce the chance of outbreaks and disease transmission overall. Subsequently, an increase in community vaccine uptake due to mandates can protect immunocompromised and vulnerable people who are at higher risk of infection.
COVID-19 vaccine mandates
Early in the pandemic, arguments in favor of mandating COVID-19 vaccines for adults rested primarily on evidence that COVID-19 vaccination prevented disease transmission. In 2020 and 2021, COVID-19 vaccines seemed to have a strong effect on reducing transmission, therefore justifying vaccine mandates.
COVID-19 also posed a disproportionate threat to vulnerable people, including the immunocompromised, older adults, people with chronic conditions and poorer communities. As a result, these groups would have significantly benefited from a reduction in COVID-19 outbreaks and hospitalization.
However, the emergence of even more transmissible variants of the virus dramatically changed the decision-making landscape surrounding COVID-19 vaccine mandates.
The public health intention (and ethicality) of original COVID-19 vaccine mandates became less relevant as the scientific community understood that achieving herd immunity against COVID-19 was probably impossible because of uneven vaccine uptake, and breakthrough infections among the vaccinated became more common. Many countries like England and various states in the U.S. started to roll back COVID-19 vaccine mandates.
With the rollback and removal of vaccine mandates, decision-makers are still left with important policy questions: Should vaccine mandates be dismissed, or is there still sufficient ethical and scientific justification to keep them in place?
Vaccines are lifesaving medicines that can help everyone eligible to receive them. But vaccine mandates are context-dependent tools that require considering the time, place and population they are deployed in.
Though COVID-19 vaccine mandates are less of a publicly pressing issue today, many other vaccine mandates, particularly in schools, are currently being challenged. I believe this is a reflection of decreased trust in public health authorities, institutions and researchers – resulting in part from tumultuous decision-making during the COVID-19 pandemic.
Engaging in transparent and honest conversations surrounding vaccine mandates and other health policies can help rebuild and foster trust in public health institutions and interventions.
Hundreds of millions of tons of single-use plastic ends up in landfills every year, and even the small percentage of plastic that gets recycled can’t last forever. But our group of materials scientists has developed a new method for creating and deconstructing polymers that could lead to more easily recycled plastics – ones that don’t require you to carefully sort out all your recycling on trash day.
In the century since their conception, people have come to understand the enormous impacts – beneficial as well as detrimental – plastics have on human lives and the environment. As a group of polymer scientists dedicated to inventing sustainable solutions for real-world problems, we set out to tackle this issue by rethinking the way polymers are designed and making plastics with recyclability built right in.
Why use plastics, anyway?
Everyday items including milk jugs, grocery bags, takeout containers and even ropes are made from a class of polymers called polyolefins. Polyolefins make up around half of the plastics produced and disposed of every year.
These polymers are used in plastics commonly labeled as HDPE, LLDPE or PP, or by their recycling codes #2, #4 and #5, respectively. These plastics are incredibly durable because the chemical bonds that make them up are extremely stable. But in a world set up for single-use consumption, this is no longer a design feature but rather a design flaw.
Imagine if half of the plastics used today were recyclable by twice as many processes as they are now. While that wouldn’t get the recycling rate to 100%, a jump from single digits – currently around 9% – to double digits would make a big dent in the plastics produced, the plastics accumulated in the environment and their capacity for recycling and reuse.
Recycling methods we already have
Even the plastics that make it to a recycling facility can’t be reused in exactly the same way they were used before – the recycling process degrades the material, so it loses utility and value. Instead of making a plastic cup that is downgraded each time it gets recycled, manufacturers could potentially make plastics once, collect them and reuse them on and on.
Conventional recycling requires careful sorting of all the collected materials, which can be hard with so many different plastics. Here in the U.S., collection happens mainly through single stream recycling – everything from metal cans, glass bottles, cardboard boxes and plastic cups end up in the same bin. Separating paper from metal doesn’t require complex technology, but sorting a polypropylene container from a polyethylene milk jug is hard to do without the occasional mistake.
When two different plastics are mixed together during recycling, their useful properties are hugely reduced – to the point of making them useless.
But say you can recycle one of these plastics by a different method, so it doesn’t end up contaminating the recycling stream. When we mixed samples of polypropylene with a polymer we made, we were still able to depolymerize – or break down the material – and regain our building blocks without chemically affecting the polypropylene. This indicated that a contaminated waste stream could still recover its value, and the material in it could go on to be recycled, either mechanically or chemically.
Plastics we need − but more recyclable
In a study published in October 2023, our team developed a series of polymers with only two simple building blocks – one soft polymer and one hard polymer – that mimicked polyolefins but could also be chemically recycled.
Connecting two different polymers together multiple times until they form a single, long molecule creates what’s called a multiblock polymer. Just by adjusting how much of each polymer type goes into the multiblock polymer, our team created a wide range of materials with properties that spanned across polyolefin types. But creating these multiblock polymers is easier said than done.
To link these hard and soft polymers, we adapted a technique that had previously been used only on very small molecules. This method is improved relative to traditional methods of making polymers in a step-by-step fashion, developed in the 1920s, where the reactive groups on the end of the molecules need to be exactly matched.
In our method, the reactive groups are now the same as each other, meaning we didn’t have to worry about pairing the ends of each building block to make polymers that can compete with the polyolefins we already use. Using the same strategy, applied in reverse by adding hydrogen, we could disconnect the polymers back into their building blocks and easily separate them to use again.
With an almost twofold increase in annual plastic use projected through 2050, the complexity and quantity of plastic recycling will only increase. It’s an important consideration when designing new materials and products.
Using just two building blocks to make plastics that have a huge variety of properties can go a long way toward reducing and streamlining the number of different plastics used to make the products we need. Instead of needing one plastic to make something pliable, another for something stiff, and a third, fourth and fifth for properties in between, we could control the behavior of plastics by just changing how much of each building block is there.
Although we’re still in the process of answering some big questions about these polymers, we believe this work is a step in the right direction toward more sustainable plastics.
We were able to create materials that mimic the properties of plastics the world relies on, and our sights are now set on creating plastic compositions that you couldn’t with existing methods.
LAKEPORT, Calif. — The Lake County Library welcomes speakers from a diverse array of backgrounds to share their knowledge and experience with the public.
The library is pleased to announce that local author and elementary school teacher Hank Smith will be visiting the Lakeport branch of the Lake County Library on Nov. 4 at 2 p.m. to speak about his new book, “A Fork Amongst the Spoons: Autism and Independence.”
The public is invited to attend and meet Smith.
Smith says living with his son, Ian, has helped him in working with children who have special needs at his school.
It has also given him valuable insight to share with parents and educators.
Smith and his son share their story in well-received talks, workshops, and keynote addresses throughout California.
“Sticks and Stones,” Smith’s first book, is available through the library.
To hear Hank Smith speak about his journey with autism, come and listen to him speak at the Lakeport Library on Nov. 4 at 2 p.m.
A calendar of all upcoming events is available on the library website at https://library.lakecountyca.gov.
For more information about these events or others, you can also contact the Lake County Library by phone at 707-263-8817, by email at This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it., or through social media: Facebook @ https://www.facebook.com/LakeCountyLibrary, Twitter @LakeCoLibrary, Instagram @lakecountylibrary, YouTube @lakecountycalibrary, and TikTok @lakecountycalibrary.
LAKEPORT, Calif. — Hundreds of people came to the Lake County Fairgrounds on Saturday to take part in a day of fun and health.
The 10th annual Heroes of Health and Safety Fair took place from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m.
The event was spread across the fairgrounds, with dozens of booths featuring local organizations, among them, nonprofits, local agencies that help families and children, law enforcement and health professionals.
Children were able to enter raffles for brand new bikes, pick up toys, snacks and other goodies at vendor booths, and learn more about healthy lifestyles.
Fire, police and rescue personnel were on hand on the racetrack to show their equipment and emergency response capabilities.
There also were a variety of health and dental screenings for adults and children, as well as flu and COVD-19 vaccine shots.
Making special appearances at the event were Smokey Bear, McGruff the crime dog and Sparky the fire dog.
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.
The unprecedented digital atlas includes data from NOIRLab telescopes and will be an invaluable resource for research into galaxy formation and the structure of the Universe
Astronomers have created a detailed atlas of almost 400,000 galaxies in our cosmic neighborhood.
The Siena Galaxy Atlas was compiled using data from NSF's NOIRLab telescopes, and is designed to be the pre-eminent digital galaxy atlas for large galaxies.
It’s a treasure trove of information for researchers investigating everything from galaxy formation and evolution to dark matter and gravitational waves. It’s also freely available online for the public to explore.
Astronomers have long sought to map the night skies, not only to fill in our picture of the cosmos we inhabit, but also to support further research.
Comprehensive compilations of astronomical objects serve many purposes: they can help scientists spot broad patterns across a population of objects, put new discoveries such as transient events in the context of their surroundings, and identify the best candidates for focused observations.
However, these resources must be routinely updated to reflect the continuous technological improvements of telescopes.
Now, a new atlas has been released with detailed information on over 380,000 galaxies at a greater level of accuracy than ever before, promising to be a boon to future astronomical inquiry.
The Siena Galaxy Atlas, or SGA, is a compilation of data from three surveys completed between 2014 and 2017 known as the DESI Legacy Surveys, which were carried out to identify galaxy targets for the Dark Energy Spectroscopic Instrument, or DESI, survey.
Data were collected at Cerro Tololo Inter-American Observatory (CTIO) and Kitt Peak National Observatory (KPNO), both Programs of NSF’s NOIRLab, and at the University of Arizona’s Steward Observatory.
The DESI Legacy Surveys used state-of-the-art instruments on telescopes operated by NOIRLab: the Dark Energy Camera Legacy Survey (DECaLS), carried out using the DOE-built Dark Energy Camera (DECam) on the Víctor M. Blanco 4-meter Telescope at CTIO in Chile; the Mayall z-band Legacy Survey (MzLS) with the Mosaic3 camera on the Nicholas U. Mayall 4-meter Telescope at KPNO; and the Beijing-Arizona Sky Survey (BASS) with the 90Prime camera on the Bok 2.3-meter Telescope, which is operated by Steward Observatory and hosted at KPNO.
The DESI Legacy Imaging Surveys data, as well as a queryable copy of the full Siena Galaxy Atlas, are served to the astronomical community via the Astro Data Lab science platform and Astro Data Archive at NOIRLab’s Community Science and Data Center (CSDC).
The SGA contains additional data from a survey by NASA’s Wide-field Infrared Survey Explorer (WISE) satellite that has been reprocessed by Aaron Meisner, an astronomer at NOIRLab.
These surveys captured images in optical and infrared wavelengths to chart a total area of 20,000 square degrees — nearly half of the night sky, making it among the largest galaxy surveys. Bringing this wealth of information together in one place, the SGA offers precise data on the locations, shapes and sizes of hundreds of thousands relatively nearby large galaxies. Besides the sheer number of objects recorded, the data in the SGA also achieve a new level of accuracy and it is the first such resource to provide data on the galaxies’ light profiles.
“Nearby large galaxies are important because we can study them in more detail than any other galaxies in the Universe; they are our cosmic neighbors,” notes John Moustakas, professor of physics at Siena College and SGA project leader. “Not only are they strikingly beautiful, but they also hold the key to understanding how galaxies form and evolve, including our very own Milky Way galaxy.”
The SGA builds on several centuries of efforts to chart the night skies. The iconic Catalogue des Nébuleuses et des Amas d'Étoiles (Catalogue of Nebulae and Star Clusters), published in 1774 by French astronomer Charles Messier, was a major milestone, as was the New General Catalogue of Nebulae and Clusters of Stars (NGC), published in 1888 by John Louis Emil Dreyer.
More recently, in 1991, astronomers assembled the Third Reference Catalog of Bright Galaxies (RC3). Several other valuable galaxy atlases have been published over the past two decades, but most of them draw on the photographic-plate measurements in the RC3, or are missing significant numbers of galaxies. Since the SGA uses digital images captured with highly sensitive instruments, it represents a substantial improvement in both data quality and completeness.
Arjun Dey, a NOIRLab astronomer who was involved in the project, explains: “Previous galaxy compilations have been plagued by incorrect positions, sizes and shapes of galaxies, and also contained entries which were not galaxies but stars or artifacts. The SGA cleans all this up for a large part of the sky. It also provides the best brightness measurements for galaxies, something we have not reliably had before for a sample of this size.”
This versatile resource will drive progress in numerous branches of astronomy and astrophysics by helping scientists find the best galaxy samples for targeted observation.
For example, the SGA will enhance research into how patterns of star formation vary across different galaxies, the physical processes underlying the diverse array of morphologies that galaxies display, and how the distribution of galaxies is related to how dark matter is spread across the Universe.
By acting as a map, the SGA will also help astronomers pinpoint the sources of transient signals like gravitational waves and understand the events that give rise to them.
“The SGA is going to be the pre-eminent digital galaxy atlas for large galaxies,” says Dey. However, he points out that the SGA is not just for academic researchers, it is freely available to view online for anyone wishing to get to know our corner of the Universe better. Dey adds, “In addition to its scientific utility, it has a lot of pictures of beautiful galaxies!”
"The public release of these spectacular data contained in the atlas will have a real impact not only on astronomical research, but also on the public’s ability to view and identify relatively nearby galaxies," says Chris Davis, NSF program director for NOIRLab. "Dedicated amateur astronomers will particularly love this as a go-to resource for learning more about some of the celestial targets they observe."
Nicole Lynch, Purdue University and Shannon Pickett, Purdue University
Postpartum depression can affect anyone, and it often sneaks in quietly, like a shadow in the corners of a new mother’s life. It presents significant challenges for around 1 in 7 new mothers, affecting their emotional well-being and overall quality of life and that of the newborn.
Many – if not most – women experience the “baby blues,” or generalized feelings of sadness, worry, unhappiness and exhaustion, in the initial days after giving birth. In most cases, these mood changes are resolved in the first two weeks after having a baby. In contrast, the symptoms of postpartum depression endure for more extended periods, sometimes lingering for up to three years.
A much more rare and severe psychiatric disorder following delivery is called postpartum psychosis. Its onset is rapid and severe, with hallucinations, delusions and emotional distress, along with bizarre and sometimes dangerous behaviors. About 1 or 2 in 1,000 women experience postpartum psychosis after giving birth.
With proper awareness, education and intervention, perinatal mood disorders are nearly 100% treatable. We want women to realize that they are not alone, they are not to blame, and with help they can be well again.
Crying, sadness and lack of bonding
Following pregnancy, many women experience normal changes that can mimic symptoms of depression, such as sadness, worry and exhaustion. The transition to motherhood, particularly with a new baby in the home, can be overwhelming. However, it’s essential to distinguish between these common adjustments and more concerning signs of depression.
If you or someone you know finds themselves experiencing any of the following symptoms persistently for over two weeks after giving birth, it’s crucial they reach out to their doctor, nurse or midwife. Here are some of the most-reported symptoms of postpartum depression:
People dealing with depression not only have to manage their symptoms but may also face the stigma and discrimination that these conditions often bring. There is an expectation that new parents will be happy after delivery. Sadness, stigma, shame or guilt greatly affects a person’s willingness to seek help. Studies show that many people opt not to seek treatment to avoid being perceived as unfit parents by health care providers or family.
As a nurse and a mom who has experienced postpartum depression, I (Nicole Lynch) frequently share my story with others. Years ago, another mom shared with me how helpful it was to hear that she wasn’t alone. Knowing that other women – dedicated parents who love their children – can feel this way and that things can get better gave her hope.
Throughout my career, I (Shannon Pickett) have worked with several mothers and prospective parents who have struggled with postpartum depression. For instance, I worked with one woman for several years about her anxiety and her struggle to conceive. After years of trying, she finally became pregnant. Both she and her husband were overjoyed and could not wait to become parents.
The pregnancy went smoothly and there were no complications. She had never shown any signs of depression previously, but once the baby was born, that changed. My client had trouble bonding with the baby and did not want to hold or console her new son when he needed soothing.
Her husband would often step in to comfort the infant and would ask my client, “What is wrong with you?” It caused frustration within their marriage because the father felt as though he was doing the caregiving alone and that my client was withdrawn. She had planned to take a break from therapy for a bit after the baby was born, but her husband encouraged her to reach out to schedule an appointment.
I could tell right away that she was struggling with postpartum depression. She barely smiled, had difficulty engaging in and concentrating on our conversation and cried throughout most of the session.
We talked a lot about the guilt she felt over not wanting to be around her son or hold him, even though she had fought for so long to become a mother. After receiving a proper diagnosis and starting an antidepressant medication, my client was able to recover and bond with her son. The medication did take a few weeks to get into her system, so the results were not instant. Maintaining her sessions and using her support system were important for her recovery as well.
The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention estimates that about 20% of pregnant women were not asked about depression during a prenatal visit, and more than half of women with postpartum depression remain untreated for their symptoms.
It’s vital to remember that postpartum depression is a treatable condition. Seeking help from health care professionals is a courageous and necessary step.
Supportive therapies, including counseling, medication and lifestyle adjustments, can significantly alleviate symptoms and improve overall well-being. Early intervention is key to a faster and more complete recovery, ensuring that mothers can enjoy the precious moments with their baby and find fulfillment in motherhood.
NORTHERN CALIFORNIA — Authorities are investigating a Friday evening plane crash near Covelo that killed two people.
The Mendocino County Sheriff’s Office said its deputies responded to the report of a plane crash in the 21000 block of Airport Road in Covelo at 6 p.m. Friday.
A short time later, deputies were informed the airplane was on fire and the fire was spreading into nearby vegetation.
Personnel from Cal Fire, United States Forestry Service, California Highway Patrol, and Round Valley Tribal Police Department responded to the crash scene as well, officials said.
Once the fire was contained, deputies began searching the debris field. They located the bodies of two deceased individuals who remain unidentified at this time due to the conditions of their bodies, she sheriff’s office said.
Deputies initiated a coroner's investigation specific to aircraft accident protocols and contacted the Federal Aviation Administration and the National Transportation Safety Board.
The circumstances/cause of the crash is currently being investigated by NTSB investigators who were making arrangements to respond to the crash scene upon being notified of the incident by the Mendocino County Sheriff's Office.
The Sheriff's Office Coroner's Division will continue the Coroner's Investigation in conjunction with the NTSB investigation.
Anyone with information that may assist investigators are urged to contact the Mendocino County Sheriff's Office Dispatch Center by calling 707-463-4086.
LAKEPORT, Calif. — State Senate Majority Leader Mike McGuire represents Lake County in the California Legislature and visited Lakeport on Wednesday during his travels in the district.
During a stop in Lakeport, Sen. McGuire visited Lakeport’s new Xabatin Community Park, located on the site of the former Natural High School.
McGuire visited the site with Public Works Director Ron Ladd, City Clerk Kelly Buendia, Councilmember Brandon Disney, City Manager Kevin Ingram, Councilmember Kenny Parlet and Project Coordinator Vincent Salcedo.
The park received its official name from the Lakeport City Council at its meeting on Tuesday.
“Xabatin” — pronounced Ka-bah-ten — is the original Pomo name for Clear Lake, signifying "big water."
Grand opening ceremonies for the park, funded through a $5.9 million grant through Proposition 68, will be held on Thursday, Oct. 26, at 4 p.m..
The public is invited to the celebration which will include a ribbon cutting, land acknowledgment, native dancers from the Big Valley Band of Pomo Indians and the Scotts Valley Band of Pomo Indians, along with light refreshments and food trucks.
Curious Kids is a series for children of all ages. If you have a question you’d like an expert to answer, send it to This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it..
Why is space so dark despite all of the stars in the universe? – Nikhil, age 15, New Delhi
People have been asking why space is dark despite being filled with stars for so long that this question has a special name – Olbers’ paradox.
Astronomers estimate that there are about 200 billion trillion stars in the observable universe. And many of those stars are as bright or even brighter than our sun. So, why isn’t space filled with dazzling light?
I am an astronomer who studies stars and planets – including those outside our solar system – and their motion in space. The study of distant stars and planets helps astronomers like me understand why space is so dark.
You can listen to more articles from The Conversation, narrated by Noa, here.
You might guess it’s because a lot of the stars in the universe are very far away from Earth. Of course, it is true that the farther away a star is, the less bright it looks – a star 10 times farther away looks 100 times dimmer. But it turns out this isn’t the whole answer.
Imagine a bubble
Pretend, for a moment, that the universe is so old that the light from even the farthest stars has had time to reach Earth. In this imaginary scenario, all of the stars in the universe are not moving at all.
Picture a large bubble with Earth at the center. If the bubble were about 10 light years across, it would contain about a dozen stars. Of course, at several light years away, many of those stars would look pretty dim from Earth.
If you keep enlarging the bubble to 1,000 light years across, then to 1 million light years, and then 1 billion light years, the farthest stars in the bubble will look even more faint. But there would also be more and more stars inside the bigger and bigger bubble, all of them contributing light. Even though the farthest stars look dimmer and dimmer, there would be a lot more of them, and the whole night sky should look very bright.
It seems I’m back where I started, but I’m actually a little closer to the answer.
Age matters
In the imaginary bubble illustration, I asked you to imagine that the stars are not moving and that the universe is very old. But the universe is only about 13 billion years old.
Even though that’s an amazingly long time in human terms, it’s short in astronomical terms. It’s short enough that the light from stars more distant than about 13 billion light years hasn’t actually reached Earth yet. And so the actual bubble around Earth that contains all the stars we can see only extends out to about 13 billion light years from Earth.
There just are not enough stars in the bubble to fill every line of sight. Of course, if you look in some directions in the sky, you can see stars. If you look at other bits of the sky, you can’t see any stars. And that’s because, in those dark spots, the stars that could block your line of sight are so far away their light hasn’t reached Earth yet. As time passes, light from these more and more distant stars will have time to reach us.
The Doppler shift
You might ask whether the night sky will eventually light up completely. But that brings me back to the other thing I told you to imagine: that all of the stars are not moving. The universe is actually expanding, with the most distant galaxies moving away from Earth at nearly the speed of light.
Because the galaxies are moving away so fast, the light from their stars is pushed into colors the human eye can’t see. This effect is called the Doppler shift. So, even if it had enough time to reach you, you still couldn’t see the light from the most distant stars with your eyes. And the night sky would not be completely lit up.
Even though our night sky isn’t completely filled with stars, we live in a very special time in the universe’s life, when we’re lucky enough to enjoy a rich and complex night sky, filled with light and dark.
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