The orbit of the Southern Delta Aquarid meteor (red) was a good match to that of the parent comet (blue).

Stand out under the stars for more than half an hour on a clear night and you'll likely see a few of the meteors produced by the onslaught. But where does all this stuff come from? Surprisingly, the answer is not well known.

Now NASA is deploying a network of smart cameras across the United States to answer the question,

What's hitting Earth?

Did that meteor you saw blazing through the sky last night come from the asteroid belt? Was it created in a comet's death throes? Or was it a piece of space junk meeting a fiery demise?

“When I get to work each morning and power up my computer, there's an email waiting with answers,” said William Cooke, head of NASA's Meteoroid Environment Office. “And I don't have to lift a finger, except to click my mouse button."

Groups of smart cameras in the new meteor network triangulate the fireballs' paths, and special software uses the data to compute their orbits and email Cooke his morning message.

“If someone calls me and asks 'What was that?' I'll be able to tell them. We'll have a record of every big meteoroid that enters the atmosphere over the certain parts of the U.S. Nothing will burn up in those skies without me knowing about it!”

In other U.S. meteor networks, someone has to manually look at all the cameras' data and calculate the orbits – a painstaking process.

“With our network, our computers do it for us – and fast,” said Cooke.

The network's first three cameras, each about the size of a gumball machine, are already up and running. Cooke's team will soon have 15 cameras deployed east of the Mississippi River, with plans to expand nationwide. Cooke is actively seeking schools, science centers, and planetaria willing to host his cameras. Criteria are listed in the notes at the end of this story.

In addition to tracking fireballs and their orbits, Cooke's system gives him other valuable information.

“It provides data on meteor speed as a function of size – and this is critical to calibrating the models we use in designing spacecraft.”

Meteorite hunters will reap benefits too. By determining a bright fireball's trajectory through the atmosphere, the network's software can calculate whether it will plunge to Earth and pinpoint the impact location fairly precisely.

“And when we collect the meteorite chunks, we'll know their source. I could be holding a piece of Vesta in my hand. It would be like a free sample return mission!”

Opportunities like that, however, will be rare.

NASA's Smart Meteor Network is catching more than fireballs. In this movie, a bird stops to rest on one of the cameras in Georgia. Apparently, spiders like the cameras, too.

“Most meteorites fall in the ocean, lakes, forests, farmer's fields, or the Antarctic,” said Rhiannon Blaauw, who assists Cooke. “And the majority of those meteorites will never be found. But our system will help us track down more of them.”

All cameras in the network send their fireball information to Cooke and to a public Web site, http://fireballs.ndc.nasa.gov.

Teachers can contact Cooke at This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. to request teacher workshop slides containing suggestions for classroom use of the data. Students can learn to plot fireball orbits and speeds, where the objects hit the ground, how high in the atmosphere the fireballs burn up, etc.

Cooke gives this advice to students and others who want to try meteor watching on their own:

“Go out on a clear night, lie flat on your back, and look straight up. It will take 30 to 40 minutes for your eyes to become light adapted, so be patient. By looking straight up, you may catch meteor streaks with your peripheral vision too. You don't need any special equipment – just your eyes.”

One more thing – don't forget to check the Web site to find out what you saw!

Dauna Coulter works for the National Aeronautics and Space Administration.

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Twenty-two year old rookie Kyla Durham from Lake County finished 11^th in the 2011 Yukon Quest International Sled Dog Race last month.

She covered the 1,000 miles between Whitehorse, Yukon to Fairbanks, Alaska in 13 days 1 hour and 53 minutes, crossing the finish line on Friday, Feb. 18, at 1:05 p.m.

She and her nine-dog team from Wild and Free Mushing were all in fine spirits.

Thirteen days earlier and back in Whitehorse, Clyde, one of Durham’s lead dogs, couldn’t wait to get

started, chewed his tug line, and took off on his own seconds before Durham’s start. Durham had him back in harness and pulling with the team 300 yards down the trail.

She started with 14 dogs, many of them under two years, but left five dogs with her handler at check points along the way.

Dogs that sprain a wrist, catch a virus or turn out just not to have it in them get a ride to the end of the race.

Although dogs can be dropped from the race team, no dogs can be added during the race.

This was an unusual year and 12 of the 25 mushers did not finish the race, including several of those thought to have a good chance of winning.

The weather was a big factor, but Durham and others at the back of the pack missed the worst of the storm that hit the front runners.

When asked if she was nervous about heading out into the storm that had caused several mushers to scratch from the race, Durham responded that she preferred “delusional happiness” to worrying.

Durham was running a team of young dogs, training them up for Brent Sass, fellow musher, and owner of Wild and Free Mushing.

Sass was there when Durham arrived at the finish line as was her mother, visiting from Northern California to see her daughter living her dream and finishing her first Yukon Quest.

To see Kyla Durham in action, visit the following links:

http://s804.photobucket.com/albums/yy324/auntreen/Yukon%20Quest%202011%20%20Kyla%20Durham%20start/?action=view&current=MVI_4390.mp4 .

http://www.youtube.com/TheYukonQuest#p/u/3/r7P7Aoz4Oz8 .

http://www.facebook.com/YukonQuest#!/video/video.php?v=726275222375&oid=49609734489&comments .

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SACRAMENTO, Calif. – A California Highway Patrol program aims to get teenagers off to a safe start as drivers.

Striving to keep teens safe on the road, the CHP continues to educate young drivers throughout the state with the federal grant-funded “Start Smart” program.

The overall goal of this program is to reduce the number of people killed and injured on the state’s roadways through education.

Nationwide, car crashes are the leading cause of death for teenagers.

California is not immune to this disturbing trend; In 2008 more than 24,000 drivers between 15 to 19 years of age were involved in fatal and injury collisions in this state.

“New drivers lack the experience that is needed on the road,” said CHP Commissioner Joe Farrow. “Through interactive education programs like ‘Start Smart,’ law enforcement is working to influence California’s teen drivers so they will make good choices behind the wheel.”

The CHP’s “Start Smart” program is a free, two-hour interactive driver safety class for teens and their parents or guardians.

During the course, officers and speakers illustrate the critical responsibilities of driving and collision avoidance techniques.

Parents also are reminded of their responsibility to help teach their new driver and model good behavior.

According to the Statewide Integrated Traffic Records System, within the CHP’s jurisdiction, from 2006 through 2008, there were 34,086 fatal and injury collisions involving at least one driver between the ages of 15 and 19.

These collisions resulted in 895 motorists’ deaths and 53,121 people injured, the CHP reported.

Statewide statistics show that 88,270 fatal and injury collisions occurred involving at least one teen driver, resulting in 1,488 people killed and 137,307 victims injured.

“It’s important to remember, accidents do happen, but collisions are preventable,” said Commissioner Farrow. “Poor choices behind the wheel of a vehicle can affect the lives of numerous people.”

Parents and teenagers can sign up for a “Start Smart” class by contacting their local CHP office. For the number of a nearby office, go to www.chp.ca.gov.

This program is supported by a grant awarded by the California Office of Traffic Safety Administration through the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration.

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LAKE COUNTY, Calif. – The late Russell Rustici, a Lake County cattle rancher who had a scientist’s drive to understand the rangelands that were his livelihood, has left about $9.5 million to the University of California, Davis, to support research and outreach efforts addressing problems that face California cattle producers and rangelands.

Rustici’s gift establishes the Russell L. Rustici Rangeland and Cattle Research Endowment in the UC Davis College of Agricultural and Environmental Sciences.

The endowment will support applied research in water quality, rangeland ecology, animal health and other areas of importance to ranchers and residents across the state.

“Russell Rustici's bequest will assure the long-term health of rangelands and cattle ranching in California,” said Neal Van Alfen, dean of the College of Agricultural and Environmental Sciences. “His gifts will allow our researchers to solve ecosystem problems facing ranchers and help improve the quality of life for generations to come. Russell clearly understood how private donors can support our land-grant mission of solving society's problems.”

Rustici, who died in October 2008, fulfilled a lifelong dream to become a cattle rancher in Lake County after working many years in produce distribution.

As he became immersed in ranching, he sought to better understand the science behind rangeland and cattle management.

His bequest follows years of philanthropy in support of research at UC Davis.

In 2008, he gave $1.2 million to establish two endowed positions at the university: the Russell L. Rustici Endowed Chair in Rangeland Watershed Science and the Russell L. Rustici Endowed Specialist in Cooperative Extension in Rangeland Watershed Science.

The endowed chair position, held by Randy Dahlgren, professor and chair of the UC Davis Department of Land, Air and Water Resources, is devoted to research that examines water quality, nutrient cycling and hydrology on rangeland watershed.

The endowed extension position, held by Cooperative Extension rangeland management specialist Kenneth Tate, is focused on helping livestock producers manage rangelands in ways that simultaneously improve both water quality and ranch profitability.

Rustici’s total gifts to UC Davis are expected to exceed $10.8 million once his estate has been fully distributed.

He is among the top 10 donors to The Campaign for UC Davis, which seeks to raise $1 billion by 2014 for expanding the university’s capacity to meet the world’s challenges and educate future leaders.

Rustici also has a park in Lower Lake named after him, and left a generous bequest to Carlé Continuation High School in Lower Lake, Calif.

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LAKE COUNTY, Calif. – A two-day enforcement sweep conducted by the Lake County Gang Task Force this week has resulted in a total of 17 arrests and the seizure of suspected methamphetamine.

On March 8 and 9, the Lake County Gang Task Force conducted more than 50 probation or parole searches in unincorporated county communities and the cities of Clearlake and Lakeport, according to a report from Capt. James Bauman of the Lake County Sheriff's Office.

The operation targeted validated gang members, known drug dealers and convicted sex registrants. Bauman said 14 of the total arrests included felony charges and the other three were classified as misdemeanors.

Arrests made during the two-day operation also resulted in nine parole violations, the execution of eight outstanding arrest warrants and two Immigration and Naturalization holds, Bauman said.

Arrests made during the two day operation included:

• Angel Rodriquez Jr., 33, for violation of parole;

• Steven Michael Pruitt, 25, for a misdemeanor warrant and possession of narcotics paraphernalia;

• Samuel William Rhea, 30, for a misdemeanor warrant;

• Paul Martinez, 40, for violation of parole;

• Javier Gonzalez Alvarez, 27, for possession of concentrated cannabis;

• Alejandro Jose Lopez, 29, for a misdemeanor warrant;

• Ronald Melvin Lebrun, 38, for a felony warrant and a misdemeanor warrant;

• Kelvin Lee Simpson, 44, for violation of parole;

• Cesario Angelo Jacobo, 35, for violation of parole;

• Doffus Lomack Gallon, 42, for violation of parole;

• Jose Matilde Vega, 25, for an immigration hold;

• Ivan Montalvo Vargas, 24, for possession of a controlled substance for sales, possession of marijuana for sales, a felony warrant and an immigration hold;

• John Girllmo Marquez, 46, for possession of a controlled substance for sales and a felony warrant;

• Joseph Robert Garcia, 37, for violation of parole;

• Charlene Marie Carver, 24, for violation of parole and felon in possession of tear gas;

• Thomatra Eugene Lyons, 32, for violation of parole;

• Dwayne Lenor Yiggins, 33, for violation of parole.

The Lake County Gang Task Force consists of members from the Lake County Sheriff’s Office, the Clearlake Police Department, the Lakeport Police Department, the Lake County Probation Department and the Lake County District Attorney’s Office.

This week’s operation was assisted by members of the Sheriff’s Narcotics Task Force, the Sheriff’s Narcotics Detection K-9 teams, California State Parole and the Department of Homeland Security.

Bauman said the Lake County Sheriff’s Office considered the two-day enforcement sweep a complete

success and attributed that success to the coordinated and cooperative effort of all the agencies that were involved.

Sheriff Frank Rivero expressed his deepest appreciation to the dedicated law enforcement professionals that participated in this operation and helped make Lake County a safer place to live.

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Defense officials are shaking their heads in disbelief as congressional leaders continue to delay passing a wartime defense appropriations bill for fiscal year 2011, which began last October.

With the military spending bill now more than five months overdue, lawmakers Wednesday passed a new stopgap “continuing resolution,” this “CR” to last two weeks, so Defense and other federal departments can continue at least to spend at last year’s budget level.

But the CR doesn’t account for inflation on so many things the military buys including medical care, fuel and supplies, as well as thousands of service and manufacturing contracts. This has left the services scrambling to close funding gaps in critical accounts, including for personnel and health care, by moving money from elsewhere in their budgets.

The result is billions of defense contracting dollars wasted and force readiness falling, Defense officials warned this week in testimony before the Senate and House defense appropriation subcommittees.

“We’ve been holding our breath so long that we are starting to turn blue,” Under Secretary of Defense Robert F. Hale, the comptroller and chief financial officer, bluntly told senators.

Hale and Deputy Defense Secretary William J. Lynn III described how budget delays have raised defense costs by creating enormous inefficiencies. These threaten to offset the effect of efficiency initiatives Defense Secretary Robert Gates and a task force painstakingly identified over the last year.

“This undercuts that greatly,” Lynn said.

Under a CR, the services can’t get full funding of “must-pay” bills such as for pay raises and health care. Monies then must be moved from other accounts, affecting readiness and modernization goals.

The services so far have suspended 75 construction projects. Army and Marine Corps have imposed temporary civilian hiring freezes.

Navy cut the length of advance notice given sailors and families to prepare for change-of-station moves, from six months to two. It also delayed contracting for a second Virginia-class submarine this year and delayed buying equipment for a DDG-51 destroyer.

Army has deferred the purchase of Chinook helicopters, the refurbishing of war-torn Humvees and has issued a temporary stop-work order on its Stryker Mobile Gun System.

“These are costly actions that we will want to reverse,” Hale said, but that will not be done “at the same price.”

Sen. Daniel K. Inouye (D-Hawaii), defense subcommittee chairman, acknowledged the myriad of problems that a divided Congress has created.

“The readiness of our forces is beginning to be threatened as flying hours and streaming days are reduced, exercises and training events are canceled, equipment is foregoing much needed maintenance,” he said.

Republicans and Democrats continued to play politics with the defense money bill even after the new Congress convened. The House passed its 2011 defense appropriations bill but tied it to controversial deficit-reduction CR. Senate Democrats rejected it, saying that the CR language would decimate many domestic programs on which a recovering economy relies.

Inouye expects that another short CR might have to be passed when the two-week CR expires in mid-March. By April, lawmakers hope to be able to pass a CR that would last through Sept. 30, but with a full 2011 defense appropriations bill attached.

Gates and Adm. Mike Mullen, chairman of the Joint Chief, led the chorus of defense officials this week in warning of more dire consequences if a CR is allowed to freeze defense spending through all of 2011. In effect, that would cut $23 billion arbitrarily from the defense budget request that President Obama submitted back in February 2010.

But the most urgent unfinished business, Gates told the House subcommittee, is inaction on a $1.2 billion reprogramming request for troops fighting in Afghanistan.

The money would buy fixed-base sensors to enhance intelligence and reconnaissance capabilities, which Army Gen. David Petraeus, allied forces commander in Afghanistan, says are needed immediately “to better protect our forward-operating bases,” Gates said.

“As of last week, all congressional committees except this one approved the request," Gates said. He pointedly warned the panel not to jeopardize troops “to protect specific programs or contractors.”

Mullen complained that leaving the department under a CR for all of fiscal 2011 “would deprive us of the flexibility we need to support our troops and their families.” Some programs “may take years to recover,” he said.

Operating under a CR since October already “has caused regrettable complications,” Lynn told senators. A year-long CR would impact fighting forces even more directly “and their readiness to defend the nation.”

Hale predicted “brutal reprogramming actions” to move up to $2.5 billion into personnel accounts to ensure everyone gets paid. Another $1.3 billion would have to be shifted to close a money gap for military health care.

Expect “horrible management consequences … many too difficult to notice from here in Washington,” Lynn said. Program managers will delay contracts, and then “hastily make up for that by contracting too quickly without appropriate safeguards.”

Others “will resort to short-term contracts that add expense for the taxpayer and instability for the industrial base.”

If the CR remains in effect, Air Force predicts a 10 percent cut in flying hours and lowering the buy of Reaper unmanned aircraft to 24 this year from the 36 planned. Navy would cut flight hours, ship steaming days and training exercises. All services would defer maintenance of equipment.

Army would have to cut depot maintenance by $200 million, lowering readiness rates for Blackhawk and Kiowa helicopters. Navy would cancel maintenance availability periods for as many as 29 surface ships.

“The good news,” Hale said, “is that the troops are paying attention to their jobs and letting us worry about this, which is what they should do.”

To comment, send e-mail to This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. or write to Military Update, P.O. Box 231111, Centreville, VA, 20120-1111.

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In the first census of its kind, research led by UC Davis and Stanford University found that there are far fewer white sharks off central California than biologists had thought.

The study, published in the journal Biology Letters, is the first rigorous scientific estimate of white shark numbers in the northeast Pacific Ocean. It is also the best estimate among the world's three known white shark populations. The others are in Australia/New Zealand and South Africa.

The researchers went out into the Pacific Ocean in small boats to places where white sharks congregate.

They lured the sharks into photo range using a seal-shaped decoy on a fishing line. From 321 photographs of the uniquely jagged edges of white sharks’ dorsal fins, they identified 131 individual sharks.

From these data they used statistical methods to estimate that there are 219 adult and sub-adult white sharks in the region.

White sharks are classed as sub-adults when they reach about 8 to 9 feet in length and their dietary focus shifts from eating fish to mostly marine mammals. They are adults when they reach sexual maturity — for males, that is about 13 feet long; for females, it is about 15 feet.

“This low number was a real surprise,” said UC Davis doctoral student Taylor Chapple, the study's lead author. “It’s lower than we expected, and also substantially smaller than populations of other large marine predators, such as killer whales and polar bears. However, this estimate only represents a single point in time; further research will tell us if this number represents a healthy, viable population, or one critically in danger of collapse, or something in between.”

“We’ve found that these white sharks return to the same regions of the coast year after year,” said study co-author Barbara Block, a Stanford University marine biologist and a leading expert on sharks, tunas and billfishes. “It is this fact that makes it possible to estimate their numbers. Our goal is to keep track of our ocean predators.”

Satellite tagging studies have demonstrated that white sharks in the northeast Pacific make annual migrations from coastal areas in Central California and Guadalupe Island, Mexico, out to the Hawaiian Islands or to the “White Shark Café,” a region of the open ocean between the Baja Peninsula and Hawaii where white sharks have been found to congregate — and then they return to the coastal areas.

In addition to Block and Chapple (who is now a postdoctoral researcher at the Max Planck Institute in Germany), the study’s co-authors are Loo Botsford, professor, and Peter Klimley, adjunct associate professor, both of the UC Davis Department of Wildlife, Fish and Conservation Biology; postdoctoral researcher Salvador Jorgensen of Stanford University, who is now a research scientist with the Monterey Bay Aquarium; researcher Scot Anderson of Point Reyes National Seashore; and graduate student Paul Kanive of Montana State University in Bozeman.

The research was funded by the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Association (NOAA) Fisheries through the Partnership for Education in Marine Resource and Ecosystem Management (PEMREM) and the NOAA Fisheries/Sea Grant Fellowship Program; the Gordon and Betty Moore Foundation; the National Park Service’s Pacific Coast Science and Learning Center; Monterey Bay Aquarium; UC Davis Bodega Marine Laboratory; and Patricia King, a member of the Point Reyes National Seashore Association.

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Lake County’s unemployment rate up went up in January, hitting 19.7 percent, up 0.4 percentage points from the revised December figures and up 0.3 percentage points over January 2010, according to the Employment Development Department.

California's overall rate was 12.4 percent, down from the December unemployment rate of 12.5 percent but up from the 12.3 percent reported in January 2010, the report showed.

Nonfarm payroll jobs increased by 12,500 in January in California, with the state reporting that five of 11 industry sectors showing gains.

The number of people unemployed in California was 2,248,000 – down by 25,000 over the month, but up by 8,000 compared with January of last year, the state said.

The unemployment rate is derived from a federal survey of 5,500 California households, the state reported.

Nationally, unemployment also decreased slightly in January, with the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics reporting a 9 percent rate, down from 9.4 percent in December and 9.7 percent in January 2011.

The agency reported that in February nationwide unemployment edged down again, to 8.9 percent, the lowest level since April 2009. During that time 192,000 nonfarm payroll jobs were added.

Lake County's January unemployment rate earned it a ranking of No. 49 out of California's 58 counties.

In January, Lake had a labor force of 24,460 people, with 4,830 of them without jobs, state figures showed. In December, when Lake County was ranked No. 51 for unemployment, it had a 24,430-member workforce with 4,720 people out of work.

Marin County and Mono County tied for lowest unemployment in January, both with 8.2 percent. State figures showed that the highest unemployment in the state was found in neighboring Colusa County, where 27.8 percent of the workforce is jobless.

Lake's neighboring counties registered the following unemployment rates and statewide ranks: Colusa, 27.8 percent, No. 58; Glenn, 18.8 percent, No. 47; Yolo, 15.3 percent, No. 33; Mendocino, 12.3 percent, No. 19; Napa, 10.7 percent, No. 12; and Sonoma, 10.5 percent, No. 10.

Inside Lake County, Upper Lake has the lowest January unemployment, at 10.5 percent, with Clearlake Oaks reporting the highest, 28.8 percent, state records showed.

The following unemployment rates were reported for other areas of the county, from highest to lowest: Nice, 28.1 percent; city of Clearlake, 27.7 percent; Lucerne, 20.8 percent; Kelseyville, 20.1 percent; Middletown, 19.9 percent; city of Lakeport, 19.1 percent; Cobb, 17.7 percent; Lower Lake, 16.7 percent; Hidden Valley Lake, 16.4 percent; north Lakeport, 15.8 percent.

Dennis Mullins of the Employment Development Department's Labor Market Information Division said Lake County industry employment decreased 170 jobs between December and January, ending the month-over period with 11,970.

He said overall, six industries gained or were unchanged over the month and five declined. Total government employment remained down over the year.

The county's month-over job growth occurred in categories including farm, 60 new jobs; professional and business services, 10; other services, 10; government, 10, according to Mullins.

Month-over job losses occurred in mining, logging and construction, 60 lost jobs; manufacturing, 20; trade, transportation and utilities, 70; private educational and health services, 60; and leisure and hospitality, 50, he said. Information and financial activities showed no change over the month.

Modest job gains statewide

California's nonfarm jobs in January totaled 13,971,200, an increase of 12,500 over the month, according to a survey of businesses that is larger and less variable statistically.

That survey of 42,000 California businesses measures jobs in the economy. The year-over-year change – from January 2010 to January 2011 – shows an increase of 102,100 jobs, up 0.7 percent, the Employment Development Department said.

The state said that the federal survey of households, done with a smaller sample than the survey of employers, shows an increase in the number of employed people.

It estimated the number of Californians holding jobs in January was 15,905,000, an increase of 27,000 from December, but down 32,000 from the employment total in January of last year, according to the report.

The Employment Development Department's Friday report on payroll employment – wage and salary jobs – in the nonfarm industries of California totaled 13,971,200 in January, a net gain of 12,500 jobs since the December survey. This followed a gain of 21,700 jobs, as revised, in December.

Five categories – mining and logging; construction; manufacturing; trade, transportation and utilities; and government – added jobs over the month, gaining 41,800 jobs. The state said trade, transportation and utilities posted the largest increase over the month, adding 19,200 jobs.

Six categories – information; financial activities; professional and business services; educational and health services; leisure and hospitality; and other services – reported job declines this month, down 29,300 jobs. The Employment Development Department said the information category posted the largest decline over the month, down by 9,600 jobs.

In a year-over-year comparison – January 2010 to January 2011 – nonfarm payroll employment in California increased by 102,100 jobs, up 0.7 percent, the Friday report said.

Seven industry divisions – mining and logging; manufacturing; trade, transportation and utilities; information; professional and business services; educational and health services; and leisure and hospitality – posted job gains over the year, adding 175,100 jobs, according to the Employment Development Department.

The state said professional and business services posted the largest gain on a numerical basis, up by 60,400 jobs, an increase of 3.0 percent. Mining and logging posted the largest gain on a percentage basis, up by 4.2 percent, up by 1,100 jobs.

Four categories – construction; financial activities; other services; and government – posted job declines over the year, down 73,000 jobs, the state said. Government posted the largest decline on both a numerical and percentage basis, down by 49,700 jobs, a decrease of 2.0 percent.

Regarding unemployment claims, the Employment Development Department reported that there were 603,946 people receiving regular unemployment insurance benefits during the January survey week, compared with 599,221 in December and 717,070 in January 2010.

At the same time, new claims for unemployment insurance were 63,331 in January 2011, compared with 87,289 in December and 92,738 in January of last year, the report showed.

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MIDDLETOWN, Calif. – The South Lake County Fire Protection District got a piece of good news this week when it was informed that it had won a large federal grant that will enable it to hire more firefighters.

On Thursday Congressman Mike Thompson (D-St. Helena) announced that the district will receive $724,909 in grant funding to help hire firefighters.

“We just found out about it yesterday so we're all excited,” district Assistant Chief Jim Wright said Thursday, adding, “It was really good news.”

The funds are provided through the Department of Homeland Security’s Staffing for Adequate Fire and Emergency Response (SAFER) program, Thompson said.

“The economic downturn has created significant burdens for fire departments in Northern California and across the country,” said Thompson. “Many communities have had no choice but to lay off firefighters and other emergency personnel, despite the threat to public safety. The generous funding provided through the SAFER program will not only improve the South Lake County Fire Protection District’s ability to respond to fire hazards, but also improve our community’s overall level of preparedness.”

Wright thanked Thompson for his efforts in helping to secure the grant funds.

Wright credited district battalion chiefs Rich Boehm and Scott Upton for putting together the grant application.

Thompson's office reported that, nationwide, the SAFER program provides approximately $420 million in competitive grants to fire departments and volunteer firefighter support groups.

The objective of the program is to help these departments increase the number of trained, frontline firefighters available in their communities, according to Thompson's office. Grant funds may be used to recruit and retain new firefighters, or to rehire firefighters who were laid-off due to the economy.

Wright said the district will use the grant to hire three additional firefighters.

He said that the grant will cover the wages for the firefighters for the first two years. In the third year the district will be responsible for those salaries.

“That's part of the deal, we have to keep them on for that third year,” he said.

South Lake County Fire Protection District contracts with Cal Fire to provide fire protection, Wright explained.

They currently have a staff of 10 firefighters, said Wright.

The district is the third largest, based on land size, in California, at 286 square miles, according to the South Lake Fire Safe Council.

Two firefighters at a time – one medic and one engineer – staff the district's two stations, Wright said.

With the amount of staff they have, Wright said they're constantly running into overtime issues.

“It will reduce our overtime costs greatly,” he said.

Wright said they will go through a regular hiring process to add the new firefighters.

“There's plenty of people waiting in the wings because Cal Fire's been cut back,” he said.

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LAKE COUNTY, Calif. – The annual year in review for the local watershed groups is always a fun, informative evening, and this year’s event will be no exception.

Mark your calendar for Thursday, March 24, and join local watershed groups at the Lower Lake School House Museum, 16435 Morgan Valley Road in Lower Lake.

The doors will open at 6 p.m., with the event beginning immediately following the potluck.

Bring a dish that's ready to be shared with your friends and neighbors, and be prepared to honor the volunteers who work to make your communities and watersheds a better place to live.

Greg Dills, district manager and watershed coordinator for the East Lake and West Lake Resource Conservation Districts will show highlights of activities by the watershed groups in the Upper Cache Creek Watershed.

Dills will also present information about the activities and projects of the county's resource conservation districts.

Friends and neighbors of volunteers from the Big Valley Watershed Council, Chi Council for the Clear Lake hitch, Lower Lake Watershed Council, Middle Creek CRMP, Nice Watershed Council, and Scotts Creek Watershed Council are especially encouraged to attend.

A Volunteer of the Year Award will be presented to an outstanding member from the active watershed groups.

The West Lake Resource Conservation District will also be presenting their annual Partner of the Year Award.

A special treat this year will be a presentation by the Tribe’s ongoing work they're doing to help preserve the Clear Lake hitch.

The evening is one of celebration for the work the watershed groups do throughout the year, and is being hosted by the Lower Lake Watershed Council.

Each year the public is invited to attend the event to learn more about the contributions these ambitious volunteers make to their communities.

There's been a recent focus on illegal dumping activities, and various concerns are being expressed regarding the health of the watersheds in Lake County.

Be a part of what your community can do to help with these issues – join a watershed group.

For more information about these organizations, please visit www.lakecountyrcds.org.

There will be good food, great volunteers and caring members of the community… the perfect combination for a successful annual meeting.

For more information, contact Greg Dills, 707-263-4180, Extension 102.

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LAKE COUNTY, Calif. – It's once again time to “spring ahead.”

Daylight Savings Time begins at 2 a.m. Sunday, March 13, at which time it will once again be time to set clocks forward one hour.

While stopping to adjust the clocks, state fire officials urge that it's also a good time to change smoke detector batteries.

Smoke alarms are such a common feature in homes across California that it is easy to take them for granted. Tragically, nearly two-thirds of residential fire deaths occur in homes without working smoke alarms.

To help reduce these losses, Cal Fire and the Office of the State Fire Marshal are reminding all Californians to change the batteries in their smoke alarms when turning ahead the clock this Saturday night in observance of Daylight Saving Time.

When smoke alarms fail to operate, it is usually because batteries are missing, disconnected or dead.

“Working smoke alarms greatly reduce the likelihood of residential fire-related fatalities by providing an early audible warning, alerting occupants and giving them an opportunity to safely escape,” said acting State Fire Marshal Tonya Hoover.

That’s critical because 85 percent of all fire deaths occur in the home, and the majority occur at night when most people are sleeping.

“Smoke alarms unquestionably help save lives, but a smoke alarm is nothing without a working battery inside of it” said Chief Ken Pimlott, acting director of Cal Fire. “Just a few minutes twice a year to change that battery can truly mean the difference between life and death.”

Cal Fire offers the following tips on smoke alarms:

• Test smoke alarms once a month.

• Replace batteries in all smoke alarms twice a year.

• Don’t “borrow” or remove batteries from smoke alarms even temporarily.

• Regularly vacuum or dust smoke alarms to keep them working properly.

• Replace smoke alarms every 10 years.

• Don’t paint over smoke alarms.

• Practice family fire drills so everyone knows what to do if the smoke alarm goes off.

Find more information visit the Cal Fire at www.fire.ca.gov.

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LAKE COUNTY, Calif. – The California Highway Patrol's Clear Lake Area Office reported Thursday that it has received a grant that it will use to address growing numbers of fatal motorcycle- and alcohol-involved crashes.

The CHP reported that last year fewer people in California were killed as a result of driving under the influence (DUI) or a motorcycle collision than in 2008.

However, while the news is encouraging, the agency said there is still more work to be done both statewide and locally.

Whether collisions or victims, motorcycle or alcohol-involved, Statewide Integrated Traffic Records System figures between 2001 and 2008 reflect a troubling upward trend in fatal and injury (reportable) crashes, according to CHP.

During this seven-year time span, reportable motorcycle-involved collisions in Lake County were up 144 percent, while reportable alcohol-involved crashes increased 13 percent.

“Operating a motorcycle or driving a vehicle while impaired can have deadly consequences,” said CHP Lt. Mark Loveless, commander of the Clear Lake Area office.

Lake County provides a primary thoroughfare linking Interstate 5 and U.S. 101 via state routes 20, 29 and 53.

These scenic and winding roadways are favored by thousands of motorcyclists, often while riding in special motorcycle-related events.

Alcohol is also commonly served at these events, which compounds the problem. Some of the visitors to nearby wineries also drive while impaired through Lake County, the CHP said.

To address the issue, CHP’s Clear Lake Area officers will implement a yearlong “Five Alive” grant-funded enforcement program focusing on motorcyclists and impaired drivers.

“Enhanced enforcement efforts directed at motorcyclists and impaired drivers, coupled with an aggressive public education and awareness program, should help reduce the number of fatal and injury collisions,” said Lt. Loveless.

In addition, the “Five Alive” program includes collaboration with other local law enforcement agencies to incorporate ongoing anti-DUI endeavors.

These endeavors include weekend patrols, air support, and warrant service operations targeting drivers with multiple DUI offenses, the CHP reported.

The agency said a public education and awareness campaign will also be conducted over the next 12 months.

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

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