As the one-year anniversary of the devastating Japanese tsunami arrived this month, engineers from the USC Viterbi School of Engineering Tsunami Research Center are working with the State of California to better understand the damaging currents caused by tsunamis.

Funded by the California Geological Survey, the California Emergency Management Agency, and the Federal Emergency Management Agency, USC researchers will use hydrodynamic computer modeling and historical tsunami data to evaluate the currents generated by tsunamis and their effect within California ports and harbors.

Results from the study will be used to determine safe depths for evacuation, to map zones that might be prone to higher or lower currents under tsunami conditions (to inform how ships and boats are moved and evacuated), and to create hazard maps for ports, harbors and marinas. Work will begin in the next few weeks and last through the end of 2012.

Currents caused by the Japanese tsunami of March 2011 caused millions of dollars of damage at 27 harbors along the California coast, particularly in Santa Cruz and Crescent City.

In Santa Barbara, swirling currents lasted for more than 24 hours, with the strongest surges taking place long after the original currents.

According to Associate Professor Patrick Lynett and Adjunct Research Professor Jose Borrero of the USC Sonny Astani Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering, who will conduct the study, these tsunami-induced “phantom currents” are not well understood.

Even in moderate-sized tsunamis, currents can rip large boats from their moorings. During the Indian Ocean tsunami in 2004, at locations very far from the earthquake itself, large ships were ripped from their moorings and pushed around the harbor by surges occurring many hours after the tsunami first arrived.

A similar effect occurred in Crescent City in November 2006, when a magnitude 8.3 earthquake off of Russia's Kuril Island caused a moderate tsunami.

The currents caused by the waves were strongest some three hours after tsunami arrival and caused $20 million in damage to Crescent City harbor. Repairs from that event had not yet been completed when the Japan tsunami struck.

“Imagine an oil tanker or cargo ship torn loose and out of control in the Port of LA or San Francisco Bay,” warned Dr. Lynett, USC's John and Dorothy Shea Early Career Chair in Civil Engineering. “The problem could escalate very quickly.”

“California is being proactive in its effort to re-evaluate certain elements of its tsunami preparedness based on lessons learned from the Japan event,” said Dr. Borrero. “During the Japan tsunami, even though we knew how big the waves were going to be, we severely underestimated the strength and duration of the currents.”

“Fortunately, this is a hazard that can be dealt with,” said Rick Wilson of the California Geological Survey.

Wilson's agency and the federal and state emergency management agencies are funding Lynett and Borrero to look at this issue as part of USC's ongoing initiative to provide tsunami expertise to the State.

Lynett and Borrero have been working together gathering data on this phenomenon and to applying advanced computer models to quantify the extent and duration of these late arriving and potentially damaging surges.

Said Lynett, “We have the tools available to understand this problem and make the right call in the future.”

In an article published earlier this month in the journal Earth and Planetary Science Letters, Lynett and Borrero described observations of these currents at several locations both within California and internationally and describe their efforts to understand them.

For more information about that paper, visit www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0012821X12000696 .

CLEARLAKE, Calif. – A man wanted on numerous charges in Clearlake and listed as the city's “most wanted” suspect has been arrested in Butte County.

Vincent Anthony Saenz, 28, of Clearlake was arrested in Butte County on Thursday night. Butte County Jail records confirmed he was being held there on Friday.

Clearlake Police Chief Craig Clausen said Saenz was picked up in Butte County on separate charges from those he's facing locally, which include infliction of corporal injury on a spouse or cohabitant, possession of a controlled substance, vehicle theft, resisting an officer and being under the influence of a controlled substance.

Clause said he anticipates Saenz will soon be transported back to Lake County to face the local charges.

COBB, Calif. – The service of a search warrant by the Lake County Sheriff’s Narcotics Task Force and the Sheriff’s Major Crimes Unit has resulted in three arrests, the recovery of stolen property, illegal weapons and marijuana.

On March 4 the Lake County Sheriff’s Office received information that a subject was attempting to sell property that had been stolen during a burglary on Craigslist, according to Sgt. Steve Brooks.

He said the suspect was offering unique parts that were removed from a 1966 Toyota Land Cruiser.

The Lake County Narcotic’s Task Force, acting in an undercover capacity, called the telephone number listed on the ad and arranged a meeting on March 5 to look at the items, Brooks said.

During the conversation, the suspect – later identified as 56-year-old Robin Arie Slikkerveer of Cobb – provided his address, Brooks said. While conducting surveillance of the suspect’s residence, items removed from the Toyota Land Cruiser were observed in the suspect’s front yard.

On March 5 narcotics detectives secured a search warrant for the person and home of Robin Slikkerveer. On that same day at approximately 12:30 pm, Lake County Sheriff Deputies, Lake County Sheriff’s Major Crimes Unit and the Lake County Narcotic’s Task Force served the search warrant at Slikkerveer’s residence, which is located on Grouse Road in Cobb, according to Brooks.

When narcotics detectives entered the home, they detained Robin Slikkerveer and 25-year-old Zachary Robin Slikkerveer of Cobb without incident. Brooks said a short time later detectives detained 30-year-old Johnathan Arie Slikkerveer, also of Cobb, who had shown up at the residence.

During the service of the search warrant several items removed from the Toyota land Cruiser were recovered, Brooks said.

Also recovered from the residence where several firearms including an AK-47 with a large capacity magazine and a spent AT-4 rocket launcher tube. Brooks said Robin Slikkerveer stated that a friend of his who was in the military had smuggled the rocket launcher back from Iraq and gave it to him.

Detectives located 220 marijuana plants in various stages of growth in the basement of the residence. Brooks said detectives also located approximately half a pound of processed marijuana, packaging materials and scales. None of the residents possessed medical recommendations for the marijuana.

Brooks said Robin Slikkerveer was arrested for receiving stolen property, illegal possession of an assault rifle and cultivation of marijuana. Johnathan Slikkerveer was arrested for receiving stolen property.  Zachary Slikkerveer was arrested for cultivation of marijuana. All three were transported to the Lake County Hill Road Correctional Facility and booked.

The investigation is ongoing and anyone who may have information regarding this case is encouraged to contact the Lake County Sheriff’s Office at 707-262-4200.

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

KELSEYVILLE, Calif. – The service of a search warrant by the Sheriff’s Narcotics Task Force has resulted in two arrests, the seizure of LSD, 116 pounds of processed marijuana, $36,946 and a firearm.

Arrested were 45-year-old Elizabeth Anne Lango and Brandon Scott Augsburger, 28, both of Kelseyville, according to Sgt. Steve Brooks.

On March 2 the Lake County Sheriff’s Narcotics Task Force received information from the Wisconsin Department of Justice and the Drug Enforcement Administration that they had served search warrants in Lake Winnebago, Wis., and Kimberly, Wis., according to Brooks.

Their investigation revealed that 43-year-old Spencer Breitreiter of Kelseyville and Paul Van Wychen of Wisconsin were responsible for transporting multiple pounds of marijuana from California to Wisconsin, Brooks said.

Agents recovered approximately 5 pounds of processed marijuana and $200,000 in cash. Brooks said both Van Wychen and Breitreiter were arrested in Wisconsin.

During a search of Breitreiter’s property in Wisconsin a rental agreement for a storage unit in Kelseyville was discovered. Brooks said the rental agreement was made out to Lango.  

He said Lake County Sheriff’s narcotics detectives responded to the storage unit. They deployed a narcotics detection K9 which alerted to the unit. A search warrant also was secured for Lango, her home and storage unit.

On March 2 at approximately 6:40 p.m., Lake County Sheriff’s narcotics detectives served the search warrant at Lango’s residence, located on Montezuma Way in Kelseyville, Brooks said. Upon entry to the residence Lango and Augsburger were detained without incident.  

During a search of the residence detectives seized 47 immature marijuana plants, approximately 20 pounds of processed marijuana, a sheet of suspected LSD containing approximately 100 dosage units, a 20 gauge shotgun, digital scales and $16,812 in cash, Brooks reported.

He said detectives also located a bank account in Lango’s name that contained $20,134 which was also seized pending asset forfeiture proceedings.

Lango denied any knowledge of the storage unit that was in her name. Brooks said detectives forced entry into the storage unit and located a Lexus parked inside.  

After making entry into the Lexus detectives discovered 96 pounds of processed marijuana. Brooks said most of the marijuana was packaged in vacuum sealed bags.  

Paperwork found inside the vehicle linked Lango, Breitreiter and Augsburger to the vehicle, according to Brooks. Additional paperwork found at the residence linked Lango to recent trips to the state of Wisconsin.  

Lango and Augsburger were both arrested for possession of a controlled substance for sale, possession of marijuana for sale and being armed while in the commission of a felony, Brooks said. They were transported to the Lake County Hill Road Correctional Facility and booked.

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

CLEARLAKE OAKS, Calif. – The community is being asked to help provide information on two dogs that attacked a man and his small dog earlier this week in Clearlake Oaks.

Animal control officials are trying to confirm if the dogs have had rabies vaccinations in an effort to protect the health of the victims.

Family members said the elderly man and his Pomeranian dog were attacked by two pit bulls at around 7:15 a.m. Monday.

The man and his dog were walking near the intersection of Island Drive and Highway 20 in Clearlake Oaks when, without warning, two pit bulls charged them, biting him and knocking him to the ground.

The little dog was mauled, receiving injuries including a broken jaw, broken leg, punctured lung and multiple bite wounds over her body. She is being treated at Wasson Memorial Veterinary Clinic in Lakeport, where the bill currently is about $4,000.

The pit bulls were both black in color, each weighing about 40 pounds, according to the available description.

A white male subject retrieved the dogs, allegedly gave the victim a false name and contact information, and left in a Mitsubishi Montero SUV – which may have been green in color – with the license plate 5BGV640.

The male was described as having a medium build, was estimated to be about 5 feet, 10 inches tall, and in his late 30s or early 40s.

If you have any information on the dogs or their owner, please notify Lake County Animal Care and Control at 707-263-0278. To offer assistance with the veterinarian bill, contact Jim Young at 707-350-4867 or Leah Young at 707-245-3049.

NORTH COAST, Calif. – The president and superintendent of Mendocino College is headed north.

Kathryn Lehner, who has led the college since 2005, has been appointed president and superintendent of College of the Redwoods in Eureka.

On Wednesday night the College of the Redwoods Board of Trustees voted to hire Lehner while, at the same time, the Mendocino College Board of Trustees voted to accept her letter of resignation, which is effective May 14.

Lehner said in a written statement that she was honored to be selected as College of the Redwood’s next president, noting she was aware of the stellar reputation of the college’s faculty and staff.

“Meeting the challenges surrounding the latest accreditation sanction will be a demanding task,” she said. “However, I am confident that working together we can accomplish our goal of bringing College of the Redwoods into full compliance with the accreditation standards. I am pleased to be able to apply my experience in both accreditation and finance to help College of the Redwoods address the current issues and I look forward to relocating to Eureka and becoming an active member of the local community.”

She said in a separate statement that she will cherish her time at Mendocino College.

Lehner said the Mendocino College Board of Trustees will work quickly to identify an interim superintendent/president who will serve for six to nine months while the selection process for her successor takes place.

The College of the Redwoods Board reported that it is working on a transition timeline for when Lehner will assume the new job.

Until that time, Utpal Goswami – who, along with Lehner, had been among the finalists for the job – will continue serving as interim president, a position he’s held since March 2011, the college reported.

“The board is confident that Kathy will provide strong leadership and direction for the College of the Redwoods District during a critical time in its history,” said College of the Redwoods Board of Trustees President Colleen Mullery. “Kathy’s successful tenure as president of a rural college for seven years gives her deep experience and a rich perspective that should prove invaluable as the college envisions its future during these rapidly changing times for higher education.”

Lehner came to Mendocino College in 2003 and served as its vice president of academic affairs for two years. She has been the president/superintendent of the college since 2005.

For nine years she has been involved with the North State Rural Community College Association, of which CR is also a member.

As the longest-sitting president of this northern California group, Lehner currently is serving as its chair. She also represents the northern colleges on the statewide Chief Executive Officers of California Community Colleges, the group representing all California community college presidents and chancellors.

Lehner has established a positive relationship with the Accrediting Commission for Community and Junior Colleges (ACCJC). She successfully led Mendocino College through a comprehensive accreditation self-study.

She was called upon by the ACCJC in fall 2011 to fill in as a team leader in an emergency after the scheduled leader was unable to visit a college at the last minute.  She has served as a team leader for two other ACCJC college accreditation visits.

Lehner earned a bachelor’s degree in accounting at the University of Kansas and a master of business administration (MBA) at the University of New Mexico.

Prior to coming to Mendocino College, Lehner worked for nine years at Pikes Peak Community College in Colorado Springs, Colo.

At Pikes Peak she served variously as associate vice president for educational services for two years, dean of the division of business education and military programs for five years, assistant dean of the division of business education; and an accounting faculty member for two years.

Lehner has worked as certified public accountant from 1978 to the present and worked in the private sector as a certified public accountant for more than 10 years.

SACRAMENTO – California Attorney General Kamala Harris on Friday announced the appointment of Professor Katherine Porter of the University of California, Irvine School of Law as the California monitor of the commitment by the nation's five largest banks to perform as much as $18 billion worth of homeowner and borrower benefits in the state.

Attorney General Harris' decision to appoint a California monitor was made independent of the national settlement, and Professor Porter's role is focused exclusively on ensuring compliance in California.

This California commitment is part of a national federal-state mortgage settlement penalizing robo-signing and other servicing and foreclosure misconduct that is currently pending approval in a federal court in Washington, D.C.

Upon approval of the settlement, California's monitor will assist the Attorney General's Office in holding the banks accountable for their commitments to the state and ensuring that the promised benefits are delivered to homeowners in full and on time.

“Hundreds of thousands of California homeowners will benefit from the commitments of up to $18 billion extracted from mortgage lenders. We must enforce full and timely compliance with these commitments, and the appointment of Professor Porter as our California monitor is central to that enforcement,” said Harris. “Professor Porter's wealth of experience and knowledge will protect the interests of homeowners and ensure the settling banks deliver on their promises.”

“I will work hard to make sure banks hold up their promises to change troubling practices so that families and communities across California see the benefits of the settlement,” said Professor Porter. “Part of repairing the damage of the mortgage crisis is restoring public confidence that our largest financial institutions will treat consumers fairly and follow the law.”

Katherine Porter is a professor at University of California, Irvine School of Law. She specializes in commercial and consumer law, including mortgage foreclosures and bankruptcy, and just released a book, “Broke: How Debt Bankrupts the Middle Class.”

In 2007, Porter authored an empirical study that offered some of the first systemic evidence of the problems in mortgage servicing that harmed homeowners.

She has worked with other government entities, including the Federal Trade Commission and the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau, on issues relating to mortgage servicing.

Upon approval of the settlement, Professor Porter will verify the extent and timeliness of lenders meeting their obligations to California homeowners.

Using information obtained by the national monitor of the mortgage settlement, former North Carolina Commissioner of Banks Joseph Smith, Professor Porter will review lender filings, homeowner reports and complaints, and other compliance documents to ensure that benefits committed by the banks are performed and result in meaningful relief to California borrowers.

She will regularly report the results of her findings to the Attorney General's Office.

The appointment of Professor Porter as the state's monitor is one of a series of enforcement mechanisms to ensure transparent compliance with the national settlement and the separate California agreement.

Bank of America, Wells Fargo, and JP Morgan Chase will face significant financial penalties if they do not meet their guarantee of a minimum of $12 billion in principal reductions and short sales for homeowners within the state.

Unlike the larger national agreement, which is only enforceable in a federal court in Washington, D.C., the agreement reached with California empowers Attorney General Harris to enforce the penalty provisions in California state court.

California secured the estimated $18 billion in borrower benefits and relief as part of a national multistate settlement to penalize robo-signing and other bank servicing and foreclosure misconduct.

The agreement comes after California departed from the multistate negotiations last September when the relief to California was estimated at $4 billion.

Harris insisted on more relief for the most distressed homeowners, on stronger enforcement provisions, and that California and other states preserve key investigations into mortgage misconduct.

California's separate commitment also creates important incentives to ensure that banks will reduce the principal mortgage balance of underwater homeowners in California's hardest-hit counties and that the principal reductions in these and other California communities will occur within the first year of the settlement.

Professor Porter will ensure that both the California-specific and national settlements are properly implemented in the state.

“The California commitment provides a path for thousands of struggling homeowners in California to retain their homes, while preserving our ability to investigate banker crime and predatory lending,” added Attorney General Harris. “This is one important stride in our ongoing efforts to address the mortgage and foreclosure crisis that has devastated too many California communities.”

Attorney General Harris earlier this month joined Assembly Speaker John A. Pérez, Senate President pro Tem Darrell Steinberg and other state legislators to unveil the California Homeowner Bill of Rights, designed to protect homeowners from unfair practices by banks and mortgage companies and to help consumers and communities cope with the state's urgent mortgage and foreclosure crisis.

The legislation would make permanent and available to everyone the interim reforms agreed to as part of the California commitment, including a single point of contact for mortgage-holders and restrict the unfair and inherently deceptive system of dual-track foreclosures.

State legislators authoring key components of the Homeowner Bill of Rights include Assemblymembers Wilmer Carter, Mike Davis, Mike Eng, Mike Feuer, Holly Mitchell, Nancy Skinner, Senate President pro Tem Darrell Steinberg, and Senators Mark DeSaulnier, Loni Hancock, Mark Leno and Fran Pavley.

Harris also continues her work to have the Federal Housing Finance Agency authorize Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac – holders or guarantors of over 60 per cent of California mortgages – to participate in targeted programs of principal reduction that will benefit struggling homeowners, stabilize the country's housing market, and benefit taxpayers.

The state's Mortgage Fraud Strike Force continues its work to crack down on all forms of mortgage misconduct. Earlier this month, three prominent attorneys were arrested and are accused of running a loan modification scam.

LAKE COUNTY, Calif. – This past week marked the annual deadline for teacher layoff notices to go out across the state and the county.

California Education Code requires school boards issue preliminary pink slips by March 15, and then make the final decision on layoffs by May 15, according to the California Department of Education.

The California Teachers Association said preliminary pink slip data showed that 19,500 layoff notices were issued across 206 school districts on Thursday.

In Lake County, 25 of the notices were handed out to teachers this week, according to a Lake County Office of Education tally.

That total includes seven layoffs in the Lake County Office of Education’s schools; Konocti Unified School District, seven; Kelseyville Unified School District, six; Middletown Unified School District, four; and Lakeport Unified School District, one.

No layoff notices were issued in the Lucerne Elementary School District and the Upper Lake Union Elementary School District, the Lake County Office of Education reported.

“The numbers don’t look as severe as in the past because there’s no more room to cut,” said Lake County Superintendent of Schools Superintendent Wally Holbrook.

He said any further cuts to the county’s teacher numbers would significantly affect class size.

“We can’t cram 100 students in a classroom,” Holbrook said.

Middletown Unified Superintendent Dr. Korby Olson said of his district’s four notices, two are due to projected project enrollment, one is due to a teacher returning from leave and one is related to a possible program cut.

“So we really only did one that was due to a budget cut,” he said, adding that they may be able to restore that position once they know more about next year’s enrollment, particularly kindergarten student numbers.

He said Middletown Unified ended the 2010-11 school year with a strong fund balance, with cuts not as serious as projected. However, with state revenue numbers not as high as anticipated, more cuts could be ahead. Olson said the district has enough reserves to get by for now.

Middletown, like other county districts, has faced declining enrollment issues in recent years, which Olson attributes to the drop in jobs.

“We were really doing well based on the building of new homes and the growth in real estate,” he said, but when the market collapsed the district felt it as well.

Olson said he doesn’t believe Middletown Unified was hit harder than other county districts, but that it felt the impact at a different time.

Holbrook said Lake County’s educators have to plan for the worst in the face of more potential cuts, and that teachers often have to wait while those details are worked out.

“If we don’t get a clear picture of what the budget is going to be, we have to continue to act as if the cuts are going to take place,” which he said leads to the preliminary layoff notices, the numbers of which usually are higher than the final tally.

The California Teachers Association reported that the 10 California school districts issuing the most layoff notices are: Los Angeles Unified, about 9,500; San Diego Unified, more than 1,608; San Juan Unified, 458; Capistrano Unified, 392; Sacramento City Unified, 389; Moreno Valley Unified, 332; Long Beach Unified, 309; San Bernardino City School District, 251; San Francisco Unified, 210; Sweetwater High School District, 209.
                                 
State Superintendent of Public Instruction Tom Torlakson said every pink slip being issued Thursday “is an unwelcome and undeserved blow to the morale of the teacher who receives it. They should also remind all of us of the urgency of finding the will and the resources to end the financial emergency facing our public schools."

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

CLEARLAKE, Calif. – Clearlake’s successful annual clean up day is once again in the planning stages.

The event will take place from 8 a.m. to 1 p.m. Saturday, April 28.

Organizers are seeking volunteers to team up to clean up the streets by picking up recyclables and trash.

The clean up will start at 8 a.m. in Austin Park. Trash bags, pickers and safety vests will be provided.

Business owners can help by cleaning up around their businesses, and sprucing up flower planters and parking lots.

Sign up by calling Clearlake City Clerk Melissa Swanson at 707-994-8201, Extension 106.

Those signing up are asked to let organizers know if they have chosen a particular area in which to work.

New movies of Jupiter are the first to catch an invisible wave shaking up one of the giant planet's jet streams, an interaction that also takes place in Earth's atmosphere and influences the weather.

The movies, made from images taken by NASA's Cassini spacecraft when it flew by Jupiter in 2000, are part of an in-depth study conducted by a team of scientists and amateur astronomers led by Amy Simon-Miller at NASA's Goddard Space Flight Center in Greenbelt, Md., and published in the April 2012 issue of Icarus.

"This is the first time anyone has actually seen direct wave motion in one of Jupiter's jet streams," said Simon-Miller, the paper's lead author. "And by comparing this type of interaction in Earth's atmosphere to what happens on a planet as radically different as Jupiter, we can learn a lot about both planets."

Like Earth, Jupiter has several fast-moving jet streams that circle the globe.

Earth's strongest and best known jet streams are those near the North and South Poles; as these winds blow west to east, they take the scenic route, wandering north and south.

What sets these jet streams on their meandering paths-and sometimes makes them blast Florida and other warm places with frigid air-are their encounters with slow-moving waves in Earth's atmosphere, called Rossby waves.

In contrast, Jupiter's jet streams "have always appeared to be straight and narrow," said co-author John Rogers, who is the Jupiter Section Director of the British Astronomical Association, London, U.K., and one of the amateur astronomers involved in this study.

Rossby waves were identified on Jupiter about 20 years ago, in the northern hemisphere. Even so, the expected meandering winds could not be traced directly, and no evidence of them had been found in the southern hemisphere, which puzzled planetary scientists.

To get a more complete view, the team analyzed images taken by NASA's Voyager spacecraft, NASA's Hubble Space Telescope, and Cassini, as well as a decade's worth of observations made by amateur astronomers and compiled by the JUPOS project.

The movies zoom in on a single jet stream in Jupiter's southern hemisphere.

A line of small, dark, v-shaped "chevrons" has formed along one edge of the jet stream and zips along west to east with the wind.

Later, the well-ordered line starts to ripple, with each chevron moving up and down (north and south) in turn. And for the first time, it's clear that Jupiter's jet streams, like Earth's, wander off course.

"That's the signature of the Rossby wave," said David Choi, the postdoctoral fellow at NASA Goddard who strung together about a hundred Cassini images to make each time-lapse movie. "The chevrons in the fast-moving jet stream interact with the slower-moving Rossby wave, and that's when we see the chevrons oscillate."

The team's analysis also reveals that the chevrons are tied to a different type of wave in Jupiter's atmosphere, called a gravity inertia wave.

Earth also has gravity inertia waves, and under proper conditions, these can be seen in repeating cloud patterns.

"A planet's atmosphere is a lot like the string of an instrument," said co-author Michael D. Allison of the NASA Goddard Institute for Space Studies in New York. "If you pluck the string, it can resonate at different frequencies, which we hear as different notes. In the same way, an atmosphere can resonate with different modes, which is why we find different kinds of waves."

Characterizing these waves should offer important clues to the layering of the deep atmosphere of Jupiter, which has so far been inaccessible to remote sensing, Allison adds.

Crucial to the study was the complementary information that the team was able to retrieve from the detailed spacecraft images and the more complete visual record provided by amateur astronomers.

For example, the high resolution of the spacecraft images made it possible to establish the top speed of the jet stream's wind, and then the amateur astronomers involved in the study looked through the ground-based images to find variations in the wind speed.

The team also relied on images that amateur astronomers had been gathering of a large, transient storm called the South Equatorial Disturbance.

This visual record dates back to 1999, when members of the community spotted the most recent recurrence of the storm just south of Jupiter's equator.

Analysis of these images revealed the dynamics of this storm and its impact on the chevrons. The team now thinks this storm, together with the Great Red Spot, accounts for many of the differences noted between the jet streams and Rossby waves on the two sides of Jupiter's equator.

"We are just starting to investigate the long-term behavior of this alien atmosphere," said co-author Gianluigi Adamoli, an amateur astronomer in Italy. "Understanding the emerging analogies between Earth and Jupiter, as well as the obviously profound differences, helps us learn fundamentally what an atmosphere is and how it can behave."

The Cassini-Huygens mission is a cooperative project of NASA, the European Space Agency, and the Italian Space Agency. NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory, Pasadena, Calif., manages the mission for NASA's Science Mission Directorate, Washington, D.C. JPL is a division of the California Institute of Technology, Pasadena.

For information about Cassini, visit http://www.nasa.gov/cassini and http://saturn.jpl.nasa.gov .

Assumptions people make about who will receive an inheritance share from their estate can sometimes fall far off the mark.

Peculiar results may occur when an intended beneficiary survives just long enough to inherit but not so long as to enjoy their inheritance.

This situation arises when a beneficiary dies during, or soon after, settling of a deceased benefactor's
estate.

Let us consider what sometimes happens to the inheritance left to a beneficiary who dies shortly after the benefactor and what can be done to avoid unwanted consequences.

One unwanted result in estate planning that may occasionally occur in the settling of a deceased benefactor's estate is that the estate of a beneficiary may be forced into a probate; even if the beneficiary's own estate without the inheritance would not otherwise have been probated.

Any share that is left to a beneficiary who dies becomes part of that beneficiary's own estate. If such inheritance pushes the total appraised value of the deceased beneficiary's own estate over the present $150,000 threshold for probate then a probate will be necessary.

One way to avoid triggering an unintended probate of a beneficiary's own estate is to name the beneficiary's own living trust as the beneficiary, instead of naming the beneficiary personally.

By transferring the inheritance to the beneficiary's own living trust the inheritance never becomes part of the deceased beneficiary's estate and avoids probate.

Once received by the trustee of the beneficiary's own trust the inheritance would be controlled and distributed by the trustee under the trust's own terms.

That is, after all legitimate debts and expenses related to the benefactor's deceased beneficiary, what remains passes to the beneficiaries of that trust.

This also can sometimes lead to another peculiarity. The fact that the inheritance is passed through and is distributed to other living beneficiaries may mean that persons whom you never wanted to benefit (or not to benefit so much) now inherit.

For example, what if the beneficiary is not married, has no children, and is the child of divorced parents, the beneficiary might leave his estate to his other surviving parent.

Here, the child's estate acts merely as a conduit to transfer a share of one deceased parent's estate over to that deceased parent's ex spouse who otherwise would not be entitled to any inheritance.

One solution to this problem is for the benefactor to hold his estate in further trust for the lifetime benefit of his intended beneficiaries, who receive distributions over their lifetimes. That way, when a beneficiary dies prior to receiving the entire inheritance the remaining assets held in the trust are redirected to another beneficiary of the benefactor's (settlor's) own choice.

Holding the estate in further trust solves both the unintended probate and unintended beneficiary problems discussed above.

Holding an estate in further trust also can solve a third unintended consequence of a direct distribution, one that is usually more relevant.

That is creditor claims by the beneficiary's own creditors against the inheritance. Assets held in a purely discretionary trust can be protected against most types of creditor claims.

The trustee uses the assets to purchase goods and services for the beneficiary's sake all without subjecting the assets to creditor judgments.

Whether to hold one's estate in further trust requires a case by case facts and circumstances analysis.  

The probable benefits associated with holding the estate in further trust must outweigh the associated costs to make this a worthwhile solution.

Dennis A. Fordham, attorney (LL.M. tax studies), is a State Bar Certified Specialist in Estate Planning, Probate and Trust Law. His office is at 55 First St., Lakeport, California. Dennis can be reached by e-mail at This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. or by phone at 707-263-3235. Visit his Web site at www.dennisfordhamlaw.com .

LOWER LAKE, Calif. – A Tuesday evening fire destroyed an unoccupied home in Lower Lake.

Radio reports indicated that the fire was dispatched shortly after 5 p.m.

Lake County Fire Protection District Chief Willie Sapeta said the fire occurred in an older doublewide manufactured home located at 9940 Bonham Road, across from Morgan Valley Road.

He said the home was unoccupied, and had been vacant for some time.

Two engines, a water tender, a battalion chief and two medic units, along with a total of 12 personnel, responded to the fire, he said.

Sapeta said the fire was controlled within 10 minutes, shortly before 5:30 p.m.

He said the home was destroyed, with the front room burned and the rest of the home badly damaged by smoke, heat and water.

Total damages were estimated between $20,000 and $30,000, Sapeta said.

“The fire is still under investigation,” but Sapeta said it was not suspicious.

He said an investigator found a probable cause – a mechanical failure – in the area of origin.

Sapeta said mechanical failures can involve electrical and other systems.

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