LAKE COUNTY, Calif. – If this trusty old typewriter could talk, what would it say?

The Smith Premier No. 2 typewriter was manufactured from 1899 to 1940 by the Smith-Premier Typewriter Co. in Syracuse, New York.

The company was formed by several brothers named Wilbert, Monroe, Lyman Cornelius and Hurlburt Smith.

Their advertisements touted the fact that it was an extremely functional and versatile machine in which every character had its own key.

The Smith-Premier company's factory produced guns before their first typewriters were manufactured. The brother named Wilbert Smith laid down the capital for their typewriter endeavor, after an employee of their gun factor named Alexander T. Brown invented their model typewriter.

It wasn't long before writing machines won out over weapons, and they discontinued manufacturing shotguns altogether in 1888.

In 1893 the Smiths united with the Union Typewriter Co. who had several rivals, such as Densmore, Yost and Remington. These machines were also known as blindwriters, since you could not view what you were typing.

The Smiths and their cartel of typewriter manufacturers were able to hold their places as tops in sales, until the company called Underwood invented a typewriter in which you could see what you were typing. What a concept!

Early on, typewriters were touted for their efficiency in offices, and typing services were provided – for a cost – at their headquarters.

A name change for the company came about in the early 1900s, to now be called the Standard Typewriter Co.

In 1914 the Corona model was a successful model, so the company changed their moniker once again, to the Corona Typewriter Co.

The name Smith-Corona was used starting in 1926 when the production of portable typewriters began.

The Smith-Premier Co. produced both standard and portable typewriters up until 1940.

Kathleen Scavone, M.A., is a retired educator, potter, writer and author of “Anderson Marsh State Historic Park: A Walking History, Prehistory, Flora, and Fauna Tour of a California State Park” and “Native Americans of Lake County.” She was selected “Lake County Teacher of the Year, 1998-99” by the Lake County Office of Education, and chosen as one of 10 state finalists the same year by the California Department of Education.

It's the big astrophysical whodunnit. Across the Universe, galaxies are being killed and the question scientists want answered is, what's killing them?

New research published this week by a global team of researchers, based at the International Centre for Radio Astronomy Research, or ICRAR, seeks to answer that question.

The study reveals that a phenomenon called ram-pressure stripping is more prevalent than previously thought, driving gas from galaxies and sending them to an early death by depriving them of the material to make new stars.

The study of 11,000 galaxies shows their gas – the lifeblood for star formation – is being violently stripped away on a widespread scale throughout the local Universe.

Toby Brown, leader of the study and PhD candidate at ICRAR and Swinburne University of Technology, said the image we paint as astronomers is that galaxies are embedded in clouds of dark matter that we call dark matter halos.

Dark matter is the mysterious material that despite being invisible accounts for roughly 27 percent of our Universe, while ordinary matter makes up just 5 percent. The remaining 68 percent is dark energy.

“During their lifetimes, galaxies can inhabit halos of different sizes, ranging from masses typical of our own Milky Way to halos thousands of times more massive,” Brown said.

“As galaxies fall through these larger halos, the superheated intergalactic plasma between them removes their gas in a fast-acting process called ram-pressure stripping,” Brown explained. “You can think of it like a giant cosmic broom that comes through and physically sweeps the gas from the galaxies.”

Brown said removing the gas from galaxies leaves them unable to form new stars.

“It dictates the life of the galaxy because the existing stars will cool off and grow old,” he said. “If you remove the fuel for star formation then you effectively kill the galaxy and turn it into a dead object.”

ICRAR researcher Dr. Barbara Catinella, co-author of the study, said astronomers already knew ram-pressure stripping affected galaxies in clusters, which are the most massive halos found in the Universe.

“This paper demonstrates that the same process is operating in much smaller groups of just a few galaxies together with much less dark matter,” said Brown.

“Most galaxies in the Universe live in these groups of between two and a hundred galaxies,” he said. “We've found this removal of gas by stripping is potentially the dominant way galaxies are quenched by their surrounds, meaning their gas is removed and star formation shuts down.”

The study was published in the journal Monthly Notices of the Royal Astronomical Society.

It used an innovative technique combining the largest optical galaxy survey ever completed, the Sloan Digital Sky Survey, with the largest set of radio observations for atomic gas in galaxies, the Arecibo Legacy Fast ALFA survey.

Brown said the other main process by which galaxies run out of gas and die is known as strangulation.

“Strangulation occurs when the gas is consumed to make stars faster than it's being replenished, so the galaxy starves to death,” he said.

“It's a slow-acting process,” Brown added. “On the contrary, what ram-pressure stripping does is bop the galaxy on the head and remove its gas very quickly – of the order of tens of millions of years – and astronomically speaking that's very fast.”

California Department of Public Health (CDPH) State Public Health Officer Dr. Karen Smith reported that the state is experiencing widespread influenza activity that is more severe than last year.

CDPH also has received the first report of a death associated with influenza in a child younger than 18 years of age. The death occurred in Riverside County.

“This is a tragic reminder that the flu is a serious illness for people of all ages and kills thousands of Americans each year,” said Dr. Smith. “If you haven’t been immunized yet this season, getting flu shots for you and your family now can still help protect you this winter.”

CDPH disease monitoring indicates widespread flu activity across the state that is more severe than last year.

Since the beginning of the influenza season, CDPH has received reports of 14 influenza-associated deaths, including the child in Riverside.

This count represents a fraction of the total flu deaths statewide because only deaths in people younger than 65 are reported to the state and not all influenza-related deaths are easily attributable to influenza.

Hospitals statewide have been impacted by a surge in influenza patients, and hospitalizations for pneumonia and influenza at Kaiser Permanente hospitals in Northern California during the week ending Jan. 7 reached 10.2 percent, the highest level recorded in 10 years.

CDPH also has received reports of 83 influenza outbreaks, mostly in long-term care facilities, more than twice the reports received in recent years.

“We are closely monitoring the impact of influenza on health care facilities,” said Dr. Smith. “Some acute care hospitals in California are full and have diverted patients to other facilities.”

For anyone who has not yet received a flu shot this season, it is not too late. Influenza activity usually continues for several months, and it is still early in the season.

Because it takes about two weeks after vaccination for antibodies that protect against influenza, it is best to get vaccinated as soon as possible.

CDPH recommends all Californians aged six month and older, including pregnant women, should get the annual flu vaccine.

The flu virus circulating this season closely matches the vaccine, suggesting that the vaccine will provide protection against influenza and reduce the risk of severe disease.

The flu vaccine prevents disease due to the most serious wintertime virus, but other viruses are also circulating now.

Along with getting immunized, officials suggest taking these common-sense precautions against wintertime viruses:

· Stay home when you are sick.
· Cover your cough and sneezes with a tissue or your sleeve.
· Wash your hands often and thoroughly with soap and warm water or clean them with alcohol-based hand sanitizer.
· Avoid touching your eyes, nose and mouth.

For more information about influenza visit the CDPH influenza Web page. To learn where to receive flu vaccine at a location near you, visit the HealthMap Vaccine Finder.

LAKE COUNTY, Calif. – With Clear Lake reaching it's full level on Friday, local officials are warning that the lake could rise further to the flood warning stage.

On Friday, the lake passed 7.56 feet Rumsey, the level at which it's considered full, and by 1:15 a.m. Saturday the lake was at 7.72 feet Rumsey.

On Friday the Lake County Sheriff's Office issued an advisory for county residents who live or have businesses along Clear Lake's shoreline.

The agency said the lake is anticipated to hit the flood warning stage this weekend, and incoming storms could create waves that may inundate shoreline areas.

The Sheriff’s Office of Emergency Services encouraged all residents to take time now to check their homes or businesses, and prepare to leave if instructed to do so by the sheriff’s office or police agencies.

Residents in those shoreline areas are urged to have a full tank of gas, vital documents, prescriptions and supplies to support their families and pets if they need to leave their home. If evacuations are necessary, officials said residents should plan on being away from home for several days.

If necessary, the sheriff’s office will coordinate shelter sites with the Lake County Department of Social Services and the American Red Cross.

A series of storms is continuing to feed area creeks and streams, which in turn are contributing to the depth of Clear Lake.

For the 24-hour period ending at 1 a.m. Saturday, the National Weather Service's observation stations reported the following rainfall totals, in inches.

– Bear Canyon (Middletown): 2.28.
– Boggs Mountain: 1.30.
– Cache Creek (near Lower Lake): 1.45.
– Hidden Valley Lake: 1.42.
– Indian Valley Reservoir: 0.83.
– Jerusalem Grade (Middletown): 1.91.
– Kelseyville: 1.45.
– Putah Creek (Middletown): 1.71.
– Soda Creek at Lake Pillsbury): 1.78.
– Upper Lake: 1.40.
– Whispering Pines: 2.0.

The National Weather Service said another Pacific storm front is moving over the region on Saturday and Sunday, bringing with it still more rain and wind.

Lake County's specific forecast calls for rain through Tuesday, with showers expected to be particularly heavy on Saturday night, when between 1 and 2 inches is expected to fall.

Through 10 a.m. Sunday, Lake County also is under a wind advisory, which means that winds of 35 miles per hour or more are expected.

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.

Earth’s 2016 surface temperatures were the warmest since modern recordkeeping began in 1880, according to independent analyses by NASA and the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, or NOAA.

Globally-averaged temperatures in 2016 were 1.78 degrees Fahrenheit warmer than the mid-20th century mean. This makes 2016 the third year in a row to set a new record for global average surface temperatures.

The planet’s long-term warming trend is seen in this chart of every year’s annual temperature cycle from 1880 to the present, compared to the average temperature from 1880 to 2015. Record warm years are listed in the column on the right.

The 2016 temperatures continue a long-term warming trend, according to analyses by scientists at NASA’s Goddard Institute for Space Studies (GISS) in New York. NOAA scientists concur with the finding that 2016 was the warmest year on record based on separate, independent analyses of the data.

Because weather station locations and measurement practices change over time, there are uncertainties in the interpretation of specific year-to-year global mean temperature differences. However, even taking this into account, NASA estimates 2016 was the warmest year with greater than 95 percent certainty.

Said GISS Director Gavin Schmidt, “2016 is remarkably the third record year in a row in this series. We don’t expect record years every year, but the ongoing long-term warming trend is clear.”

The planet’s average surface temperature has risen about 2.0 degrees Fahrenheit (1.1 degrees Celsius) since the late 19th century, a change driven largely by increased carbon dioxide and other human-made emissions into the atmosphere.

Most of the warming occurred in the past 35 years, with 16 of the 17 warmest years on record occurring since 2001.

Not only was 2016 the warmest year on record, but eight of the 12 months that make up the year – from January through September, with the exception of June – were the warmest on record for those respective months.

October, November, and December of 2016 were the second warmest of those months on record – in all three cases, behind records set in 2015.

Phenomena such as El Niño or La Niña, which warm or cool the upper tropical Pacific Ocean and cause corresponding variations in global wind and weather patterns, contribute to short-term variations in global average temperature.

A warming El Niño event was in effect for most of 2015 and the first third of 2016. Researchers estimate the direct impact of the natural El Niño warming in the tropical Pacific increased the annual global temperature anomaly for 2016 by 0.2 degrees Fahrenheit (0.12 degrees Celsius). 

Weather dynamics often affect regional temperatures, so not every region on Earth experienced record average temperatures last year.

For example, both NASA and NOAA found the 2016 annual mean temperature for the contiguous 48 United States was the second warmest on record. In contrast, the Arctic experienced its warmest year ever, consistent with record low sea ice found in that region for most of the year.

NASA’s analyses incorporate surface temperature measurements from 6,300 weather stations, ship- and buoy-based observations of sea surface temperatures, and temperature measurements from Antarctic research stations.

These raw measurements are analyzed using an algorithm that considers the varied spacing of temperature stations around the globe and urban heating effects that could skew the conclusions. The result of these calculations is an estimate of the global average temperature difference from a baseline period of 1951 to 1980.

NOAA scientists used much of the same raw temperature data, but with a different baseline period, and different methods to analyze Earth’s polar regions and global temperatures.

GISS is a laboratory within the Earth Sciences Division of NASA’s Goddard Space Flight Center in Greenbelt, Maryland. The laboratory is affiliated with Columbia University’s Earth Institute and School of Engineering and Applied Science in New York.

NASA monitors Earth's vital signs from land, air and space with a fleet of satellites, as well as airborne and ground-based observation campaigns.

The agency develops new ways to observe and study Earth's interconnected natural systems with long-term data records and computer analysis tools to better see how our planet is changing.

NASA shares this unique knowledge with the global community and works with institutions in the United States and around the world that contribute to understanding and protecting our home planet.

MIDDLETOWN, Calif. – A wanted federal fugitive was taken into custody Thursday evening in Middletown following a vehicle pursuit.

John Antone Beckwith, 32, of Santa Rosa was arrested by detectives from the Sonoma County Sheriff’s Office Property Crimes Investigations Unit and the Sonoma County Multi Agency Gang Enforcement Team, according to a report from Sgt. Shawn Murphy.

Murphy said the detectives came to Lake County on Thursday in an attempt to locate Beckwith after receiving information that he had been seen in the county.

Beckwith has a prior history of evading law enforcement in a vehicle and carrying loaded firearms in Sonoma County, Murphy said.

At approximately 5:15 p.m., detectives observed Beckwith, seated in a vehicle, near the dead end of Saint Stephens Avenue, a single-lane road, in Middletown, according to Murphy's report.

Knowing that Beckwith has previously been arrested for evading law enforcement, Murphy said detectives determined that apprehending Beckwith at this location would minimize the possibility of a vehicle pursuit, which could put the public in danger.

As patrol vehicles approached Beckwith’s vehicle, Beckwith immediately rammed his vehicle into one of the patrol vehicles and continued accelerating his vehicle through a fence into the yard of a private residence, Murphy said.

Murphy said Beckwith continued attempting to evade law enforcement, driving through several more fences of private residences until he emerged on Napa Avenue.

Once on Napa Avenue, Beckwith accelerated his vehicle, ramming it into the front of an unmarked detective vehicle, Murphy said.

After ramming the detective vehicle, Beckwith again attempted to flee the area, but was blocked in by several patrol vehicles, Murphy said. After a short struggle, Beckwith was taken into custody.

Beckwith was arrested and booked into the Lake County Jail late Thursday for felony assault with a deadly weapon on a police officer, felony evading arrest, misdemeanor hit and run, misdemeanor resisting arrest and his federal no-bail warrant.

Jail records showed that Beckwith remained in the jail on Friday.