The Eurasian Eagle Owl, one of the largest owls in the world, is part of the live birds show on Sunday afternoon, May 1, 2011, at the Heron Festival at Clear Lake State Park near Kelseyville, Calif. A wide range of fun (and free of charge) educational activities are available for kids to learn about nature, including how to make owl masks and peanut butter birdseed feeders. Photo by Susan Mesick.

KELSEYVLLE, Calif. – Children and their parents will find many free activities designed just for them at this year’s Heron Festival on Saturday, April 30, and Sunday, May 1, at Clear Lake State Park.

Although both days offer many kids activities, Sunday is considered Family Day because of two free special events.

“We want to encourage families to spend fun time together outdoors with nature, and the festival is a great time to do that,” said Joyce Anderson, education chair for Redbud Audubon Society.

Returning for the fourth year is the very popular “Raptor Speak” with live owls and birds of prey.

This show offers an opportunity to see raptor behavior up close. Learn about these lively non-releasable birds in a fun and informative talk and bird demonstration.

More than 200 people in all attended this show last year, which again will be at 1 p.m. Sunday in the big tent outside the visitor center. Because of its popularity, the show is repeated at 2 p.m.

The singalong puppet show “Salty’s Search for a Habitat” was new to the festival last year and was so popular it’s back again this year.

Enjoy watching how Salty the salt marsh harvest mouse tries to find a good home.

A San Pablo Bay National Wildlife Refuge ranger brings to life the critters that live in marshes, and leads an interactive Mucky Marsh Music sing-along.

This show for kids (and for grown-ups if they promise to sing!) is at 11:30 a.m. and repeated at 3:15 p.m. on Sunday.

On both Saturday and Sunday during a one-hour family nature walk at noon, kids can learn from park docents about the birds, animals and plants in the park. Susie Kaplar leads the Saturday walk, and Tom and Val Nixon lead it on Sunday.

All weekend at the Children’s Activities Area near the big tent, children can make small bird feeders by spreading peanut butter and seeds on mini-bagels, create owl masks to wear and take home a window decal to discourage birds from flying into glass windows. They also can create their own art designs by gluing assorted beans on paper.

Volunteers working with the children are from Redbud Audubon Society and the Children’s Museum of Art and Science (CMAS).

A children’s My Audubon Bird Journal will be available for kids to record the birds they see as they walk around the park. Those who bring back a completed journal will be awarded bird stickers for their booklets.

Children’s artwork from several local public schools will be displayed in the Children’s Activities area. The creative drawings feature herons and local birds.

Besides all these special children’s activities, the Heron Festival offers pontoon boat tours on Clear Lake, an omelet brunch, nature walks, speakers, and more.

To see the full schedule of activities, go to www.heronfestival.org or call 707.263.8030.

Except for the Wildflower Brunch and the pontoon boat tours, all other activities are free, as is entrance to the park for festival attendees.

This 17th annual Heron Festival is co-sponsored by Redbud Audubon Society and Clear Lake State Park Interpretive Association.

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Frank Vivero, 20, of Hidden Valley Lake, Calif., was arrested on Tuesday, April 19, 2011, on charges that included rape and unlawful sexual intercourse with a minor. Lake County Jail photo.

HIDDEN VALLEY LAKE, Calif. – A 20-year-old Hidden Valley Lake man has been arrested on multiple charges of rape and other unlawful acts involving two 14-year-old girls at the Coyote Valley Elementary School on Monday.

Frank Joseph Vivero was booked into the Hill Road Correctional Facility early Tuesday morning on charges of unlawful sexual intercourse with a minor, rape of a drugged victim, rape of a victim incapable of giving consent, oral copulation with a minor, and annoying or molesting a child under the age of 18, according to Capt. James Bauman of the Lake County Sheriff's Office.

Vivero remained in the custody on Tuesday with an enhanced bail of $300,000, Bauman said.

On Monday, April 18, at approximately 5:20 p.m., sheriff’s deputies responded to the Coyote Valley Elementary School in Hidden Valley Lake on a report that several juveniles were drinking alcohol on school grounds, Bauman reported.

As deputies arrived in the area it was further reported that a 14-year-old girl was lying unconscious near the rear of the school. Bauman said Cal Fire rescue personnel were dispatched to the area for the unconscious girl.

Bauman said the deputies detained Vivero, who had been seen walking away from the school with several juveniles, and who was determined to be under the influence of alcohol.

Further investigation revealed that Vivero had been drinking with the unconscious girl and another 14-year-old girl since mid-afternoon at the school. Bauman said Vivero was arrested for public intoxication and contributing to the delinquency of a minor.

As Vivero was transported to the Hill Road Correctional Facility for booking, the unconscious juvenile was transported to the St. Helena Hospital Clearlake, Bauman said.

He reported that deputies continued their investigation of the incident into the night and eventually developed information that Vivero had sexually assaulted the unconscious victim and the other 14-year-old girl while they were all drinking at the school.

Deputies also learned that the second victim had since been taken to the St. Helena Hospital in Napa County by her mother. Bauman said a Napa County sheriff’s deputy was dispatched to the hospital to interview the second victim.

By the time deputies had developed information to charge Vivero with the additional crimes, he had already posted his $3,000 bail and been released from custody, Bauman said.

The investigation continued into the early morning hours of Tuesday and sheriff’s detectives were called in to assist. Bauman said sheriff’s deputies were tasked with locating Vivero again and at approximately 3 a.m. Tuesday he was apprehended at his Hidden Valley Lake home and arrested for the additional charges.

Vivero's booking sheet indicated he is set to appear in Lake County Superior Court for arraignment on Thursday.

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The County Health Rankings, released late last month by the University of Wisconsin Population Health Institute and the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation, assessed a number of factors in arriving at county-by-county health snapshots of the more than 3,000 counties in all 50 states.

“This report shows us that there are big differences in overall health across California’s counties, due to many factors, ranging from individual behavior to quality of health care, to education and jobs, to access to healthy foods, and to quality of the air,” says Patrick Remington, MD, MPH, associate dean for Public Health, University of Wisconsin School of Medicine and Public Health.

Out of 56 California counties examined in the report – Alpine and Sierra weren't ranked – Lake County ranked 53 in overall health outcomes, which researchers said was a slight improvement from 2010, when Lake County ranked 54.

“They don't intend for it to be a judgment about how good or bad we are,” said Lake County’s Health Officer Dr. Karen Tait. “It's really intended to point out where the significant areas are so we can look at ourselves and basically mobilize to try to address some of those issues.”

She said the report doesn't compare all counties against each other. “They rank them state by state.”

Tait said this is the second year for the report, which uses many of the same data sources as the 2010 Lake County Community Health Needs Assessment, which was completed last year.

As such, Tait said the two reports arrive at many of the same conclusions, and so she found the County Health Rankings didn't include any major surprises. “I think it just really, for me, validated what we saw in the health needs assessment,” and also helps give an idea of where the county needs to focus its efforts, she added.

The basis of the report was what organizers called “a standard formula to measure how long people live and how healthy they are.”

The report's key measures used to assess overall health levels – what the researchers termed “health outcomes” – were the rate of people prematurely dying before age 75, the percent of people who report being in fair or poor health, the numbers of days people report being in poor physical and poor mental health, and the rate of low-birthweight infants.

“The kind of unique thing about this is the way they weight some of the factors,” Tait said, and how the report makes certain judgments about what's important to health.

For premature death, or mortality, the county ranked No. 54, but did slightly better, ranking No. 43, for morbidity, the term for how people feel overall.

Also assessed were health behavior, clinical care, social and economic factors, and physical environment. Lake ranked 52 in health behavior, received a 31 in clinical care and a 46 in social factors, and had its best ranking, 26, in physical environment.

The report also looked at counties' rates of adult smoking, adult obesity, binge drinking and teenage pregnancy; the number of uninsured adults, availability of primary healthcare providers and preventable hospital stays; rates of high school graduation, number of children in poverty, rates of violent crime, access to healthy foods, air pollution levels and liquor store density.

Important factors cited by researchers in arriving at Lake County's health picture included its high rate of unemployment, at 19.5 percent in March, compared to the statewide rate of 12 percent.

In addition, 23 percent of the county's adults report being cigarette smokers, while 21 percent of adults report regular heavy alcohol use and/or binge drinking, the report found.

Those findings relating to smoking were similar to those reported in the 2010 Lake County Community Health Needs Assessment, which found that 25.9 percent of the county's adults reported being smokers, compared to 14.5 percent statewide.

The county's death rate associated with motor vehicle crashes was 28 out of 100,000, a rate that researchers said was twice California's rate.

That also is similar to findings in the health needs assessment which, based on the California Department of Public Health's County Health Status Profiles for 2010, reported that Lake County was ranked No. 52 statewide for deaths in motor vehicle crashes, with an age-adjusted death rate more than twice the state average and just under twice the national average.

Other factors causing a lower ranking for the county included findings of the availability of only one primary care healthcare provider for each 1,228 Lake County residents, compared to one for each 847 Californian statewide.

The report did note that that number was “slightly improved” compared to 2010 and Lake County fared as well or better than other Californians when it comes to preventable hospital stays, and for diabetes and mammography screenings.

How Lake compares with the region

Many of the state's rural counties ranked lower in the study, with Bay Area, coastal and some mid-state counties bordering on Nevada ranking higher.

Marin County had the best overall ranking statewide, and Trinity County the lowest, according to the report.

Lake's neighboring counties had, for the most part, better rankings: Colusa, 8; Yolo, 9; Sonoma, 12; Napa, 14; Glenn, 32; and Mendocino, 33.

The report also used a county health calculator, http://chc.humanneeds.vcu.edu/#106045/56/education , to look at peoples' level of education and income, and how those factors impact health.

That county health calculator put Lake County's percentage of adults with some college education at 51 percent, below the statewide average of 57 percent.

Sixty percent of the county's population has a “basic income” – at least twice the federal poverty level, which in 2009 for a family of four was $44,980. That's below the statewide average of 68 percent.

Tait pointed out that the report had limitations.

“Last year we did very well on the physical environment” because it was largely based on air quality, she said.

However, this year the report added a new category, access to recreational facilities, which caused the county's overall score in physical environment to drop. Tait said that's because that category considered things like athletic clubs and other more business-related facilities, rather than the lake and the outdoors.

“We were a little bit sensitive” about that finding, she said.

Tait said there were several areas of good news, including a slight improvement in preventable hospital stays, fewer children in poverty and a reduced teen birth rate.

“Any progress at all is good,” said Tait, noting, “I'm the perpetual optimist.”

Overall, Tait said there are many factors that affect lifestyle, which correlate to the state of the economy and the choices people are making.

“We know we just have a lot of challenges in that area,” she said.

One of the challenges is how to speak effectively to those health issues with the community, especially at a time when the economy is so difficult, said Tait, who suggested that community involvement is the most effective way to reach the larger population.

Putting out brochures, she said, doesn't always speak to everybody. “When you're dealing with behavioral issues it's complex,” she said.

If people are struggling with the economy and unemployment, it's very easy to tell them to stop smoking or drink less, “but it's not really realistic” because they're not in a place to feel motivated, Tait explained.

“I think we need to find some creative ways to motivate and influence healthful behaviors more effectively than we have,” she said.

Tait said several organizations and programs in Lake County are working to improve the county's health, and county health officials are partnering with those organizations.

Those organizations include the Health Leadership Network, which works on obesity prevention and promotes physical activity, and now is turning new attention to smoking-related issues, “because that's such a common thread with so many of these health conditions,” Tait said.

The Lake County/City Area Planning Council is studying transportation, as they're aware of the health effects of transit planning, and Tait said the Lake Family Resource Center has many programs that promote health, including smoking cessation and tobacco education.

The rankings, according to Risa Lavizzo-Mourey, M.D., president and chief executive officer of the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation, demonstrate that “health happens where we live, learn, work and play,” with many of those influences found outside the doctor's office.

Lavizzo-Mourey added, “We hope the County Health Rankings spur all sectors – government, business, community and faith-based groups, education and public health – to work together on solutions that address barriers to good health and help all Americans lead healthier lives.”

The rankings will be presented during a congressional briefing in Washington, DC, on Tuesday, April 19.

To see the full report visit www.countyhealthrankings.org.

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A fire demonstration at the 2010 Wildfire Safety Expo in Kelseyville, Calif. Photo courtesy of Linda Juntunen.

The expo will take place from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. at the Kelseyville Lumber Home Improvement Center, 3555 N. Main St. in Kelseyville.

Presented by the Lake County Fire Safe Council, this free community event will provide information to homeowners to help them prepare for a wildfire.

“We hope to provide helpful information so citizens will be better prepared in the event of wildfire,” said project coordinator Linda Juntunen. “Along with fire safety information, we have quite a few activities lined-up that we think both adults and children will enjoy.”

Partners for this event include all of Lake County's Fire Protection Districts – Kelseyville, Lake County, Lake Pillsbury, Lakeport, Northshore and South Lake; the Lake County Fire Chiefs’ Association; Cal Fire; the Bureau of Land Management; and U. S. Forest Service.

A vendor fair will focus on fuel reduction methods, fire-resistant building materials, home fire safety information and fire safe landscaping tips. Home fire protection products also will be demonstrated.

Representatives from Lake County’s Animal Care and Control will be on hand to answer homeowners’ questions and provide information on their large animal evacuation project.

Smokey Bear and Sparky the Fire Dog, along with Jeff Tunnell of the Bureau of Land Management, at the 2010 Wildfire Safety Expo in Kelseyville, Calif. Photo courtesy of Linda Juntunen.

The Master Gardeners and Pacific Gas & Electric also will be there with tips on fire safe landscaping. Information for the National Fire Protection Association's Firewise Communities program will also be available.

Smokey Bear and Sparky the Fire Dog will be on hand for the kids, along with the Kid’s Fire Safety House, children’s games, and drawings for free prizes throughout the day.

Firefighting-training demonstrations will be conducted, and present-day and antique fire equipment will be on display.

“This event is for Lake County residents and will provide ‘one stop shopping’ for homeowners to take responsibility for their own safety and protection during the upcoming fire season,” said Jeff Tunnell, fire mitigation and education specialist for the Bureau of Land Management.

“One of our themes is ‘Help them (firefighters) help you,'” said Tunnell. “Make it possible for the fire agencies to protect your homes safely and effectively”

Take responsibility by learning how to protect your home and create the defensible space. Be fire wise and fire safe this season – attend the Wildfire Safety Expo.

For more information contact Juntunen at 707-263-4180, Extension 106.

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John Stone plants cattails on the floating island launched at Clarks Island in November. Photo courtesy of Holly Harris.

CLEARLAKE OAKS, Calif. – The public is invited to help celebrate “Earth Day in the Oaks” on Saturday, April 23, when the Clarks Island Sustainability Initiative will be launching a living dock kayak launch at Clarks Island in downtown Clearlake Oaks.

A day full of varying festivities and activities is planned, from Highway 20 Cleanup, free Shannon Ridge wine tasting, shoreline cleanup, paddlefest, a community potluck, the Clarks Island “Living Dock Kayak” launch and planting, natural building demonstrations, informational booths and the grand opening of the Clearlake Oaks Visitor Center.

Beginning at 9 a.m. until noon, volunteers can help clean up debris along Highway 20 in Clearlake Oaks.

The cleanup is organized by the Clearlake Oaks/Glenhaven Business Association. Refreshments and snacks will be provided, and the first 20 kids to pitch in get free t-shirts!

At noon is the grand opening/ribbon cutting of the new Clearlake Oaks Visitor Center, which is operated with volunteers under the direction of the Lake County Chamber of Commerce. The Visitor Center is located next to Nylander Park on Highway 20.

Beginning at 12:30 p.m., Clarks Island – located on Highway 20 between the Tower Mart and the Clearlake Oaks Boat Launch – will be the host to a number of activities.

Massey Burke will continue with natural building demonstrations. Volunteers can help finish plastering the bench, make up adobe bricks, or watch Massey create a “fish lantern” sculpture.

From 1 p.m. to 3 p.m. there will be a plant and launch of the newly built “living dock” kayak launch.

Paddlers of all ages and types are invited to bring their vessel of choice – kayaks, canoes, pedal boats, rafts, floats, paddle boards, dinghies and dragon boats – and celebrate the day by paddling around Clarks Island during the launch and plant or paddle the four mile loop Rattlesnake Island Water Trail; trail maps will be available.

Paddlers (and landlubbers) also are encouraged to help with the planting, trim back cattails on the current floating island, and help pick up “winter flotsam.”

Representatives from Floating Island West and Lakeport’s The Dock Factory – who both have donated much of the design time and production of the kayak launch – will be available.

The Dock Factory will be placing the living dock into position on Clarks Island, and volunteers can help plant the floating side panels with a variety of plants picked for their water cleaning power, color and habitat provision.

There will be informational displays on floating islands, a proposed Science Island project, natural building, Lake County Water Trails, lake ecology, the environment and more. Supervisor Denise Rushing will hold a solar cooking demonstration, weather permitting.

Also from 1 p.m. to 3 p.m., Shannon Ridge will be offering free wine tasting on select wines in their outdoor picnic area. The tasting room is located in downtown Clearlake Oaks across the street from Nylander Park, and is also available via water from the Short Street ramp.

To finish the day, from 3 p.m. to 6 p.m., Transition Lake County will hold their monthly community potluck on Clarks Island. The public is welcome – bring some food to share. Music, conversation, information exchange and a complimentary glass of Shannon Ridge wine, which was donated to the event.

Clarks Island is located on Highway 20 in between the Tower Mart and Clearlake Oaks Boat Launch.

Organizations, businesses, community groups and others are invited to set up informational booths or demonstrations – it’s free, but please contact 707-998-0135 or This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. to reserve space, help organize, get involved or to make suggestions for events.

For more information visit the website at www.konoctitrails.com/clarks-island and the Clarks Island Sustainability Initiative Facebook page at www.facebook.com/pages/Clarks-Island-Sustainability-Initiative/131571996892818 .

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Committee Republicans, searching for ways to curb federal deficits and rein in galloping VA costs, are targeting 1.3 million veterans who claim Priority Group 7 or 8 status and have access to VA care.

Priority Group 8 veterans have no service-connected disabilities and annual incomes, or net worth, that exceed VA means-test thresholds and VA “geographic income” thresholds, which are set by family size.

Priority Group 7 veterans also have no service-connected disabilities and their incomes are above the means-test thresholds. But their incomes or net worth fall below the geographic index. In other words, because of where they live, in high cost areas, they likely struggle financially.

Joseph Violante, national legislative director for Disabled American Veterans, said he first learned of the committee’s interest in possibly narrowing access to VA clinics and hospitals from a DAV member from Wisconsin, chairman Ryan’s home state.

Violante and other DAV officials arranged their own meeting with a staff member for the committee. He confirmed growing interest in a cost-saving initiative to push priority 7 and 8 veterans out of VA health care.

As this budget committee staffer reminded Violante, proponents for opening VA health care to all veterans had argued it would be cost neutral to VA. That’s because VA would charge these vets modest co-payments for their care. Also VA would bill these veterans’ private health insurance plans for the cost of their VA care.

That argument from 1996 turned out to be wrong. Co-payments collected from low-priority veterans and private insurance plan billings today cover only 18 percent of the cost of care for group 7 and 8 veterans. By 2009, the annual net cost to VA to treat these veterans totaled $4.4 billion or 11 percent of VA’s annual medical appropriation.

The figures come from the Congressional Budget Office’s annual report to Congress, “Reducing the Deficit: Spending and Revenue Options.”

Among options it presented this year to the new Congress for reducing VA spending is one to close enrollment in VA care for all veterans in groups 7 and 8 and to cancel the enrollment of veterans currently in two low priority groups.

CBO said this would save VA $62 billion in the first 10 years, from 2012 to 2021. But the net savings to the government over the same period, CBO said, would be about half that amount. That’s because many of the veterans bumped from VA are old enough or poor enough to use Medicare or Medicaid, which would drive up the cost of those programs.

We asked a committee spokesman for comment, both by e-mail and voice mail, but none came in time for this column’s deadline.

Until the mid-1990s, VA had denied health care to priority 7 and 8 veterans. Congress changed that during the Clinton administration, enacting the Veterans' Health Care Eligibility Act of 1996.

The law directed VA to build many more clinics across the country. To ensure enough patients to fill these clinics, the VA secretary was given authority to expand care eligibility.

The ban on group 7 and 8 veterans was ended by 1999. Over the next three years their enrollment climbed to 30 percent of total enrollees.

By 2003, then-VA Secretary Anthony Principi stopped allowing any more group 8 enrollments, saying their numbers strained the system for higher priority veterans, including wounded returning from Afghanistan and Iraq.

It’s possible that, in sharing what the budget committee eyed due to lower VA health costs, the professional staffer assumed DAV would embrace cancellation of 7 and 8 enrollments because few DAV members would be impacted. But Violante said DAV is concerned, for two reasons.

One, some DAV members separated from service with disabilities rated at zero percent do have access to VA health care as group 7 or 8 veterans.

A bigger concern for his members, Violante said, is that tossing 1.3 million veterans from VA care would leave the system without the “critical mass” of patients needed to provide “a full continuum of care.”

DAV officials worried that an initiative to narrow VA enrollment would be included in the House Republican budget plan unveiled this week. Ryan titled it “Path to Prosperity” and the full committee endorsed it on a straight party line vote April 6.

The budget package, however, doesn’t mention any change to enrollment eligibility nor call for significant cuts to VA budgets. Violante said DAV wants to talk House committees out of taking any action to reduce VA enrollment.

CBO presented pros and cons for canceling 7 and 8 enrollments. An advantage is VA could refocus services on “its traditional group of patients – those with the greatest needs or fewest financial resources.”

It noted 90 percent of group 7 and 8 enrollees had other health care coverage, either Medicare or private insurance. So the “vast majority” cut loose would have ready access to other coverage. Those who don’t could be eligible for health insurance exchanges to be set up in the future said CBO.

One disadvantage is that many veterans who have come to rely on VA for at least part of their medical care would see that care interrupted.

The Obama administration and Congress actually had been moving in the opposite direction, to expand VA enrollment, until Republicans won the House.

As Obama took office in 2009, VA announced that up to 266,000 veterans with no service-connected health conditions would be allowed to enroll in VA health care. Rep. Chet Edwards (D-Texas) had fought successfully to add $350 million to the 2009 VA budget so income thresholds controlling priority 8 enrollments could be raised 10 percent.

Edwards lost his reelection bid last year. And new priority 8 enrollees haven’t rushed to join the system as VA officials had expected.

Group 8 and 7 veterans using VA care pay $15 per outpatient visit and a little more for specialty care. Inpatient fees also are modest. The most popular benefit for many of enrollees is discounted prescription drugs. The co-pay usually is $8 for a 30-day supply.

Tim Tetz with American Legion said his organization and many veterans groups would strongly oppose tossing out group 7 and 8 veterans. He credits their enrollment since 1999 as helping to improve VA care.

“If as great of a health care system as we have, shouldn’t we let all of our veterans have access to it, in some manner,” Tetz asked.

While deficit hawks weigh this issue, VA still is enrolling new group 8 veterans who fall below its income thresholds. Those without dependents and living outside high-cost areas, for example, must have income below a means test threshold of $32,342.

More information on group 8 enrollment is online at www.va.gov/healtheligibility or call 877-222-VETS (8387).

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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Blame the professionalism of a volunteer force that is able, into a tenth straight year, to wage war against enemies far from the homeland.

The uncomfortable reality is that only one percent of U.S. adults serve in our military, and an even smaller number does most of the fighting. They’re trained for it, they’re good at it and they do it willingly.

But sustained warfare using only volunteers, we now know, results in multiple deployments and a pace of operations unimagined when conscripts filled the ranks.

That has led to long and frequent separations from home, unprecedented levels of stress, higher rates of divorce and suicide, and higher levels of anxiety among military children.

Don’t feel, however, that there’s nothing you can do about it.

Whether you’re a neighbor, business owner, corporate executive, community leader or ordinary citizen, you can help close the sacrifice gap by showing military families and veterans that you appreciate their service.

That’s the purpose behind of a new nationwide initiative, “Joining Forces,” launched this month by First Lady Michelle Obama and Dr. Jill Biden, the vice president’s wife.

“It’s our hope,” said Mrs. Obama during the White House kickoff ceremony, “that what we’re launching today becomes part of the fabric of the country.”

“This campaign,” she said, “is about all of us joining together, as Americans, to give back to the extraordinary military families who serve and sacrifice so much, every day, so that we can live in freedom and security.”

In an interview later that day with Mrs. Obama and Dr. Biden, the First Lady explained that, until four years ago, she had no understanding of the strain felt by military families.

Then she began hearing their stories first hand while campaigning for her husband in his run for the presidency.

Unlike the Bidens whose son Beau serves in the National Guard and deployed to Iraq in 2008, Mrs. Obama said, “we’re not a military family.”

Her father served in the Army before she was born. Besides photos of him in uniform, the military had no role in her life on the south side of Chicago

“I’m sure I have cousins who have served. But is there anyone in my life today who is being deployed? Do I know anyone who’s been deployed? And the answer is no,” she said.

That’s also true of most Americans.

Inspired by “the amazing military spouses and children who we’ve met all across the country, Michelle Obama said she became committed to raising awareness of what families and veterans contribute, so public support stays strong or even deepens.

As one military mom recently wrote to her, Mrs. Obama said, “Please don’t let Americans forget or ignore what we live with.”

“Jill and I have spent the last two years listening, learning, developing the relationships, building credibility within the military community so people actually believe we mean what we say,” the First Lady explained.

In January the administration announced that for the first time ever the well being of military families would become a priority throughout the federal government, not just at departments of Defense and Veterans Affairs.

For example, the department of Health and Human Services has partnered with DoD to help lower suicides across military and veteran populations; the department of Housing and Urban Development is working with VA and Labor to end veterans’ homelessness by 2015; DoD, Labor, Commerce and the Small Business Administration are encouraging corporate America to expand career opportunities for military spouses.

A total of 50 such commitments by federal departments are being implemented.

“Joining Forces,” said Mrs. Obama, is to get “the rest of the country” involved in lifting whatever burdens they can off of military families.

Neighbors can offer to their lawns, shovel snow or take more turns with the kids’ carpool while service members are deployed.

Teachers identify military children in their classrooms and strive to recognize signals of stress and learn how to deal it. Employers can enhance job opportunities for military spouses.

Those with no clue how to reach out to military families can find ideas, local contact information on a new website, www.joiningforces.gov.

Forces deployed today include tens of thousands of Reserve and National Guard members. So families and vets needing support can be found in any town in the country, said Mrs. Biden.

“We always knew we wanted to create a broad, national awareness program,” she said. “But, boy, we were amazed at the nonprofits … and the businesses who said, ‘We want to help.’ And it just grew and grew and grew. And we expect it to grow even more.”

The campaign will have more famous faces behind it, including Oprah Winfrey and Tom Hanks, and some large employers like Walmart and Sears. Key goals will be to enhance spouse employment, children’s education and the overall “wellness” of military families. But the motto of the movement is that “everyone can do something,” said Mrs. Obama.

Blue Star Families, a support group of military families to support military families, conducted a survey of spouses in 2010. It found that 92 percent feel the “country doesn’t care or isn’t aware of their challenges,” Mrs. Obama said. “I’d love to see that number go down.”

Before she and Jill Biden embarked on a three-day tour of military bases to spotlight Joining Forces, we asked Mrs. Obama if she has detected raised anxiety among military families over Libya and the prospect of deeper U.S. involvement in one more war in the Middle East.

“You know families don’t say that. Soldiers don’t say that,” she said. “They say ‘Where am I needed? What do I need to do? I’m ready to go.’

“That’s the beauty of these families,” she continued. “They’re proud to serve and they’re trained to serve. Now that doesn’t mean we can take advantage of that [or] ignore the ramifications of long deployments.”

All Americans need to be more aware, she added, that when conflict happens and troops respond, there are families impacted who need support.

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Gerald Stanley, 66, claiming ill health, appeared via video conference from San Quentin State Prison, where he's been on death row since February 1984.

Stanley was convicted of shooting his wife, Cynthia Ann Rogers, in August 1980.

In March 2008 federal Judge Frank C. Damrell ruled there had been juror misconduct during the trial's death penalty phase because a female female juror who had been a domestic violence victim didn't disclose that to the court, as Lake County News has reported.

That's put Stanley's death sentence on stay and is leading to a retrospective competency hearing, which District Attorney Don Anderson estimated Monday likely will occur this summer.

Stanley's trial was moved to Butte County due to pretrial publicity, but earlier this year Judge Gerald Hermansen ruled the case could return to Lake County, and Stanley supported the move.

The case is being heard by retired Alameda County Superior Court Judge William McKinstry.

Anderson said most of the local superior court judges have recused themselves from hearing the case.

Retired Judge Robert Crone, who still hears cases locally, was the district attorney who prosecuted Stanley, with Judge Stephen Hedstrom also working in the Lake County District Attorney's Office at that time.

The other judges who recused themselves – Richard Martin and Andrew Blum – also served in the Lake County District Attorney's Office under Hedstrom's tenure as district attorney in the years following the Stanley case.

Stanley had previously asked to represent himself or to have Berkeley-based attorney Jack Leavitt represent him. Leavitt was appointed to the task at the Monday hearing.

Anderson said another hearing is planned for May 23, at which time he said that any stipulations he and Leavitt have in the case will be announced in preparation for moving forward with the competency hearing.

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The Lakeport Masonic Lodge was destroyed by the great San Francisco earthquake of April 18, 1906. Photo courtesy of the Lake County Museum.

In commemoration of the 150^th anniversary of the founding of Lake County this year, Lake County News is publishing a series of historical stories about the county, its people and places. With Monday, April 18, being the 105^th anniversary of the great San Francisco earthquake of 1906, this week's story looks at the impact of that quake on Lake County.

The date April 18, 1906, is marked by one of the worst natural disasters in U.S. History.

Many, although born at a different time, recognize the significance of this date. It is the day that San Francisco experienced a devastating earthquake.

At 5:12 a.m., many San Franciscans were still asleep, and others were on the road commuting to their places of employment when the city was shaken violently for about 45 to 60 seconds.

The earthquake shifted the ground at about four to five feet per second. The rupture traveled approximately 5,900 miles per hour and left its imprint on 375,000 square miles.

The earthquake traveled to Northern California areas such as Lake County, Santa Rosa, San Jose and Santa Cruz. It went as far inland as Nevada.

The US Geological Survey and Berkeley Seismological Laboratory have estimated that the quake's magnitude ranged between 7.7 and 7.9 and did $400 million in damage in 1906 dollars.

The aftermath of the earthquake left 225,000 people homeless and about 3,000 dead.

What wasn’t utterly demolished by the earthquake was quickly obliterated by raging fires. Fires burnt about 28,000 buildings and 500 blocks – or one quarter of San Francisco.

Some fires were as hot as 2,700 degrees Fahrenheit and were more catastrophic than the earthquake itself.

The water supply in San Francisco was completely cut off. Citizens began receiving their food from soup lines and many sought shelter at Golden Gate Park or at the beach.

It took approximately three minutes for the aftershock of the quake to reach Lake County.

Lakeport's Lakeview Hotel was damaged by the quake that destroyed a large part of San Francisco on April 18, 1906. Photo courtesy of the Lake County Museum.

Although the effects of the quake weren’t as catastrophic as in other areas it still impacted many.

While Upper Lake for the most part was spared from the quake, other Lake County towns were not.

In Lakeport, the quake shook down the brick walls of the two-story Masonic Hall and both the Lakeview and Giselman Hotels were damaged. Many school chimneys toppled and residences were knocked down.

Some Lower Lake and Middletown residents had chimneys knocked down and household items destroyed. The bell tower and roof at the Lower Lake Schoolhouse were badly damaged as well.

The Lower Lake bell tower played an important part in the functioning of the town and even then had historical significance. The bell was not only used to signify the beginning and end of school, but also was used to alert townspeople of fires and other emergencies.

The earthquake that hit San Francisco on April 18, 1906, was estimated to be between 7.7 and 7.9 in magnitude, left 225,000 people homeless and about 3,000 dead, and did an estimated $400 million in damage in 1906 dollars. Photo courtesy of the Lake County Museum.

After the quake knocked the bell tower down, the bell itself became overlooked and it is speculated that it was melted down and the metal reused during World War II. The loss of both the bell and bell tower was felt by all Lower Lake residents.

The county economy suffered as well, but Lake County was still among the many counties that responded to the request for aid by those in San Francisco.

For more information about the Lake County Sesquicentennial, visit www.lc150.org, join the celebration at https://www.facebook.com/home.php#!/pages/Lake-County-Sesquicentennial/171845856177015 and follow it on Twitter at http://twitter.com/LakeCo150 .

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Local resorts sent a stage to San Francisco and to Sacramento (pictured here) to entice visitors, noting that Lake County's resorts weren't damaged by the great San Francisco earthquake of April 18, 1906. Photo courtesy of the Lake County Museum.

“It’s shocking that the state has apparently failed to collect millions of dollars in salary and travel advances owed by state employees,” Brown said. “This situation reinforces the worst stereotype of ineffective and inefficient government, and I have ordered state agencies to immediately investigate the backlog of uncollected debts and find every penny owed to taxpayers. State agencies must regain control of this program.”

Audits from the California State Controller’s Office have uncovered serious collection and internal accounting lapses at state agencies tied to salary and travel advances.

An audit conducted by the Controller’s Office in 2009, for example, found that $13.3 million in advances had not been collected at eleven state agencies.

This total included more than $500,000 in advances outstanding more than three years after they were issued. In most cases, employees were granted advances and agencies were either slow to collect funds or failed to collect at all.

“The state’s poor debt collection and accounting practices are fleecing public coffers at a time when vital public programs are being decimated by unprecedented budget cuts,” California State Controller John Chiang said. “I applaud Governor Brown’s commitment to making every dollar count.”

The controller is continuing to examine these programs at state agencies, including the California Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation (CDCR), and the audits may uncover millions more in uncollected salary and travel advances.

State law allows for advances under certain circumstances including when there are delays in issuing checks, when an employee separates and needs a final check, when an employee travels, when a hardship request is made or when a vendor requires immediate payment.

The longer a debt goes uncollected, the more likely it will not be recovered. If the employee’s agency or department does not initiate collection proceedings within three years, the agency or department cannot collect the debt without the employee’s consent.

The Governor’s Executive Order seeks to recover taxpayer dollars by directing state agencies and departments to clear salary and travel advances within 30 days through an expense claim. If advances are not cleared, agencies and departments will be expected to deduct what’s owed from the employee’s next paycheck. The Executive Order also calls for improvements in record keeping, oversight, training and collection practices.

Since taking office, Brown has issued executive orders to freeze hiring across state government and cut state cell phones and the passenger vehicle fleet in half and has directed state agencies and departments to stop spending taxpayer dollars on free giveaway and gift items.

These actions are part of Brown’s efforts to save money this fiscal year and to cut millions in operational costs next fiscal year.

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Earlier this month, Gov. Jerry Brown and Congressman Mike Thompson (D-St. Helena) both sent letters to Obama asking him for a major disaster declaration for California because of the tsunami generated by a 9.0-magnitude earthquake off the coast of Japan on March 11.

The Federal Emergency Management Agency is still reviewing Brown’s requests for other affected communities, which include neighboring Mendocino County.

“Last month’s tsunami caused significant damage to infrastructure up and down California’s coast,” Thompson said Monday.

He said he was pleased that the president recognized the devastation in Del Norte and Santa Cruz counties and approved a federal disaster declaration for both areas.

“However, there are still other coastal communities that need assistance,” Thompson said. “That’s why I’m urging President Obama to issue disaster declarations for all affected areas so they can continue the process of rebuilding.”

Officials have estimated that the water surge that hit the coast of California caused a total of $48 million.

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