A water main break caused a major slipout on Widgeon Way above Clearlake Oaks, Calif., with the erosion extending down to Highway 20 below. Photo by Bill Rett.

Firefighters, police and road crews were among the first responders dealing with the fallout from the winter weather.

Some of that fallout included stranded subjects – including an elderly man – caught in the snow on Elk Mountain Road above Upper Lake since Saturday. Radio reports from the scene indicated Lake County Search and Rescue located the man and at least one other person late Sunday night after it appeared the search was being called off for the night.

Meantime, Clear Lake's level was going up, rising to 8.45 feet Rumsey early Monday morning, and pushing closer to the flood stage, which is at 9 feet Rumsey. Lake County Water Resources officials had estimated last week that the heavy rains could take the lake to 8.50 feet Rumsey by Wednesday.

The US Geological Survey's gauges around the county showed streams and creeks running at high levels.

County Road Superintendent Steve Stangland said Sunday evening that the rising lake level made flooding a possibility in the areas of Lakeshore Boulevard in north Lakeport, shoreline areas of Nice including that town's Lakeshore Boulevard, and the Clear Lake Keys subdivision in Clearlake Oaks.

Stangland said his road crews worked through Saturday night and into Sunday morning, responding to flooding, and rock and mud slides.

Clear Lake left behind debris at Library Park in Lakeport, Calif., following storms on Saturday, March 19, and Sunday, March 20, 2011. Photo by Terre Logsdon.

The high water had caused some flooding on Lakeshore Boulevard in north Lakeport late Saturday night, with road crews removing debris there as well as from the Lakeshore Boulevard area of Nice, and removing a downed tree from Black Oak Drive in Nice, with that roadway reopened later Sunday, Stangland said.

With the ground already saturated, an early Sunday morning water main break on Widgeon Way in Clearlake Oaks resulted in a large landslide that closed the road between Hillside Lane and Laurel Avenue and ran down the hill toward Highway 20, according to nearby resident Chuck Lamb.

Lamb said water was out at his home and that of many other residents in the area.

Stangland said Clearlake Oaks County Water District Crews planned to work through Sunday night to get the water line fixed.

In Clearlake, Sgt. Tim Hobbs said Clearlake Police officers responded on Sunday morning to about five calls of trees down and blocking city streets. He said city Public Works crews responded to clear the downed trees from roadways.

While Hobbs said that, as of Sunday afternoon, they had not received reports of flooding, during a check he made of Lakeshore Drive he saw the water line was within a few feet of many houses and their docks were up at the top or over the top of their pilings.

A houseboat that broke loose from its mooring near the Lakeport Yacht Club in Lakeport, Calif., on Saturday, March 19, 2011, came to rest near the Regency Inn. Photo by Terre Logsdon.

He said police also received several reports of docks that were floating around near the shore not attached to their pilings, and added that creeks in the city were a few feet from overflowing.

In Lakeport, Clear Lake lapped at the edges of Library Park, and the shoreline was littered with debris.

Big wind gusts overnight were blamed for damage done to some area resorts, including the Skylark Motel.

Priya Dias, who along with husband David DeLuca has owned the Skylark since 2005, said their fence was blown down and their metal docks were damaged.

“The wind broke our dock in the middle,” she said Sunday afternoon.

With parts of their docks floating free, two ramps that led out to the docks had fallen into the water, with both of them being totally submerged, Dias said.

She said the ground was totally saturated, with the lake filled “to the brim,” raising her concerns for what might happen if the lake hits flood stage. “It's scary,” she said.

After a night of high winds and torrential rains on Saturday, March 19, 2011, these boats at the damaged docks next to the Regency Motel in Lakeport await repair. Photo by Terre Logsdon.

Donna Queenen, who lives nearby, reported a 35-foot houseboat came loose from its moorings at the Lakeport Yacht Club and hit her deck, eventually lodging between a stump by her deck and the Regency Inn's retaining wall.

She also reported the docks had come loose at the Anchorage Inn, Regency Inn and Lucky Four Resort.

Downed trees in various parts of the county contributed to fallen power lines, with a report Sunday morning that a falling tree hitting lines caused a pole to snap in Nice.

Pacific Gas & Electric reported several outages around the county that resulted from damaged equipment or other, unspecified causes. Listed in PG&E's outage reports were Hidden Valley Lake, Kelseyville, Cobb, Lakeport and Nice, with no estimated time of restoration available on any of those locations late Sunday.

Downed power lines closed Westridge Drive in Riviera Heights and a slide closed one lane of Siegler Canyon Road south of Perini Drive near Lower Lake, Stangland said.

Although Clear Lake isn't yet at flood stage, at Lakeside County Park near Lakeport, Calif., some park fixtures like these benches and picnic tables were close to being submerged on Sunday, March 20, 2011. Photo by Terre Logsdon.

Elsewhere, flooding caused a closure on Scotts Valley Road at mile post marker 3.50, with a detour available on Hendricks Road. Stangland said Eickoff Road in Lakeport also was closed Sunday due to flooding, and a large slipout has resulted in a one-lane closure on Stubbs Road in Clearlake Oaks.

Stangland said Elk Mountain Road and Bartlett Springs Road were restricted to vehicles with four-by-four capability and chains because of snow.

Other parts of the region also were getting pummeled by the wet winter conditions, with neighboring Glenn County reporting damaged homes, flattened orchards and flooded roads and high streams.

Glenn County Sheriff Larry Jones reported the roof of one woman's trailer was peeled off, while many of the area's almond trees fell over because of the wind – with gusts reported at 60 miles per hour – and saturated ground.

Jones, who deployed more deputies to react to conditions, reported no injuries or evacuations as of Sunday evening.

Glenn County's Office of Emergency Services activated an operations center, with monitoring going on along several stretches of the Sacramento River, predicted to be above flood stage on Monday.

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Piles of debris were deposited along Clear Lake's shoreline in Lakeport, Calif., as a result of the storm on Saturday, March 19, and Sunday, March 20, 2011. Photo by Terre Logsdon.

The National Weather Service issued the advisories on Saturday.

Among them was a flood watch – due to the continuing heavy rains coupled with saturated ground – which is set to be in effect through Sunday afternoon.

The National Weather Service said a power storm system coming in from the Pacific is expected to continue to bring rain to Northern California through Sunday.

The recent rains have pushed Clear Lake to 8.07 feet Rumsey as of Saturday night, according to a US Geological Survey gauge on the lake. Flood stage is at 9 feet Rumsey.

Lake County Water Resources Officials said late last week that they were expecting the lake to be close to 8.5 feet Rumsey by this coming Wednesday.

Late Saturday, flooding concerns were already becoming a reality, as water was covering Lakeshore Boulevard at Park Way outside of Lakeport, with debris all over the roadway, according to the California Highway Patrol.

The National Weather Service also warned of snow levels ranging between 5 to 10 inches above 3,000 feet through Sunday. On Saturday there were reports of snow in Cobb and Kelseyville, as well as in Clearlake and on the hills above the Northshore.

Besides the rain, snow and flood concerns, forecasters were urging Lake County residents to be prepared for strong winds from Saturday night and into Sunday morning below the 3,000 foot elevation mark.

The agency reported that a deep low pressure system moving ofaf the coast of San Francisco was expected to move northward into southern Oregon on Sunday, bringing with it rain, mountain snow and potentially damaging winds to Northern California’s interior.

The saturated ground coupled with the wet winds could lead to downed power lines and trees, the National Weather Service warned in its wind advisory.

Southerly winds were predicted to increase from 15 to 30 miles per hour, with late night and early morning gusts at about 40 miles per hour.

Forecasters said rain is expected to continue through Monday, tapering off on Tuesday. Then rain is likely on Wednesday and Thursday, with a chance of showers the rest of the week.

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A Jeep that had overturned during a single-vehicle crash on the morning of Friday, March 18, 2011, near Nice, Calif., is pictured after being set back on its wheels before being towed from the scene. Photo by Gary McAuley.

NICE, Calif. – Friday's rainy conditions and a possible case of driving under the influence of alcohol are believed to have contributed to a single-vehicle collision.

The crash involving the late model Jeep occurred shortly before 8:30 a.m. in the 3800 block of Lakeview Drive between Howard and Hudson, according to the California Highway Patrol.

Reports from the scene indicated the 18-year-old male driver was traveling westbound on Lakeview Drive at a speed too fast for conditions, hit the embankment and flipped the vehicle over onto its top.

Two Northshore Fire medic units and an engine, and two CHP units were reported to have responded.

The driver – who was not wearing his seat belt – was reported to have sustained moderate injuries, while his passenger, who was wearing his seat belt, was not injured.

The CHP said the driver was taken to Sutter Lakeside Hospital, where along with treatment he was expected to undergo a blood draw.

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Olive oil tasting with Sierra d'Oro at the second-annual Kelseyville Olive Festival on Sunday, March 20, 2011. Photo by Terre Logsdon.

KELSEYVILLE, Calif. – Olives, olive oils, olive trees, local wines and locally-brewed beers formed the centerpiece of this year's Kelseyville Olive Festival, a family-friendly event held Sunday, March 20, at the Chacewater Olive Mill in Kelseyville.

Rainy weather didn't dampen the spirits of the eventgoers at the second annual festival, which highlighted all things olive-related.

A silent auction, beer and wine tasting, and wine store sale proceeds from the event benefit the programs of the Lake Family Resource Center, while admission to the event – including games such as the popular olive pit spitting contest – is free of charge.

Held mostly indoors, festival goers enjoyed sampling olive oils from Apollo Olive Oil, Canino Ridge, Ceago Vinegarden, Chasewater Olive Mill, Clearlake Oaks Olive Oil, Olivino, Robledo Family Winery, Rosa d'Oro, Sierra d'Oro, Sutter Buttes Olive Ranch, the Villa Barone and Loasa Farms, as well as offerings from Christensen Foods and Main Street Bakery.

Kelseyville-based wineries were also featured including Robledo Family Winery, Rosa d'Oro, Wildhurst, Moore Family Winery and Bell Hill.

Beer also was offered by the Lake County Homebrewers – including one with plans to open a beer-tasting brewery by the end of the year in downtown Kelseyville – who will return to the annual Amateur Wine & Beer Festival held each June in Lakeport's Library Park.

The festival proved the perfect way to usher in spring in Lake County: with lots of local goods including olive oils, wines, beer and bread.

E-mail Terre Logsdon at This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. . Follow Lake County News on Twitter at http://twitter.com/LakeCoNews, on Facebook at http://www.facebook.com/pages/Lake-County-News/143156775604?ref=mf and on YouTube at http://www.youtube.com/user/LakeCoNews.

Wines grown and produced in Kelseyville - including Bell Hill, Robledo Family Winery, Rosa d'Oro Vineyards, Moore Family Winery and Wildhurst Vineyards offered their wines for sale at the second-annual Kelseyville Olive Festival on Sunday, March 20, 2011. Photo by Terre Logsdon.

Chris and Carolyn Ruttan of Canino Ridge Olives in Lower Lake, Calif., took part in the festival. Photo by Terre Logsdon.

The varied colors in this mound of olives awaiting pressing at the Chacewater Wine Co. and Olive Mill in Kelseyville, Calif. reflects their differing stages of ripening. Photo by Esther Oertel.

Hundreds of olive-lovers will make their way to Kelseyville today to enjoy the second annual Kelseyville Olive Festival, making it a good day to write about this lovely little fruit.

Though I’ve touched on the subject of olives in past columns, it was in a roundabout way.

My inaugural column as “The Veggie Girl” was about olive oil, and in January I did a pictorial essay on “A Day in the Life of an Olive Press,” depicting local olives being pressed into rich, golden oil.

However, I’ve never written solely on the source of this goodness, the olive itself.

It’s quite possible that olives are the most symbolic fruits the world has ever known. They were not only beloved, but considered sacred in many ancient Mediterranean cultures spanning the millennia.

It’s estimated that the cultivation of olive trees began more than 7,000 years ago, and olives were grown commercially as far back as 3,000 B.C. In fact, commercialization of the olive crop may have been the source of wealth for the ancient Minoan civilization on the island of Crete.

The olive is one of the plants most cited in literature. In Homer’s Odyssey, Odysseus crawls beneath two shoots of olive that grow from a single stock.

In Greek mythology, Athena won the patronage of Attica from Poseidon through the gift of the olive.

The Roman poet Horace refers to olives as a staple of his simple diet: “As for me, olives, endives, and smooth mallows provide sustenance.”

Olives and olive trees are mentioned more than 30 times in the Old and New Testaments, being one of the first plants mentioned in the Bible, as well as the most significant. For example, it is an olive branch that the dove brings to Noah to indicate the flood waters receded.

As for the Koran, there are seven mentions, including a reference to its being a “precious fruit.”

The olive tree, leaves and fruit have been symbolic of a variety of positive attributes through the ages, including peace, wisdom, glory, fertility, power, purity and abundance throughout history.

The leaves were used to crown victors of athletic games, as well as the victors of battles of war.

The olive tree is known for its longevity, and there are dozens of trees in southern Europe and the Middle East that are reputed to be between 2,000 and 4,000 years old. In some cases, scientific studies have confirmed this.

Interestingly, these trees still bear fruit.It is said that an olive tree bears fruit as well at 200 years of age as it does at the age of 20. One might say that it bears just as well at 2,000 years of age.

The olive is native to the eastern Mediterranean coastal region, including southeastern Europe, northern Africa and western Asia. They’re now grown in a variety of places in the world that have a climate similar to that of the Mediterranean, including California.

Olives in our hemisphere are harvested in the fall and winter, typically beginning in November. Depending on their intended use, they may be harvested prior to ripening as green olives, fully ripe as black olives, or somewhere in between.

There are dozens of olive varieties – more than a hundred – and they vary wildly in terms of size. Color in their ripened state can vary from shades of brown to purple to black.

The Cerignola olive is large (almost the size of a small plum) and can be found in both green and black. In contrast, the tiny Nicoise olive is about the size of a fingernail. It hails from southern France and is purplish brown in color.

Sicilian green olives, also known as Sicilian colossal due to their size, are dense and somewhat tart, and the Gaeta, a small brownish-black olive, has a flavor reminiscent of nuts.

A good, all-round olive for cooking and salads is the Kalamata, a purplish-black Greek olive that has become quite popular in recent years and can almost always be found in local markets.

Olives in their raw state are bitter and unpleasantly sour, so prior to consumption, olives are cured to remove their bitterness.

There are a number of methods to achieve this, including using brine (salty liquid), lye, dry salt or even oil. If olives are cured in oil, they’re wrinkled and usually a bit tougher than when cured by other methods.

A variety of flavor components, such as garlic, lemon, peppers, herbs such as rosemary, and even nuts, may be used during the curing process to add unique taste to the olives.

Olives are among the healthiest foods on the planet, packed full of nutrients and health-supporting elements such as iron, vitamin E, dietary fiber, copper and monosaturated fats.

Antioxidants in olives protect against heart disease and promote colon health, including protecting against colon cancer. Olives have natural anti-inflammatory effects, making them useful in reducing the severity of diseases such as asthma, osteoarthritis and rheumatoid arthritis.

This little black fruit wooed the ancient world, and, now that we’re aware of its benefits beyond its flavor, a resounding “wow” is added to the woo.

The Kelseyville Olive Festival runs March 20 from 11 a.m. until 5 p.m. at the Chacewater Wine Co. and Olive Mill (formerly the Kelseyville Wine Co. and Olive Mill) on Gaddy Lane just opposite the Kelseyville Post Office. The event is free, though beer and wine tasting will be available for a fee.

According to event organizers, a day of family fun focused on the olive is planned, and opportunities to learn about the history, cultivation, processing, types, and health benefits of olives and olive oil will be available.

Those attending may, among other things, sample products and vote for their favorites, visit arts and crafts booths, enter an olive-spitting contest, or get involved in an olive oil sensory evaluation or cooking demo.

In case of rain, much of the event is under cover.

Today’s recipe is for a mixed olive risotto from a culinary class I did a couple of Septembers ago to celebrate local olives and oil. It makes a hearty main course, and can be prepared as a vegetarian dish, if desired.

The olives used should be high-quality, rather than mild canned olives, such as those purchased at a deli olive bar. Many supermarkets carry high-quality jarred Mediterranean-style olives if an olive bar is unavailable.

The lemon zest added at the end off heat provides a pleasant counterbalance to the saltiness of the cheese (and prosciutto or bacon, if using).

This might be a lovely dish to make upon returning home from a day of fun at the Olive Festival. Enjoy!

Risotto with mixed olive medley

4 cups chicken or vegetable stock

2 tablespoons olive oil

1 large leek, well cleaned, light green and white portions thinly sliced

4 cloves garlic, minced

1 cup Arborio rice

1 cup high-quality mixed pitted olives (such as Kalamata), quartered

Grated zest of ½ lemon

½ cup Asiago cheese, grated

½ cup Prosciutto, diced, OR ½ cup Feta cheese, crumbled, OR 4 slices crisp bacon, crumbled

Bring broth to boil in a medium saucepan. Reduce heat so that broth stays at a constant gentle simmer.

In a large, deep skillet, heat the olive oil. Add leeks and cook five minutes, stirring occasionally. Add garlic and rice; cook one minute, stirring frequently.

Using a large ladle, transfer about one cup of the simmering broth to the rice mixture. Cook until most of the liquid is absorbed, stirring occasionally. Continue adding broth, one ladleful at a time, until rice is slightly firm to the bite, 20 to 25 minutes, stirring occasionally and keeping the rice mixture at a constant simmer.

Stir in olives and Prosciutto; heat through. Remove from heat and stir in cheese. Grate lemon zest into risotto and stir to combine. (You may wish to add ½ cup sun-dried tomatoes, reconstituted or packed in oil, and/or ½ cup artichoke hearts, roughly chopped. They should be added along with the Prosciutto.)

Recipe by Esther Oertel.

Esther Oertel, the “Veggie Girl,” is a culinary coach and educator and is passionate about local produce. Oertel teaches culinary classes at Chic Le Chef in Hidden Valley Lake, Calif., and The Kitchen Gallery in Lakeport, Calif., and gives private cooking lessons. She welcomes your questions and comments; e-mail her at This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it..

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CLEARLAKE, Calif. – Clearlake Police officers conducting a probation search on Saturday arrested a local man for possession of several illegal drugs and paraphernalia, and for being a felon in possession of firearms.

Brandon Charles Thomas, 28, of Clearlake was arrested Saturday afternoon, according to a report from Sgt. Tim Hobbs.

At 2 p.m. Saturday Clearlake Police officers responded to Thomas' residence on Vista Street to conduct a probation search, Hobbs said.

The residence, Hobbs explained, is located in one of the city's newly formed community oriented policing beats that has had a high level of reported narcotics activity.

During the search Thomas was found to be in possession of approximately 2 pounds of processed marijuana, cocaine, large quantities of Ecstasy and morphine sulfate, numerous types of packaging material, a digital scale, a .380-caliber semiautomatic handgun and a loaded, sawed off 12-gauge shotgun, Hobbs said.

Thomas was booked into the Lake County Jail on charges of being a felon in possession of a firearm, felon in possession of ammunition, possession of a controlled substances for sales (Ecstasy), possession of a narcotic controlled substance for sales (cocaine), possession of a narcotic controlled substance for sales (morphine sulfate) and possession of marijuana for sales, Hobbs said.

Officers obtained a bail enhancement to $100,000, according to Hobbs.

Jail records indicated Thomas remained in custody late Sunday.

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Gerardo Castillo and Tammi Duran were arrested during a Lake County Sheriff's Narcotics Task Force operation on Tuesday, March 15, 2011. Lake County Jail photos.

CLEARLAKE OAKS, Calif. – The Sheriff's Narcotics Task Force's service of a search warrant on Tuesday in Clearlake Oaks has resulted in two felony arrests, and the seizure of more than a pound of methamphetamine and more than $1,900 in currency for asset forfeiture.

Tuesday’s warrant service marked the first time in years that more than a pound of methamphetamine has been taken off the streets in a single seizure in Lake County, according to a report from Capt. James Bauman of the Lake County Sheriff's Office. It's minimum street value was set at more than $51,000.

On Friday, March 11, task force members secured a search warrant for a home located on New Long Valley Road in the Spring Valley area of Clearlake Oaks, Bauman said. The task force served the search warrant on the afternoon of Tuesday, March 15, with the assistance of a sheriff’s narcotics detection K-9 team.

Four suspects were located in different areas of the home and detained without incident, Bauman said. They included Gerardo Castillo, 45; Tammi Ileine Duran, 46; Wendy Marie Yudnich, 42; and 18-year-old Travis Frank Yudnich, all of Clearlake Oaks.

Bauman said Duran was found standing near a couch in the living room and Castillo was located in a kitchen. Wendy and Travis Yudnich were located in separate bedrooms.

Upon entering the home, narcotics detectives found a video surveillance system monitoring the property. Bauman said detectives also discovered they had interrupted a narcotics transaction in progress.

He said the couch Duran was standing near was searched and beneath one of the cushions detectives located a plastic bag containing approximately one ounce of methamphetamine. A search of Duran’s purse and two make up cases found on the same couch revealed several other baggies containing methamphetamine, $400 in currency, and narcotics paraphernalia.

Narcotics detectives continued to search the residence and located a plastic bucket concealed in a fireplace, Bauman said. An inspection of the bucket’s contents revealed a large plastic bag containing a full pound of methamphetamine and two smaller bags containing over an ounce each of methamphetamine.

He said the bucket also contained a digital scale, cutting agents, smoking pipes, and other evidence of controlled substance sales and use. In a master bedroom, detectives located narcotics paraphernalia, live shotgun ammunition and more than $1,500 in currency.

All four suspects were initially arrested and transported to the Lake County Hill Road Correctional Facility, Bauman said. Subsequent to booking, further investigation revealed that Castillo was in fact in the midst of selling an ounce of methamphetamine to Duran when narcotics detectives entered the home.

He said narcotics detectives also determined that Wendy and Johnny Yudnich were not directly involved in the sales transaction or the possession of methamphetamine and they were released with no pending charges.

Castillo was booked for possession of a controlled substance for sale, possession of narcotics paraphernalia and being a felon in possession of live ammunition. Bauman said Castillo remained in the custody of the sheriff Friday with an enhanced bail of $150,000.

Duran was booked for possession of a controlled substance for sale, possession of narcotics paraphernalia, and being under the influence of a controlled substance, Bauman said.

The $1,900 in currency collected from the scene was seized for asset forfeiture as the suspected profit of narcotics trafficking, he said.

The Sheriff’s Narcotics Task Force's anonymous tip line is 707-263-3663.

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SACRAMENTO – In his first YouTube address since taking office, Gov. Jerry Brown is calling on state legislators to let voters have a voice in deciding how to solve the state’s budget crisis.

Brown gave Californians an update on budget negotiations in Sacramento during a three minute check-in filmed in his Capitol office.

The state Legislature made a series of tough cuts to the state budget last week, eliminating billions in programs and services. A decision is still pending on the future of redevelopment.

Now, Brown wants to let the people vote on whether to extend currently existing taxes or make even deeper cuts.

“This is a matter that’s too big and too irreversible to leave just to those you have elected,” said Brown. “This is a time when the people themselves can gather together in a special election and make the hard choice.”

Without an extension of currently existing taxes, Brown said balancing the budget would require “drastic cuts” to “our university, to education, to health care, to police services, to fire services, and many, many other things.”

Brown asserted the right of the people to vote and said he is working hard to make sure they get a chance to decide in June whether to extend currently existing taxes or make deeper cuts.

“Would you like the chance to cast this vote, or would you think it’s appropriate to shut out the people of California?”

Brown also reminded Californians that there is no time for partisan squabbles when the state is facing a severe budget crisis.

“I don’t see this as a Republican or a Democratic issue,” said Brown. “This is a matter of all of us thinking as Californians first and acting in solidarity to grapple with problems that have been avoided too long.”

Brown concluded: “If we pull together, if we make the tough decisions, if we exercise the measure of discipline that the times call out for, California will continue to prosper in the years ahead.”

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An artist's concept of MESSENGER orbiting Mercury. Courtesy of the National Aeronautics and Space Administration.

NASA's MESSENGER spacecraft successfully achieved orbit around Mercury at approximately 9 p.m. EDT on Thursday, March 17.

This marks the first time a spacecraft has accomplished this engineering and scientific milestone at our solar system's innermost planet.

“This mission will continue to revolutionize our understanding of Mercury during the coming year,” said NASA Administrator Charles Bolden, who was at MESSENGER mission control at the Johns Hopkins University Applied Physics Laboratory in Laurel, Md., as engineers received telemetry data confirming orbit insertion.

“NASA science is rewriting text books. MESSENGER is a great example of how our scientists are innovating to push the envelope of human knowledge,” Bolden said.

At 9:10 p.m. EDT March 17, engineers Operations Center, received the anticipated radiometric signals confirming nominal burn shutdown and successful insertion of the MESSENGER probe into orbit around the planet Mercury.

NASA's MErcury Surface, Space ENvironment, Geochemistry, and Ranging, or MESSENGER, rotated back to the Earth by 9:45 p.m. EDT, and started transmitting data.

Upon review of the data, the engineering and operations teams confirmed the burn executed nominally with all subsystems reporting a clean burn and no logged errors.

MESSENGER's main thruster fired for approximately 15 minutes at 8:45 p.m., slowing the spacecraft by 1,929 miles per hour and easing it into the planned orbit about Mercury. The rendezvous took place about 96 million miles from Earth.

“Achieving Mercury orbit was by far the biggest milestone since MESSENGER was launched more than six and a half years ago,” said Peter Bedini, MESSENGER project manager of the Applied Physics Laboratory (APL). “This accomplishment is the fruit of a tremendous amount of labor on the part of the navigation, guidance-and-control, and mission operations teams, who shepherded the spacecraft through its 4.9-billion-mile journey.”

For the next several weeks, APL engineers will be focused on ensuring the spacecraft's systems are all working well in Mercury's harsh thermal environment.

Starting on March 23, the instruments will be turned on and checked out, and on April 4 the mission's primary science phase will begin.

“Despite its proximity to Earth, the planet Mercury has for decades been comparatively unexplored,” said Sean Solomon, MESSENGER principal investigator of the Carnegie Institution of Washington. “For the first time in history, a scientific observatory is in orbit about our solar system's innermost planet. Mercury's secrets, and the implications they hold for the formation and evolution of Earth-like planets, are about to be revealed.”

APL designed and built the spacecraft. The lab manages and operates the mission for NASA's Science Mission Directorate in Washington.

Dr. Tony Phillips works for the National Aeronautics and Space Administration.

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A week after a 9.0-magnitude earthquake hit Japan, causing widespread destruction and seriously damaging a Japanese nuclear reactor, Gov. Jerry Brown and other officials on both the state and federal levels sought to quell public concerns over impacts of radiation from the deteriorating reactors.

“As this very tragic situation in Japan unfolds, I want Californians to know that we are closely monitoring any potential impact on our state. I also want to emphasize that there is no threat to the people of California due to radiation in Japan,” said Brown.

The assurances came on Friday, the same day that the federal Environmental Protection Agency and Department of Energy issued a joint statement reporting that no radiation levels of concern have reached the United States by the U.S. Government's extensive network of radiation monitors.

However, as part of that report, the agencies acknowledged that a monitoring system in Sacramento that feeds into the Comprehensive Nuclear Test Ban Treaty Organization’s International Monitoring System detected miniscule quantities of the radioactive isotope xenon-133. The origin was determined to be consistent with a release from the Fukushima reactors in Northern Japan.

The levels detected were approximately 0.1 disintegrations per second per cubic meter of air, which results in a dose rate approximately one-millionth of the dose rate that a person normally receives from rocks, bricks, the sun and other natural background sources, according to the report.

EPA and the Department of Energy reported that Xenon-133 is a radioactive noble gas produced during nuclear fission that poses no concern at the detected level.

The Sacramento detection validated a similar reading taken Wednesday and Thursday in Washington state. Officials said the readings remain consistent with their expectations since the onset of this situation in Japan.

Following the explosion of the Chernobyl plant in Ukraine in 1986 – the worst nuclear accident in world history – air monitoring in the United States also picked up trace amounts of radioactive particles, less than one thousandth of the estimated annual dose from natural sources for a typical person, based on the EPA and Department of Energy statement.

On Friday, Gov. Brown and the interim director of the California Department of Public Health, Dr. Howard Backer, assured Californians that public health and safety do not face any threat from radiation released at nuclear facilities in Japan this week.

“The California Department of Public Health and our Emergency Management Agency are in constant contact with the federal agencies responsible for monitoring radiation levels in California, and we will tell the public if any precautions become necessary. However, there is no cause for alarm,” Brown said.

Backer said the Department of Public Health takes the situation in Japan seriously, and is monitoring it very closely. “As both President Obama and Governor Brown have stated, there is no threat to California, and so people should not be taking precautionary health measures.”

He said potassium iodide is only appropriate for much higher levels of radiation that may be generated within close proximity to a nuclear source. “Using potassium iodide when inappropriate can result in significant side effects.”

The Lake County Air Quality Management District said there is no radiation monitoring taking place locally.

However, this week the EPA’s Radiation Emergency Response Team and EPA Region 9 reported that they were working with the California Air Resources Board and selected local air districts to enhance radiation monitoring capabilities in California should it become necessary to deploy additional samplers.

In California, fixed EPA RadNet stations are located in Anaheim, Bakersfield, Eureka, Fresno, Los Angeles, Riverside, Sacramento, San Diego, San Francisco and San Jose, the agency reported.

The EPA said air pollution control districts in Santa Barbara, San Luis Obispo, Monterey, Mendocino County and the North Coast Unified Air Quality Management District were contacted for their permission to set up additional temporary monitors if needed.

Californians with questions about radiation exposure can contact the California Department of Public Health’s Emergency Operations information line at 916-341-3947.

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