LAKE COUNTY, Calif. — Home sales in Lake County showed a year-over decline in January, while sales of other property types stayed steady or rose slightly, according to the Lake County Association of Realtors’ latest report.
The association said in January, the homes sold through the multiple listing service totaled 55, compared to 81 during the same time last year. These include traditionally built “stick-built” houses as well as manufactured homes on land.
There were seven sales of mobile homes in parks with the same number sold for the same time period last year, and 21 bare land sales — lots and acreage — compared with 17 for the same time in 2022, the association reported.
There are 285 “stick built” and manufactured homes on the market right now. If the rate of sales stays the same at 55 homes sold per month, there are currently 5.1 months of inventory on the market at the moment compared to 4.26 months of inventory a month ago in December, and 5.45 months of inventory in November.
The association said that means that if no new homes are brought to the market for sale, in 5.16 months all of these homes would be sold and there would be none available.
Less than 6 months of inventory is generally considered to be a “sellers’ market” while more than 6 months of inventory is often called a “buyers’ market.
The inventory has been growing over the past several months, with more homes being brought to market and staying on the market for a longer time with fewer buyers. The association said the interest rate hikes and inflation have played a major role in reducing the number of active buyers.
Of the homes sold in January, 16% were purchased with all cash, compared to 33% for December and 26% for this same time last year.
Thirty six percent were financed by Fannie Mae or Freddie Mac, or considered to be “conventional loans,” compared to 44% for December and 46% for the same time in 2022.
Another 20% were financed by the Federal Housing Administration, or FHA, compared to 10% for December and 19% for this time last year.
Fifteen percent were financed by the VA or CalVet, compared to 4% for December and 4% in January 2022, while 11% had other financing such as private loans, USDA, or seller financed notes, compared to 6% in December and 5% in January of last year.
The homes were selling at an average of 95% of the asking price, same as December but lower than the 97% of the asking price a year ago at this time.
The median time on the market last month was 57 days, compared to 30 in December and 39 days for January 2022.
The median sale price of a single family home in Lake County in December was $292,000, down from $295,000 in December and well below the median sale price of $325,000 during this time period last year.
In January, 47% of homes sold had seller concessions for an average of $9,100; in December 30% of homes had seller concessions for an average concession of $7,614 and a year ago 32% of homes sold had an average seller concession of $9,570.
LAKE COUNTY, Calif. — Lake County Animal Care and Control has several new puppies and dogs joining the group of adoptable canines this week.
Dogs available for adoption this week include mixes of border collie, boxer, German shepherd, German shorthaired pointer, hound, husky, Labrador retriever, Pekingese, pit bull, shepherd, treeing walker coonhound and terrier.
Dogs that are adopted from Lake County Animal Care and Control are either neutered or spayed, microchipped and, if old enough, given a rabies shot and county license before being released to their new owner. License fees do not apply to residents of the cities of Lakeport or Clearlake.
The following dogs at the Lake County Animal Care and Control shelter have been cleared for adoption.
Call Lake County Animal Care and Control at 707-263-0278 or visit the shelter online for information on visiting or adopting.
Male German shepherd puppy
This 3-month-old male German shepherd puppy has a short black and tan coat.
He is in kennel No. 2, ID No. LCAC-A-4748.
‘Teddy’
“Teddy” is a 2-year-old male Pekingese with a long brown and white coat.
He is in kennel No. 7, ID No. LCAC-A-4700.
Male German shepherd
This 9-month-old male German shepherd has a short fawn coat.
He is in kennel No. 8, ID No. LCAC-A-4684.
‘Ricky’
“Ricky” is a 3-year-old male pit bull terrier with a short black coat.
He is in kennel No. 9, ID No. LCAC-A-669.
Male German shepherd
This 6-month-old male German shepherd has a black and tan coat.
He is in kennel No. 10, ID No. LCAC-A-4689.
Female pit bull
This 6-year-old female pit bull has a short white coat with gray markings.
She is in kennel No. 11, ID No. LCAC-A-4677.
‘Oreo’
“Oreo” is a 2-year-old male treeing walker coonhound with a short tricolor coat.
He is in kennel No. 13, ID No. LCAC-A-4738.
Male German shorthaired pointer puppy
This 5-month-old male German shorthaired pointer puppy has a short black and white coat.
He is in kennel No. 14a, ID No. LCAC-A-4768.
Male German shorthaired pointer puppy
This 5-month-old male German shorthaired pointer puppy has a short red and white coat.
He is in kennel No. 14b, ID No. LCAC-A-4769.
Male German shorthaired pointer puppy
This 5-month-old male German shorthaired pointer puppy has a short red and white coat.
He is in kennel No. 14c, ID No. LCAC-A-4770.
Female pit bull-Labrador retriever mix
This female pit bull-Labrador retriever mix has a short tricolor coat.
She is in kennel No. 17, ID No. LCAC-A-4692.
‘Icy’
“Icy” is a 2-month-old female pit bull terrier puppy with a short black and white coat.
She is in kennel No. 18, ID No. LCAC-A-4757.
Female pit bull
This 4-year-old female pit bull has a short white coat with gray markings.
She is in kennel No. 19, ID No. LCAC-A-4676.
Male husky-pit bull mix puppy
This 3-month-old male husky-pit bull mix puppy has a short gray and white coat.
He is in kennel No. 20, ID No. LCAC-A-4714.
Female German shepherd
This 1-year-old female German shepherd has a black and tan coat.
She is in kennel No. 23, ID No. LCAC-A-4715.
Female shepherd-pit bull mix
This 3-month-old female shepherd-pit bull mix has a short tricolor coat.
She is in kennel No. 24b, ID No. LCAC-A-4694.
Female shepherd-pit bull mix
This 3-month-old female shepherd-pit bull mix has a short tricolor coat.
She is in kennel No. 24c, ID No. LCAC-A-4695.
Female shepherd-pit bull mix
This 3-month-old female shepherd-pit bull mix has a short tricolor coat.
She is in kennel No. 25, ID No. LCAC-A-4697.
Male boxer-pit bull mix
This 8-year-old male boxer-pit bull mix has a short brown brindle coat.
He is in kennel No. 26, ID No. LCAC-A-4678.
‘Lola’
“Lola” is a 2-year-old female border collie mix with a red and white coat.
She is in kennel No. 27, ID No. LCAC-A-4729.
Male shepherd-pit bull mix
This 3-month-old male shepherd-pit bull mix has a short tricolor coat.
He is in kennel No. 28a, ID No. LCAC-A-4696.
Male shepherd-pit bull mix
This 3-month-old male shepherd-pit bull mix has a short tricolor coat.
He is in kennel No. 28c, ID No. LCAC-A-4698.
Male German shepherd
This 1-year-old male German shepherd has a short black and tan coat.
He is in kennel No. 29, ID No. LCAC-A-4710.
‘Diesel’
“Diesel” is a 2-year-old male pit bull terrier with a short white coat with black markings.
He’s in kennel No. 31, ID No. LCAC-A-4549.
Female German shorthaired pointer puppy
This 5-month-old female German shorthaired pointer puppy has a short black and white coat.
He is in kennel No. 34a, ID No. LCAC-A-4771.
Female German shorthaired pointer puppy
This 5-month-old female German shorthaired pointer puppy has a short black and white coat.
He is in kennel No. 34b, ID No. LCAC-A-4772.
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.
The California Highway Patrol welcomed 82 new officers to the CHP family, during Friday’s graduation ceremony at the CHP Academy in West Sacramento.
Less than one year ago, the CHP launched its “Join the CHP 1,000” campaign, with the goal of hiring 1,000 new officers.
These newly graduated officers bring the CHP closer to attaining its goal.
“It’s my honor to welcome these officers to the CHP and thank them for stepping up to serve our state,” said Gov. Gavin Newsom. “With a goal of hiring 1,000 new CHP officers in the coming years, we’re investing in outreach to a diverse pool of candidates committed to protecting their fellow Californians and making a positive impact in our communities.”
“The women and men of the CHP take great pride in the level of service we provide to the community,” said Commissioner Sean Duryee. “It is imperative we bring on the next generation of exemplary officers to continue that tradition.”
For more information about the “Join the CHP 1,000” campaign, or to apply, visit www.JoinTheCHP1000.com or call the statewide Recruitment Unit at 916-843-4300.
Almost like aftershocks, questions about earthquake prediction tend to follow disasters like the Feb. 6, 2023, Turkey-Syria quake. Could advance notice have prevented some of the devastation? Unfortunately, useful predictions are still in the realm of science fiction.
University of Washington professor of seismology and geohazards Harold Tobin heads the Pacific Northwest Seismic Network. He explains the differences between predicting and forecasting earthquakes, as well as early warning systems that are currently in place in some areas.
Can scientists predict a particular earthquake?
In short, no. Science has not yet found a way to make actionable earthquake predictions. A useful prediction would specify a time, a place and a magnitude – and all of these would need to be fairly specific, with enough advance notice to be worthwhile.
For example, if I predict that California will have an earthquake in 2023, that would certainly come true, but it’s not useful because California has many small earthquakes every day. Or imagine I predict a magnitude 8 or greater earthquake will strike in the Pacific Northwest. That is almost certainly true but doesn’t specify when, so it’s not helpful new information.
Earthquakes happen because the slow and steady motions of tectonic plates cause stresses to build up along faults in the Earth’s crust. Faults are not really lines, but planes extending down miles into the ground. Friction due to the enormous pressure from the weight of all the overlying rock holds these cracks together.
An earthquake starts in some small spot on the fault where the stress overcomes the friction. The two sides slip past each other, with the rupture spreading out at a mile or two per second. The grinding of the two sides against each other on the fault plane sends out waves of motion of the rock in every direction. Like the ripples in a pond after you drop in a stone, it’s those waves that make the ground shake and cause damage.
Most earthquakes strike without warning because the faults are stuck – locked up and stationary despite the strain of the moving plates around them, and therefore silent until that rupture begins. Seismologists have not yet found any reliable signal to measure before that initial break.
What about the likelihood of a quake in one area?
On the other hand, earthquake science today has come a long way in what I’ll call forecasting as opposed to prediction.
Seismologists can measure the movement of the plates with millimeter-scale precision using GPS technology and other means, and detect the places where stress is building up. Scientists know about the recorded history of past earthquakes and can even infer farther back in time using the methods of paleoseismology: the geologically preserved evidence of past quakes.
Putting all this information together allows us to recognize areas where conditions are ripe for a fault to break. These forecasts are expressed as the likelihood of an earthquake of a given size or greater in a region over a period of decades into the future. For example, the U.S. Geological Survey estimates the odds of a magnitude 6.7 or greater quake in the San Francisco Bay Area over the next 30 years is 72%.
Are there any hints a quake could be coming?
Only about 1 in 20 damaging earthquakes have foreshocks – smaller quakes that precede a larger one in the same place. By definition they aren’t foreshocks, though, until a bigger one follows. The inability to recognize whether an earthquake in isolation is a foreshock is a big part of why useful prediction still eludes us.
These observations suggest perhaps there really are precursory signals for at least some huge quakes. Maybe the sheer size of the ensuing quake made otherwise imperceptible changes in the region of the fault prior to the main event more detectable. We don’t know, because so few of these greater than magnitude 8 earthquakes happen. Scientists don’t have a lot of examples to go on that would let us test hypotheses with statistical methods.
In fact, while earthquake scientists all agree that we can’t predict quakes today, there are now essentially two camps: In one view, earthquakes are the result of complex cascades of tiny effects – a sensitive chain reaction of sorts that starts with the proverbial butterfly wing flapping deep within a fault – so they’re inherently unpredictable and will always remain so. On the other hand, some geophysicists believe we may one day unlock the key to prediction, if we can just find the right signals to measure and gain enough experience.
How do early warning systems work?
One real breakthrough today is that scientists have developed earthquake early warning systems like the USGS ShakeAlert now operating in California, Oregon and Washington state. These systems can send out an alert to residents’ mobile devices and to operators of critical machinery, including utilities, hospitals, trains and so on, providing warning of anywhere from a few seconds to more than a minute before shaking begins.
This sounds like earthquake prediction, but it is not. Earthquake early warning relies on networks of seismometers that detect the very beginning of an earthquake on a fault and automatically calculate its location and magnitude before the damaging waves have spread very far. The sensing, calculating and data transfer all happen near the speed of light, while the seismic waves move more slowly. That time difference is what allows early warning.
For example, if an earthquake begins off the coast of Washington state beneath the ocean, coastal stations can detect it, and cities like Portland and Seattle could get tens of seconds of warning time. People may well get enough time to take a life safety action like “Drop, Cover and Hold On” – as long as they are sufficiently far away from the fault itself.
What complications would predicting bring?
While earthquake prediction has often been referred to as the “holy grail” of seismology, it actually would present some real dilemmas if ever developed.
First of all, earthquakes are so infrequent that any early methods will inevitably be of uncertain accuracy. In the face of that uncertainty, who will make the call to take a major action, such as evacuating an entire city or region? How long should people stay away if a quake doesn’t materialize? How many times before it’s a boy-who-cried-wolf situation and the public stops heeding the orders? How do officials balance the known risks from the chaos of mass evacuation against the risk from the shaking itself? The idea that prediction technology will emerge fully formed and reliable is a mirage.
It is often said in the field of seismology that earthquakes don’t kill people, buildings do. Scientists are already good enough today at forecasting earthquake hazards that the best course of action is to redouble efforts to construct or retrofit buildings, bridges and other infrastructure so they’re safe and resilient in the event of ground shaking in any area known to be at risk from large future quakes. These precautions will pay off in lives and property saved far more than a hoped-for means of earthquake prediction, at least for the foreseeable future.
According to a 2022 study from the Economic Policy Institute – a nonprofit, nonpartisan think tank that addresses low- and middle-income workers’ needs – the teacher “wage penalty” - that is, how much less teachers make than comparable workers - grew from 6.1% in 1996 to 23.5% in 2021. Put another way, the average weekly wages of public school teachers – adjusted for inflation – increased just US$29 from 1996 to 2021, from $1,319 to $1,348 in 2021 dollars. Meanwhile, inflation-adjusted weekly wages of other college graduates rose $445, from $1,564 to $2,009, over the same period.
Teacher wage gaps vary widely from state to state, but in no state does teacher pay equal or exceed pay for other college graduates.
Adding benefits to the analysis does not change the picture. Although teachers generally receive a higher share of their compensation as benefits than other professionals do – usually health insurance and retirement plans – this difference does not offset the teachers’ growing wage penalty. Teachers’ “total compensation” penalty reached 14.2% in 2021. This is a 23.5% wage penalty offset by a 9.3% benefits advantage. This total compensation penalty for teachers grew by 11.5 percentage points from 1993 to 2021, according to the Economic Policy Institute analysis.
2. Where do teacher raises typically come from?
Public school teacher salaries are generally set by local school districts. Districts establish salary schedules where teacher base pay is determined by years of teaching experience and education credentials or graduate credit hours. Contracts are negotiated at the district level, so that teachers in different schools within a district are covered by the same salary schedule.
These schedules, sometimes referred to as “step-and-lane” systems, can vary substantially from district to district. District contracts may differ in the annual pay increases for experience or the relative importance given to experience versus credentials. Contracts may give larger annual pay hikes to less experienced teachers than to veteran teachers, or the reverse may be true.
Where does the money come from? Fully 93% of school districts’ operating revenue comes from state and local sources. Nationally, on average, states provide 47% and local districts provide 46%.
Among the states with statewide salary schedules, state initiatives raised pay and expanded eligibility for bonuses. In states with minimum salary requirements, lawmakers sought to raise these minimums and provide incentives for districts to hike salaries across the board. Elsewhere, state efforts focused on general salary increases for teachers.
However, despite these state efforts, teacher salaries continue to lag well behind other professional salaries in many states.
3. Can federal funds be used?
No, not as a long-term solution to the problem of low teacher pay. Federal funds are too limited in amount and there’s not enough flexibility to finance general pay raises for teachers.
The federal government provides about 7% of K-12 revenue, and the money is designated for specific programs. In general, these funds are intended to supplement funding for schools with at-risk youth, including children with learning disabilities or children from low-income households.
During recent economic downturns – the Great Recession of 2008 and the 2020 COVID-19 lockdown – the federal government provided K-12 schools with emergency aid to supplement diminished state and local revenue. The COVID relief was exceptionally substantial, with the American Rescue Plan providing school districts with $190 billion.
This federal aid, however, while unprecedented in amount, has two key limitations: it is one-time aid and not all districts share in it. Districts that do receive these funds must be careful not to make them part of their annual operating budgets without solid plans for state or local replacement funds.
Many districts have revealed plans to use these federal funds to hire new teachers or to pay teachers bonuses for extra work in an effort to mitigate COVID-related learning loss. Paying bonuses to current teachers would avoid the need to lay off teachers when the emergency aid runs out.
In addition, a revised American Teacher Act has been introduced in Congress. The bill would establish a four-year grant program for states to encourage local districts to raise base teacher salaries. The bulk of these funds would go to districts with teacher salaries below $60,000.
The bill would award grants to states that enact and enforce laws establishing a statewide minimum teacher salary requirement of $60,000. Details continue to be worked out, including refining the definition of a “teacher” to avoid paying unqualified staff with federal funds. The bill would address a pressing problem, but state participation would be voluntary and the program would expire in four years. And passage is uncertain.
To achieve lasting teacher pay hikes, it’s going to have to take place in state capitols and local school boards.
Over the past century, the Earth’s average temperature has swiftly increased by about 1 degree Celsius (1.8 degrees Fahrenheit). The evidence is hard to dispute. It comes from thermometers and other sensors around the world.
Back then, was Earth’s temperature warming or cooling?
Even though scientists know more about the most recent 6,000 years than any other multimillennial interval, studies on this long-term global temperature trend have come to contrasting conclusions.
To try to resolve the difference, we conducted a comprehensive, global-scale assessment of the existing evidence, including both natural archives, like tree rings and seafloor sediments, and climate models. Our results, published Feb. 15, 2023, suggest ways to improve climate forecasting to avoid missing some important slow-moving, naturally occurring climate feedbacks.
Global warming in context
Scientists like us who study past climate, or paleoclimate, look for temperature data from far back in time, long before thermometers and satellites.
We have two options: We can find information about past climate stored in natural archives, or we can simulate the past using climate models.
There are several natural archives that record changes in the climate over time. The growth rings that form each year in trees, stalagmites and corals can be used to reconstruct past temperature. Similar data can be found in glacier ice and in tiny shells found in the sediment that builds up over time at the bottom of the ocean or lakes. These serve as substitutes, or proxies, for thermometer-based measurements.
For example, changes in the width of tree rings can record temperature fluctuations. If temperature during the growing season is too cold, the tree ring forming that year is thinner that one from a year with warmer temperatures.
Another temperature proxy is found in seafloor sediment, in the remains of tiny ocean-dwelling creatures called foraminifera. When a foraminifer is alive, the chemical composition of its shell changes depending on the temperature of the ocean. When it dies, the shell sinks and gets buried by other debris over time, forming layers of sediment at the ocean floor. Paleoclimatologists can then extract sediment cores and chemically analyze the shells in those layers to determine their composition and age, sometimes going back millennia.
Climate models, our other tool for exploring past environments, are mathematical representations of the Earth’s climate system. They model relationships among the atmosphere, biosphere and hydrosphere to create our best replica of reality.
Proxy data and climate models have different strengths.
Proxies are tangible and measurable, and they often have a well-understood response to temperature. However, they are not evenly distributed around the world or through time. This makes it difficult to reconstruct global, continuous temperatures.
In contrast, climate models are continuous in space and time, but while they are often very skillful, they will never capture every detail of the climate system.
We also examined important climate feedbacks, such as vegetation and sea ice changes, that can influence global temperature. For example, there is strong evidence that less Arctic sea ice and more vegetation cover existed during a period around 6,000 years ago than in the 19th century. That would have darkened the Earth’s surface, causing it to absorb more heat.
Our two types of evidence offer different answers regarding the Earth’s temperature trend over the 6,000 years before modern global warming. Natural archives generally show that Earth’s average temperature roughly 6,000 years ago was warmer by about 0.7 C (1.3 F) compared with the 19th century median, and then cooled gradually until the Industrial Revolution. We found that most evidence points to this result.
Meanwhile, climate models generally show a slight warming trend, corresponding to a gradual increase in carbon dioxide as agriculture-based societies developed during the millennia after ice sheets retreated in the Northern Hemisphere.
How to improve climate forecasts
Our assessment highlights some ways to improve climate forecasts.
For example, we found that models would be more powerful if they more fully represented certain climate feedbacks. One climate model experiment that included increased vegetation cover in some regions 6,000 years ago was able to simulate the global temperature peak we see in proxy records, unlike most other model simulations, which don’t include this expanded vegetation.
Understanding and better incorporating these and other feedbacks will be important as scientists continue to improve our ability to predict future changes.
LAKE COUNTY, Calif. — Habitat for Humanity Lake County has helped yet another family achieve homeownership.
As 2022 came to a close, Habitat for Humanity Lake County was excited to celebrate the closing of their 39th home in Clearlake.
The homeowner ceremony with the family and Habitat staff was held on Dec. 28, but the home closing occurred sooner so that, on Christmas Day.
The Smith family opened their Christmas gifts in their old residence, bid farewell to their old life and moved into their new home.
“It was the best Christmas present we could get, spending Christmas night in a home that’s ours,” said Alicia Smith, the mother of three who shares the home with her mother and grandmother.
“We are beyond blessed and grateful,” Smith said. “From the house to the neighborhood and neighbors, we truly have a place of our own to call home. This would not be possible without Habitat and we will forever be paying it forward.”
If you are interested in Habitat’s Homeownership program or know someone you think would qualify, you are encouraged to contact the office at 707-994-1100, Extension 106, or stop by for an application at 15312 Lakeshore Drive in Clearlake, behind Foods, Etc.
Scientists recently named a mesa-like lunar mountain that towers above the landscape carved by craters near the Moon’s South Pole.
This unique feature will now be referred to as “Mons Mouton,” after NASA mathematician and computer programmer Melba Roy Mouton (MOO-tawn).
Members of NASA’s Volatiles Investigating Polar Exploration Rover, or VIPER, mission proposed the name to the International Astronomical Union, or IAU.
The flat-topped mountain is adjacent to the western rim of the Nobile Crater, on which VIPER will land and explore during its approximately 100-day mission as part of NASA’s Artemis program.
The IAU theme for naming mountains (mons) on the Moon focuses on “scientists who have made outstanding or fundamental contributions to their fields.”
The lunar landmark naming honors and recognizes Mouton’s life, her accomplishments as a computer scientist, and her contributions to NASA’s missions.
“Melba Mouton was one of our pioneering leaders at NASA,” said Sandra Connelly, the acting associate administrator for science at NASA Headquarters in Washington. “She not only helped NASA take the lead in exploring the unknown in air and space, but she also charted a path for other women and people of color to pursue careers and lead cutting-edge science at NASA.”
Mouton was first employed at NASA’s Goddard Space Flight Center in Greenbelt, Maryland, in 1959, just a year after the space agency was established.
She became the head mathematician who led a group of "human computers," who tracked the Echo 1 and 2 satellites, launched into Earth’s orbit in 1960 and 1964, respectively.
A few years later, in 1961, Mouton was the head programmer responsible for the Mission and Trajectory Analysis Division's Program Systems Branch — the team who coded computer programs used to calculate spacecraft locations and trajectories, giving NASA the ability to track spacecraft while in orbit.
Before retiring in 1973, after a career at NASA that spanned 14 years, Mouton had become the assistant chief of research programs for the Trajectory and Geodynamics Division at Goddard.
In appreciation of her dedicated service and outstanding accomplishments, which culminated in the successful Apollo 11 Moon landing on July 20, 1969, she was recognized with an Apollo Achievement Award.
As NASA prepares to send astronauts to the lunar surface, including the first woman to set foot on the Moon, Mons Mouton is among one of the 13 candidate landing regions for Artemis III.
The wide, relatively flat-topped mountain, about the size of the state of Delaware, was created over billions of years by lunar impacts, which sculpted it out of its surroundings.
As a result, Mons Mouton stands as tall as Denali — the tallest mountain in North America — approximately 20,000 feet higher than its neighboring features on the Moon’s South Pole.
Because it is relatively untouched by bombardments, scientists believe Mons Mouton is much more ancient — possibly billions of years older than its surroundings.
A ring of huge craters — evidence of its pulverizing past — lie around its base; some with cliff-like edges, descending into areas of permanent darkness. Its rolling hilltop is peppered with smaller rocks and pebbles as well as lots of enticing craters that are frequently blanketed in freezing, shifting shadows.
“Mons Mouton represents a great spot for VIPER — our solar-powered Moon rover that we’ll drive and conduct science in near real-time,” said Dr. Sarah Noble, VIPER program scientist at NASA Headquarters in Washington. “It features high sunny spots, it’s relatively flat, satellite data shows signs of water ice, and it allows long stretches of direct communications with our ground station on Earth.”
VIPER will be the first resource mapping mission beyond Earth. It will search at and below the lunar surface to determine the location and concentration of any ice could eventually be harvested to sustain human exploration on the Moon, Mars, and beyond and will help advance scientific exploration of the Moon by helping to understand how water is created and deposited throughout the solar system. VIPER is planned for delivery to the Moon in late 2024 under NASA’s Commercial Lunar Payload Services (CLPS) initiative.
Rachel Hoover works for NASA's Ames Research Center.
A not uncommon estate planning scenario is an elderly parent who lives with an adult child, either at the parent(s)’s home or at the child’s home.
This scenario requires more considered estate planning to protect the arrangement in the event of the parent’s incapacity (e.g., dementia) and what happens when the parent moves out (e.g., into a nursing home) or dies.
If the child cares for the parent at the parent’s home then the parent’s estate planning often permits the caregiver child to remain at the parent’s residence, and perhaps to utilize the parent’s bank accounts, even if the parent were mentally incapacitated. If appropriate, that should be expressly provided.
Otherwise, once the parent loses the mental capacity to permit the living arrangement and finances, unintended problems may arise; such as, potential disagreement between the caregiver child and another family member. Allegations of elder abuse, especially regarding finances, may occur.
The agreed-upon terms of any living arrangement, including finances, should be included in the parent’s appropriate estate planning documents.
If the parent has a living trust, then the trust may permit the child to remain in the residence and state the terms of the living arrangement.
If the parent’s home is a rental property, however, then the parent’s power of attorney may authorize the child’s continued occupancy and continued use of parent’s money to pay the household expenses; the rental agreement also would need to include the child as a tenant.
Alternatively, if the parent lives in the child’s residence, the child’s estate plan similarly would need to say whether, and on what terms, the parent can remain in the child’s residence if the child were to become temporarily or permanently incapacitated. Moreover, consideration would need to be given to how the parents are cared for.
When the parent dies or moves out (e.g., moves into a nursing home) or when the child moves out, the arrangement ends. What happens then depends on the circumstances: (1) does the parent leave the residence to the adult care giver child; (2) how are the expenses (including mortgage) to be paid; and (3) is there an express transition period before the child moves-out.
If the parent intends to leave the residence to the adult care-giver child, then the parent's relevant estate planning documents need to gift the residence.
That could include lifetime gifting if the parent moves out due to incapacity or it might entail renting the residence to provide income for the parent’s needs.
If the parent has other children, or a spouse from a second marriage, then the parent’s estate planning needs to say whether, and if so how, other family members participate in the residence.
Perhaps the parent wants to gift the residence to all children subject to an exclusive life estate for the care-giver child to live in the residence.
Once the caregiver child dies, the residence is typically sold and sale proceeds are divided amongst the parent’s then living descendants.
If the caregiver child is more favorably treated with respect to the parent’s residence, and perhaps other assets, then the parent should anticipate possible objections.
While the parent is entitled to devise an estate plan of her own choosing, that does not itself prevent a disgruntled child from objecting at the parent’s incapacity or death; a possibility to be discussed and considered between the parent and the estate planning attorney.
Without appropriate and timely estate planning, however, a conservatorship may become necessary at the parent’s incapacity and a probate may become necessary at the parent’s death. Such expensive court supervised administrations, and their end results, may not necessarily agree with what the parent would have wanted if his or her affairs had been in order.
The foregoing is not legal advice. Consult an attorney for guidance.
Dennis A. Fordham, attorney, is a State Bar-Certified Specialist in estate planning, probate and trust law. His office is at 870 S. Main St., Lakeport, Calif. He can be reached at This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. and 707-263-3235.
LAKE COUNTY, Calif. — The second week of the Lake County Library’s 2023 NEA Big Read offers the first of six free book discussions open to the public.
Community members are invited to share conversation about the book selection, “Postcolonial Love Poem” by Natalie Diaz.
The book discussions offered in partnership with the Redwood Community Services Harbor Youth Resource Center, New Darlings: Readings on Contemporary Poetry, O’Meara Bros. Brewery and Natalie Diaz.
In addition to hosting the March 1 book discussion, O’Meara Bros. Brewery crafted a new beer to celebrate the NEA Big Read. Stop in to try the new Postcolonial Love Poem raspberry ale while it lasts, and enjoy a wide array of lunch and dinner food options.
New Darlings: Readings on Contemporary Poetry Friday, Feb. 24, 5 to 6 p.m. Join local author Jennifer Mills Kerr and Lake County Poet Laureate Georgina Marie Guardado for a virtual reading and discussion of Postcolonial Love Poem. Visit lakecountybigread.com for the link to register. Location: Zoom
Youth Book Club with The Harbor on Main Monday, Feb. 27, 4 to 5:30 p.m. Teens and young adults are invited for a book discussion of Postcolonial Love Poem with The Harbor on Main. Location: The Harbor Youth Resource Center on Main, 150 S. Main St., Lakeport
Lakeport Evening Book Club discussion Wednesday, March 1, 5:30 to 7 p.m. Join the Lakeport Library Evening Book Club in discussing the NEA Big Read book selection, Postcolonial Love Poem, and try the newly crafted Postcolonial Love Poem brew Location: O'Meara Bros., 901 Bevins St., Lakeport
Youth Book Club with The Harbor on Main — free Monday, March 6, 4 to 5:30 p.m. Teens and young adults are invited for a book discussion of Postcolonial Love Poem with The Harbor on Main. Location: The Harbor Youth Resource Center on Main, 150 S. Main St., Lakeport
The final book discussion, the Big Read 2023 Author Event, will include a poetry reading and Q&A with the Pulitzer Prize winning author of “Postcolonial Love Poem,” Natalie Diaz.
Join the Lake County Library and Lake County Friends of Mendocino College on Saturday, March 18, 1 to 3 p.m.
This event will take place on Zoom and will be live streamed from the Mendocino College Lake Campus Round Room, 2565 Parallel Drive in Lakeport, and all four branches of the Lake County Library.
The public is invited to attend all NEA Big Read events at no cost, and free books are provided at each event and all library branches until supply runs out.
The NEA Big Read is a program of the National Endowment for the Arts in partnership with Arts Midwest, which seeks to broaden our understanding of our world, our communities, and ourselves through the joy of sharing a good book.
The NEA Big Read showcases a diverse range of contemporary titles that reflect many different voices and perspectives, aiming to inspire conversation and discovery.
LAKE COUNTY, Calif. — This month, the United States Department of Agriculture’s Forest Service released its 2022 Aerial Detection Survey Summary Report.
These annual surveys offer, “estimates of tree mortality and damage and depict broad mortality trends.”
On May 3, 2022, the Lake County Board of Supervisors proclaimed a local emergency due to pervasive tree mortality.
In the ensuing months, Napa and Mendocino counties likewise declared states of emergency, recognizing what is a growing crisis in much of the state of California.
In 2019, the Forest Service estimated 1,000 Lake County acres were affected by tree mortality. The estimated number of dead trees was 3,000.
Those estimates have exponentially grown in the time since:
• 2019: 1,000 acres, 3,000 dead trees; • 2021: 21,000 acres, 331,000 dead trees; • 2022: 31,000 acres, 590,000 dead trees.
“The U.S. Forest Service’s report shows catastrophic tree mortality across most of Northern California,” said Board of Supervisors Chair Jessica Pyska. “We have been hard at work on this problem in Lake County since 2021, and declared the first tree mortality emergency back in May. Since, we have developed a coalition surrounding this topic with regional counties, and assisted Napa and Mendocino with their emergency declarations.”
A 2022 windshield survey identified approximately 4,000 dead and dying trees near Lake County roadways and evacuation routes, alone.
Dr. Michael Jones, the University of California Cooperative Extension’s Forest Advisor for Lake County and a trained entomologist, said removal of dead and dying trees is critical to mitigating multispecies bark beetle infestation.
Costs for remediation of the highest priority areas, alone, are expected to exceed $12 million.
County officials and partners are reported to be heavily engaged in efforts to secure funding.
“We remain relentless in our project development to treat areas of high concern, and seeking funding from every available source,” said Pyska. “This report confirms everything we have been saying and should garner the attention and urgency that is needed.”
Members of the Ham Radio Science Citizen Investigation, or HamSCI, will be making radio contacts during the 2023 and 2024 North American eclipses, probing the Earth’s ionosphere.
It will be a fun, friendly event with a competitive element — and you’re invited to participate.
Both amateur and professional broadcasters have been sending and receiving radio signals around the Earth for over a century.
Such communication is possible due to interactions between our Sun and the ionosphere, the ionized region of the Earth’s atmosphere located roughly 80 to 1000 km overhead.
The upcoming eclipses (October 14, 2023, and April 8, 2024) provide unique opportunities to study these interactions.
As you and other HamSCI members transmit, receive, and record signals across the radio spectrum during the eclipse, you will create valuable data to test computer models of the ionosphere.