City of Lakeport and Lakeport Police Department staff gather with new officers Marissa Onate and Alexis Pizano at their graduation from the Santa Rosa Junior College Public Safety Training Center in Santa Rosa, California, on Thursday, Dec. 7, 2023. Photo courtesy of the Lakeport Police Department. LAKEPORT, Calif. — The Lakeport Police Department welcomed two new officers following their graduation from the Santa Rosa Junior College Public Safety Training Center on Thursday.
Officers Marissa Onate and Alexis Pizano were subsequently sworn into office by Chief Brad Rasmussen, surrounded by city staff and family members who pinned their new badges on them.
Onate and Pizano, both 24 years old, were raised in Lake County and attended local schools. Both are Hispanic and speak English and Spanish.
After high school, Onate attended Santa Rosa Junior College receiving two associate degrees, one in administration of justice, and then attended Sacramento State University where she received a bachelor’s degree in administration of justice. While at these colleges Onate also worked for the campus police departments.
Before she was hired by LPD as a police trainee in July 2022, Onate served as a substitute teacher at Lower Lake High School.
During the graduation ceremonies, Onate was recognized as being tied for second place in student scenario testing.
Pizano, who immigrated to the United States at 2 years old, was a member of the local workforce in Lakeport before being hired by LPD as a police trainee in July of this year.
He also was raising his young daughter while attending the police academy.
Marissa Onate received her diploma at the graduation ceremony at the Santa Rosa Junior College Public Safety Training Center in Santa Rosa, California, on Thursday, Dec. 7, 2023. Photo courtesy of the Lakeport Police Department. The hiring of these officers, who went through extensive testing, background process and pre-academic agency training over the past 18 months, is part of the Lakeport City Council’s policy implementation on police retention and recruitment for our community.
They are also part of the city’s and police department’s goals of hiring to make the police department a reflection of the community it serves.
There were 43 total graduates from 16 agencies in the north coast region at this week’s academy graduation.
Some outstanding facts about this academy class are that it was No. 2 academically out of the 42 other current academy classes in California. No one failed from the class, 12 were veterans, 14 speak two languages, 18 have bachelor's degrees, five have master’s degrees and 15 were female — the most ever in a Santa Rosa Junior College Public Safety Training Center academy.
City staff attending the graduation and supporting the new officers were Rasmussen, City Manager Kevin Ingram, Lt. Dale Stoebe, Sgt. Sarah Hardisty, records and evidence Supervisor Tammy Prather, and officers Shaun Johnson, Juan Altamirano and Todd Freitas
To learn more about the cadet hiring program, contact the Lakeport Police Department at 707-263-5491.
Alexis Pizano received his diploma at the graduation ceremony at the Santa Rosa Junior College Public Safety Training Center in Santa Rosa, California, on Thursday, Dec. 7, 2023. Photo courtesy of the Lakeport Police Department.
What's Up for December? The best views of the Moon and planets, the Geminid meteors are set for a great show, and a chance to observe an asteroid with your own eyes.
The Moon visits the bright planets in the sky, in turn, over the course of the month, beginning with four mornings in early December – the 7th through the 10th – when you can catch a lovely grouping of Venus, the crescent Moon, and bright star Spica in the southeast.
Then on the 17th, you'll find the crescent Moon hanging just below Saturn in the southwest for the first few hours after sunset. Most binoculars will reveal both of them in the same field of view. And for a challenge, see if you can spot Saturn's giant moon Titan as a faint dot just off to the planet's side here.
Later that week, the nearly full moon hangs out with Jupiter over two nights on the 21st and 22nd. You'll see them toward the southeast early in the night, and they travel westward across the sky together all night long.
The year's most reliable meteor shower, the Geminids, takes place annually in December. While the Perseids tend to get a bit more attention because they occur during warmer weather in the Northern Hemisphere, the Geminids usually produce more meteors. At their peak, you may even see a meteor every minute.
The shower peaks overnight on December 13 and the morning of the 14th. Viewers in the Northern Hemisphere can look for meteors as early as 9 or 10 p.m. on the 13th. The hourly number of meteors should increase after that, with the greatest number flashing through the sky between midnight and morning twilight.
Southern Hemisphere skywatchers can also see the Geminids, though they appear in the middle of the night, and at about a quarter of the Northern rate.
If you have clear skies, conditions should be ideal for this year's peak night, which is just one day after the new moon, leaving the sky nice and dark all night. The meteors appear to radiate from the constellation Gemini, but you'll see more shooting stars if you look straight overhead and take in as much of the sky as possible.
An illustrated sky chart shows the constellation Gemini (at lower left) and the upper part of Orion (at upper right). A diagonal line in the sky between Orion and one of the legs of the Gemini twins is labeled "Vesta, December 1 to December 20."
Want to see an asteroid with your own eyes? Asteroid Vesta reaches opposition this month, meaning it's located directly on the opposite side of Earth from the Sun. This is also around the time Vesta is closest to Earth, so it's at its brightest and easiest to observe.
Occasionally Vesta is close enough to Earth at opposition that you can almost see it with your eyes alone. But this year, you'll want to use binoculars or a small telescope to search it out.
NASA's Dawn spacecraft got super close to Vesta, orbiting the oval-shaped world in 2011 and 2012. It found that Vesta formed in our solar system's first couple of million years, and mapped the surface in great detail.
This December, Vesta is highest overhead around 1 or 2 in the morning (which is ideal for telescope viewing), but you can observe it as early as about 10pm, when it will appear about halfway up the eastern sky.
Locate Vesta in between the raised arm of Orion, here, and the leg of Castor in Gemini, here. On December 1st, you can find Vesta along a line between Betelgeuse and this star, Tejat. A week later Vesta has moved so that it appears along this line between Betelgeuese and Propus, here. A plain old pair of binoculars should reveal Vesta a couple of finger widths to the west of these two stars. Use your favorite skywatching app as a guide to Vesta's location within the starfield you see on whatever night you're observing.
And if you're hungry for more asteroid exploration, there's more on the way! NASA's Psyche mission recently launched on its journey to metal-rich asteroid Psyche, and our Lucy spacecraft just flew past asteroid Dinkinesh with its little satellite asteroids, at the start of November. Lucy is heading for the Trojan asteroids, a unique family of space rocks that share Jupiter's orbit and are likely to be remnants of the same primordial material that formed Jupiter and the other outer planets.
And if that sounds interesting to you, maybe you're ready to add "asteroid observer" to your list of accomplishments, as you look for Vesta in the December sky.
Stay up to date on NASA's missions exploring the solar system and beyond at science.nasa.gov.
Preston Dyches works for NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory.
With hate crimes, context is everything, and events outside of the United States – like the war between Israel and Hamas – can have far-reaching and potentially tragic consequences.
Vermont police arrested a man in Burlington on Nov. 27, 2023, for allegedly shooting three 20-year-old Palestinian American men, seriously wounding them. Two of the men wore Palestinian keffiyehs, a traditional scarf that has come to symbolize Palestinian identity.
Jason James Eaton, the New York resident charged with the crime, has pleaded not guilty. Authorities are still investigating whether Eaton should be charged with a hate crime.
People often think an incident is a hate crime right away because of key characteristics of the people involved, but police tend to be reluctant to make such a quick declaration.
Hate crimes and hate murders are rising across the U.S., but long-term polling data suggests that most Americans are horrified by bias-motivated violence. They also support hate crime legislation, an effort to deter such attacks.
Yet officials often resist the quick classification of incidents as a hate crime.
For instance, the shooting of the three Palestinian Americans in Vermont has yet to be classified as a hate crime. Several days later, authorities are still conducting an investigation into what prompted the shooting. Investigations like this are required because hate crimes have precise qualities, which must be met in order to satisfy legal requirements. And even when police and prosecutors believe the elements of a hate crime are present, such crimes can be difficult to prove in court.
There has been a sharp spike in attacks on both Jews and Palestinians since Hamas’ attack on Israeli communities on Oct. 7, 2023, and Israel’s subsequent ground invasion of Gaza.
The Anti-Defamation League, an advocacy group that tracks antisemitism, reported at the end of October 2023 that antisemitic incidents increased 388% in the week after Oct 7. These include physical assaults and violent online messages.
The advocacy group Council on American-Islamic Relations has also documented a 216% increase in requests for help and bias incidents compared with 2022 figures.
People visit a memorial for 6-year-old Palestinian American Wadea Al-Fayoume. The landlord of the building where the boy’s family lived pleaded not guilty in October 2023 to hate crime and murder charges.Scott Olson/Getty Images
Hate crimes are crimes motivated by bias on the basis of race, religion, sexual orientation or ethnicity. In some states, gender, age and gender identity are also included. Hate crime laws have been passed by 47 states and the federal government since the 1980s, when activists first began to press state legislatures to recognize the role of bias in violence against minority groups. Today, only Indiana, Mississippi, New Hampshire and South Carolina do not have any hate crime laws.
Both Illinois and Vermont have laws that impose more severe penalties if an alleged offender’s crime is motivated by someone’s race, religion or ethnicity.
In order to be charged as a hate crime, attacks – whether assault, killings or vandalism – must be directed at individuals because of the prohibited biases. Hate crimes, in other words, punish motive; the prosecutor must convince the judge or jury that the victim was targeted because of their race, religion, sexual orientation or other protected characteristic.
If the defendant is found to have acted with bias motivation, hate crimes often add an additional penalty to the underlying charge. Charging people with a hate crime, then, presents additional layers of complexity to what may otherwise be a straightforward case for prosecutors. Bias motivation can be hard to prove, and prosecutors can be reluctant to take cases that they may not win in court.
It can and does happen, though. In June 2020, Shepard Hoehn placed a burning cross and a sign with racial slurs and epithets facing the construction site where his new neighbor, who is Black, was building a house. Hoehn was charged with and later pleaded guilty to federal hate crime charges in Indiana.
A few months later, Maurice Diggins was convicted by a federal jury of a 2018 hate crime for breaking the jaw of a Sudanese man in Maine while shouting racial epithets.
Dylann Roof, who killed nine worshippers at a Black church in South Carolina in 2015, was convicted of 33 charges, including hate crimes.Grace Beahm-Pool/Getty Images
How to charge a hate crime
The first use of the term “hate crime” in federal legislation was the Hate Crime Statistics Act of 1990. This was not a criminal statute but rather a data-gathering requirement that mandated that the U.S. attorney general collect data on crimes that “evidenced prejudice based on race, religion, sexual orientation, or ethnicity.”
Soon, states began passing their own laws recognizing bias crimes. But hate crime legislation has not led to as many charges and convictions as activists may have hoped.
Law enforcement struggles to identify hate crime and prosecute the offenders. Even though 47 states have hate crime laws, 86.1% of law enforcement agencies reported to the FBI that not a single hate crime had occurred in their jurisdiction in 2019, according to FBI data.
In many cases, police have received inadequate training in making hate crime classification.
But I’ve also found that police departments are rarely organized in a way that allows them to develop the expertise necessary to effectively investigate hate crimes. When police departments have specialized police units and prosecutors who are committed to taking on hate crime, they can develop the routines that allow them to investigate hate crime in a manner that supports victims.
Even law enforcement officers specifically trained in bias crime identification still may not name incidents as hate crime that, to the general public, seem obviously bias-driven. This may be the result of police bias.
Distrust of police, especially in Black communities, may dissuade minorities from even calling the police when they are victimized by hate crime for fear they could also become victims of police violence.
All this means that perpetrators of hate crimes may not be caught and can re-offend, further victimizing communities that are meant to be protected by hate crime laws.
Hate crime laws reflect American ideals of fairness, justice and equity. But if crimes motivated by bias aren’t reported, well investigated, charged or brought to trial, it matters little what state law says.
LAKE COUNTY, Calif. — With two supervisors and the sheriff not planning to run in next year’s election, the Registrar of Voters Office said the filing deadline for those offices has been extended.
The elections office said Friday that District 1 Supervisor Moke Simon and District 4 Supervisor Michael Green had not filed to run by the Friday deadline, nor had Sheriff Rob Howe.
Simon and Green had announced previously that they did not intend to run.
Howe, appointed by the Board of Supervisors last year to fill a portion of the term left unfinished by Sheriff Brian Martin’s retirement, also had said he did not plan to run after he completed the appointment period.
As a result, the elections office said that the nomination period to file for those offices — which will be on the March 5 presidential primary election ballot — has been extended for all qualified individuals other than the incumbent officeholders until 5 p.m. Wednesday, Dec. 13.
Those interested in more information about these offices are advised to contact the Lake County Registrar of Voters Office at 707-263-2372, 325 N Forbes St., Lakeport during regular office hours of 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. before the extended Dec. 13 filing deadline.
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.
Clearlake City Council members and executive leaders of Adventist Health Clear Lake celebrate the newly installed sign (seen in image behind group) signifying the first step towards building the new rural health clinic on Thursday, Dec. 7, 2023. Photo courtesy of Adventist Health Clear Lake. CLEARLAKE, Calif. — During a special Thursday morning meeting, the Clearlake City Council voted unanimously to sell a property at the former Pearce Field airport property to Adventist Health Clear Lake to build a medical facility, a $50 million investment expected to boost the city’s economic development and its health outcomes.
“As you know, this is something that’s been a long time coming,” City Manager Alan Flora told the council, noting during the meeting the challenges that led to finalizing the agreement.
During the meeting, which ran just under 20 minutes, the only item was the council’s consideration of the agreement to sell to Adventist three acres of property at the former airport located at 6820, 6840 and 6860 Old Highway 53, just north of Airport Road.
The purchase price: $1.
That’s in exchange for Adventist’s commitment to invest tens of millions of dollars to build the facility, plus millions more that the new clinic is expected to draw as it helps draw tenants for the commercial center the city is developing at the site.
On the three-acre property, Adventist Health plans to build a 38,000 square foot rural health clinic that would provide a wide range of medical services including family medicine, pediatrics and various specialties.
It’s expected that the new facility, once it opens in 2026, would draw up to 165,000 patient visits per year and anchor a major new commercial development at the site.
The location puts the new facility just across Highway 53 from its main hospital building.
While there’s not a commitment at this time, City Manager Alan Flora said the city is reserving an additional 10 acres in the event Adventist Health Clear Lake wants to do additional development there.
He pointed out that in the sales agreement, possible new development could include an imaging center and even a new hospital.
Flora said that, in reserving the property for that potential use, the city is giving Adventist Health Clear Lake timelines. If Adventist decides to go another direction, that will free up the land.
It was a little over five years ago that the city began discussions with Adventist Health Clear Lake about the possibility of having them be one of the anchors of this development, Flora said.
“Finally the first piece of that is coming together and is before you for consideration today,” he said.
Adventist is the largest employer in the city and probably the most important contributor to health and well being in Clearlake and throughout the county, said Flora, adding that the city is happy to partner with them.
“They really live out the vision that they express,” he said, adding, “There’s a lot more good things to come, starting with this project here.”
The purchase and sale agreement is the first step, he said.
A major investment
Flora said Adventist Health is prepared to move forward with developing the medical office building, which he said will be a $50 million investment from Adventist Health.
The city is committing to do the environmental review and provide the infrastructure to the site, Flora said.
During escrow, a number of things need to happen, including starting environmental review, which Flora said will consist of a full environmental impact report, or EIR, due to the size of the project.
An EIR is the highest level of review under the California Environmental Quality Act, and Flora said the city will complete it not just for the medical facility but also for the larger city owned property, which totals just a little over 40 acres. That environmental review is expected to start in the new year.
The 165,000 annual patient visits it’s expected to draw will be important for the additional retail development as part of the overall complex, Flora said.
Flora recognized Mayor Russell Perdock and Councilman Dirk Slooten for their work on the project over the years, as well as Colleen Assavapisitkul, president of Adventist Health Clear Lake, and Judson Howe, network president of North Coast Network at Adventist Health for their efforts.
Assavapisitkul thanked the council members for their consideration of Adventist’s proposal to do the work in collaboration with the city. “It’s an honor for us to be able to be at this point and do this work.”
Howe thanked the city for entrusting the care of their neighbors to Adventist, noting that it’s a real privilege. He also thanked Flora for providing a vision for the project moving forward.
“Serving our community is something we wake up every morning to do,” said Howe, adding that they serve communities with big health inequities.
Councilmember Joyce Overton asked how many new employees the new facility would have.
Howe estimated that, based on the patient visits, it would be about 75 full-time equivalents, with the actual employee number possibly being greater.
In addition to physicians, jobs would include a variety of positions such as environmental services and nutrition, with hourly pay ranging from $25 to $75 an hour, Howe said.
“It’s been a long time coming. This is so exciting for the city. Your investment in the community will spur economic growth. All the health statistics will become better and I’m so excited about it,” said Slooten.
He said the city and Adventist started the discussion quite some time ago. “We’ve been patient,” said Slooten, adding that on Thursday they could finally announce it.
Perdock said people in the city have been waiting for something to happen at the old airport site for growth and vision, and to be a big boost for the economy, and it’s been so long in coming. “I just want to thank you for partnering with us.”
He asked the Adventist team to give an idea of the project’s scale and scope.
Howe said primary care will be a key focus, along with behavioral health, addiction medicine and specialty services.
Assavapisitkul said that as they design the building, they are considering other services such as surgical and women’s care services. While the plans aren’t finalized yet, she said they are looking at what will be most beneficial to the community at that location.
Overton asked if there are any plans for a detox center there, which she said is a major need for those with mental health issues as well as the unhoused in the community. She said she hoped they put it in their plans.
Howe said they want to address those issues in their care continuum and are committed to that conversation.
Conrad Colbrandt, president of the Redbud Health Care District, thanked the council and Flora for their tenacity. He said the project would have never happened without Assavapisitkul, Howe and Eric Stevens, president of the Northern California Network and Hawaii State Network, pushing the effort from the corporate side.
“It’s going to be a great thing for health care in Clearlake and south Lake County,” Colbrandt said, adding it will also benefit patients and help recruit more physicians.
Colbrandt said the facility will be a great anchor tenant, and with its number of annual visits, should help the city fill out the sites at the commercial development.
Flora in turn noted that Colbrandt had “a little bit of tenacity” as well in the process.
Slooten moved to approve the sale agreement, with Councilman Russ Cremer seconding and the council voting 5-0.
After the vote, Flora said they had meant to go to the site for a picture but, due to the rainy weather, they instead planned to have the city and hospital representatives take a picture there at the council chambers with a photo of the new hospital sign at the property as a backdrop.
Flora said City Clerk Melissa Swanson had the agreement so everyone could sign it.
That was followed by a round of applause.
Key anchor projects
In a followup statement issued on Thursday evening, Adventist Health Clear Lake said that, “With a focus on providing exceptional patient care, the clinic will feature a significant number of exam rooms to accommodate the growing healthcare needs of the community. This expansion of rural health services will alleviate the crowded conditions in the existing clinics and will help to improve access to primary care as well as other specialized services to address specific medical conditions.”
"We are thrilled to embark on this partnership with the city of Clearlake," Assavapisitkul said in the written statement. “Lake County has been persistently ranked in the bottom tier of the state of California for health outcomes and health factors. By establishing this new rural clinic, we are working to meet the healthcare demands of the community to change that statistic while contributing to the local economy. This collaboration will undoubtedly enhance the overall well-being of Clearlake residents.”
Also quoted in the statement was Perdock, who said that the city’s partnership with Adventist Health “is a significant step forward in our commitment to provide increased healthcare services to our community.”
He added, “The new clinic will not only create job opportunities but also improve the quality of life for our residents and businesses. The clinic will also serve as one of the key anchors in our upcoming redevelopment of Pearce Field along with the Fairfield Inn and Suites and additional retail attractions to be announced soon.”
In July 2021, the council approved the sale of two and a half acres of the airport property to MLI Associates LLC, owned by Matt Patel, for the 75-room Fairfield Inn by Marriott hotel, with a meeting hall and event center.
That project — and the city’s plans for a new road project on 18th Avenue — hit obstacles in the form of a lawsuit filed against the city in March year by the Koi Nation of Northern California, who faulted the city’s environmental review because it adopted a mitigated negative declaration rather than completing an EIR, and arguing that the city didn’t properly consult with the tribe.
The case was argued before Judge Michael Lunas on Oct. 20. On Nov. 20, Lunas ruled in the city’s favor, finding for the city on all of its arguments, among them, that it was within its rights in making the environmental determination, that its decisions were based on facts and that the city had properly consulted with the tribe.
City officials expect that ruling to clear the way for the road and hotel project to resume.
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.
Upper Lake Valley American Viticultural Area at Oldham Farm. Photo by Nathan Dehart for the Lake County Winegrape Commission. LAKE COUNTY, Calif. — Lake County is now home to two newly approved American Viticultural Areas, or AVAs.
The county, which winegrape advocates say is continuing to raise the bar of quality wine production in California, has welcomed the Long Valley-Lake County AVA and the Upper Lake Valley AVA.
The approval of the two new AVAs is one of many recent achievements for the Lake County region.
Lake County, known for its high-elevation, mountainous terrain within the prestigious North Coast AVA, is gaining traction as the market looks for high-end, California wines at an accessible price point.
With its volcanic terroir, the region is being recognized for its capacity to produce quality winegrapes that result in wines that are complex and distinct.
The wines offer great aromatic and flavor intensity alongside noticeable aging potential. The region has become a go-to source for high-end sauvignon blanc and cabernet sauvignon.
“These two new AVAs further demonstrate the vast potential of Lake County,” said Debra Sommerfield, president of the Lake County Winegrape Commission, an organization of the region’s winegrowers that actively fosters local viticultural innovation through projects such as the bilingual Lake County Pruning School in English and Spanish, now in its second year.
“The establishment of these AVAs builds on the discovery of these as distinct sub-appellations and on the long history of farming in the region while the Lake County Pruning School builds on the long-standing viticultural expertise of the region’s growers,” Sommerfield said.
Stretching across 7,674 acres, the Long Valley-Lake County Valley AVA consists of a long, narrow valley floor and surrounding foothills, which sits on a geologic formation known as the Cache Formation.
The formation comprises lake deposits and consists of tuffaceous and diatomaceous sands and silts, limestone, gravel and intercalated volcanic rocks.
This AVA is known for producing red winegrapes such as cabernet sauvignon, Cabernet Franc, Petite Sirah and Syrah.
The first record of vineyards in Long Valley was a family vineyard planted on land near the southern end of the valley by John Bonham in 1883. This was followed in 1885 when N.E. Hanson planted a vineyard on his ranch with 2,000 vines called “The Crags.”
Modern viticulture in the area started with the planting of a block of vines by David James, using cuttings from the Fay vineyard that won the 1976 “Judgment of Paris.”
James and his wife moved to Lake County in 1978 and purchased Pomo Ranch, located on the western shelf along the southern end of Long Valley. The vines were planted on their own rootstock and are still in production.
Today, this property is the location of Stonehouse Cellars, a licensed Lake County wine producer.
Upper Lake Valley AVA is approximately 20,187 acres and consists of four identified water-bearing formations: Quaternary alluvium; Pleistocene terrace deposits; Pleistocenelake and flood plain deposits; and Plio — Pleistocene cache creek.
These formations comprise the Upper Lake Groundwater Basin, which covers the majority of the AVA.
Soils belong to three groups. The Millsholm — Skyhigh-Bressa are formed by sandstone and shale and are primarily loams and clay loams. The Still — Lupoyoma occur on the nearly-level valley floors and consist of very deep, moderately well- to well-drained loams and silt loams.
Finally, soils from the Tulelake — luvaquentic — Haplawuolls map unit are very deep, poorly drained silty clay loams. This AVA is suitable for growing a variety of grapes, including sauvignon blanc.
When stress and tension are starting to mount, taking short breaks and deep breaths can help clear your mind. AaronAmat/iStock / Getty Images Plus
Just as the shift to shorter days and colder weather can bring with it mood swings and other emotional challenges, the holiday season can also bring about somewhat predictable changes in mood and behavior.
Learning how to recognize what brings about stress and what parts of the brain are actively involved can help with managing the stress response.
As a neuroscientist, I am often curious about the dynamic connection between behavior and the brain. I’ve learned that, biologically speaking, there are ways to manage your responses to holiday stressors through awareness of why they happen.
Harnessing the hypothalamus
Delays in itineraries, crowded airports and congested highways can easily lead to frustrations for those traveling to spend time with family or friends.
One region of the brain involved in your response to these types of stresses is the hypothalamus, a structure deep in the brain that is involved in trying to keep the body in a stable state, known as homeostasis. The hypothalamus works to regulate the autonomic nervous system, a system that coordinates involuntary responses such as heart rate, blood pressure and respiration. It is the key component of the fight-or-flight response to real or perceived threats.
When you are under stress, such as when you learn that your flight has been delayed or even canceled, your hypothalamus stimulates the release of stress hormones such as cortisol and epinephrine. These hormones in turn trigger physiological responses like increased heart rate, perspiration and feelings of irritation and frustration.
When you experience these stressors, deep breathing exercises can help stimulate the body’s parasympathetic nervous system. This is known as the “rest and digest” system because it is responsible for helping your body relax and recover from stress. By taking slow, deep breaths, you can engage the parasympathetic nervous system, which can in turn calm your nerves and reduce frustrations.
It’s important to take time to recharge during the holidays, whether it be through yoga, meditation, a trip to the gym or even cuddling with a pet.
Family dynamics and interactions
Getting together with family during the holidays can bring about complicated emotions when there are conflicting personalities, unresolved issues or awkward family dynamics.
Frustrating or aggravating conversations with relatives often trigger a region of the brain known as the anterior cingulate cortex. The anterior cingulate cortex has a unique position in the brain, establishing connections with both the “emotional” limbic system and the “cognitive” prefrontal cortex.
This brain region is involved in monitoring and regulating cognitive processes, conflict resolution and error detection. It plays a role in processing frustration by signaling when there is a conflict between expectations and outcomes. The anterior cingulate cortex is also involved in what’s known as action-outcome learning, where you evaluate the consequence of an action and adjust your behavior based on feedback.
When you are feeling overwhelmed or frustrated, taking short breaks to step away from the situation can provide a fresh perspective and allow you to return with a clearer mindset. This break will allow you to reinforce this action-outcome learning, helping you learn to associate an action – a short break – with the outcome of the action, which is more relaxed breathing and a clearer mind.
Financial worries
The holiday season can put an unnecessary burden on those who are experiencing economic or financial hardship. The cost of hosting a holiday meal, buying gifts or traveling can contribute additional financial strain during an already stressful time.
The brain region primarily associated with memory and learning is the hippocampus. When you recall past experiences, such as how much you spent last year during the holidays or remember that the credit card bill is coming soon, you activate your hippocampus. The hippocampus is critical in the interplay of memory formation and recall and retrieval of individual episodic memories.
Some ways to reduce stress may be to make gifts for friends and family instead of purchasing them. To help cut down on travel costs, perhaps take a virtual holiday visit now, followed by an in-person visit later when it is less expensive or when financial strains have eased. When reminded of stressful experiences, the hippocampus sends signals to the hypothalamus and other brain regions to help restore balance in your mind. The hippocampus also aids in your adaptation to these stressors by helping you learn how to adjust your expectations. In the end, you have to remind yourself that it truly is the thought that counts most.
Feelings of isolation and loneliness can arise for those of us who may not have family or friends to celebrate with, or perhaps are unable to travel to see those we love.
This is where the “default network” of the brain plays a role. This network, made up of brain regions including the amygdala, is involved in thoughts of future planning, reminiscing and imagining. The amygdala is a part of the limbic system and is associated with processing of negative emotions to stimuli, such as the irritation from not being able to travel, and how you react.
Studies have shown that you can help improve your mood and reduce feelings of frustration and irritation by having a regular exercise routine. Physical activity can be an effective outlet for releasing built-up tension and stress. Aerobic exercise can also modulate connections between and within the amygdala and help reduce feelings of depression. As an added bonus, if you work out in a gym or park, you have an opportunity to be around others, which can help you feel more connected with communities of people with similar interests.
The prefrontal cortex is an area of the brain involved in impulse control, decision-making and emotional regulation. It plays a crucial role in assessing certain situations, such as supercharged conversations, and it helps you evaluate and consider your potential actions and temper your emotional responses. Understanding what triggers your frustration in these situations is crucial to developing proactive strategies to manage or avoid them.
For instance, this might take the form of empathizing with the opposing side or perhaps stepping away from the table when voices start to rise or you feel your emotions building. The prefrontal cortex plays a dual role in regulating the relationship of your initial emotional reaction and the shift to your empathetic emotion. Your ability to build empathetic perspectives and increase cognitive control helps to further develop your prefrontal cortex, potentially making it easier to de-escalate the next time around.
One step at a time
Reducing frustration is a gradual process, and different strategies work for different people.
It is important to identify the root cause of your stress and frustration so that you can develop your own targeted coping strategies. Some examples include engaging in a hobby, listening to music, going on a walk or run, or simply practicing relaxation techniques. It is essential to experiment with various techniques and not be afraid to move away from ones that don’t work and toward ones that do.
The most important thing to remember is that retraining your brain is more of a marathon and not a sprint. It will include trial and error and open-mindedness, but if you focus on identifying your triggers and adapting your own coping strategies, it will almost certainly get better with time.
NORTHERN CALIFORNIA — The Bureau of Land Management and the USDA Forest Service will host a public meeting in Woodland next week to hear from the community about management of the region’s public lands, including a proposal to designate existing public lands as a national monument in central California.
While the majority of the 330,000-acre monument is located in Lake County, no meeting on the expansion is planned here. Nor will it be live-streamed.
The meeting in Woodland will take place from 2 to 4 p.m. Wednesday, Dec. 13, at the Community Services Department, 2001 East St. in Woodland.
Speakers will include Nada Wolff Culver, principal deputy director, Bureau of Land Management; Karen Mouritsen, Bureau of Land Management — California director; and Wade McMaster, Mendocino National Forest Supervisor, representing Regional Forester Jennifer Eberlien.
The community meeting responds to requests from local, county, state and tribal officials, as well as pending legislation in Congress, calling for the protection of the landscape as Berryessa Snow Mountain National Monument’s expansion area to be managed by the BLM and USFS.
In September, Secretary of the Interior Deb Haaland visited Berryessa Snow Mountain National Monument and the proposed expansion area to meet with tribal leaders, local elected officials, and community members to hear about their vision for conserving the natural- and cultural-resources on BLM-managed public lands in Lake County.
The community meeting is part of the Biden-Harris administration’s commitment to support locally led conservation efforts across the country.
Senate President pro Tempore Toni Atkins and Senate President Designee Mike McGuire. Courtesy photo. LAKE COUNTY, Calif. — Lake County’s state senator is set to take on the leadership of the Senate early next year.
This week, the Senate ProTem’s Office released a memo in which it was announced that the ceremony to formally elect Senate ProTem Designee Mike McGuire as the Senate Leader will take place on Feb. 5, 2024.
The memo from McGuire and Senate President pro Tempore Toni Atkins said the ceremony will take place on the Senate floor, during a Senate floor session.
Additional details will be released in the coming weeks, the memo said.
“We’re looking forward to this momentous occasion!” Atkins and McGuire said in the joint memo.
In addition to McGuire’s ascent to Senate leadership, Lake County’s Assembly representative, Cecilia Aguiar-Curry, was appointed Assembly majority leader in November, as Lake County News has reported.
Dennis Fordham. Courtesy photo. Parents typically do not want their surviving children to fight over their inheritances after the parents die. Careful planning may reduce the risk of foreseeable in-family conflicts. Let us discuss.
When real estate is involved, it is quite possible that one or more children may hope to inherit a particular piece of property. Sometimes a family discussion between parents and children about the division of real estate may allow the family to reach an agreement or at least get the children to respect the division. This is not always possible.
With later in life blended families getting family consensus may be more difficult if the couple’s two sets of children were never close to one another.
Some children may expect their biological parent to leave the assets that their parent brought into the second marriage to their own children.
Of course, a stepparent can leave his or her separate property to their own children without any concern over whether their step children (provided they are not also the step parent’s heirs) approve such gifts.
The allocation of different real properties to individual children might involve some equalizing monetary gifts if the parents want to treat all children equally.
Such monetary gifts might be funded through life insurance on the parent’s lives or by the successor trustee borrowing against the real estate.
Such equity borrowing means that the child who inherits the real property will take subject to the loan and will pay-off or refinance the debt upon distribution.
Family businesses also require special consideration because some children are personally involved in the business but other children are not.
Accordingly, consideration may be given to putting the business into a partnership or a corporation. The children who are involved in the business may be given authority over the operations by making them general partners or executive officers in the corporation.
The children who are not involved can be made passive partners or be given ownership interests that do not involve participation in the business operations. Valuable and/or sentimental heirlooms also require special attention. Consider an historical artifact (e.g., a civil war sword) that has been in the family’s possession for many generations. It has economic and sentimental value that are difficult to offset with anything remotely equivalent.
Despite the parents’ best efforts to harmonize their children to accept their estate planning gifts it may prove impossible to reach full acceptance. If so, the parents will want to protect their estate plan against anticipated future attack.
The type of protection varies depending on the circumstances and the anticipated nature of any future attack. One possible future attack is that the disgruntled child will allege that the parent was coerced into giving the certain assets, or giving a greater inheritance, to one child than another.
The estate planning attorney may work, while the parent is alive, to document that such alleged coercion is (hopefully) unfounded.
A no contest clause can be used to dissuade a disgruntled beneficiary from contesting the trust. Under a no contest clause, if the disgruntled beneficiary contests (disputes) the terms of the trust and loses their lawsuit then they also lose what they would otherwise have inherited as their share of the trust estate.
Thus, a beneficiary must have something significant to inherit under trust for them to think carefully about possibly losing their inheritance.
It is even possible to petition the court to confirm the terms of the trust in order to force any contest to the trust while the parent is still alive and can testify. This approach may make sense in some high value estates.
What estate planning approaches are appropriate in any given family situation depends on the family relationships, the client’s wishes and the assets that are involved.
The foregoing brief discussion is not legal advice. Consult a qualified attorney or financial advisor 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.
Reps. Mike Thompson (CA-04), Lucy McBath (GA-07), Jahana Hayes (CT-05), Jamaal Bowman (NY-16) and Mark Takano (CA-39) have introduced legislation to provide American students and workers educational opportunities and prepare them for success in their careers.
The Training, Retention, and Investment Now, or TRAIN, Act expands and makes permanent the Strengthening Community Colleges Training Grants program at the Department of Labor, or DOL, which provides funding to community colleges for partnerships with local employers.
“Workforce training programs help put students on a track to good-paying careers in in-demand fields,” said Thompson. “I am proud to co-author the TRAIN Act to create a competitive grant program so that schools like the Santa Rosa Junior College receive the funding they need to train workers for careers in good-paying jobs. I look forward to ensuring that workforce training programs receive the funding they deserve to set more Americans on a path to a successful career.”
“It’s important that our students are ready to pursue the steps along their desired paths when they graduate, and our community colleges need equal access to resources to support the next generation of American workers,” said McBath. “The Strengthening Community Colleges Training Grants are making monumental change in our communities, and the TRAIN Act takes an important step to protect them. I am proud to support our workforce by protecting and expanding these vital programs, and I thank my colleagues for their partnership.”
“In Connecticut, our 14 community colleges serve as an affordable bridge to higher education and long-term success for students of all ages. The TRAIN Act expands the Department of Labor Strengthening Community Colleges Training Grants they rely on to provide quality services to communities. These grants increase the capacity of community colleges in offering equitable access to training for in-demand industries,” said Hayes. “I am a graduate of Naugatuck Valley Community College and know how impactful these institutions are in increasing access to career training and education for low-income students. This legislation is the next step forward in providing more Americans a pathway toward a good-paying job and rewarding career.”
“Our vision for a better and more equitable future starts with making real investments in people and opportunities,” said Bowman. “With the TRAIN for a Better America Act introduced by Congresswoman McBath, we are connecting students to transformative educational and workforce development opportunities to prepare them for success in their careers. Solving our nation’s most pressing issues will take deep collaboration and intentional policymaking that recognizes the untapped potential in our communities and the importance of establishing and supporting local partnerships that uplift workers, students, and families. As a lifelong educator, I've seen just how impactful our schools — especially our community colleges — can be when they serve as holistic centers of growth and development for students, families, and the community at large. This legislation is a critical step forward as we seek to bring investments and resources to ensure access to high quality workforce development aligned to local needs.”
“Community colleges are essential to developing a robust workforce to meet the needs of future industries,” said Takano. “As a public school teacher for 24 years and a community college trustee for more than two decades, I understand how impactful the Department of Labor’s Strengthening Community Colleges Training Grants can be in developing career pathways and fill in gaps in barriers to completing a student’s education. I am proud to co-lead the Training, Retention, And Investment Now (TRAIN) for a Better America Act with my colleagues to codify and expand this funding for years to come.”
Community colleges have long provided vital access to higher education for low-income and nontraditional learners.
However, community colleges struggle to build the capacity they need, and many students face difficulties finding employment after graduating.
Under the Workforce Innovation and Opportunity Act’s, or WIOA, demonstration authority, DOL has begun awarding Strengthening Community Colleges Training Grants to expand online and technology-enhanced learning in industries such as health care, logistics, and cybersecurity.
These grants expand the capacity of community colleges to collaborate with employers and the public workforce development system to meet local and regional labor market demand for a skilled workforce.
DOL has awarded tens of millions of dollars in grants to community colleges around the country in 2023.
The TRAIN Act codifies and expands the Department of Labor’s Strengthening Community Colleges Training Grants, authorizing a competitive grant program that aims to build community colleges’ capacity to provide employment and training programs leading to post‐secondary credentials for in‐demand industries or occupations.
The grants provide for:
• Developing or scaling up career training, career pathways, or work‐based learning options like apprenticeships. • Assisting individuals with barriers to employment with accessing programs. • Providing support services to help participants complete education and training.
This bill is endorsed by the National Skills Coalition, Third Way, Progressive Policy Institute and the Association of Community College Trustees.
Thompson represents California’s Fourth Congressional District, which includes all or part of Lake, Napa, Solano, Sonoma and Yolo counties.
Gov. Gavin Newsom and First Partner Jennifer Siebel Newsom hosted the 92nd annual California State Capitol tree lighting ceremony Wednesday evening alongside special guest Harley Goodpasture — marking the 40th year a child from a Department of Developmental Services regional center has helped light the State Capitol tree.
Five-year-old Harley, who is the first California Native American child to assist with the ceremony, receives services from the Inland Regional Center and represents over 400,000 Californians with intellectual and developmental disabilities who receive services from the state’s nonprofit regional centers.
Harley's story is one of joy and resilience. Her first word was "love," and her appreciation of outdoor activities, singing, dancing and learning reflects her vibrant spirit.
Her mother is a member of Susanville Indian Rancheria, while Harley, her siblings, and her father belong to the Pala Band of Mission Indians, located in Southern California.
Her parents, Season and James Goodpasture, founded Acorns to Oak Trees, the first regional center vendor service provider on tribal land, in partnership with San Diego Regional Center.
Harley Goodpasture. Courtesy photo. “As Harley steps into this historic role, she not only illuminates the Capitol Holiday Tree but also shines a light on the strength, diversity, and inclusivity California represents,” said DDS Director Nancy Bargmann. “Her infectious spirit and light inspire us all to embrace the magic within each child, during this holiday season and throughout the year."
The Capitol Tree Lighting festivities have been a tradition since the 1930s. For the past four decades, a child from a regional center has lit the tree.
As part of this cherished tradition, individuals with intellectual and developmental disabilities from all over California created ornaments that will adorn this year's majestic 60-foot red fir tree.
Also, a first this year, the 21 regional centers each had their own individual 6- to 7-foot tree set up near the Capitol tree, providing a unique opportunity for regional centers to showcase the work of the individuals they serve in celebration of the holiday season.
This year, California expanded the long-standing tradition of individuals with intellectual and developmental disabilities creating ornaments for the State Capitol tree.
The celebration also included a blessing from the Chairman of the Wilton Rancheria and a performance from the Oakland Interfaith Gospel Choir.
How to resolve AdBlock issue? 
