Jim Harris of Lucerne, Calif., survived Pearl Harbor, D-Day and being blown off a ship in the Pacific. He died Saturday, January 8, 2011, at age 86. Photo by Ginny Craven.

LUCERNE, Calif. – In his 86 years, Jim Harris' eyes had settled on scenes that, for most, are confined to history books.

He had survived Pearl Harbor, had been blown off his ship in the Pacific and lived to tell the story and had gone on to serve at the invasion of Normandy, all before he turned 20 years old.

So when his eyes closed for the last time on the morning of Saturday, Jan. 8, he took with him memories that could fill volumes.

Harris' friend, Ronnie Bogner, said he often joked with Harris that he should either buy a lottery ticket or not bother, because he was either the luckiest or unluckiest man he'd ever met.

“He was around for a lot of interesting stuff,” said Bogner, who acts as the master of ceremonies of the annual Pearl Harbor commemoration at Library Park and is an honorary member of the local Pearl Harbor Survivors Association group.

Harris' rich life will be celebrated at a memorial service planned for 1 p.m. Thursday, Jan. 13, at the Lucerne Community Church, 5870 E. Highway 20, not far from where Harris and his wife, Helen, lived on the shore of Clear Lake.

A reception will be held afterwards at Kapitan's Kafe, 6150 E. Highway 20, also in Lucerne.

Harris had been diagnosed with terminal cancer last fall, but his robust demeanor hardly betrayed the fact in his more recent appearances.

Given between three months and a year to live, he continued attending meetings of local veterans groups, and took his place of honor at the Veterans Day and Pearl Harbor commemorations held late in the year, wearing his usual Pearl Harbor survivor uniform of white pants, a Hawaiian shirt, his service hat and a necklace of large, black Hawaiian kukui nuts.

At the county Veterans Day commemoration on Nov. 11, Supervisor Rob Brown presented to Harris a proclamation honoring his service in World War II, with Brown calling Harris “one of the finest men I've ever met.”

Harris, who received a standing ovation from the crowd, only spoke briefly, telling the hundreds in attendance, “I want to thank you all for being my friends.”

The following month, several of his fellow Pearl Harbor survivors traveled from Lake County to Hawaii to take part in the last gathering of survivors. Harris didn't go because he was a caregiver for his wife, Helen. But he had attended the 50^thanniversary commemoration in Hawaii in 1991.

He and fellow Pearl Harbor survivors Henry Anderson of Lakeport, Clarence “Bud” Boner of Glenhaven and “sweetheart” – or widow – Vanya Leighton were on hand for the local commemorations on Dec. 7, where they received commemorative ship pennants flown over the US Capitol from Brad Onorato, district aide for Congressman Mike Thompson.

Pearl Harbor survivors Bud Boner (left) and Jim Harris raise the American flag at the Pearl Harbor Survivors Association's memorial mast in Library Park in Lakeport on the morning of Tuesday, November 11, 2008. Photo by Ginny Craven.

A young man's trip through the war

Harris was the youngest of the local Pearl Harbor survivors.

Born in 1924 in Los Angeles, his family would later move to New Orleans when he was a teenager. He worked there in a fishing fleet and, at the age of 15, lied about his age – he said he was 19 – so he could join the Navy in 1940, which took him to San Diego for a year for sonar school.

He was next assigned to the destroyer USS Ellet, which took him to Pearl Harbor, where he was given yet another assignment – serving as part of the admiral’s flag allowance aboard the destroyer tender USS Dobbin, a repair and mother ship for destroyers, he said in a 2007 interview.

On what might otherwise have been a quiet Sunday morning on Dec. 7, 1941, Harris had just come up from breakfast and was standing on the Dobbin's quarterdeck when he saw airplanes sweep in over the Aiea Hills and head for Pearl Harbor.

At first, he and his fellow sailors thought the planes were from the USS Enterprise, which that same day had launched scout planes en route back to the harbor, according to a Navy chronology.

But as the planes banked, Harris said they could see “the read meatball” – the red sun and imperial seal of the Empire of Japan.

“After a few cuss words we identified them,” he said.

The officer of the deck hit the alarm for general quarters and called all boats away, trying to get the smaller boats moored to the battleships clear so the larger boats could move.

Pearl Harbor survivors and sweethearts share a smile. From left, Clarence “Bud” Boner, Walter Urmann, Bill Slater, Alice Darrow, Vanya Leighton, Henry Anderson and Jim Harris. Photo by Janeane Bogner.

Harris moved onto the admiral's barge, which went around the hospital ship USS Solace which had anchored off the Dobbin.

He watched as, just after 8 a.m., the USS Vestal and the USS Arizona – which had been moored together – were hit, and the Vestal's captain was blown off the ship's bridge. The captain survived, and as the admiral's barge started for him, Harris said the captain waved them toward the Arizona.

“We started toward the Arizona to pick up survivors, and that's when she exploded,” said Harris.

He said that by the time they got to the Arizona, “There were no survivors to pick up as far as we could find.”

Harris and his fellow sailors would hurry to try to pull fellow sailors from the oil-coated waters. In one case, he recounted trying to pull a man up and having the man's skin come off in his hands.

Later, he would be assigned to a work team sent to the USS Arizona to identify bodies, he said in a recorded interview late last year with Kelseyville resident Steve Davis, the county's retired California Highway Patrol commander.

In one place on the Arizona, Harris recounted that the work team found a human humerus bone – the long bone of the upper arm – driven through eight-inch armor in the ship.

They also gained entry to a boiler room where they found 21 bodies of reservists who had assembled on Dec. 7 for training, he said.

“They were trapped,” Harris said.

The men, who didn't know how to get out, kept a log for 17 days, before they starved to death, in what Harris said was one of the attack's untold stories.

Surviving Pearl Harbor would be only one of the horrifying chapters of the war Harris would live through.

After Pearl Harbor Harris found himself traveling farther into the Pacific Theater, where he was assigned to the destroyer USS Stewart.

During the February 1942 Battle of Badung Strait he was blown off the Stewart's bridge, but rescued by a Dutch PBY seaplane, which transported him to a hospital in nearby Surabaya, Indonesia.

Harris said in a 2009 interview that he and other patients were warned to leave the hospital because of the Japanese, invading from the north. Harris and his fellow patients secured a launch and traveled by night along the shore until they happened upon an American destroyer, the USS John D Ford, sitting camouflaged in a river.

He said he later found out that those who stayed behind at the hospital – patients too ill to travel and staff who stayed to care for them – were slaughtered, some beheaded by the Japanese.

Moving into the European Theater

Within a few years, Harris found himself on the other side of the world, in the European Theater.

By age 19, he was assigned to the destroyer USS McCook, which saw duty in the Mediterranean before heading off to England to prepare for the Normandy invasion.

In April 1944 the then-second class petty officer and sonar man was aboard the USS McCook as part of Operation Tiger, a preparation exercise for D-Day held at Slapton Sands, off the coast of Devon, England.

“This rehearsal was what you might call chaos,” Harris said at the county's June 2009 D-Day commemoration.

Hundreds of men died after German submarines showed up and sank three troop ships. Harris said the incident was kept so quiet that the men who died there were counted as casualties at D-Day.

Two months later, on June 6, 1944, the McCook and Harris would be at Omaha Beach as the Allies sought to invade France and break Germany's stranglehold on the continent.

Harris said the McCook's captain saw Germans firing from the cliffs above onto the Allied forces on the beaches, and the admiral gave the command to go after them.

He said the 345-foot McCook was steered into the breakers, trying to avoid mines while attempting to get close enough to shoot at the cliffs above. With each wave, the ship had to be thrust into reverse to avoid the mines or running aground.

The McCook shot an estimated 1,000 rounds into the cliffs at Pointe du Hoc, hitting “Tiger” tanks and German soldiers who were firing down on the landing Allied Forces, according to historical accounts.

Harris said of D-Day, “That was the longest day I ever lived.”

As a member of the McCook crew, Harris would take part in invading southern France as part of Operation Anvil.

By the end of 1944, Harris was sent home to the US because of an injury suffered earlier in the war in the South Pacific.

 

 

Pearl Harbor and D-Day survivor Jim Harris receives the French Liberation Medal from Michelle Price on Monday, August 24, 2009, in High Valley. Photo by Ginny Craven.

 

 

 

 

 

After the war

 

After the Navy, Harris went to work in the Bay Area as an agent for American National Life Insurance Co. On April 6, 1950, he and the love of his life, Helen, were married.

 

The Harrises raised a daughter, Diane, and eventually they made their way to Lake County in 1967.

 

Their daughter died in 2001, but they moved forward, Jim Harris staying acting in veterans groups and keeping the memory alive of what he and other men like him had survived in the war.

 

That included helping inspire the Pearl Harbor Survivors’ Memorial Mast at Library Park in Lakeport, which his brother, Leon Harris, designed, and which was taken on as a project by the Lakeport Rotary.

 

At a Pearl Harbor Survivors Association breakfast in August 2009, Bogner arranged for Harris to receive a surprise in the form of a long-desired token of his service – the French Liberation Medal, which the French government issued to commemorate its liberation from the Nazis in World War II.

 

Harris called the medal “the most wonderful surprise I've had in many, many years.”

 

Recently, Brown took a contingent of Kelseyville High School wrestlers, who he coaches, to meet Harris, because he said he wanted them to meet a real American hero.

 

 

 

 

Jim and Helen Harris of Lucerne, Calif., celebrated 60 years as husband and wife at an anniversary party in Lucerne on April 6, 2010. Photo by Ginny Craven.

 

 

 

 

 

 

Bogner had seen Harris about a week before he died, taking him an old postcard of the USS Dobbin that he had purchased for Harris on eBay.

 

Janeane Bogner spoke with Harris on the phone the day before his death. Harris seemed to be doing well, Ronnie Bogner said, noting that no one expected Harris would go so soon.

 

Harris' death follows by two months that of Clearlake Oaks resident Chuck Bower, who was at the US Sub Base at Pearl Harbor. Bower died Nov. 12.

 

With the passing of Bower and Harris, there are now five Pearl Harbor survivors remaining in Lake County – Clarence “Bud” Boner, Floyd Eddy, Bill Slater, Walter Urmann and Henry Anderson, and “sweethearts” – or widows – Alice Darrow, Vanya Leighton, Lynn Poehler and Charlotte Bower, and now Helen Harris.

 

Bogner said Pearl Harbor survivors from Lake County and beyond are planning to attend the Thursday memorial.

 

In a December 2007 interview Harris said of his experiences at Pearl Harbor, “Everybody came away from there with a different attitude. Only time has made a difference to us.”

 

For additional stories on Jim Harris, please see the following:

 

Recalling the 'Day of Days': Vets gather for D-Day ceremony

Veterans remember attack on Pearl Harbor

Pearl Harbor survivors talk of life after the attack

Solemn ceremony honors Pearl Harbor's living and lost

Solemn commemoration marks 65th D-Day anniversary

Pearl Harbor and D-Day veteran receives special token of service

Survivors, community members gather to remember Pearl Harbor attack

Harrises celebrate 60 years together

County's annual Veterans Day ceremony honors service of the past, present and future

Solemn Dec. 7 commemoration acknowledges debt of gratitude

 

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

 

 

 

Members of the Kelseyville High School wrestling team visited with Jim Harris in Lucerne, Calif., in late November 2010. Photo by Rob Brown.

On Monday Brown presented a budget with $127.4 billion in spending for the 2011-12 fiscal year, with $84.6 billion coming from the state's general fund.

Brown's balanced budget proposal would cut $12.5 billion, make $12 billion in revenue extensions and modifications, and $1.9 billion in other solutions to close the gap and provide for a $1 billion reserve, his office said.

Measures to balance the budget include reducing state employees' take-home pay by 8 to 10 percent, carrying out a “vast and historic” restructuring of government operations, puts $1 billion into a “rainy day” reserve fund and would close the state's budget deficit “now and into the future,” Brown suggested.

“These cuts will be painful, requiring sacrifice from every sector of the state, but we have no choice,” Brown said. “For 10 years, we’ve had budget gimmicks and tricks that pushed us deep into debt. We must now return California to fiscal responsibility and get our state on the road to economic recovery and job growth.”

Republican leaders said they were skeptical of the plan, largely because of its taxation elements.

Senate Republican Leader Bob Dutton (R-Rancho Cucamonga) noted that while the budget proposal contains “difficult but necessary spending reductions,” the plan isn't compete because he said it assumes voters will support major tax increases, but doesn’t provide solutions if they reject them. That, he said, could result in a $10 billion budget hole come June.

Dutton said the way government operates needs to be addressed first. He said there also isn't anything in the budget to stimulate the economy or create jobs.

Lake County's Administrative Officer Kelly Cox said he's concerned about how the proposals would impact the county, and noted that some of Brown's proposals look like some put forward by former Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger and shot down by the Legislature.

“It's going to take quite awhile to analyze everything that will impact local government, but believe me there is a lot in this budget proposal that, if enacted, will significantly impact county government,” Cox said Monday.

North Coast Assemblyman Wes Chesbro (D-Arcata) said Monday that it's now up to the Legislature to make the budget proposal work.

“Jerry Brown has laid out a plan to put us on a road to a cure for California’s chronic economic

condition,” Chesbro said. “This plan represents a starting point. It is now our job to work with the governor to heal the state’s economic woes.”

State Controller John Chiang said Brown has proposed “some ugly solutions to an even uglier situation,” but added that gimmicks and delay make the state's budget problems multiply.

He called Brown's proposal “a refreshing departure from past schemes that too often sacrificed long-term fiscal stability for band-aid solutions. While more work is required, this plan is an honest first step toward building consensus on how to best shape California’s future.”

With cuts proposed for colleges and universities, the state's higher education leaders – University of California President Mark Yudof, California State University Chancellor Charles B. Reed and the California Community Colleges Chancellor Jack Scott – issued a joint Monday statement in which they said that, given the vast demographic shifts at work in the state, “now is not the time to shrink public higher education, but to grow it.”

Their statement added, “The road to recovery from this recession and prosperity far beyond it runs straight through our many campuses. These universities are the economic engines of California.”

Cuts proposed to social services, higher education; redevelopment may be in danger

Brown said Monday that decisive action is needed to help the state as it slowly emerges from “the Great Recession,” which his budget states California entered with “an existing structural deficit.”

The budget also looks at several economic factors, suggesting that full recovery of jobs lost during the recession won't occur until 2016, when jobs are expected to surpass the 2007 level.

It also suggests that the worst of the housing slump may be over – although new home construction permits are down 80 percent from the mid-2005 peak – and the stability of the housing market itself is still in question.

Exports are up 21 percent compared to 2009's first half, taxable sales are recovering but still down from 2007, unemployment is still trending high – the last state report put it at 12.4 percent – and personal income declined in 2009 on a year-over-year basis for the first time since 1938, although it later began a moderate recovery.

Among his proposals, the governor Brown intends to call for a special June election in which he'll ask voters to give him a five-year extension to several current taxes – personal income, sales tax and vehicle license fee – while California pays off its debt. First, the Legislature will have to implement the necessary statutory changes to allow the measure to go on the ballot.

If the ballot measures are approved, revenue from the sales tax and the vehicle license fee will be transferred directly to local governments to finance the first phase of his realignment plan, Brown said.

But Republican leaders already are saying they'll oppose the tax ballot measures.

Assembly Republican Leader Connie Conway of Tulare issued a Monday statement in which she said there are not the votes in the Assembly Republican Caucus to place the same tax increases “that voters overwhelmingly rejected less than two years ago” on a June ballot.

“Californians have sent a strong message at the polls that they want Sacramento to make government live within its means,” Conway said.

The realignment plan – which Brown said will return more governing decisions and authority to cities, counties and schools – will “allow government at all levels to focus on core functions and become more efficient and less expensive” by reducing duplication of services and administrative costs.

Brown's plan will spare kindergarten through 12th grade education. “Schools have borne the brunt of spending reductions in recent years, so this budget maintains funding at the same level as the current year,” he said.

While kindergarten through 12^th grade education won't see cuts based on Brown's plan, higher education will, with Brown proposing to cut $500 million to the University of California and $500 million to California State University systems.

Other areas where Brown is suggesting major spending reductions are $1.7 billion to Medi-Cal, $1.5 billion to California’s welfare-to-work program (CalWORKs), $750 million to the Department of Developmental Services, $308 million for a 10 percent reduction in take-home pay for state employees not currently covered under collective bargaining agreements and $200 million in government actions that Brown proposes to cut through efficiencies including reorganization and consolidation.

On the health care front, the budget elicited condemnation from the AIDS Healthcare Foundation, whose president, Michael Weinstein, called it “a death warrant for California AIDS patients” because he said it would “drastically” alter care for AIDS care and require steep share of costs from low-cost HIV/AIDS patients.

Brown also is proposing reductions to the state's judiciary and corrections, wants to require all corporations to use a single sales factor when measuring income attributable to California and would create an amnesty program for taxpayers who have avoided or underreported income owed to the state.

An area of particular concern for local officials like Cox is the proposal to phase out the current funding mechanism for redevelopment agencies.

While Brown said that step would return billions in property tax revenues to schools, cities and counties and help pay for public safety, education and other services, it would mean attempts to rejuvenate areas of the county – such as the Northshore and parts of Lakeport and Clearlake – would see a considerable setback.

Still, Cox noted, “I have a hard time believing that proposal will make it through the legislature. It was only two months ago that the voters approved a ballot measure protecting local redevelopment funds from being raided by the state.”

Cox said Brown's proposals concerning realignment and funding of criminal justice programs, welfare and mental health programs sound very similar to proposals made by Schwarzenegger. “Since the legislature soundly rejected many of those ideas when they were previously proposed, I wonder if they will receive any traction now.”

In Cox's view, it's hard to fault Brown for proposing “drastic measures” in light of the need that's been present for years for the state to resolve its budget problems.

“I'm hoping that some of his proposals were designed simply to get everyone's attention and understanding of the seriousness of the state's budget crisis, but that there will be an openness to considering alternatives to some of the current proposals-alternatives that would still generate the needed savings in state expenditures,” Cox said. “There are alternatives which I don't believe they have yet proposed, that should be considered.”

The full budget can be found at www.ebudget.ca.gov.

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

Caltrans had reported plans for International Surfacing Systems of West Sacramento to complete the pavement repairs on Highway 29 from the Lake/Napa County line to Hidden Valley Road. But the plans were first rained out late last month, then winter temperatures ended the work last week.

Caltrans spokesman Phil Frisbie the plan was to grind down to the main asphalt layer on a 1,000-foot stretch of highway.

“That's an area where the previous asphalt, the open grade asphalt, had been deteriorating,” leaving ruts in the area of tire tracks, Frisbie said.

“Unfortunately the chip seal doesn't fill in very much on those ruts” and they were just covered over, Frisbie said.

The idea with the proposed grinding was to make the ride smoother for drivers in advance of the spring repaving project that Caltrans has promised will take place in response to south county residents' complaints about the large, 1/2-inch aggregate chip seal and its impact on their cars.

Area residents also have argued that the road is no longer safe, as Lake County News has reported.

“I think it's an economic recovery act for the tire shops, because it does wear out your tires faster, there's no doubt about that,” said District 1 Supervisor Jim Comstock, who has been a critic of the work.

Originally, International Surfacing Systems was scheduled to conduct the repairs on Dec. 28 and 29.

However, Frisbie said the repairs were rained out then. They were then rescheduled to Jan. 4 and 5.

But that didn't work out either, with Frisbie reporting that the grinding had been suspended because the temperature had dropped too low to use a “fog seal” to seal the pavement after the grinding.

“Not sealing the pavement would allow gravel on the surface to work loose this winter and create more of a problem for drivers,” he said.

With the temperature not likely to go up before the spring, when the repaving is supposed to take place, Frisbie said all work has been suspended in the area for the time being.

International Surfacing Systems received a total of $2.1 million for the chip seal projects, which took place on 12 miles of Highway 29 from the Lake/Napa County lines to the Coyote Creek Bridge and 8.5 miles on Highway 175 from Cobb to Middletown.

The company would have received additional funds for the repair work, but won't now since the grinding project was canceled, Frisbie said.

In an October meeting with south county residents hosted by Comstock, Caltrans District 1 Director Charlie Fielder had guaranteed that the 20 miles of highway would be repaved.

Frisbie confirmed that the repaving project has funds committed to it from savings on other work.

“Most projects are coming in well under estimates due to competition among the contractors, and these leftover funds are funding additional projects statewide,” he said.

The California Transportation Commission will formally allocate the funds at its meeting on March 23 and 24, Frisbie added.

Comstock said residents of his district still aren't happy with the road work, although they're getting used to it.

He said he found Fielder “upfront,” adding, “he listened and he admitted that there was a problem. And he was the first one who did. Nobody else would.”

Although the grinding didn't happen, the highway was striped, Comstock said. The lack of striping had been another concern for drivers, who were having trouble seeing the lanes on the highway, according to statements at the October meeting.

International Surfacing Systems also is in discussions with the Lake County Air Quality Management District over settling a case involving fines the district assessed against the company for allegedly failing to get the proper air quality permits when conducting the chip seal project, as Lake County News has reported.

Air Pollution Control Officer Doug Gearhart previously estimated that the company's potential liability ranged between $825,000 and $2,475,000 for 33 alleged violations.

Gearhart said last week that he was waiting for the company to respond any day to the settlement agreement, which would allow total fines of less than 10 percent of the total liability.

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The fire was reported shortly before noon at 2213 New Long Valley Road in Spring Valley Lakes, according to reports from the scene.

Northshore Fire Protection District Battalion Chief Pat Brown, who along with Chief Jim Robbins was on the scene, said the fire burned a roughly 20-year-old double-wide mobile home.

The source of the fire was traced to a wall near a freestanding fireplace, said Brown.

Brown said Northshore Fire sent two engines and a water tender, and Lake County Fire Protection District in Clearlake sent a water tender as mutual aid.

It took about 30 minutes to suppress the fire, but longer to fully mop up. Brown said firefighters had to pull out ceilings to get at hot spots.

While the fire didn't destroy the home – Brown estimated it caused about $20,000 worth of damage – “It did burn them out of the house,” he said of the family, including a woman and her two young daughters.

There were no injuries, Brown said.

Brown said the Red Cross was notified of the fire so the organization could offer the family temporary housing assistance.

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

“Thanks to the generous contributions of so many donors, people in Haiti are receiving immediate relief and resources, as well as the necessary support and training to help them recover and rebuild,” said Gail McGovern, president and CEO of the American Red Cross. “Red Cross efforts saved lives and improved the quality of life for Haitians with emergency shelter, food, water, latrines, medical treatment and other supplies.”

“People in Sonoma, Mendocino and Lake Counties, as well as those across the country, responded quickly to help Haiti. These donations have made a real difference in the lives of Haitians,” said Tim Miller, CEO of the local Red Cross chapter.

“Residents in our counties donated more than $292,000,” said Miller. “Children at more than 20 schools, donation cans in nearly 100 locations, more than 20 local fundraising events, and more than 1300 individual donors and business all contributed to the relief effort. We are grateful for such an outpouring of support.”

The one-year report on Red Cross relief and recovery efforts in Haiti can be found at www.redcross.org/haiti.

Since the earthquake on January 12, 2010, the American Red Cross and the global Red Cross network have provided:

• Medical care for nearly 217,000 patients.

• Cash grants and loans to help 220,000 people.

• Latrines for 265,000 people.

• Daily drinking water for more than 317,000 people.

• Emergency shelter materials for more than 860,000 people.

• Vaccinations for nearly 1 million people.

• Food for 1.3 million people for one month.

Since the earthquake struck Haiti on January 12, 2010, the American Red Cross has raised approximately $479 million for the Haiti relief and recovery efforts, including more than $32 million from the record-setting text donation program.

At the one-year anniversary of the earthquake, the Red Cross expects to have spent and signed agreements to spend $245 million, which is more than half of what has been raised.

Specifically, 30 percent of the money will have been spent on emergency shelter and basic homes; 26 percent on food and emergency services; 15 percent on providing clean water and sanitation; 13 percent on health and disease prevention programs; 10 percent on livelihoods and host family assistance; and 6 percent on disaster preparedness activities.

The remainder of the money will go to longer-term recovery over the next several years, with spending plans likely to evolve to respond to changing needs.

In addition to responding to the earthquake and its aftermath, the Red Cross worked to provide help following the cholera outbreak last fall. The American Red Cross has spent more than $4.5 million and plans to spend at least another $10 million to fight the spread of cholera.

One of the big challenges facing the Red Cross and other nonprofit organizations is finding land to get people out of camps and into transitional homes.

It has been difficult for the Haitian government to determine exactly who owns the land where these homes would be built. Much of the available land is covered with tons of rubble that must be removed, and there is not enough heavy equipment in Haiti to do this quickly.

In addition, the government, which would take a lead role on much of the land ownership and rubble removal, was severely affected by the earthquake.

Overall, the American Red Cross expects to spend about $100 million of the remaining funds on construction of permanent homes and community development projects. These efforts, which will unfold over the next few years, will depend on several outside factors including the availability of appropriate land and the coordination of infrastructure, livelihoods and community centers.

“The Red Cross will continue to spend the money entrusted to us by the American people in the most responsible way possible to help Haiti and its people,” McGovern said.

Visit the Red Cross online at www.redcross.org. American Red Cross, Sonoma & Mendocino Counties (which includes Lake County) can be found at www.arcsm.org .

Follow Lake County News on Twitter at http://twitter.com/LakeCoNews , on Facebook at http://www.facebook.com/pages/Lake-County-News/143156775604?ref=mf and on YouTube at http://www.youtube.com/user/LakeCoNews .

A firefighter douses a toy hauler trailer that caught fire near Clearlake Oaks, Calif., on Saturday, January 8, 2011. Photo by Steve Hart.

CLEARLAKE OAKS, Calif. – Firefighters from the Northshore and Clearlake responded to a morning fire that destroyed a recreational trailer.

Northshore Fire Battalion Chief Steve Hart said firefighters arrived on scene after 9 a.m. at the intersection of Walker Ridge Road and Indian Valley Reservoir Road to find a 38-foot “toy hauler” – used to transport ATVs – on fire.

Two men had traveled from Fairfield with their quad runners and were off riding when “for some unknown reason the trailer caught fight,” Hart said.

The two men and some other witnesses reported it, although Hart said the reporting was complicated by bad cell service in the area.

Hart said Northshore Fire responded with two engines, Cal Fire sent an engine, a helicopter and a fire chief, and Lake County Fire Protection District in Clearlake responded with a water tender.

It took about 15 minutes to knock the fire down, but more than an hour to mop up, with firefighters leaving the scene at 11:30 a.m., Hart said.

Hart said the trailer's owner suffered some superficial burns to his face when the relief valve on the propane tank purged.

“He refused treatment at the scene,” said Hart.

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

Firefighters inspect the remains of a burned toy hauler trailer that burned Saturday, January 8, 2011, near Clearlake Oaks, Calif. Photo by Steve Hart.

The Hazard Mitigation Plan is the framework used by the county to optimize preparedness before disasters occur in order to reduce the damage caused by disasters when and if they occur, according to Capt. James Bauman of the Lake County Sheriff's Office, which oversees OES.

Lake County OES has scheduled two public meetings to help prepare for the Hazard Mitigation Plan update as required by the California Emergency Management Agency (Cal EMA) and the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA.)

Members of the public are encouraged to attend either of the two scheduled meetings and present their concerns or other information about their communities or neighborhoods.

The current Hazard Mitigation Plan can be viewed on the Lake County Information Portal Web site at www.co.lake.ca.us, under Channel Menu/Be Prepared/Hazard Mitigation Plan.

The public meetings are scheduled for Thursday, Jan. 20, from 10:30 a.m. to noon, in the Lake County Jail Dining Hall, 4913 Helbush Drive, Lakeport; and Tuesday, Jan. 25, from 1 p.m. to 2:30 p.m. at the South Lake Fire District Station meeting room, 21095 Highway 175, Middletown.

Anyone wishing to contribute to the preparedness of their community and the accuracy of the Hazard Mitigation Plan update should attend one of the two public meetings.

Questions may be directed to Emergency Services Coordinator Jerry Wilson at 707-263-1813.

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The new Republican chairman of the House Veterans Affairs Committee says its time to learn where a lot of those dollars went and to provide better oversight of how VA budgets are shaped and spent.

Rep. Jeff Miller (R-Fla.), interviewed before the 112th Congress convened, said his predecessor as chairman, Democrat Bob Filner of California, was inclined to address veterans’ needs with more dollars.

Miller said he will be “more focused on helping to increase resources through efficiencies.”

“This is a huge government agency and there is a mindset within the agency that is hard to change,” Miller said. “But I think we need to focus not only on delivery of services but the cost at which those services are being delivered to the veteran.”

“You know,” he added, “the Department of Veterans Affairs really has grown immune to oversight from Congress. And I hope to reinvigorate the process.”

Like Filner, the 51-year-old Miller is not a veteran. He was a real estate broker and former deputy sheriff before entering politics in Florida.

In fall of 2001, after Joe Scarborough, now a TV personality, resigned his House seat, Miller won a special election to fill it and has represented Florida’s 1st Congressional District in Congress ever since.

It is home to Eglin Air Force Base, Pensacola Naval Air Station and many veterans, which helps explain why Miller has chosen to serve on both the veterans’ affairs and the armed services committees.

He was picked by leadership to chair the VA committee after former ranking member Steve Buyer of Indiana said he would retire, and the next most senior Republican, Cliff Stearns of Florida, tried but failed to gain chairmanship of the energy and commerce committee in the new Congress.

Miller listed closer oversight of VA’s $125 billion budget as his top priority along with, as always, improving delivery of services to veterans.

“The [Veterans] Benefits Administration is woefully behind with a backlog on benefit claims,” he said. “The only way we’re going to be able to solve that is good, strong oversight of the cooperative effort of both VBA and the [VA’s] Office of Information and Technology.”

Some veterans’ service organizations agree that tighter supervision might be timely. One executive at a major VSO pointed to a VA inspector general report last year that found $6.3 million appropriated by Congress to fund traumatic brain injury research had diverted to priorities.

“This could be just one of a multitude of issues considered under the greater oversight role” Miller promises, he said.

Miller referred to “a culture in some areas of the VA system that has got to be brought up into the 21st century.”

For example, he noted lapses in sterilization at the St. Louis VA hospital revealed last year and other incidents involving possible spread of infection.

But the notification process, said Miller, was “done in a very cold, callous way. Folks need to understand we are dealing with human beings who served their country and deserve dignity and respect.”

One issue Miller raised in our interview, as something he wants to expand, worries vet advocates. He wants to allow more veterans to get health care from private-sector doctors and hospitals, at VA’s expense, in situations where VA facilities are inconvenient to use.

In northwest Florida, he said, veterans still must travel to VA facilities in Biloxi, Miss., New Orleans and on to Birmingham, Ala., for care that they could be receiving locally at private hospitals.

“We need to find a way to allow for expansion of veterans use of local medical facilities instead of requiring them to drive great distances … It’s something that Congress has worked on for a number of years but we still don’t have a handle on it,” Miller said. VA should expand fee-for-service exceptions beyond “rural communities.”

That raises alarms for veterans’ groups. They view such a move as a first step toward weakening the VA health care system. They also see it as a threat to VA continuity of care, particular for veterans with multiple health issues, all of which now get tracked and treated by a single system.

But Miller said he worries about older veterans or those with critical health issues having to travel too many miles to get the care the need.

Veterans in his district who need heart surgery, he said, “are required to leave the panhandle of Florida, and there are great cardiac physicians in our community.”

Localizing care would be “a benefit for the doctor to have the patients” near and “for the patients to have their physicians as close as possible, not only for the surgery but in the recovery.”

VA has run some pilot programs, Miller said.

“But I think we need to look at expanding it so that the veteran can receive the care as close to home as possible.”

Vet groups worry that sending more vets to private hospitals and doctors for care will make lawmakers reluctant to fund new VA medical centers and hospitals in areas of rising veteran populations if those areas also have plenty of private physicians and hospital beds.

“So rather than build a $300 million VA hospital,” said one worried advocate, “Congress could easily say ‘Hey, let’s just kind of farm them out to the local community.’ Does that give them the care they deserve through the VA, which is the best care in the world? Does that give the VA system the pool of veterans from which to learn and provide better care? Does that give the VA system the care from which to practice new techniques? No.”

To comment, send e-mail to This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. or write to Military Update, P.O. Box 231111, Centreville, VA, 20120-1111.

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Cinnamon in stick form is pictured with many of the other spices that go well with it. Going clockwise from cinnamon are star anise, nutmeg, cloves, fennel, ginger and cardamom. A vanilla bean rests on the edge of the plate. Photo by Esther Oertel.

Cinnamon – a warming, sweet and exotic spice – is especially appreciated by me during these cold winter months. Its aroma wafting through the house, whether from warm spiced cider, mulled wine or an enticing item in the oven, is especially comforting this time of year.

Cinnamon may be most often thought of as an ingredient for sweet baked treats, but it’s equally as wonderful when it lends its flavor to savory dishes. It’s one of the world’s oldest spices and holds a place of honor in many cuisines.

In Nigeria it’s used to spice yams, in Mexico it flavors mole sauce, in India it’s used in the spice blend garam masala, China’s five spice powder contains it, Greek lamb is flavored with it, the English toss it in rice pudding and in Morocco chicken is cooked with it.

And that’s just a partial list. It’s arguably the most popular spice in the world.

Cinnamon is sold in both powdered and stick form, also known as quills. These pleasantly pungent tubes are made from the inner bark of a tropical evergreen tree. The bark is harvested during the rainy season when pliable, and then dried into curls.

Flakes left over from this process are called featherings and are used to make powdered cinnamon or distilled for extract. Cinnamon trees can yield productive bark for about 45 years.

Cinnamon is native to Ceylon, but is now grown in tropical climates throughout the world, including Java, Borneo, Guyana, the West Indies and South America. Depending on which botanist you speak to, there are between 50 and 250 varieties of the tree.

Cinnamon sold in the U.S. is actually cassia, a relative of true – or Ceylon – cinnamon. Cassia has a stronger, more pungent flavor, while Ceylon cinnamon is subtle and more delicate. For this reason, many favor true cinnamon over cassia.

Other forms of cinnamon include Indonesian cinnamon and Vietnamese (or Saigon) cinnamon.

Cinnamon may be abundant now, but in past centuries it was rare and highly prized. The quest for cinnamon was a major factor in the European exploration of the world. Portuguese sailors braved the trip around the horn of Africa, and – most famously – Columbus sailed to the west.

Because of cinnamon, Ceylon was overtaken and controlled by the Portuguese in the 15th century. By the 17th century, the Dutch had wrested away Portuguese control of Ceylon, and in the following century, the British took it away from the Dutch.

Today cinnamon is cultivated in many tropical areas of the world, leading to a generous supply and making it affordable for most people.

Cinnamon’s history, however, goes back much further than European trade wars.

It was mentioned in Chinese writings as early as 2800 B.C. The Chinese used it medicinally as a treatment for colds, flu and digestive problems.

Cinnamon was an important medicinal spice in other ancient cultures. It was mentioned in the writings of the first century Roman naturalist and philosopher, Pliny the Elder, the Greek physician, Dioscorides, also of the first century, and Theophrastus, a student of Plato and Aristotle who lived in the fourth century.

According to Hebrew Scriptures, Moses used it as an ingredient in his anointing oils. The ancient Egyptians used it to embalm mummies and the ancient Romans burned it during funerals.

Cinnamon has anti-microbial properties, so it has often been used as a meat preservative through history. This property is but one of many benefits cinnamon has been shown to have on our health.

Studies have shown consumption of cinnamon aids in lowering LDL cholesterol, helps regulate blood sugar, relieves arthritis pain, boosts memory, and even helps reduce the proliferation of certain cancer cells.

Like the ancient Chinese, many swear by cinnamon’s effectiveness in combating a cold and use a teaspoon in tea for this purpose.

I love pairing cinnamon with a variety of fruits, including apples, pears, bananas and blueberries. It’s fantastic on winter squashes (including popular pumpkin and butternut) and with yams or sweet potatoes.

I add cinnamon to French toast and pancake batter, sprinkle it on my coffee, spice walnuts or pecans with it, stuff it into apples for baking, and throw the sticks into simmering cider on the stove or into poaching sauce for pears.

I also love to experiment with the ways it’s used in Moroccan, Greek, Indian or Mexican cooking.

Today’s recipe is for a rustic pear tart with a warm spice sauce that I created for a class on cooking with seasonal foods. Cinnamon and pears complement each other well; however, the warm spice sauce can be used in a variety of other ways, including as a sweetener in a warm cup of tea. Enjoy!

Rustic pear tart with walnuts and warm syrup

For crust:

¾ cup all purpose flour

¾ cup whole wheat pastry flour

3 tablespoons sugar

½ teaspoon salt

10 tablespoons (1 1/4 sticks) chilled unsalted butter, cut into pieces

1 large egg yolk

1 tablespoon water

For filling:

3 large ripe pears, peeled, cored, thinly sliced

½ coarsely chopped walnuts

1 tablespoon brown sugar

1 tablespoon all purpose flour

For syrup:

1 cup water

1cup sugar

1 cinnamon stick

4 whole cloves

Prepare crust by blending flour, sugar and salt in food processor until combined. Add butter, using on/off turns, until mixture resembles coarse meal. Add egg yolk and water, using on/off turns, until moist clumps form. Gather dough into ball and flatten into disk. Wrap in plastic and chill at least 40 minutes and up to two days.

Position rack in center of oven and preheat to 375°F. Roll out dough between two sheets of parchment paper to 12-inch round. Remove top sheet of parchment and transfer dough, with bottom parchment, to rimmed baking sheet.

Place filling ingredients in large bowl and toss to combine. Spoon pear mixture into center of dough, leaving a 1 ½ inch border. Using parchment as aid, fold up outer edge of dough over edge of filling.

Bake until pears are tender, about 20 minutes. Reduce oven to 325 degrees F and cook an additional 20 minutes, or until pears are tender and juices are bubbling. Allow tart to cool.

Meanwhile, make syrup by simmering ingredients in small saucepan until reduced to about ½ cup and mixture thickens to a syrupy consistency. Typically this takes about 10 minutes. Remove cinnamon stick and cloves from syrup once it begins to thicken.

To serve, cut tart into wedges and drizzle with syrup. If desired, serve with whipped cream or ice cream.

Recipe by Esther Oertel / Crust recipe courtesy of www.epicurious.com.

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

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In his first executive order since taking office, Gov. Jerry Brown directed state agency and department heads to collect and turn in 48,000 government-paid cell phones – half of those now in use – by June 1.

He reportedly also is planning on turning in his own state-allocated cell phone.

Brown said the state now pays for 96,000 cell phones, one for 40 percent of all state employees.

He estimated that the state will save at least $20 million a year by cutting cell phone usage in half.

“It is difficult for me to believe that 40 percent of all state employees must be equipped with taxpayer-funded cell phones,” Brown said. “Some state employees, including department and agency executives who are required to be in touch 24 hours a day and seven days a week, may need cell phones, but the current number of phones out there is astounding.”

Brown said his goal is to cut the number of phones in half by June 1, and said he believes the state can continue to reduce cell phone usage throughout the year.

He explained that some cell phones may be under term contracts with cell carriers, and he wants to make sure that the state does not incur early termination penalties that exceed the monthly savings.

“Because of contract obligations, it is possible that we may not be able eliminate all 48,000 cell phones by June 1, but it is also conceivable that we can do it earlier – and that is my hope,” Brown said.

He added, “Even with a 50-percent reduction, one-fifth of all state employees will still have cell phones. That still seems like too much and I want every department and agency to examine and justify all cell phone usage.”

Brown’s estimate of at least $20 million in annual savings assumes that the average cell phone bill is a bit over $36 a month, which the Department of Finance has determined is the average cost.

“In the face of a multi-billion dollar budget deficit, a cell phone may not seem like a big expense,” Brown said. “But spending $20 million, and perhaps far more than that, on cell phones can’t be justified. We’re facing a budget crisis in California and I want to achieve all possible, reasonable savings. We have one of the best state workforces in America, and I am confident that all state employees will understand the need for this move and will cooperate.”

Brown said he expects to find additional savings throughout state government as his new appointees examine all areas of spending.

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Blake Scroggins of Sutter lifts Charlie Coburn of Upper Lake on his way to a third-period pin to win the 160-pound championship match during the 25th annual Middletown Invitational Wrestling Tournament held in Middletown, Calif., on Friday, January 7, and Saturday, January 8, 2011. Photo by Ed Oswalt.

MIDDLETOWN, Calif. – With hundreds of matches against dozens of wrestlers in 16 weight classes already in the books, it came down to the final contest of the entire two-day tournament before the Sutter Union Huskies (Sutter, Calif.) eked out the Upper Lake Cougars, 228-225, to take overall team first place in the 25th annual Middletown Invitational Wrestling Tournament held this weekend.

More than 300 raucous spectators packed the steamy Mustang gymnasium to watch 18 schools – including all five Lake county wrestling teams – compete head to head on three simultaneously-running tournament mats all day Friday and Saturday.

“We come here to win this tournament – that’s the bottom line,” fifth-year Cougars coach Ron Campos said of his runner-up wrestlers. “Our goal was to get five guys in the finals, and we got seven – a couple of the kids just stepped up.”

In a nail-biting thriller that was by far the closest match of the tournament finals, Upper Lake’s Ward Beecher secured a one-point escape with just one second left in regulation play to tie Lower Lake’s No. 1 seed Brandon Painchaud at 3-all.

Nick Davison of Upper Lake (above) approaches a pin of Max Campana of Cardinal Newman in the finals of the 140-pound division. Photo by Ed Oswalt.

After neither wrestler prevailed in either the sudden victory period nor the two subsequent tiebreaker periods, Beecher decisively scored a reverse in the final ultimate tiebreaker period to get the 5-3 win for the Cougars and help his team secure the overall runner-up tournament ranking.

Upper Lake had seven wrestlers in the finals – the most of any team in the tournament – and won three of those matches.

“Upper Lake is the top team in the county, in my opinion,” Middletown tournament director Troy Brierly said about the Cougars.

Upper Lake also took the 140-pound weight class, when No. 1 seed Nick Davison pinned Cardinal Newman’s Max Campana in the second period of their finals match.

In the girls' brackets, Upper Lake’s Emily Knispel pinned No. 1 seed Kim Agenbrood (Willits) in the second period to win the 125-145 weight class, and, after leading 2-0 going into the final period, Middletown’s Mary Mann lost to St. Helena’s Jessica Ardizzone 6-2 to finish second in the 108-pound weight class.

Emily Knispel of Upper Lake wins the girls' 125-145 pound division with this pin of Kim Agenbrood of Willits. Photo by Ed Oswalt.

Brierly spoke about the increasing popularity of wrestling for females, citing its new status as an Olympic sport and indicating “girls' participation in this sport has increased tenfold” since then.

According to Brierly, at least five of the 18 teams participating this year in the Middletown Invitational brought girls to compete in two girls-only weight brackets.

“And to be quite honest, I think in 10 years you’re going to see most schools with all-girl teams,” Brierly continued, citing area schools like Ukiah, San Leandro and Hayward that already field all-girl teams.

Among other Lake County school participants, the Clear Lake Cardinals – who finished third overall in tournament team competition with 149 points – competed in three final matches Saturday in Middletown and came away winning two.

Clear Lake No. 1 seed Matt Lockwood pinned Fort Bragg’s Jacob Richards in the first period to win the 171-pound weight class, and Mike Reynolds beat Middletown junior Paul Rogers – the only unseeded wrestler in the tournament to make it to the finals – 4-2 to take home first place in the 189-pound bracket for the Cardinals.

“He’s got a good heart,” Brierly said about the lone Middletown male wrestler to make it to the tournament finals, and noted he beat the bracket’s No. 1 and No. 4 seeds to get there.

Jeffrey Ponce of Kelseyville (wearing orange and black) pinned Jose Arreguin of Willits to take the championship in the 112-pound division. Photo by Ed Oswalt.

Jeffrey Ponce was the only Kelseyville Knight to compete in the finals, and pinned Jose Arreguin (Willits) in the second period of their match to win first place in the 112-pound weight class.

In addition to winning the overall team first place award, Sutter Union took home first place in four weight classes – more than any other team in the tournament – and won two other tournament awards.

“Our kids are doing well,” Sutter Union coach Ryan Reynolds said of his team prior to the start of the finals round. “We’ve got a great group of kids who are hard workers, so it’s awesome to see them be successful; you can’t ask for anything more.”

Sutter’s Justin Gildenmeister shut out Clear Lake’s Robby Hammers 8-0 in the 152-pound weight class final and won the tournament’s heavyweight MVP award, Blake Scroggins pinned Upper Lake’s Charlie Coburn in the third period to take the 160-pound bracket, No. 1 seed Alex Ryan pinned Kelseyville’s Jordan Brown in the first period to win the 215-pound class and Bryce Melani took home the tournament’s “fastest pin” award – nine seconds – and beat Lower Lake’s Cody Torres to win the 275-pound weight class.

Standouts for the Windsor Jaguars included Perez Perez, who beat Upper Lake’s Tony Lopez 13-5 to take first place in the 103-pound weight class, and Andres Torres, who won the lightweight tournament MVP award after pinning Upper Lake’s Travis Coleman in the first period of their final match to take first place in the 119-pound weight class.

In other finals, Ty Stevenson (McKinleyville) dominated Hunter Minton (Sutter Union) 15-0 to win by technical fall in the 125-pound bracket, Esparto’s Steven Juchneiwicz pinned Sutter Union’s Chris Steele at the start of their second period finals match to take the 145-pound bracket and Rio Nance (Willits) took the 130-pound weight class by shutting out Upper Lake’s Robert Simondi 6-0.

Santa Rosa’s Cardinal Newman Cardinals won the tournament’s sportsmanship award.

Saturday’s finals matches were preceded by a dedication ceremony for Middletown’s longtime wrestling coach Dennis Jensen, who started the Middletown wrestling team back in 1982. Starting next year, the tournament will be known as the Dennis Jensen Invitational.

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Middletown High wresting team founder Dennis Jensen (center, with microphone) is surrounded by former Middletown wrestlers and coaches in a ceremony renaming the Mustang Invitational wresting tournament in his honor. Photo by Ed Oswalt.

What's that behind Titan? It's another of Saturn's moons: Tethys. The robotic Cassini spacecraft orbiting Saturn captured the heavily cratered Tethys slipping behind Saturn's atmosphere-shrouded Titan late last year. The largest crater on Tethys, Odysseus, is easily visible on the distant moon. Titan shows not only its thick and opaque orange lower atmosphere, but also an unusual upper layer of blue-tinted haze. Tethys, at about 2 million kilometers distant, was twice as far from Cassini as was Titan when the above image was taken. In 2004, Cassini released the Hyugens probe which landed on Titan and provided humanity's first views of the surface of the Solar System's only known lake-bearing moon. Photo taken on Jan. 27, 2010. Credit: Cassini Imaging Team, ISS, JPL, ESA and NASA.

“… we are children equally of the earth and the sky.” – Carl Sagan

In sci-fi movies, the first stirrings of life happen in a gooey pool of primordial ooze. But new research suggests the action started instead in the stormy skies above.

The idea sprang from research led by University of Arizona's Sarah Hörst. Her team recreated, in the lab, chemical reactions transpiring above Saturn's largest moon, Titan.

“We're finding that the kind of chemistry an atmosphere can do has intriguing implications for life on Earth and elsewhere in the solar system,” said Hörst. “Titan's skies might do some interesting chemistry – manufacture the building blocks of life.”

Hörst and her colleagues mixed up a brew of molecules (carbon monoxide(1), molecular nitrogen and methane) found in Titan's atmosphere. Then they zapped the concoction with radio waves – a proxy for the sun's radiation.

What happened next didn't make the scientists shout “it's alive!” but it was intriguing. A rich array of complex molecules emerged, including amino acids and nucleotides.

“Our experiment is the first proof that you can make the precursors for life up in an atmosphere, without any liquid water. This means life's building blocks could form in the air and then rain down from the skies!”

Titan is unique in our solar system. Dotted with lakes and dunes and shrouded in a thick atmosphere of nitrogen and methane, it's a frozen time capsule of early Earth. While the liquid on Titan's surface is methane instead of water, it's the only body in the solar system other than Earth with liquid on its surface.

“We didn't start out to prove we could make 'life' in Titan's skies,” explained Hörst. “We were trying to solve a mystery. The Cassini spacecraft detected large molecules in Titan's atmosphere, and we wanted to find out what they could be.”

In hopes of obtaining clues to the mystery molecules, Hörst used computer codes to search the lab results for matches to known molecular formulas. She decided, on a whim, to look for nucleotides and amino acids.

“When I pressed the enter key, I expected a big 'nope, not there.'”

She left for a break, and got a big surprise upon returning.

“The computer was printing out such long lists I thought I must have made a mistake!”

But there was no mistake.

“We had about 5,000 molecules containing the right stuff: carbon, nitrogen, hydrogen and oxygen. We knew we had the elements for organic molecules, but we couldn't tell how they were arranged. It's kind of like Legos – the more there are, the more possible structures can be made. And they can be put together in many different ways.”

Among the structures identified in the lab experiment so far are five nucleotides found in DNA and RNA, and two amino acids. But she says there could be more amino acids in the mix.

How could Titan's atmosphere generate them?

A window into Titan