KELSEYVILLE, Calif. – Two proposed American Viticultural Areas (AVAs) in Lake County are a step closer to becoming established, the Lake County Winegrape Commission has learned.

Such designations can be very beneficial to the county’s wine industry, according to consultants who have been seeking the establishment of the AVAs.

The Alcohol and Tobacco Tax and Trade Bureau (TTB) of the U.S. Department of the Treasury recently informed the commission that it has completed its initial review of the petitions for the “Kelsey Bench – Lake County” and “Big Valley District – Lake County” AVAs.

In a letter dated Jan. 30, 1012, Gerald Isenberg, TTB director of the Regulations and Rulings Division, informed the commission that the petitions for establishment of the AVAs “meet TTB’s regulatory requirements for AVA petitions.”

The letter goes on to say that the TTB has determined that the petitions “contain sufficient supporting information for the TTB to proceed with rulemaking for the proposed AVAs.”

The news has given the commission hope for succeeding with this project, said Shannon Gunier, president of the Lake County Winegrape Commission.

There are more than 50 winegrape growers in the Big Valley area who stand to gain much deserved notoriety for their unique terroir if the AVA designation is obtained, she said.

The commission president noted that members of the organization, led by consultants Terry Dereniuk and Rick Gunier, have been working toward this goal for more than two years.

“We are thrilled that we got this far,” said Rick Gunier of CPI Marketing. “The fact that the TTB acknowledges we have written a worthwhile argument for these AVAs is the first big hurdle. Although we still have to remain optimistic (that final approval will occur), this step goes a long way in recognizing that Big Valley and Kelsey Bench are distinctive AVAs from which premium wines are produced.”

There are several advantages to establishing an AVA, according to Dereniuk, commenting on the news from the TTB.

She said she sees each of the AVAs as providing benefits on three levels.

The first is to the winegrape grower. Because an AVA defines the distinguishing features of an area, the farmer growing grapes within the AVA “will have more of a story to tell,” she said. That AVA allows the grower to define his or her story and “tie it to the land.”

The second level of benefit is for the winery that uses grapes from the AVA. With the winery, the message or story is “amplified” and the winery can use it to distinguish itself from other wineries “down the road.”'

The consumers make up the third level of benefit, said Dereniuk. “They want to know where their food, and that includes wine, comes from,” she said, “not only from the perspective of food safety and sustainability but also about the unique characteristics that define grapes grown in a particular AVA.”

“After 20 years of growing premium winegrapes, the two areas are finally getting the recognition they deserve with their unique attributes,” Rick Gunier noted, “the Big Valley region with its fertile soil from the old lake bed and the Kelsey Bench region with its rich volcanic soil resulting from some of the most recent flow from Mount Konocti.”

The attributes are detailed in one of the Talking Points brochures created by the commission.

It states, “Big Valley’s mix of gravel, clay and loam, bright sunlight from the 1,400 feet elevation, and cool nights produces remarkable Sauvignon Blancs, establishing Lake County as one of the premier California regions for the varietal. Volcanic Kelsey Bench and the gravel seams in Big Valley produce intense and balanced Zinfandels and Cabernet Francs. Big Valley growers were among the first visionaries to discover the region’s winegrape potential and began planting vineyards in the 1960s, the first in Lake County since Prohibition.”

An added benefit to the designation, says Rick Gunier, is that as Lake County winegrape acreage approaches 9,000 acres, future wines that carry the Big Valley – Lake County and Kelsey Bench – Lake County AVA distinction will help sub-appellate wines get the credit they deserve.

Lake County is currently home to the Red Hills Lake County Appellation, the High Valley Appellation, Guenoc Appellation and Lake County/Clear Lake Appellation.

An appellation is “a winegrowing region with officially recognized boundaries,” states information on the Appellation America Web site, http://wine.appellationamerica.com.

An American Viticultural Area is one of three classes of appellations. The Web site notes there are 311 officially recognized wine growing regions in North America, of which only 191 are AVAs in the United States.

Additional information about Lake County appellations and the winegrape industry can be found on the Lake County Winegrape Commission Web site, www.lakecountywinegrape.org.

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CLEARLAKE, Calif. – Two United States congressmen, six panelists, representatives of wilderness organizations and nearly 200 community members packed the Highlands Senior Center in Clearlake last Thursday for an informative town hall meeting on the proposed Berryessa Snow Mountain National Conservation Area.

The meeting was arranged by the environmental group Tuleyome, which along with other groups such as the California Wilderness Coalition, was instrumental in developing the proposal.

The proposal is to move existing federal land into a single unit with a "National Conservation Area" (NCA) designation.

An 11-member advisory committee, consisting of representatives of counties, wilderness organizations and the public, would be formed to create a management plan.

The NCA management designation is used to conserve public lands for present and future use, and is given to areas of special scientific, cultural, ecological or historic significance.

The proposed area extends 100 miles from Lake Berryessa at its southern end to north of Snow Mountain and consists of several separate pieces, the largest being in Mendocino National Forest east and north of Clear Lake.

The land is currently administered by the National Forest Service, the Bureau of Land Management (BLM) and the Bureau of Reclamation, and includes the Cedar Roughs, Cache Creek and Snow Mountain Wilderness areas.

The designation would make the area eligible for federal funds available only to units of the National Landscape Conservation System.

In the first portion of the meeting, each panelist spent about five minutes answering a question from moderator Peter Windrem.

The panel consisted of Ed Robey, Lake County Sierra Club chair and former Lake County Supervisor; Denise Rushing, Lake County Supervisor and organic gardener at Dancing TreePeople Farm near Upper Lake; Judy Ahmann, past president of California CattleWomen; Clay Shannon of Shannon  Ridge and Vigilance Wineries; Cecilia Aguilar-Curry, mayor pro-tem of the city of Winters; and Rich Burns, project manager at the BLM Ukiah office.

The two congressmen present were Mike Thompson of California District 1, and John Garamendi of California District 10.  Garamendi serves on the House Natural Resources Committee and was deputy secretary of the U.S. Interior Department under President Bill Clinton.

Thompson and Garamendi offered insights into the legal process and its ramifications.

In describing what makes the area special, Robey recalled explorations of swimming holes and springs as a youth. Botanists consider the area special for its large number of endemic species, particularly those adapted for serpentine soils.

Rushing and Aguilar-Curry emphasized the potential economic gain from developing the area as an attraction for tourists, with Rushing referring to Costa Rica as a model for ecotourism.

Aguilar-Curry pointed out her town of Winters is about 10 miles from the southern tip of the proposed NCA, and that it allows the “Gateway to Lake Berryessa” to also consider itself to be the gateway to the entire region.

Ahmann emphasized recreational opportunities, such as hiking on trails developed by Tuleyome. She and her husband granted easement on part of their 1,275-acre Running Deer Ranch to allow access to hiking on the east side of Lake Berryessa.

After moderator Windrem’s questions, he remainder of the two-hour meeting was devoted to questions and comments from the public.

Many questions concerned the Walker Ridge Wind Project. Burns answered that as the result of a process which included public input, Walker Ridge – which lies within the proposed NCA – was approved for a wind electricity generation plant of up to 70 megawatts.

The NCA designation would not change that, and another round of public input would be required
to rescind the approval, Burns said.

Lake County Agriculture Commissioner Steve Hajik expressed concern about the affect of the NCA designation on the cattle business.

The panel and Ryan Henson of the California Wilderness Coalition said no existing cattle grazing would be disallowed.

It was the theme of many of the panel's answers that the regulations are crafted specifically for this area, and that in particular no roads would be closed, and use of herbicides to control invasive weeds would still be allowed.

The Tuleyome organization is planning more informational meetings, including one in Napa in March.

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LAKEPORT, Calif. – A man reported missing last week is safe, police said Saturday.

Darayn S. Schweizer, 44, of Moses Lake, Wash., was reported missing from Lakeport last Thursday,
Feb. 23, after he was last seen in the area of Third and Park streets, as Lake County News has reported.

The Lakeport Police Department reported that officers received a telephone call at approximately 4:45 p.m. Saturday from Santa Cruz County Behavior Health Unit confirming Schweizer was there and in good health.

Schweizer was reportedly picked up by a relative from the behavior health unit and returned home, police said.

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LAKEPORT, Calif. – The Lakeport Fire District recently received a $20,000 donation from Sutter Lakeside Hospital for their Ambulance Replacement Program.

This program is in place to raise funds to purchase a new ambulance unit for the fire district.

“We currently have four ambulance units in service,” said Lakeport Fire Chief Ken Wells. “But the issue is that each of these units has 100,000 to 200,000-plus miles on them and requires continual maintenance.”

In 2011, Lakeport Fire transported more than 1,900 patients, 573 of them to medical facilities out of Lake County for specialty medical care needs.

“Some days our transporting ambulances travel over 500 to 600 miles a day,” said Fire Captain/Paramedic Bob Ray. “The wear and tear on these vehicles has created daily maintenance work. Although the units might look shiny and new on the outside, it’s the inner mechanisms that are starting to wear out.”

The funds donated by Sutter Lakeside will help replace one of the current ambulances already in service.

Wells and Ray are looking into the possibility of purchasing what they call “retrofit” of one of the current units.

This process will save $20,000 to $30,000 and allow the district to recycle many of the parts on the unit which are still viable.

“It is the engine and mechanical parts that need replacement,” said Ray. “There is an option to purchase a new chassis and engine, and then have the ‘box’ (section where the patient sits) repaired and cleaned up. We like the idea of recycling as much as possible while saving our tax paying community members money.”

Lakeport Fire currently transports their 911 calls to Sutter Lakeside Hospital and answers all of Sutter Lakeside’s discharge patient transportation needs to local care facilities, as well as about half of the out of county transports. Both of these account for more than 1,300 transports annually.

“The hospital is excited to provide the kick-off donation for the Lakeport Fire Ambulance Replacement Program,” stated Sutter Lakeside Hospital Chief Administrative Officer Siri Nelson. “One of my own family members recently needed ambulance transportation service to the hospital, so I know firsthand the importance of receiving reliable ambulance transportation help when you need it.”

“We hope that other community groups and individuals will join us in our efforts to meet the needs of the fire district,” continued Nelson. “The entire community benefits from the services and I believe we have a responsibility to help take care of those that take care of us.”

If you would like to make a donation toward the purchase of a new ambulance for the Lakeport Fire District, please specify that the funds be attributed toward the “LFD Ambulance Replacement Program.”

Donations may be made in person or by mail to the Lakeport Fire District, 445 North Main St., Lakeport.

For more information, call Fire Chief Ken Wells at 707-263-4396.

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If you think Americans consume a lot of bananas – more than 26 pounds per person per year – try living in Uganda, where the average person consumes more than 500 pounds of the creamy fruit!

They’re beloved worldwide, which is reflected in their ranking among agricultural crops: fourth in global production, behind only wheat, rice and corn.

There are two distinct species of bananas: the sweet, which is usually eaten out of hand or in desserts, and the plantain, which is starchy and must be cooked prior to eating.

Plantains are typically treated more as a vegetable than a fruit and have a higher level of beta carotene than sweet bananas. They’ll be covered in a future column.

While bananas abound in hundreds of edible varieties, the banana most widely sold in supermarkets is the Cavendish.

In addition to the yellow skin of the Cavendish and the two or so other popular varieties, sweet bananas can sport red, pink, purple and black tones when ripe.

Red bananas, also known as “apple bananas,” are about four inches long and are becoming popular as an exotic variety.

Red bananas are greenish-maroon before ripening, but turn a beautiful shade of bronzy-red when ripe. They’re softer and sweeter than the typical banana and have a berry-like flavor component.

As well as varying in color, bananas come in a number of different sizes, including the miniature varieties now marketed in some areas. These have a tangy flavor when yellow and, like their larger cousins, become quite sweet when the skin speckles.

In a couple of ways, bananas are not quite what they seem.

First of all, botanically they’re not a fruit at all; they’re considered a berry.

Secondly, while the plant they grow on is called a tree (and is just as high), its trunk is a tightly-rolled bundle of leaves, making it the world’s largest herb.

I can add to this that bananas are – surprisingly – naturally radioactive, as are other foods high in potassium, such as potatoes, kidney beans, sunflower seeds and nuts. They contain large stores of potassium, specifically potassium-40, which is a radioactive isotope.

But don’t let that stop you from eating them. They’re perfectly healthy.

Bananas are thought to have originated in Malaysia about 4,000 years ago. From there, they spread throughout the Philippines and India, following later to Africa.

The Portuguese explorers who found bananas in Africa brought them to the Americas, where most of today’s commercial crop is grown.

The fruit wasn’t brought to the United States for sale until the latter part of the 19th century, and then they were only available in seaport towns where the banana schooners docked.

They became more widely available in the U.S. with the advent of refrigeration and rapid transit in the 20th century, leading to their status as our nation’s favorite fruit, with more bananas consumed here than oranges and apples combined.

Bananas, which grow in most tropical and subtropical regions throughout the world, are harvested year-round. They’re picked green since they don’t ripen on the tree.

If left on the tree, they’ll eventually split open, exposing a pulp which has a different texture and flavor than ripe bananas.

The bundles of harvested bananas are called hands, and the ten or twenty individual bananas in each hand is called a finger.

There are thousands of varieties of bananas, but most are unpalatable. Wild bananas are filled with large seeds, making them difficult to eat.

While commercial bananas do have seeds, they’re so small they’re unnoticeable. Their size also diminishes their function, meaning they’re not useful for the plant’s reproduction.

Most commercial banana plants are the Cavendish variety and are perfect clones of one another, with the majority originating from one single plant from Southeast Asia. This makes them extremely susceptible to being wiped out worldwide in a short period of time.

Currently, black Sigatoka fungus is threatening global banana crops, particularly on non-organic plantations where diseases and pests flourish without a rich diversity of soil life.

While bananas look resilient, they’re actually quite fragile and care should be taken when storing them.

Choose bananas based on how quickly you’ll use them. I prefer bananas firm, rather than overly ripe, so I almost always choose those that are green, knowing they’ll ripen up soon enough at home.

If you need to hasten the ripening process, place them in a paper bag or wrap them in newspaper. If an apple is added, they ripen even more quickly.

On the other hand, to slow this process down, allow air to circulate around them as much as possible, storing them on a banana hook or in a mesh container. Spread the bananas out to allow for maximum air flow.

Contrary to popular opinion, bananas can be stored in the fridge. The skin will darken – even turning black – but the flesh inside is protected.

Be cautious, however, about when you put them in there, making sure they are at the stage of ripeness you desire. Exposure to the cold will interrupt the ripening process, so much so that it likely will not resume once they’re pulled out.

If you find yourself with too many bananas on the express train to the overripe station, freezing is a great way to preserve them for future use.

I remove the peel and wrap each banana in waxed paper. I then store the individually wrapped bananas in a zipper-sealed bag in the freezer, where they should keep well for about six months.

These are absolutely wonderful for making smoothies thick, frosty and hearty. You can also cut the frozen bananas up to blend with plain yogurt for a naturally sweet, ice cream-like treat.

They’re perfect for your favorite banana bread or muffin recipe, as well as any other application where bananas are used mashed.

If you’re lucky enough to get your hands on fresh banana leaves, use them to wrap foods for steaming. Fresh fish is especially nice when prepared this way.

Bananas are one of our best sources of dietary potassium, which supports cardiovascular health, lowers blood pressure and prevents muscle cramps.

Bananas replenish necessary nutrients burned during physical exercise, such as glycogen, body fluids and carbohydrates.

In addition to potassium, they’re a great source of dietary fiber, vitamin B6, manganese and vitamin C, and they’ve been shown to help prevent stomach ulcers.

As to today’s recipe, I searched high and low to find a savory application for bananas that didn’t involve deep frying, and I came close with the sweet potato dish below.

Bananas, sweet potatoes, spices and nuts are a wonderful combination, and though the recipe contains some butter, it’s otherwise a healthful one.

The original recipe calls for pecans, but I substituted walnuts. Not only are they more economical, they’re delicious and abundant in Lake County.

And before I go, if you’re feeling down, it turns out that eating a banana may be just the ticket for elevating one’s mood.

It’s the only fruit that contains both tryptophan (an amino acid) and vitamin B6, a combination which helps the body produce serotonin, a natural chemical thought to contribute to feelings of well being and happiness.

Who would have thought that a simple banana could give Prozac a run for its money?

Sweet potato puree with bananas and buttered walnuts

6 pounds (about 6) sweet potatoes
2 ripe bananas, skins on
2 ounces (1/2 stick) unsalted butter, softened
½ cup pure maple syrup
2 tablespoons ground cinnamon
2 teaspoons pumpkin pie spice
½ teaspoon salt
For the buttered walnuts
1 pound walnuts
½ cup unsalted butter
About 1 tablespoon salt
2 tablespoons brown sugar

Preheat oven to 425 degrees Fahrenheit.

Pierce the sweet potatoes with a fork and bake until tender, about one hour. Roast the bananas, with the skins on, for the last 15 minutes of cooking. When cool enough to handle, peel the potatoes and bananas and transfer to a food processor. Pulse until the potatoes are chunky.

Add the butter and maple syrup, puree until smooth. Add the cinnamon, pumpkin pie spice and salt. Puree to combine. Transfer to a shallow baking pan and smooth out the surface with a spatula.

In a skillet, cook the nuts in butter over low heat and sprinkle with salt. Sauté until well-coated, stirring occasionally, for about five minutes. Transfer the nuts to paper towels to drain.

Arrange nuts on top of potato puree and sprinkle with brown sugar. Bake at 300 degrees Fahrenheit until heated through, about 20 minutes.

This recipe makes six to eight servings and its inspiration is courtesy of www.FoodNetwork.com.

Esther’s note: Pumpkin pie spice is a combination of cinnamon, ginger, cloves, nutmeg and occasionally allspice. If it’s not already in your cupboard, you can make a homemade version by combining 1 teaspoon ground cinnamon, ½ teaspoon each ground ginger and nutmeg, and ¼ teaspoon ground cloves to substitute for the 2 teaspoons of pumpkin pie spice.

Esther Oertel, a freelance writer, cooking teacher, and speaker, is passionate about local produce and all foods in the vegetable kingdom. She welcomes your questions and comments and may be reached at This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it..

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An agricultural fire that got out of control last Thursday in Napa County came under full containment Saturday morning, fire officials said.

The Soda Fire burned approximately 200 acres in the 3200 block of Soda Canyon Road, according to Cal Fire. No structures were burned.

On Saturday, approximately 95 fire personnel, five engines, five fire crews and one bulldozer from Cal Fire, Napa County Fire and the California Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation were on scene, taking part in patrolling and mop up, Cal Fire said.

The rugged and steep terrain, and Thursday's winds, had made fighting the fire difficult, according to Cal Fire.

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 Tumblr at www.lakeconews.tumblr.com, on Google+, on Facebook at www.facebook.com/pages/Lake-County-News/143156775604?ref=mf and on YouTube at www.youtube.com/user/LakeCoNews .

LAKE COUNTY, Calif. – Five adult cats are offered for adoption at the county’s animal shelter this week.

An orange and a gray tabby, two calicos and a friendly gray cat all are waiting for new homes.

Cats that are adopted from Lake County Animal Care and Control are either neutered or spayed and microchipped before being released to their new owner. License fees do not apply to residents of the cities of Lakeport or Clearlake .

If you're looking for a new companion, visit the shelter. There are many great pets there, hoping you'll choose them.

The following cats at the Lake County Animal Care and Control shelter have been cleared for adoption (other cats pictured on the animal control Web site that are not listed here are still “on hold”).

Female Siamese mix

This 1-year-old female domestic short hair is a Siamese mix.

She has “lynx point” coloring and blue eyes.

Find her in cat room kennel No. 59, ID No. 31914.

Long-haired tortie

This female domestic long hair mix is called a “dilute tortie” for her unique calico coloring.

Shelter staff have not provided an age estimate for her.

She is in cat room kennel No. 70, ID No. 31900.

Gray male tabby

This gray male tabby is estimated to be 4 years old.

He is a domestic long hair mix, and is not yet altered.

Find him in cat room kennel No. 31, ID No. 31885.

Orange tabby

This male orange tabby is estimated to be 6 months old.

He’s a domestic medium hair mix. He is not yet altered.

Find him in cat room kennel No. 29, ID No. 31840.

Long-haired calico

This female calico is a year and a half old.

She has a long coat and is not yet spayed.

She is in cat room kennel No. 17, ID No. 31786.

Kevin

This is Kevin, and he’s a fun guy.

He loves to cuddle and is personable. He would prefer to be an only cat.

Because Kevin is already neutered, his adoption fee is only $45, or $35 for seniors.

He’s in cat room kennel No. 5, ID No. 31753.

Adoptable cats also can be seen at http://www.co.lake.ca.us/Government/Directory/Animal_Care_And_Control/Adopt/Cats_and_Kittens.htm or at www.petfinder.com .

Please note: Cats listed at the shelter's Web page that are said to be “on hold” are not yet cleared for adoption.

To fill out an adoption application online visit http://www.co.lake.ca.us/Government/Directory/Animal_Care_And_Control/Adopt/Dog___Cat_Adoption_Application.htm .

Lake County Animal Care and Control is located at 4949 Helbush in Lakeport, next to the Hill Road Correctional Facility.

Office hours are Monday through Friday, 8 a.m. to 5 p.m., and 1 p.m. to 3 p.m., Saturday. The shelter is open from 10:30 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. Monday through Friday and on Saturday from 1 p.m. to 3 p.m.

Visit the shelter online at http://www.co.lake.ca.us/Government/Directory/Animal_Care_And_Control.htm .

For more information call Lake County Animal Care and Control at 707-263-0278.

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LAKE COUNTY, Calif. – The county’s animal shelter has puppies and adult dogs cleared to go to new homes this week.

The dogs this week include border collie, boxer, shepherd, Chihuahua and lab mixes, a “min pin” and an American bulldog mix.

Dogs that are adopted from Lake County Animal Care and Control are either neutered or spayed, microchipped and, if old enough, given a rabies shot and county license before being released to their new owner. License fees do not apply to residents of the cities of Lakeport or Clearlake.

If you're looking for a new companion, visit the shelter. There are many great pets hoping you'll choose them.

The following dogs at the Lake County Animal Care and Control shelter have been cleared for adoption (additional dogs on the animal control Web site not listed are still “on hold”).

“Buddy”

“Buddy” is a 1-year-old male Chihuahua mix.

He’s got a short black coat with white markings, and is not yet neutered.

He’s in kennel No. 12, ID No. 31899.

Shepherd-lab mix pup

This 9-week-old puppy is a German Shepherd-Labrador Retriever mix.

She has a short tan coat and a long tail.

Find her in kennel No. 15c, ID No. 31806.

“Delilah”

“Delilah” is a 2-year-old female Labrador Retriever-boxer mix.

She has black coloring and a short coat.

She is in kennel No. 16, ID No. 31916.

Min pin mix

This 1 year old male is a Manchester Terrier-miniature Pinscher mix.

He has a short black and tan coat and weighs 21 pounds.

He’s in kennel No. 14, ID 31764.

Border collie mix puppies

These 11-week-old border collie mix puppies are all males.

They have short coats and black and white coloring.

The puppies can be found in kennel No. 15a-d, ID No. 31657.

American bulldog mix

This female American bulldog mix is 2 years old.

She has brown and brindle coloring, weighs 80 pounds and has been spayed.

She is in kennel No. 13, ID No. 31784.

Adoptable dogs also can be seen at http://www.co.lake.ca.us/Government/Directory/Animal_Care_And_Control/Adopt/Dogs_and_Puppies.htm or at www.petfinder.com.

Please note: Dogs listed at the shelter's Web page that are said to be “on hold” are not yet cleared for adoption.

To fill out an adoption application online visit http://www.co.lake.ca.us/Government/Directory/Animal_Care_And_Control/Adopt/Dog___Cat_Adoption_Application.htm.

Lake County Animal Care and Control is located at 4949 Helbush in Lakeport, next to the Hill Road Correctional Facility.

Office hours are Monday through Friday, 8 a.m. to 5 p.m., and 1 p.m. to 3 p.m., Saturday. The shelter is open from 10:30 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. Monday through Friday and on Saturday from 1 p.m. to 3 p.m.

Visit the shelter online at http://www.co.lake.ca.us/Government/Directory/Animal_Care_And_Control.htm.

For more information call Lake County Animal Care and Control at 707-263-0278.

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With a pair of bug-eyes swiveling on a stalk nearly 8 feet off the ground, the six-wheeled, 1800-pound Mars rover Curiosity doesn’t look much like a human being.

Yet, right now, the mini-Cooper-sized rover is playing the role of stunt double for NASA astronauts.

“Curiosity is riding to Mars in the belly of a spacecraft, where an astronaut would be,” explained Don Hassler of the Southwest Research Institute in Boulder, Colorado. “This means the rover experiences deep-space radiation storms in the same way that a real astronaut would.”

Indeed, on Jan. 27, Curiosity’s spacecraft was hit by the most intense solar radiation storm since 2005.

The event began when sunspot AR1402 produced an X2-class solar flare. On the “Richter Scale of Solar Flares,” X-flares are the most powerful kind.

The explosion accelerated a fusillade of protons and electrons to nearly light speed; these subatomic bullets were guided by the sun’s magnetic field almost directly toward Curiosity.

When the particles hit the outer walls of the spacecraft, they shattered other atoms and molecules in their path, producing a secondary spray of radiation that Curiosity both absorbed and measured.

“Curiosity was in no danger,” said Hassler. “In fact, we intended all along for the rover to experience these storms en route to Mars.”

Unlike previous Mars rovers, Curiosity is equipped with a Radiation Assessment Detector.

The instrument, nicknamed “RAD,” counts cosmic rays, neutrons, protons and other particles over a wide range of biologically-interesting energies.

RAD’s prime mission is to investigate the radiation environment on the surface of Mars, but researchers have turned it on early so that it can also probe the radiation environment on the way to Mars as well.

Curiosity’s location inside the spacecraft is key to the experiment.

“We have a pretty good idea what the radiation environment is like outside,” said Hassler, who is the principal investigator for RAD. “Inside the spacecraft, however, is still a mystery.”

Even supercomputers have trouble calculating exactly what happens when high-energy cosmic rays and solar energetic particles hit the walls of a spacecraft. One particle hits another; fragments fly; the fragments themselves crash into other molecules.

“It’s very complicated,” said Hassler. “Curiosity is giving us a chance to actually measure what happens.”

Even when the sun is quiet, Curiosity is bombarded by a slow drizzle of cosmic rays – high-energy particles accelerated by distant black holes and supernova explosions.

In the aftermath of the Jan. 27 X-flare, RAD detected a surge of particles several times more numerous than the usual cosmic ray counts.

Hassler’s team is still analyzing the data to understand what it is telling them about the response of the spacecraft to the storm.

More X-flares will help by adding to the data set. Hassler expects the sun to cooperate, because the solar cycle is trending upward toward a maximum expected in early 2013.

As of February 2012, “we still have six months to go before we reach Mars. That’s plenty of time for more solar storms,” Hassler said.

A stunt double’s work is never done.

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

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Earth's clouds got a little lower – about 1 percent on average – during the first decade of this century, finds a new NASA-funded university study based on NASA satellite data.

The results have potential implications for future global climate.

Scientists at the University of Auckland in New Zealand analyzed the first 10 years of global cloud-top height measurements (from March 2000 to February 2010) from the Multi-angle Imaging SpectroRadiometer (MISR) instrument on NASA's Terra spacecraft.

The study, published recently in the journal Geophysical Research Letters, revealed an overall trend of decreasing cloud height.

Global average cloud height declined by around one percent over the decade, or by around 100 to 130 feet (30 to 40 meters). Most of the reduction was due to fewer clouds occurring at very high altitudes.

Lead researcher Roger Davies said that while the record is too short to be definitive, it provides a hint that something quite important might be going on.

Longer-term monitoring will be required to determine the significance of the observation for global temperatures.

A consistent reduction in cloud height would allow Earth to cool to space more efficiently, reducing the surface temperature of the planet and potentially slowing the effects of global warming.

This may represent a "negative feedback" mechanism – a change caused by global warming that works to counteract it.

"We don't know exactly what causes the cloud heights to lower," said Davies. "But it must be due to a change in the circulation patterns that give rise to cloud formation at high altitude."

NASA's Terra spacecraft is scheduled to continue gathering data through the remainder of this decade.

Scientists will continue to monitor the MISR data closely to see if this trend continues.

MISR, built and managed by NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory, Pasadena, Calif., is one of five instruments on NASA's Terra spacecraft, launched in December 1999.

The instrument uses nine cameras at different angles to produce a stereo image of clouds around the globe, allowing measurement of their altitude and movement. For more on MISR, visit: http://www-misr.jpl.nasa.gov/ . For more on Terra, visit: http://terra.nasa.gov/ .

Another NASA mission that studies clouds is NASA's CloudSat, also built by JPL and launched in 2006.

CloudSat is the first satellite that uses an advanced radar to "slice" through clouds to see their vertical structure, providing a completely new observational capability from space.

CloudSat's primary goal is to furnish data needed to evaluate and improve the way clouds are represented in global models, thereby contributing to better predictions of clouds and thus to their poorly understood role in climate change and the cloud-climate feedback.

For information on NASA's CloudSat mission, visit: http://cloudsat.atmos.colostate.edu/ and http://www.nasa.gov/cloudsat .

For more information about the new study visit http://www.auckland.ac.nz/uoa/home/news/template/news_item.jsp?cid=466683 .

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On Friday, Congressman Mike Thompson (D-St. Helena) demanded that service members who were subjected to the Department of Defense’s (DOD) chemical weapon testing be able to receive full medical care and disability compensation for their service-connected medical conditions.

Thompson provided testimony along with former senior Navy officer and Humboldt County resident Jack Alderson at a field hearing in Sacramento of the Institute of Medicine Study Committee, which is charged with investigating the potential health impacts of the chemical weapons.

In late 2002, the DOD revealed for the first time that between 1962 and 1974 it had tested harmful chemical and biological agents by spraying them on ships and sailors.

These tests – known as Project 112, which included Project Shipboard Hazard and Defense (SHAD) – exposed at least 6,000 service members without their knowledge to harmful chemical and biological weapons and included some of the most deadly chemicals on Earth: Vx Nerve Gas, Sarin Nerve Gas and E. coli.

Many veterans who were subjected to chemical tests as part of Project 112/SHAD have developed serious medical issues but do not currently receive priority care from the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) or disability benefits because the VA does not officially recognize any long-term health consequences from exposure to the chemical agents from these specific tests.

In 2010, Congress passed a law requiring the VA to contract with the Institute of Medicine (IOM) to consider the health impact on veterans that were part of Project 112/SHAD.

If the scientific study by the IOM finds a connection between the chemical testing and long-term health consequences, the VA will likely be compelled to provide all service members exposed to this testing priority medical care and full disability compensation. Thompson today submitted testimony to the committee.

“Our country must ensure that any service member who has become sick or developed a disability because of these tests is provided with the treatment they deserve and benefits they’ve earned,” said Thompson. “We cannot wait any longer. Many brave men who served our country are now sick or have passed away because of Project 112’s chemical and biological testing. It is our duty to right this wrong and get our service members the care they need.”

In 2002, Congress directed the IOM to conduct a study of the health effects associated with the chemicals used during Project 112/SHAD.  

Numerous reports by other agencies and departments within the U.S. government, such as the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, say exposure to these substances have long-term health consequences.  

However, after five years of research the IOM study found no connection existed between the substances tested and the health problems now widely seen among known SHAD veterans.  

As a result, the VA does not recognize any long-term health consequences from the Project 112/SHAD tests.

The IOM has since conceded that the first study did not adequately sample the full universe of Project 112/SHAD veterans, and that the study panel could not obtain sufficient information to assess levels of exposure to specific agents.

The initial study also failed to account for the job and duty assignments of various personnel on board all the ships and tugs involved in the chemical testing. Because of this, the first study failed to take into account the different levels of exposure.  

For instance, some personnel were exposed during training and testing to multiple weapons, experimental vaccines, trace elements, stimulants, and decontamination agents, whereas other personnel would have had limited exposure because of where they were stationed. For these reasons, Congress passed a 2010 law requiring a second study.

Alderson was in charge of five different light tug operations from 1964 to 1967. As a senior officer, Alderson was notified of some military chemical tests performed on animals on his ship while he was in service.

Once he started getting sick, he asked Thompson to investigate whether or not there could be a link between his health problems and Project 112/SHAD.

It was found that the DOD performed experimental tests by spraying live chemical and biological agents on ships and sailors to test the Navy’s vulnerability to toxic warfare.  

Alderson commanded some of the ships used in these experiments. He has since been diagnosed with malignant melanoma, several types of skin cancers, prostate cancer and doctors have found four occurrences of Asbestos in his lungs.

“Jack, and all the people who served with him, deserve to know the truth,” said Thompson. “If we don’t get these service members the care they need, then how can we ask our current service members to put their lives on the line knowing that harm from the enemy may not be the only danger they encounter? It is imperative for us to right our governments past wrongs and help these brave veterans who were unknowingly subjected to these tests.”

For more information about Project SHAD and Alderson's story, see this Lake County News story from May 2008: http://bit.ly/A55Q89.

For more information on the IOM study click here: http://iom.edu/Activities/Veterans/SHADII.aspx.

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LAKEPORT, Calif. – On Friday, opening arguments took place in the trial of two young local men accused of killing a 4-year-old child and shooting five others in the worst single shooting incident in the city of Clearlake’s history.

Paul William Braden, 21, and Orlando Joseph Lopez, 24, each are facing 15 counts for the June 18, 2011, shooting that killed Skyler Rapp; injured and permanently disabled his mother, Desiree Kirby; and wounded Kirby's boyfriend, Ross Sparks and his brother, Andrew Sparks, and friends Ian Griffith and Joseph Armijo.

After weeks of jury selection, two separate jury panels have been seated, one to decide on each man’s case.

A third man, Kevin Ray Stone, 29, originally was charged with murder in the case as well, but last November he reached an agreement  in which he pleaded no contest to conspiracy to commit robbery, accessory to murder and possession of a .22-caliber rifle by a prohibited person, as Lake County News has reported.

District Attorney Don Anderson told Lake County News on Friday that Stone has not yet been sentenced. Based on previous statements in court, Stone is facing up to 10 years in prison and $64,000 in fines.

Anderson said during opening statements Friday that Stone will appear as a prosecution witness.

Judge Doris Shockley from Yolo County has been brought in to preside over the trial, which is anticipated to be lengthy, in Department 1 in Lake County Superior Court.

Shockley told jurors Friday that the proceedings are right on time, with presentation of evidence and testimony expected to be finished the first week of May.

During the morning session, the “orange” jury, which will decide on Braden’s case, heard opening arguments from Braden’s attorney Doug Rhoades and Anderson.

In the afternoon, Anderson and Lopez’s attorney, Stephen Carter, presented brief opening arguments to the “green” jury.

Before arguments, the court clerk read to each jury the charging documents against each man. Each reading of the lengthy documents took about 45 minutes.

The charges against them include murder, mayhem, numerous counts of attempted murder and assault with a deadly weapon, and many special allegations for, among other things, use of a firearm.

Setting the scene

Anderson told the juries the evidence will show that the events leading to the shooting begin about a week beforehand, with a fight involving a cousin of Kirby’s. The situation escalated when Kirby and Lopez’s brother, Leonardo, allegedly had a confrontation at Walmart a few days before the shooting.

On the night of the shooting, Braden allegedly got Stone to go with him to the neighborhood where Kirby and Sparks lived on the pretense of committing a drug robbery at the home of Curtis Eeds, their neighbor, according to Anderson.

It was from Eeds’ yard that Braden allegedly began shooting over the fence – with Lopez allegedly shooting through a hole in the fence – into a crowd of between 10 to 15 people gathered at Sparks’ and Kirby’s home, Anderson said.

Standing by the barbecue was the 4-year-old Skyler Rapp, who was getting ready to make s’mores.

“He takes a shotgun blast to the back,” said Anderson.

Almost every one of the child’s vital organs – his heart, kidney, liver and his spinal cord – were pieced by 11 shots of double ought buckshot, the district attorney said.

The child collapsed and died at the scene, Anderson said.

Kirby would be hit by two shotgun blasts and would suffer as many as 34 entry wounds covering her right leg and arm. Anderson said she has suffered permanent injuries, and for the rest of her life will have limited use of her arm and leg.

Stone, Braden and Lopez fled the scene, crashed the van that Stone had borrowed from his girlfriend’s cousin, and stashed the shotgun and a rifle. Anderson said Stone will identify a .22 rifle taken to the scene as his.

In addressing Braden’s jury panel, Rhoades told jurors, “Let’s acknowledge one thing up front” – that what occurred the night of June 18, 2011, was a tragedy.

“The question that’s going to be before you is, is Paul Braden responsible for that?” he asked.

Rhoades pointed out that Daniel Loyd, alleged to have shot a Lucerne woman in September 2011, is going to be called as a a prosecution witness against Braden. Anderson told Lake County News that Loyd has information to present against Braden based on statements Braden allegedly made to Loyd in the Lake County Jail.

Rhoades said Loyd has every reason to say what the prosecution wants him to, as do witnesses against Braden who have family connections to Lopez.

Then there is Stone, who fled to Sonoma County after the shooting, Rhoades explained. While Stone was on the run, he arranged to turn himself in to police and then didn’t show up.

“He is no longer before the court on these cases or these crimes,” said Rhoades, adding that Stone’s involvement will be heard by the jury.

While Stone, and Lopez as well, allegedly disappeared after the shooting, Braden stayed in the county, Rhoades said.

“He went home. He didn’t have anything to do with it,” Rhoades said of the shooting.

Rhoades told the jury that nobody can put Braden at the scene except the others involved in the shooting, adding that none of the victims saw Braden there.

In the afternoon session, Carter offered a seven-minute opening in which he told the panel that opening arguments are “all about telling the jury ahead of time what they need to look for.”

Like Rhoades, he raised issues with Stone’s part in the incident, noting, “He doesn’t go immediately to the police and say, ‘You won’t believe what these guys did.’” Carter said Stone has now manipulated himself into a plea bargain.

Carter said it is not a simple case. “There are lots of different sorts of people with lots of different sorts of problems,” with some of the people at the scene high or drunk.

He asked them to remember all of their obligations, pay close attention to Judge Shockley’s rulings and render a fair decision.

The jury panels were ordered to return to court at 10 a.m. Wednesday, Feb. 29.

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 Tumblr at www.lakeconews.tumblr.com, on Google+, on Facebook at www.facebook.com/pages/Lake-County-News/143156775604?ref=mf and on YouTube at www.youtube.com/user/LakeCoNews .