SACRAMENTO – Caltrans has announced the appointment of Ellen Greenberg as its new deputy director for sustainability

Greenberg will oversee Caltrans’ continued efforts to shift and align its policies and practices to improve the environment, the economy and social equity for all Californians.

“Ellen will be a valuable addition to the Caltrans Executive Team,” said Caltrans Director Malcolm Dougherty. “She will help Caltrans advance its sustainability commitment by applying those principles into the planning, design, maintenance and operation of California’s vast transportation system.”

Greenberg has more than 30 years’ experience working with cities, transportation agencies and non-governmental organizations to guide development, conservation and transportation decisions.

She comes to Caltrans from Arup, an independent design, planning and engineering firm, where she’s worked since 2010.

Greenberg served in the leadership of Arup’s planning and infrastructure groups in San Francisco. During her time at Arup, she worked with transportation agencies including LA Metro, the Maricopa County (Arizona) Association of Governments, Translink (Vancouver Region) and the SF Bay Area Metropolitan Transportation Commission.

She was lead author of Caltrans’ Smart Mobility Framework, which was initiated with support from the U.S. EPA Office of Sustainable Communities.

Other areas of work with the EPA office have included urban eco-districts, reuse of obsolete shopping malls and sustainable street design.

She also was appointed as the first visiting practitioner at the University of California, Davis National Center for Sustainable Transportation.

Learn more about the sustainability efforts underway by visiting Caltrans’ Sustainability page at http://www.dot.ca.gov/sustainability/ .

FANTASTIC BEASTS AND WHERE TO FIND THEM (Rated PG-13)

Never let an opportunity for a good franchise go to waste. That easily could be the motivation for “Harry Potter” author J.K. Rowling to team up with Warner Bros. for a new cinematic direction in the Wizarding World.

Unlike the “Harry Potter” films, “Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them” takes us to 1926 New York, where British magizoologist Newt Scamander (Eddie Redmayne) arrives in the big city near the end of a global excursion to research and rescue magical creatures.

A magizoologist is someone who studies magical creatures, and of course, this sort of profession only exists in the fantasy world created by J.K. Rowling, and Newt is a textbook example.

In fact, Newt is readying his research for a Hogwarts textbook that shares the name of this movie, a learning tool that would prove magical for the generation of students familiar to us from “Harry Potter.”

The good thing about “Fantastic Beasts” is that knowledge of the “Harry Potter” universe, which can prove confusing to more casual viewers, is not a necessary predicate to appreciating what could be considered the prequel to the Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry.

Carrying an old leather case that is the portal to a world of magical creatures, Newt finds himself in a precarious position after an encounter with Jacob the baker (Dan Fogler), an unsuspecting No-Maj (American term for Muggle).

Inadvertently setting free some of Newt’s beasts, Jacob threatens to expose the wizarding community to security officers as well as a fanatical faction bent on eliminating the wizards targeted by groups wishing to revive the Salem witch trials.

Since the potential disaster of escaped beasts is a serious breach of the Statue of Secrecy, the former Auror Tina Goldstein (Katherine Waterston) jumps on the case, eager to reclaim her post as an investigator.

However, things take an ominous turn when Newt, as well as Tina, gains the unwanted attention of Percival Graves (Colin Farrell), the enigmatic Director of Security at the Magical Congress of the United States (MACUSA).

Joined by Tina’s sister Queenie (Alison Sudol), Newt, Jacob and Tina form an alliance to track down the menagerie of escaped strange creatures, from the mischievous Niffler (that looks a platypus) to the Thunderbird, a regal avian creature native to the arid climate of Arizona.

The hunt for the magical creatures is the most agreeable moment of the film, but larger issues loom with the appearance of Johnny Depp as the dark wizard Gellert Grindelwald, the epitome of evil.

Since four more movies are apparently planned, it’s likely many of the characters will be fleshed out over time. In the meantime, “Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them” satisfies an audience ready for the fantasy realm.

TV Corner: 'Good Behavior' on TNT cable network

Fans of the high-brow PBS series “Downton Abbey” may be curious about Michelle Dockery’s transition from upper class Brit to trailer park white trash from North Carolina in TNT’s new series “Good Behavior.”

Dockery’s Letty Raines has recently been released from prison for good behavior, which given her almost immediate recidivism to the life of con artist and thief seems like a gross error by the parole board.

Her attempts to go straight last only briefly as she is quickly fired from a waitress job at a greasy diner after having to fight back against a customer who apparently thought sexual assault was a menu item.

“Good Behavior” is a dark thriller about the conduct of a tortured soul who has no capacity to remain virtuous or to suppress her addictions to alcohol and drugs, even though she is devoted to listening to self-help tapes.

A consummate scammer, Letty is soon hooked up with a dishonest desk clerk at a posh resort to steal from hotel rooms. All goes well until she gets trapped in the closet of resort guest Javier (Juan Diego Botto) and overhears a criminal plot that crosses her minimal standards of propriety.

It turns out that Javier is a hired assassin who entertains a male client’s wish for the contract killing of his wife. Letty takes it upon herself to warn the woman of the immediate danger, knowing full well the details of the scheme.

Things get unnecessarily complicated and messy when Letty sets up an encounter with Javier in the hotel bar, only to turn around a day later to thwart the despicable strategy of killing a clueless housewife.

Other aspects of Letty’s muddled state of mind include a fervent desire to reconnect with her estranged son that is in the custody of her mother Estelle (Lusia Strus), who is resentful of her daughter’s wild ways.

Using guile and flattery, Letty evades the constant mandatory check-ins with her parole officer Christian (Terry Kinney), who is struggling with his own demons such that his emotional connection to his parolee threatens his ability to do his job.

The dark tone of “Good Behavior” settles in with Letty’s collision course with the killer, when both of them get entangled in a dangerous relationship that results in Letty’s entrapment by Javier’s compulsive acts.

Only a few episodes into TNT’s seductive thriller, one gets the sense the plot could take some weird twists given that show creators Chad Hodge and Blake Crouch also developed the strange TV series “Wayward Pines.”

For a show that could prove wayward in its direction, Michelle Dockery delivers a femme fatale sensibility reminiscent of the heyday of film noir.

Tim Riley writes film and television reviews for Lake County News.

SACRAMENTO – Two new executive hires will fill key leadership positions within the California Community Colleges Chancellor’s Office and the Foundation for California Community Colleges, incoming Chancellor Eloy Ortiz Oakley announced.

Laura N. Metune, chief consultant for the Assembly Higher Education Committee, has been appointed vice chancellor for external relations and Sandra L. Fried, associate director for state legislative affairs for the University of California, has been selected to be executive director of the Success Center for California Community Colleges, which is operated by the Foundation for California Community Colleges.

“The Chancellor's Office and the Foundation work as one team to support policies and practices that lead to greater opportunities for all Californians,” said Oakley, who takes over as state chancellor on Dec. 19. “Both of these team members possess an extraordinary depth of talent and experience that will provide leadership and support for California’s 113 community colleges as they help more students achieve their educational goals and improve social mobility within our state.”

“The Success Center serves as an important hub for sharing, adoption and implementation of effective practices and policies across the California Community Colleges,” said Keetha Mills, president and CEO of the Foundation for California Community Colleges. “We are thrilled to have Fried join us as we continue to expand the impact of the Success Center and look forward to working with both Fried and Metune to improve student success and completion in our colleges.”

Metune was appointed to the position by Gov. Jerry Brown. In her new role, Metune will oversee a division that represents the Chancellor's Office before the Legislature and executive branch of the state and federal governments. The division is also responsible for formulating and advancing the legislative agenda of the California Community Colleges.

Since June 2013, Metune served as chief consultant for the Assembly Committee on Higher Education, where she prepared bill language, committee amendments, committee analyses and vote recommendations on legislation related to public and private postsecondary education and student financial aid.

Previously, Metune served as bureau chief for the California Bureau for Private Postsecondary Education, as committee consultant for the Assembly Committee on Higher Education and as legislative director for the office of Sen. Carole Migden.

She also served as a legislative consultant for Senate Committee on Business and Professions, Subcommittee on International Trade Policy for the California Legislative Women's Caucus. Metune earned a bachelor’s degree in government from California State University, Sacramento and a CSUS Transfer Agreement Pattern from American River College. Metune starts her new position Dec. 16.

Fried will lead the Success Center, which launched in 2014 to help the California Community Colleges to coordinate its success-focused initiatives and boost completion rates.

Since May 2013, Fried has served as the associate director for Legislative Affairs at the University of California’s office of State Governmental Relations, where she oversees the staff that works on policy issues with the Legislature and Administration.

Previously, Fried oversaw the Assembly Higher Education Committee as the chief consultant, where for six years she analyzed legislation, managed committee hearings, negotiated policy issues and served as the Assembly’s lead staff person on higher education issues.

She also served on the staff of Assemblymember (now Congresswoman) Susan Davis, with a focus on education issues. Fried began her career as a legislative aide for Speaker Willie Brown, where she worked with various legislators on developing and articulating policy priorities through legislation, media, and constituent engagement.

A native of San Diego, Fried graduated from the University of California, Davis with degrees in history and economics. Fried starts her new position in January.

The California Community Colleges is the largest system of higher education in the nation composed of 72 districts and 113 colleges serving 2.1 million students per year.

For more information about the community colleges, please visit http://californiacommunitycolleges.cccco.edu/ , https://www.facebook.com/CACommColleges or https://twitter.com/CalCommColleges .

KELSEYVILLE, Calif. – Get in the holiday spirit with sounds of joy when the Old Time Fiddlers Association continues its monthly First Sunday Fiddlers’ Jam sessions in the Ely barn.

On Sunday, Dec. 4, they'll be performing beautiful Americana music with a possible sprinkling of holiday cheer to get you in the spirit.

Come ready to clap your hands and tap your toes. They'll even make room for those who want to get up and dance.

This is a free, family friendly event for all to enjoy, young and old alike.

The fun begins at the museum at 11 a.m. with the fiddlers playing in the barn from noon through 2 p.m.

Come early to enjoy all of the newest museum acquisitions and displays. Enjoy the music with beverages and tasty treats provided by the docents. Bring your own wine and sip it in Ely Stage Stop wine glasses that are available for purchase. Take a musical break from all of that holiday shopping.
 
Save the date of Saturday, Dec. 17, for the Ely Christmas Marketplace with Santa. Local artists will be selling their handcrafted goods in the barn from 10 a.m. to 3 p.m. that day.

Food will be available for purchase from A Passion for Food. Join the museum volunteers and docents for a wonderful day on the museum grounds with Santa. He will be taking a much-needed break from the North Pole to roam the grounds and join hayrides with the children, weather permitting.

Both events will help promote the growth of the Ely Stage Stop Blacksmith shop and further the interaction of the local community with the history of Lake County and the Ely Stage Stop.

The Lake County Historical Society’s Ely Stage Stop & Country Museum is located at 9921 State Highway 281 (Soda Bay Road) in Kelseyville, near Clear Lake Riviera, just north of Hwy 29-Kit's Corner.

Current hours of operation are 11 a.m. to 3 p.m. each Saturday and Sunday. Private tours can be arranged by appointment. Facilities are available to support events, conferences, or family gatherings. Celebrate a wedding, reception, special anniversary or family reunion.

Note that the museum will be closed both Saturday, Dec. 24, and Sunday, Dec. 25, for the Christmas holiday.

The Ely Stage Stop & Country Museum welcomes more docents to greet visitors and share information on our history, our current displays, and our planned events. Volunteers for maintenance and construction projects are also needed.

Visit www.elystagestop.org or www.lakecountyhistory.org , check out the stage stop on Facebook at www.facebook.com/elystagestop or call the museum at 707-533-9990.

When someone with Medicare finds his or her way to my office phone, it’s often because of a complicated and snarly issue that’s going to take time to fix.

However, it’s sometimes a Medicare beneficiary who found my number somewhere and called for some basic help in understanding their coverage. I LOVE those calls because I have a quick and easy answer for folks like that.

I refer them to the State Health Insurance Assistance Program, or SHIP. There’s a SHIP in every state in the country. I have phone numbers for the ones in my Medicare region written on a card right next to my phone, and I refer to it often.

SHIPs are nonprofit organizations that help people with Medicare understand their benefits better. The counseling is personalized and it’s absolutely free.

SHIPs aren’t connected to any insurance company or health plan, so they’re not trying to sell you any kind of product. If you’re eligible for Medicare, you’re eligible for assistance from your local SHIP. You can talk to a SHIP counselor over the phone, or go to your local SHIP office for face-to-face assistance.

The quality of the counseling is terrific. Many SHIP counselors have Medicare themselves and they’re well-trained to answer your questions. They know all the ins and outs of the program, whether you have Original Medicare (where you choose the doctor or hospital you want and the government pays your providers directly) or Medicare Advantage (in which private insurers offer health care services through a specific network of doctors, hospitals, and other providers). SHIPs also can help with Part D prescription drug insurance.

And did I mention that SHIP counseling is free?

Here are some of the issues that a SHIP counselor can help you with:

• Billing problems;

• Complaints about your medical care or treatment;

• How to shop for a Medicare Advantage health plan or Part D prescription drug plan that meets your needs;

• How to appeal if you disagree with coverage or payment decisions by Medicare or your Medicare plan;

• How Medicare works with other insurance.

How do you get in touch with SHIP? Below is the phone number for contacting the SHIP office closest to you if you live:

• In Arizona: Call 800-432-4040;

• In California: Call 800-434-0222;

• In Hawaii: Call 808-586-7299;

• In Nevada: Call 800-307-4444.

Of course, there are other ways besides SHIP to get information about Medicare. One excellent resource is the “Medicare & You” handbook, which is mailed to Medicare beneficiaries every fall.

“Medicare & You” is a gold mine of easy-to-understand information about how Medicare works, how to enroll, what services are covered, and many other topics. The handbook also lists all Medicare Advantage and Part D plans available in your area, their costs, and contact information for each one. 

You can find the latest edition of “Medicare & You” online at http://www.medicare.gov/Pubs/pdf/10050.pdf .

Help is also available through the Medicare customer service center, at 1-800-MEDICARE (1-800-633-4227; TTY users call 1-877-486-2048). The call center is open 24 hours a day, including weekends.

Another helpful resource is the official Medicare Web site, at www.Medicare.gov .

The Web site has a wide variety of information about Medicare health and prescription drug plans in your area, including what they cost and what services they provide. Medicare also rates the plans based on its Five-Star Rating System.

You can look for doctors or other health care providers and suppliers who participate in Medicare, and see what Medicare covers, including preventive care services like cancer screenings and vaccinations.

At www.Medicare.gov , you also can:

• Get Medicare appeals information and forms;

• Get information about the quality of care provided by plans, nursing homes, hospitals, home health agencies and dialysis facilities;

• Look up helpful Web sites and phone numbers.

Cate Kortzeborn is Medicare’s regional administrator for Arizona, California, Hawaii, Nevada, and the Pacific Territories. You can always get answers to your Medicare questions by calling 1-800-MEDICARE (1-800-633-4227).

LAKE COUNTY, Calif. – Hospice Services of Lake County is hosting “Hope for the Holiday” groups in December.

Upcoming group meetings will take place from 2 to 3:30 p.m. Tuesday, Dec. 6, at Hospice Services of Lake County’s Bereavement Center, 1862 Parallel Drive in Lakeport; and 2 to 3:30 p.m. Wednesday, Dec. 7, at the Middletown Senior Center, 21256 Washington St.

For more information visit Hospice Services of Lake County online at http://www.lakecountyhospice.org/ .

Using a dinosaur blind for waterfowl hunting?

Question: I realize this may sound like a really dumb question or a joke, but I’m honestly being serious. Can I make a plywood cutout of a dinosaur to hide behind so that I can better sneak up on waterfowl?

I recently heard about using a plywood cutout of a cow as a way to approach ducks and geese. However, I then saw that this is illegal in California because hunters are not allowed to use something that looks like a mammal to approach waterfowl.

Dinosaurs aren’t mammals though so I don’t see why this wouldn’t work, but I just wanted to ask. (Sydney M.)

Answer: Fish and Game Code, section 3502, which is derived from a provision of the Penal Code dating to 1909, prohibits using “any mammal (except a dog) or an imitation of a mammal as a blind in approaching or taking game birds.”

Since dinosaurs are not mammals, you will be OK as long as your blind can’t be confused with a mammal.

Is a SUP considered a vessel?

Question: Is a stand-up-paddle (SUP) board considered a vessel when used in the taking of abalone? I ask because I’m wondering if I have to fill out my abalone tag on my SUP before coming to shore. (Jonathan W.)

Answer: No, you may wait until you come ashore to tag and fill out your abalone report card.

Although California Code of Regulations Title 14, section 29.16(b)(1) requires that people taking abalone “shall tag any red abalone either immediately upon exiting the water or immediately upon boarding a vessel, whichever occurs first,” it also provides that people “who dive from a non-motorized vessel such as a kayak that is in the water may wait until immediately after disembarking from the non-motorized vessel to tag and record any abalone in possession.”

Still confused about antibiotics in stocked fish

Question: I just read with interest in the Modesto Bee your answer to the question about antibiotics in stocked fish. The answer doesn't make sense to me.

First, you say that hatchery fish are treated with antibiotics when necessary to save their lives and it is done on an as-needed basis.

Knowing that hatchery fish number in the tens of thousands, and no individual fish would be pulled out and antibiotics delivered to just those fish, you must be saying, yes, they are treated, right?

And then you finish the answer with “none of the stocked fish have antibiotics.” Huh? (Barbara S.)

Answer: Sorry for any confusion. When the fish need to be treated with antibiotics, then they are treated as a group since most ailments would be ones that would affect them all. Antibiotics are only used when necessary to save lives, and there is a good chance that none of the fish raised during a growing cycle were ever treated with antibiotics at all.

Prior to the Federal Drug Administration (FDA) approving (registering) any antibiotics for use in food fish, they set withdrawal times to ensure public safely.

Withdrawal times are meant to guarantee that residual antibiotics are either non-detectable, or lower than the FDA’s acceptable limits, prior to the fish being released.

Once all treatments are finished, the fish are held for the required time for the chemicals to work their way out of their bodies. Only after this time can those fish finally be planted and available for human consumption.

Some other agricultural industries have been criticized for using antibiotics as a growth aid. We don’t do that for the fish we supply to our anglers.

Sport fishing on a commercial crab boat?

Question: Can commercial boats sport fish for Dungeness crab during the sport season when the commercial season is closed? (Anonymous)

Answer: Yes, if the commercial vessel is not engaged in any commercial activity (FGC, section 7856(f)), the commercial vessel does not hold a Dungeness crab vessel permit (CCR Title 14, section 132.1(a)), and everyone taking crab or fishing onboard has a sport fishing license and is following sport fishing regulations.

Carrie Wilson is a marine environmental scientist with the California Department of Fish and Wildlife. While she cannot personally answer everyone’s questions, she will select a few to answer each week in this column. Please contact her at This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. .

Patricia Jo Meech Hopper
May 22, 1929 – Oct. 25, 2016

Mother, grandmother, great-grandmother, Texan transplant to California, UT grad with BA in Fine Arts (“hook 'em horns”), artist in oils, acrylics, watercolors, pastels, charcoal pencil, clay, corn husks dolls, muralist, commercial artist, Brownie and Girl Scout leader, church choir alto, alto for the Roger Wagner Choral in LA and Mendocino College Master Chorus, pianist, balletomane and ballerina en pointe, set designer, receptionist for American Cinematographer and International Silks and Woolens in Los Angeles, poodle lover, Persian cat lover, sun lover, bridge player, long time fashion plate, lifelong art instructor especially for children, art instruction volunteer for Ms. Gunther's second grade class 1999 to 2008, volunteer for Allied Arts in Lancaster and Lake County Art Council, Lake County T & T garden club and doll collector club member, stable hand, pet sitter, loyal and generous friend and many more “hats.”

Above all things, family came first!

Beloved and missed by all who knew her energetic and friendly personality including Pat T., Monica, Kate, Jay, Elly, David, Joseph, Ben, Joyanna, Victoria, Avi, Elijah, Via, Faith, Kai, cousin Sharon in Texas, and many more friends. Please think of Mom when you donate to your favorite charity benefiting animals.

A celebration of life will be held in Medford, Ore. around the anniversary of her birthday, 2017. Please leave your contact information at This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. if you are interested in attending.