The California Department of Fish and Wildlife and partners have confirmed the presence of New Zealand mudsnails, or NZMS, at Warm Springs Fish Hatchery near Lake Sonoma.
While NZMS have been detected in other portions of the watershed, this is the first confirmed detection at Warm Springs Hatchery.
NZMS were detected in an intake pipeline and an aeration pond during a regularly scheduled quarterly hatchery survey this summer.
Since the detection, scientists have conducted surveys in about 75% of Coho-bearing streams in the watershed and have not observed NZMS presence beyond previously known locations.
Warm Springs Hatchery operates production and release programs for Coho salmon (a federal and state-listed endangered species) and steelhead (federally listed threatened species).
The NZMS surveys have focused on stocking locations for these fish species, which are conducted mostly in Russian River tributaries in the lower basin.
“The detection levels so far have not been alarming, but we want to do everything we can to minimize the spread,” said CDFW North Central Regional Manager Morgan Kilgour.
Dense populations of NZMS can displace and out-compete native species; they may consume up to half of the food resources in a stream and have been linked to reduced populations of aquatic insects, including mayflies, caddisflies, chironomids and other insects important to trout and salmon.
Invasive NZMS were first discovered in California in 2000 in the Owens River. It is believed that the species was introduced to western rivers through shipments of live sportfish, but subsequent spread is likely due to recreational activities.
Dry Creek, which flows by Warm Springs Hatchery, has previously been identified as positive for NZMS. The source of the recent NZMS detections is unknown, but it is suspected that the snails came to the hatchery via its source water of Lake Sonoma.
The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, or USACE, operates the Russian River Coho Salmon Captive Broodstock Program at Warm Springs Fish Hatchery, and contracts with CDFW to operate its steelhead program. In addition to the surveys, CDFW has increased biosecurity measures at the hatchery.
The hatchery will continue to operate its Coho and steelhead programs. CDFW is working with USACE and the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, or NOAA, which permits the hatchery, to determine if any changes in Coho release protocols are needed given the detections.
“NOAA Fisheries fully supports CDFW and the USACE’s efforts to minimize the risk of further spread of aquatic invasive species such as NZMS within the Russian River and other watersheds that provide critical habitat for listed salmon and steelhead,” said Robert Coey, north central coast supervisor in NOAA Fisheries’ West Coast region.
Boaters, anglers and others who visit the Russian River watershed are asked to decontaminate equipment and follow the “clean, drain and dry” directive with all equipment used in the river:
• If you wade, freeze waders and other gear overnight (at least six hours). • After leaving the water, inspect waders, boots, float tubes, boats and trailers or any gear used in the water. • Remove any visible snails with a stiff brush and follow with rinsing. If possible, freeze or completely dry out any wet gear. • Never transport live fish or other aquatic plants or animals from one waterbody to another.
Additional information about stopping the spread of NZMS can be found on CDFW’s California’s Invaders: New Zealand Mudsnail webpage.
Raise your hand if you regularly find yourself walking up a flight of stairs. What about carrying heavy bags of groceries? How about picking up your child or grandchild? Most of us would raise our hands to doing at least one of those weekly, or even daily.
As people age, it can become more and more difficult to perform some physical tasks, even those that are normal activities of daily living. However, prioritizing physical fitness and health as you get older can help you go through your normal day-to-day routine without feeling physically exhausted at the end of the day.
It can also help you continue to have special memories with your family and loved ones that you might not have been able to have if you weren’t physically active. For example, I ran two half-marathons with my dad when he was in his 60s!
I am an exercise physiologist who studies how people can use resistance training to improve human performance, whether it be in sports and other recreational settings, in everyday life, or both. I am also a certified strength and conditioning specialist. My career has given me the opportunity to design exercise programs for kids, college athletes and elderly adults.
Staying physically active as you get older doesn’t need to include running a half-marathon or trying to be a bodybuilder; it could be as simple as trying to get through the day without feeling winded after you go up a flight of stairs. Although our muscles naturally get weaker as we age, there are ways we can combat that to help improve quality of life as we get older.
Muscle loss and chronic disease
One of the most important parts of exercise programming, no matter who I am working with, is proper resistance training to build muscle strength. Some amount of age-related loss of muscle function is normal and inevitable. But by incorporating resistance training that is appropriate and safe at any ability level, you can slow down the rate of decline and even prevent some loss of muscle function.
In one of our team’s previous studies, we saw that otherwise healthy individuals with sarcopenia had issues delivering vital nutrients to muscle. This could lead to greater likelihood of various diseases, such as Type 2 diabetes, and slow down recovery from exercise.
Recent estimates suggest that sarcopenia affects 10% to 16% of the elderly population worldwide. But even if a person doesn’t have clinically diagnosed sarcopenia, they may still have some of the underlying symptoms that, if not dealt with, could lead to sarcopenia.
Strength training is key
So the question is, what can be done to reverse this decline?
Recent evidence suggests that one of the key factors leading to sarcopenia is low muscle strength. In other words, combating or reversing sarcopenia, or both, may be best done with a proper resistance-training program that prioritizes improving strength. In fact, the decline in muscle strength seems to occur at a much faster rate than the decline in muscle size, underscoring the importance of proper strength training as people age.
Continuing to regularly strength train with moderate to heavy weights has been shown to be not only effective at combating the symptoms of sarcopenia but also very safe when done properly. The best way to make sure you are strength training properly is to seek out guidance from a qualified individual such as a personal trainer or strength and conditioning specialist.
Despite the clear benefits of strength training, it’s been shown that only about 13% of Americans age 50 and older do some form of strength training at least twice a week.
Finding what works for you
So how does a person properly strength train as they age?
The National Strength and Conditioning Association, a leading organization in advancing strength and conditioning around the world, states that for older adults, two to three days per week of strength training can be incredibly helpful for maintaining healthy muscle and bone and combating a number of chronic conditions.
The organization recommends that these workouts involve one to two exercises involving multiple joints per major muscle group, with six to 12 repetitions per set. These are done at an intensity of 50% to 85% of what’s known as one-repetition maximum – the most weight you could handle for a single repetition – with the exception of body weight exercises that use one’s own body weight as the resistance, such as pushups.
I would also recommend resting for about two to three minutes between sets, or even up to five minutes if the set was challenging. For older adults, particularly those age 60 and older, the National Strength and Conditioning Association guidelines suggest that a program like this be performed two to three days per week, with 24 to 48 hours between sessions.
Making life’s tasks lighter
The guidelines above are only one example out of many options, but they provide a framework that you can use to build your own program. However, I would highly recommend seeking out a professional in the field to give specific exercise programming advice that can be tailored to your own needs and goals as you age.
Following such a program would give your muscles an excellent stimulus to enhance strength, while also allowing enough recovery, a very important consideration as people age. You might think it looks like a huge time commitment, but an exercise routine like this can be done in less than an hour. This means that in less than three hours of strength training per week you can help improve your muscle health and reduce the risk of getting sarcopenia and associated health issues.
It’s also important to note that there is no one right way to do resistance training, and it needn’t involve traditional weight equipment. Group classes like Pilates and yoga or those that involve circuit training and work with resistance bands can all produce similar results. The key is to get out and exercise regularly, whatever that entails.
CLEARLAKE, Calif. — Dozens of dogs are waiting at Clearlake Animal Control for their new families.
The Clearlake Animal Control website lists 50 adoptable dogs.
This week’s new dogs include “Alice,” a handsome female German shepherd with a black and tan coat.
There also is “Clover,” a 7-month-old male Labrador retriever mix with a short black coat.
The shelter is located at 6820 Old Highway 53. It’s open from 9 a.m. to 6 p.m. Tuesday through Saturday.
For more information, call the shelter at 707-762-6227, email This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it., visit Clearlake Animal Control on Facebook or on the city’s website.
This week’s adoptable dogs are featured below.
Email Elizabeth Larson at This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.. Follow her on Twitter, @ERLarson, or Lake County News, @LakeCoNews.
KELSEYVILLE, Calif. — A $4,920 grant from the Guy Fieri Foundation has allowed Kelseyville High School to expand its culinary arts program and increase students’ access to opportunities provided by the Family, Career and Community Leaders of America, a national career and technical student organization.
In 2022, the Guy Fieri Foundation awarded an initial grant to integrate the Family, Career and Community Leaders of America, or FCCLA, into the KHS Culinary Arts Program.
As culinary teacher Tami Cramer explained it, “FCCLA is to culinary arts as FFA is to agricultural sciences.”
FCCLA helps students develop real-world skills, explore career pathways, and become college- and career-ready through participation in competitive events, becoming involved in community service opportunities, student leadership, and attending leadership conferences, according to FCCLA’s website.
This year’s grant will make possible an additional capstone class and more entrepreneurial opportunities for students.
Grant funding will pay for another pizza oven, two carts, a 20-quart stand mixer, a stainless steel table, a dough sheeter, a speed rack and various cake decorating supplies.
Cramer explained that the new class may focus on advanced culinary skills such as cake decorating for weddings or advanced pastry-making.
“The idea is with these new skills and supplies, students will be able to use what they have learned to put on fundraisers to cover the costs of competition, including travel and lodging,” Cramer said. “Being able to offer a capstone class will give students the ability to expand into new areas, which will be really important if they choose to pursue a career in culinary arts.”
Kelseyville Unified School District Superintendent Dr. Nicki Thomas thanked Cramer for her dedication to supporting Kelseyville students and to the Guy Fieri Foundation for making the expanded learning opportunities possible.
The Guy Fieri Foundation is a nonprofit charity based in Petaluma with a mission to help local culinary arts programs in the middle schools, high schools, and community colleges. The Guy Fieri Foundation is committed to helping youth through nutrition education, exploring careers in hospitality, and encouraging goals for their future.
Using snapshots taken over 20 years with NASA’s Chandra X-ray Observatory, astronomers have learned important new details about an eruption from Eta Carinae witnessed on Earth in the mid-19th century.
Chandra data spanning decades has been combined into a new movie that contains frames of Eta Carinae from 1999, 2003, 2009, 2014, and 2020.
Astronomers used the Chandra observations, along with data from European Space Agency’s XMM-Newton, to watch as the stellar eruption from 180 years ago continues to expand into space at speeds up to 4.5 million miles per hour.
The new insights gleaned from Eta Carinae show how different space observatories can work together to help us understand changes in the universe that unfold on human timescales.
Eta Carinae is a system that contains two massive stars (one is about 90 times the mass of the Sun and the other is believed to be about 30 times the Sun’s mass). In the middle of the 19th century, Eta Carinae was observed to experience a huge explosion that astronomers have dubbed the “Great Eruption.”
During this event, Eta Carinae ejected between 10 and 45 times the mass of the Sun. This material became a dense pair of spherical clouds of gas, now called the Homunculus Nebula, on opposite sides of the two stars.
A bright ring of X-rays around the Homunculus Nebula was discovered about 50 years ago and studied in previous Chandra work.
The new movie from Chandra, plus a deep image generated by adding the data together, reveal important hints about Eta Carinae’s volatile history, including rapid expansion of the ring and a previously unknown faint shell of X-rays outside it.
“We’ve interpreted this faint X-ray shell as the blast wave from the Great Eruption in the 1840s,” said Michael Corcoran at NASA’s Goddard Space Flight Center in Greenbelt, Maryland, who led the study. “It tells an important part of Eta Carinae’s backstory that we wouldn’t otherwise have known.”
Because the newly discovered outer X-ray shell has a similar shape and orientation to the Homunculus Nebula, Corcoran and his colleagues think both structures have a common origin.
The idea is that material was blasted away from Eta Carinae well before the 1843 Great Eruption — sometime between 1200 and 1800, based on the motion of clumps of gas previously seen in data from NASA’s Hubble Space Telescope.
Later, the fast blast wave from the Great Eruption tore through space, colliding with and heating the clumps to millions of degrees to create the bright X-ray ring. The blast wave has now traveled beyond the bright ring.
“The shape of this faint X-ray shell is a plot twist in my mind,” said co-author Kenji Hamaguchi, a researcher at the University of Maryland, Baltimore County, and NASA Goddard. “It shows us that the faint shell, the Homunculus, and the bright inner ring likely all come from eruptions from the star system.”
With XMM-Newton, the researchers saw that the X-ray brightness of Eta Carinae has faded with time, agreeing with previous observations of the system obtained with NASA’s Neutron Star Interior Composition Explorer (NICER) telescope on the International Space Station.
The authors applied a simple model to estimate how bright Eta Carinae was in X-rays at the time of the Great Eruption and combined this with the speed of the material — determined from the movie — to estimate how quickly the high-speed gas was ejected.
The researchers combined this information with an estimate of how much gas was ejected to determine that the Great Eruption likely consisted of two explosions. There was a first, quick ejection of a small amount of fast, low-density gas which produced the X-ray blast wave. This was followed by the slower ejection of dense gas that eventually formed the Homunculus Nebula.
A team led by Nathan Smith of the University of Arizona, one of the co-authors of the new X-ray study, has previously suggested that the Great Eruption was caused by the merger of two stars, in what was originally a triple system. This would also explain the ring-like structure seen in X-rays because it would cause material to be ejected in a flat plane.
“The story of Eta Carinae just keeps getting more interesting,” said Smith. “All evidence is suggesting that Eta Carinae survived a very powerful explosion that would normally obliterate a star. I can’t wait for the next episode of data to find out what other surprises Eta Carinae has in store for us.”
NASA's Marshall Space Flight Center manages the Chandra program. The Smithsonian Astrophysical Observatory's Chandra X-ray Center controls science operations from Cambridge, Massachusetts, and flight operations from Burlington, Massachusetts.
Some probates are foreseeable well before they occur.
Consider an elderly individual who owns assets in her own name with a total gross value that exceeds the threshold for probate (presently $184,500).
Unless such assets are held in a living trust and/or death beneficiary accounts then a probate will be required when she dies. Probate becomes increasingly foreseeable, in such cases, the closer a person is to death.
Less foreseeable probates, however, can catch people off guard. Let us discuss.
First, consider a married couple that owns all assets jointly with right of survivorship. Unless they are both senior citizens, it is likely that they may reasonably expect that the surviving spouse will have ample opportunity and ability, after the death of the first spouse, either to get all real property assets into a living trust and/or to sell real property assets and place the proceeds into accounts with death beneficiaries.
However, sometimes the foregoing gamble does not work out. For example, it is possible for a common accident or illness to take the lives of both spouses together. Typically, one spouse will survive longer than the other spouse and be declared the surviving spouse. If so, the estate of the second to die spouse is more likely than to have a gross value in excess of the then existing threshold for a probate.
Otherwise, if it is unclear which spouse survived then each spouse may be deemed to have survived the other spouse for purposes of succession to the couple’s assets. In such case, all assets titled as joint tenancy assets are divided equally between the two estates.
Sometimes, this halving of the joint tenancy assets may be sufficient such that neither deceased spouse’s estate exceeds the probate threshold. Otherwise, two probates may each be required to transfer each spouse’s own estate to their beneficiaries under each spouse’s will, if any, or to each spouse’s surviving heirs (e.g., children).
Second, consider an individual who has a small estate, i.e., under the probate threshold, but then inherits sufficient assets to have an estate that exceeds the probate threshold. That individual may never have considered the need for estate planning.
However, if the individual does not transfer the inherited assets into a living trust and/or into designated death beneficiary accounts, after receiving such assets, then that individual’s own death may trigger an unexpected probate.
Sometimes probate is unavoidable, such as when the individual has not yet received the full distribution of their inheritance and so could not possibly have done anything to place such assets outside probate. However, having one’s existing assets outside one’s probate estate reduces the risk and the magnitude of any probate.
Third, consider an individual who names primary death beneficiaries to Pay on Death bank accounts, life insurance policies, and/or Transfer on Death brokerage accounts. If the named primary death beneficiaries do not survive the account holder then does the account designate alternative (backup) death beneficiaries?
If not, or if the alternative death beneficiaries are also deceased, then the gift of such assets by way of the death beneficiary designation form will lapse (fail). The lapsed gift is then usually kicked into the deceased owner’s estate; the enlarged estate may exceed the probate threshold.
People do not plan to fail, but people do fail to plan. By not getting one’s affairs in order at one’s leisure, when there is no compelling reason to do so, a person is taking an unnecessary risk which may lead to an unexpected probate that catches their surviving family members off guard and leads to unintended results.
The foregoing discussion is not legal advice. Consult a qualified estate planning attorney for fact specific legal guidance.
Dennis A. Fordham, Attorney, is a State Bar-Certified Specialist in estate planning, probate and trust law. His office is at 870 S. Main St., Lakeport, Calif. He can be reached at This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. and 707-263-3235.
Gov. Gavin Newsom has signed a measure from Sen. Bill Dodd, D-Napa, to bolster California’s beverage container recycling program, reducing the amount of plastic and glass going into landfills and helping to stabilize the recycling market.
“This is a big step toward cutting our state’s waste stream while uplifting our recycling program,” Sen. Dodd said. “This new law reduces the amount of recyclables we put into landfills, provides a financial lifeline to recyclers, and maximizes consumers’ options for redeeming deposits on beverage containers. Ultimately, it will help us meet our recycling goals. I thank the governor for his support.”
The California Beverage Container Recycling and Litter Reduction Act, established in 1986, encourages consumers to recycle beverage containers by requiring them to pay a deposit for eligible bottles. Over the years, the program has been expanded to include soda, beer and wine bottles.
However, it does not include larger or vegetable juice containers. The program has been plagued with volatile annual scrap valuations that threaten many recyclers in rural, underserved communities.
“This measure will increase consumer opportunities to recycle and get cash back on empty containers, by making common sense updates to the CRV program, said Mark Murray, executive director of Californians Against Waste. “All juice beverages, regardless of container size, will now have a refund, and recycling payments for new and existing recycling centers will be stabilized against scrap market fluctuations.”
Sen. Dodd’s proposal, Senate Bill 353, will add containers of 100% fruit juice and vegetable juice to the state’s bottle recycling law, putting another 200 million containers per year into the recycling stream.
It would also invest new ongoing funding to support rural recycling options for consumers to redeem their deposit and improve recycling rates.
The bill also authorizes the Department of Resources Recycling and Recovery to adjust its processing of payment calculations for recyclers to a quarterly schedule rather than yearly, helping to stabilize the market.
Lastly, the bill improves transparency on recycling metrics and allows the department to make critical efficiency improvements.
SB 353 follows the Legislature’s passage of a bill authored last year by Senate President pro Tem Toni Atkins and Sen. Dodd to add wine and spirits containers to the program and make significant investments in recycling. SB 353, won overwhelming legislative support before being signed by the governor.
“As the stewardship organization for plastic containers in California’s Bottle bill, we commend the senator expanding the bottle bill to include all juice bottles and to make the system more responsive to market forces,” said Sally Houghton, executive director of Plastic Recycling Corporation of California. “This will help get more containers recycled and turned back into bottles in a cost-effective manner.”
LAKE COUNTY, Calif. — The National Weather Service’s latest forecast is calling for a cool and cloudy weekend with the potential for rain, with a storm front set to arrive early in the new week with more rain expected before higher temperatures return.
Forecasters said mild showers were expected overnight and into Saturday morning, giving way to patchy fog in areas on the Northshore throughout the day on Saturday.
Because of the potential for cloud cover, forecasters said that the chances are not good for clear skies to see Saturday’s solar eclipse.
Conditions are forecast to be partly cloudy on Sunday, with chances of rain returning on Monday thanks to the arrival of a cold front.
Higher rainfall amounts are expected in the northern part of the region, with lesser amounts in Lake County.
The weather is predicted to be clear and sunny from Tuesday through Friday.
Temperatures from Saturday through Friday are forecast to range from the low 70s to high 80s during the day, and from the mid to high 50s at night.
Email Elizabeth Larson at This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.. Follow her on Twitter, @ERLarson, or Lake County News, @LakeCoNews.
When you hear the word comet, you might imagine a bright streak moving across the sky. You may have a family member who saw a comet before you were born, or you may have seen one yourself when comet Nishimura passed by Earth in September 2023. But what are these special celestial objects made of? Where do they come from, and why do they have such long tails?
As a planetarium director, I spend most of my time getting people excited about and interested in space. Nothing piques people’s interest in Earth’s place in the universe quite like comets. They’re unpredictable, and they often go undetected until they get close to the Sun. I still get excited when one comes into view.
What exactly is a comet?
Comets are leftover material from the formation of the solar system. As the solar system formed about 4.5 billion years ago, most gas, dust, rock and metal ended up in the Sun or the planets. What did not get captured was left over as comets and asteroids.
Because comets are clumps of rock, dust, ice and the frozen forms of various gases and molecules, they’re often called “dirty snowballs” or “icy dirtballs” by astronomers. Theses clumps of ice and dirt make up what’s called the comet nucleus.
Outside the nucleus is a porous, almost fluffy layer of ice, kind of like a snow cone. This layer is surrounded by a dense crystalline crust, which forms when the comet passes near the Sun and its outer layers heat up. With a crispy outside and a fluffy inside, astronomers have compared comets to deep-fried ice cream.
Most comets are a few miles wide, and the largest known is about 85 miles wide. Because they are relatively small and dark compared with other objects in the solar system, people can’t see them unless the comet gets close to the Sun.
Pin the tail on the comet
As a comet moves close to the Sun, it heats up. The various frozen gases and molecules making up the comet change directly from solid ice to gas in a process called sublimation. This sublimation process releases dust particles trapped under the comet’s surface.
The dust and released gas form a cloud around the comet called a coma. This gas and dust interact with the Sun to form two different tails.
The first tail, made up of gas, is called the ion tail. The Sun’s radiation strips electrons from the gases in the coma, leaving them with a positive charge. These charged gases are called ions. Wind from the Sun then pushes these charged gas particles directly away from the Sun, forming a tail that appears blue in color. The blue color comes from large numbers of carbon monoxide ions in the tail.
The dust tail forms from the dust particles released during sublimation. These are pushed away from the Sun by pressure caused by the Sun’s light. The tail reflects the sunlight and swoops behind the comet as it moves, giving the comet’s tail a curve.
The closer a comet gets to the Sun, the longer and brighter its tail will grow. The tail can grow significantly longer than the nucleus and clock in around half a million miles long.
Where do comets come from?
All comets have highly eccentric orbits. Their paths are elongated ovals with extreme trajectories that take them both very close to and very far from the Sun.
An object will orbit faster the closer it is to the Sun, as angular momentum is conserved. Think about how an ice skater spins faster when they bring their arms in closer to their body – similarly, comets speed up when they get close to the Sun. Otherwise, comets spend most of their time moving relatively slowly through the outer reaches of the solar system.
A lot of comets likely originate in a far-out region of our solar system called the Oort cloud.
The Oort cloud is predicted to be a round shell of small solar system bodies that surround the Earth’s solar system with an innermost boundary about 2,000 times farther from the Sun than Earth. For reference, Pluto is only about 40 times farther.
Comets from the Oort cloud take over 200 years to complete their orbits, a metric called the orbital period. Because of their long periods, they’re called long-period comets. Astronomers often don’t know much about these comets until they get close to the inner solar system.
Short-period comets, on the other hand, have orbital periods of less than 200 years. Halley’s comet is a famous comet that comes close to the Sun every 75 years.
While that’s a long time for a human, that’s a short period for a comet. Short-period comets generally come from the Kuiper Belt, an asteroid belt out beyond Neptune and, most famously, the home of Pluto.
There’s a subset of short-period comets that get only to about Jupiter’s orbit at their farthest point from the Sun. These have orbital periods of less than 20 years and are called Jupiter-family comets.
Comets’ time in the inner solar system is relatively short, generally on the order of weeks to months. As they approach the Sun, their tails grow and they brighten before fading on their way back to the outer solar system.
But even the short-period comets don’t come around often, and their porous interior means they can sometimes fall apart. All of this makes their behavior difficult to predict. Astronomers can track comets when they are coming toward the inner solar system and make predictions based on observations. But they never quite know if a comet will get bright enough to be seen with the naked eye as it passes Earth, or if it will fall apart and fizzle out as it enters the inner solar system.
Either way, comets will keep people looking up at the skies for years to come.
LAKE COUNTY, Calif. — Lake County Animal Care and Control has many new dogs waiting to meet their new families this week.
Dogs available for adoption this week include mixes of boxer, Chihuahua, collie, dachshund, German shepherd, hound, Labrador retriever pit bull, Rhodesian ridgeback, Siberian husky, shepherd and treeing walker coonhound.
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.
This week’s dogs include a 2-year-old male German shepherd with a black and tan coat. He’s in kennel No. 3, ID No. LCAC-A-5979.
The shelter also has a 5-month-old male Rhodesian ridgeback puppy with a tricolor coat. He is in kennel No. 17, ID No. LCAC-A-6098.
Another adoptable dog is a 1-year-old male Chihuahua-dachshund mix with a black brindle coat. He is in kennel No. 4, ID No. LCAC-A-5992.
Those dogs and the others shown on this page at the Lake County Animal Care and Control shelter have been cleared for adoption.
Call Lake County Animal Care and Control at 707-263-0278 or visit the shelter online for information on visiting or adopting.
Email Elizabeth Larson at This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.. Follow her on Twitter, @ERLarson, or Lake County News, @LakeCoNews.
As cold and flu season ramps up, health care experts are once again on high alert for the possibility of a tripledemic, or a surge brought on by the respiratory viruses that cause COVID-19, the flu and respiratory syncytial virus, or RSV. The good news is that this year, health officials have more tools at their disposal to combat them.
RSV, COVID-19 and the flu are all contagious respiratory illnesses that have similar symptoms, making it difficult to distinguish between the three viral infections without a lab test. Testing is the only way to know which virus is causing your symptoms. In fact, researchers are working to create one test that can detect COVID-19, RSV and the flu.
As a nursing professor with experience in public health promotion, I am often asked about the differences between these respiratory viruses. This year, I am fielding many questions about the timing of getting the new COVID-19 and RSV vaccines along with the flu shot, and whether they can be given together.
What to know about the symptoms
Symptoms of COVID-19, RSV and the flu can range from mild – or even no noticeable symptoms at all – to severe. Flu symptoms typically come on suddenly, while RSV and COVID-19 often start out mild but can become severe over time. In addition, while a flu infection does not typically affect one’s ability to taste or smell, the loss of taste or smell can be a common COVID-19 symptom.
All three infections can cause fevers and fatigue, while chills and body aches are more common with COVID-19 and the flu. More severe symptoms of these infections include difficulty breathing and subsequent infections like pneumonia.
Timing the shots
With the new RSV vaccine and updated COVID-19 vaccine now available and flu season just around the corner, a natural question is whether there is an optimal schedule for the three shots.
The answer to that question is, if you are eligible, to get these vaccines as soon as possible. It is important to consider that it takes approximately two weeks after vaccination for your body to develop antibodies from both the COVID-19 vaccines and the flu vaccine.
The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention recommends that anyone who is either unvaccinated or has previously received a COVID-19 vaccine before Sept. 12, 2023, to get the updated vaccine. This means now is the time to get the updated COVID-19 vaccine that targets a previously dominant variant of the omicron family.
While everyone 6 months of age and older is advised to receive both the COVID-19 and flu vaccines, certain populations have a higher risk for severe infection, such as pregnant women, and should be extra vigilant about getting vaccinated.
In addition, among those vaccinated against COVID-19, symptoms during an infection tend to be milder. However, due in part to the quickly evolving nature of the virus, it has become clear that immune protection from COVID-19 vaccination or infection diminishes over time. While studies show that the primary COVID-19 series maintains efficacy against severe disease and death six months after vaccination, protection after vaccination decreases over time. Viruses, such as those that cause COVID-19 and influenza, also continuously mutate and evolve.
The fact that COVID-19 vaccine immunity decreases over time and that viruses evolve are exactly why updated vaccines are so critical. Without a large uptake of updated vaccines in the population, COVID-19 infection rates could surge again.
But if you miss that deadline, it is absolutely better to get vaccinated later in the season than not at all. Flu, COVID-19 and RSV vaccines are available at your health care provider’s office, your local health department and most retail pharmacies, although access to the newly updated COVID-19 vaccine is still limited in some areas of the country.
A difficult respiratory virus season ahead
While infections and hospitalizations from COVID-19 declined dramatically in 2023, experts are remaining vigilant against the possibility of new, more-infectious variants causing another fall and winter surge. Adults 65 and older continue to be the highest-risk group for severe infection.
To further compound this, flu vaccine rates have been lower during the pandemic, suggesting that Americans may be out of the habit of getting their annual flu shot.
Shots can be given together
Many are also wondering whether they can or should get the updated COVID-19 booster, the new RSV vaccine and the flu shot at the same time. The good news is, the CDC clearly indicates that it is safe for both adults and children who are eligible for the updated COVID-19 vaccine to get this vaccine simultaneously with the annual flu shot.
A 2022 study found that common vaccine side effects, such as pain at the injection site, occurred at slightly higher rates when someone received the flu vaccine and a COVID-19 vaccine at the same time, as opposed to receiving only a COVID-19 booster. However, those reactions, including fatigue and headache, were mild and resolved within a day or two. In addition, a recent study found that the immune response was the same when both vaccines were given together compared to when given separately.
Getting the COVID-19, RSV and flu vaccines isn’t just about your own health – it’s about family and community health too. Communities with higher vaccination rates have fewer opportunities to spread the virus.
Keep in mind that many people cannot be vaccinated, because they have weakened immune systems or are undergoing treatments. They depend on those around them for protection. While one person may experience mild symptoms if they contract RSV, COVID-19 or the flu, they could spread the virus to others who could become severely ill.
Because it’s impossible to predict how people will react if they get sick, getting the flu and COVID-19 vaccines – and the RSV vaccine if you are eligible – is the best prevention strategy.
This is an updated version of an article that was originally published on Sept. 22, 2022.
CLEARLAKE, Calif. — The Clearlake City Council last week approved the sale of a city-owned lot as part of a program put in place three years ago to help encourage development of high quality homes.
At its Oct. 5 meeting, the council gave unanimous support to selling a property at 15903 36th Ave. to Jerry Lambert and Alexis Silimon to build a new home as part of the city’s homestead program.
Clearlake’s homestead program offers participants a city-owned lot at no cost or $10,000 toward the purchase of a privately owned lot.
In October 2020 the council approved a proposal by City Manager Alan Flora to create the homestead program, earmarking $1 million from Series B bond funds to support it as part of an effort to encourage market-rate housing development in the city.
Applicants must meet requirements including having income levels classified as median to moderate, have an existing job within Lake County or a verified employment offer, have the ability to obtain financing for construction of a new stick built home or manufactured home, complete construction of a new stick built home or new manufactured or modular home within 12 months of the issuance of a building permit, and the home must be owner occupied for a minimum of two years from date of occupancy.
Flora told the council that, due to the interest rate hike, a number of people in the homestead program haven’t moved forward with their plans.
“There’s been a reduction in the number of participants in that program,” he said, explaining there had been about 12 individuals previously going through the process.
This is the second or third application approved, but Flora said he wanted to highlight it due to the recent circumstances.
He said the program hasn’t gone quite the way the city expected “because of interest rates and how that impacts people being able to borrow money to build.”
Flora said he’s excited to see the property transferred to the couple.
Councilman Russ Cremer moved to approve the property sale, with Councilman Dirk Slooten seconding and the council voting 5-0.
Email Elizabeth Larson at This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.. Follow her on Twitter, @ERLarson, or Lake County News, @LakeCoNews.