Asparagus is a harbinger of spring, prized throughout history. Photo by Esther Oertel.

Whether it’s joining crab in an omelet, gracing an Easter platter or looking lanky on the grill, asparagus is a harbinger of spring.

When the first slender green stalks arrive at the local grocer, it feels winter is gone, whatever the weather outside.

If I had to choose just one word to describe asparagus, it would be elegant. However prepared, asparagus adds a touch of class to a plate just by being there.

This lovely vegetable has been cultivated for many thousands of years, being prized by the ancient Greeks, Egyptians and Romans.

Asparagus is pictured on an Egyptian frieze from 3,000 BC, and a recipe for cooking it is in the oldest extant cookbook, the De Re Coquinaria by Apicius, dating back to the third century.

While asparagus enjoyed great popularity in the ancient world, it fell out of favor during the Middle Ages. It regained its culinary status during the 17th century, when France’s King Louis XIV grew it in greenhouses specially built for that purpose.

This member of the lily family is said to have originated along the coastlines of Europe. It thrives in soils that are too salty for most weeds.

Asparagus has a treasure trove of nutrients in each low-calorie, low-sodium and high-fiber stalk. It’s a good source of vitamin B6, calcium, magnesium and zinc, and a very good source of protein, vitamin A, vitamin C, vitamin E, vitamin K, thiamin, riboflavin, rutin, niacin, folic acid, iron, phosphorus, potassium, copper, manganese and selenium.

It’s quite possible asparagus contains a greater variety of vitamins and minerals than any other vegetable.

Asparagus should be eaten when the shoots are young and the buds are not yet open. Otherwise shoots may be too strongly flavored and woody.

Generally asparagus is green; however, there is a purple variety. White asparagus is common in Europe, created by mounding dirt around the stalks as they grow to prevent photosynthesis. This makes the stalks sweeter and more tender than their green counterparts.

It is not necessary to peel asparagus, though some prefer to do this, especially on the lower thick portion of the stem. The thinnest stalks of asparagus are often the least tender, being less fleshy with more skin, the most fibrous part.

Asparagus, which is grown in sandy soil, should be washed well prior to using. Rather than trimming the stems with a knife, hold the ends of each stalk and bend it. The asparagus will snap at the point where the stem is no longer woody.

It’s hard to go wrong when asparagus is the star, even with the simplest of preparations. Roasting spears in the oven – or tossing them on the grill – with an olive oil drizzle and a bit of garlic is an amazingly flavorful dish. Lightly steamed asparagus with a sauce of fresh dill and mayonnaise or melted butter and a squeeze of butter is just divine.

You can splash a bit of good balsamic vinegar on warm asparagus spears, or sprinkle them with a variety of homemade vinaigrette dressings, such as Dijon mustard, blueberry or sesame-ginger, for some magic combinations.

Asparagus may be cooked till barely tender in salted water, tossed with fruity extra virgin olive oil and paired with friendly flavors as diverse as pine nuts, thin strips of prosciutto, fresh shaved Parmesan cheese or cocoa nibs

Asparagus does well when doused with the bright taste of lemon, and a perfect match for it is the classic lemony French butter sauce, beurre au citron, that’s both rich and pleasantly tart. Recipes for this may be found online, though my favorite version is the one found in Julia Child’s “Mastering the Art of French Cooking.”

Fresh and flavorful gremolata, a mixture of lemon zest, garlic and parsley, is a nice topping for sweet, nutty roasted asparagus.

Eggs and asparagus are a classic brunch match, and egg-based dishes such as quiche, frittatas, crepes and omelets are delicious when graced with asparagus.

Poached or hard-cooked eggs may be served atop asparagus, and when the spears are shortened to fit an English muffin, asparagus serves as an interesting replacement for ham in Eggs Benedict. The lemony Hollandaise sauce is perfect for them.

Seafood likes asparagus as much as eggs do, so foods such as crab or smoked salmon are welcome additions to egg dishes with asparagus. An array of interesting salads may be made with seafood and asparagus.

Creamy asparagus soup is among my favorites, and I’m a soup fanatic. Fresh lemon or lime juice for acidity and a bit of spiciness from cayenne may be added. These flavors shouldn’t overtake the asparagus, but merely provide a balanced back note. To intensify the flavor of the asparagus in the soup, save water from any asparagus cooked in your kitchen to make the stock.

There is no shortage of ideas for this wonderfully versatile veggie. Perhaps the most unique is a sandwich made with asparagus, thin slices of fresh Parmesan cheese and butter lettuce on crusty French bread.

Today’s recipe is one that utilizes cocoa nibs, little unsweetened nuggets of chocolate in pure form, prior to any processing. Nibs are the raw product from which cocoa butter, chocolate liquor and cocoa powder are extracted. They may be purchased at natural food or specialty stores.

This dish may be served as an appetizer or part of the main course. For my vegetarian readers, slivers of fresh Parmesan cheese may be substituted for the prosciutto. Enjoy!

Nibby asparagus with prosciutto

1 to 1 ½ pounds asparagus

2 tablespoons fruity extra virgin olive oil

2 tablespoons cocoa nibs, lightly crushed with rolling pin

2 to 3 thin slices prosciutto, trimmed of excess fat and sliced into long, slender shreds

Bring a pot of salted water to boil. Snap the woody ends from the asparagus, rinse and peel the stems (if you like). Cook the asparagus in boiling water just until barely tender and still bright green, three to five minutes.

Meanwhile, in a very small saucepan, warm the oil and crushed cocoa nibs over the lowest heat for two to three minutes to infuse the oil with the nibs’ flavor; do not simmer.

When the asparagus is ready, drain and spread out on layers of paper towels; let stand for a minute to absorb the excess moisture. Transfer the asparagus to a platter and toss with the crushed nibs, oil and prosciutto shreds.

Serve hot or warm as an elegant finger food or a plated first course.

Recipe courtesy of Bittersweet by Alice Medrich.

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

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James Walter Nightingale, 31, went before Judge Stephen Hedstrom in the Lake County Superior Court's Clearlake Division for the sentencing hearing, which ran nearly three hours on Friday afternoon.

Nightingale was charged with felony hit-and-run resulting in death or great bodily injury, misdemeanor vehicular manslaughter and driving on a suspended license in connection with a crash on Sept. 24, 2010, in which he hit 57-year-old Zino Mezoui at the intersection of Seigler Canyon Road and Highway 29.

In February Nightingale entered no contest pleas to the charges, and also admitted to violating his probation for two separate cases, one involving driving under the influence, the other driving on a suspended license.

Nightingale, who wasn't supposed to be driving on the day of the crash because he had a suspended license and was on probation, was said to have pulled in front of Mezoui, out on his motorcycle for the first ride in a long time.

After the collision, which reportedly caused the windows on Nightingale's Chevrolet Suburban to shatter, he drove around Mezoui and headed back up Seigler Canyon Road, telling authorities that he didn't have a cell phone with him and that he went back home to call 911. On the way to his home he reportedly heard the life flight helicopter heading to the crash scene.

But he said once he got to his home his phone didn't work, and when he called a cousin he was told to lie low and watch the newspapers. He would turn himself in five days after the crash after finding an attorney who helped arrange for him to surrender to law enforcement.

During a hearing that stretched through most of the court's afternoon session, Deputy District Attorney John Langan and defense attorney Jacob Zamora argued over whether Nightingale should receive probation and, if not, what kind of prison sentence he should receive.

Hedstrom heard the various arguments, posed questions and worked methodically through the legal questions as family and friends of both Mezoui and Nightingale looked on.

Mezoui's widow, Jan, and his eldest son, Zino Jr., gave victim impact statements to the court, asking for the upper term for Nightingale, who also would take the stand to try to explain his reasons for leaving the scene, which he attributed to fear and panic.

As Hedstrom himself would point out, “There is no perfect outcome here,” acknowledging the impact of Mezoui's loss to his family and friends.

During the hearing, Hedstrom paid particular attention to Nightingale's driving before the crash, which he said went to the degree of negligence. That point proved important because Nightingale had submitted a written statement to the court that attempted to offer justification for his actions.

Langan was prepared to try to challenge those statements by entering into evidence the preliminary hearing transcript, but Hedstrom said he didn't know how helpful it would be, and Langan later in the hearing withdrew that request after he had the chance to cross-examine Nightingale.

Zino Mezoui Jr., 23, told the court during his victim impact statement that he was a changed man after losing his father, who “lived a life full of love and compassion, his most powerful attributes.”

He said to Nightingale, “I implore you to learn from your life experiences in only the most positive of ways,” and asked the judge for the harshest penalty.

“I carry sadness with me at all times,” the younger Mezoui said, adding, “I intend to lead a life full of love and compassion, just as my father would want.”

Jane Mezoui's words for Nightingale were decidedly tougher. “May you see his face embedded in your mind every time you get into an automobile to drive.”

She said Nightingale had no regard for life, and showed what kind of person he was for not stopping to help her husband. “You fled the scene like the coward that you are,” she said, adding, “We know why you fled and why you didn't turn yourself in for five days.”

Since her husband's death, she said she has struggled to keep open their restaurant, Zino's Ristorante on Soda Bay Road, and his sons are working to finish their college, which was their father's dream.

When Nightingale took the stand, following a short side bar between the attorneys and judge, the correctional officer was called forward to remove the cuffs from his wrists.

Hedstrom wouldn't let Nightingale simply make a statement, instead requiring the question and answer format.

When Zamora asked him how he felt about Mezoui's death, Nightingale said, “It was tragic, a very sad thing that happened. Just a shocking accident and I feel that I don't think it could have been avoided."

He offered his condolences to Mezoui's family, explaining that he knows how hard it is to lose a loved one, having lost his mother when he was very young.

Zamora asked him about fleeing the scene. “I really just didn't know what to do that that time,” Nightingale said.

Adding that he was shocked, Nightingale said, “I was just horrified by the tragic accident that had happened, so I didn't know what to do, so I left and went back to my home.”

Langan got the chance to cross-examine Nightingale, which Zamora objected to, saying he had understood that Nightingale could make a statement without being questioned.

Langan questioned Nightingale closely on the details of his story. While Nightingale's written statement to the court claimed that Mezoui had come out of the shadows, which is why he said he didn't see him, Langan challenged that assertion, saying that at 10 a.m. on that Friday Mezoui should have been visible in bright sunlight as he approached the intersection.

Nightingale said he went to call 911 but didn't have a phone, and ended up walking through the woods on the back roads of his family ranch near Lower Lake, getting home around noon or 1 p.m.

Later he reportedly called his family members from a pay phone in Lower Lake, getting the advice to lie low.

Nightingale denied a witness' testimony offered during the preliminary hearing that he was at a business in Lakeport between 1 p.m. and 2 p.m. the day of the crash, trying to sell his Suburban.

Langan also questioned Nightingale on whether he tried to alter the registration on his vehicle prior to the day of the crash. Zamora instructed Nightingale not to answer based in his Fifth Amendment rights not to incriminate himself, and objected, with Hedstrom sustaining the objection.

During Langan's cross-examination, Nightingale said he wasn't in the “right state of mind,” a justification for leaving the scene. Langan pressed him on using controlled substances. Nightingale said he had a medical marijuana card. Zamora again objected to the line of questioning.

Hedstrom, in assessing Nightingale's statements and actions, said he didn't agree that Nightingale understood the Mezoui family's loss. “I don’t think he really knows the family's grief here. It's much greater than he can understand,” said Hedstrom, adding that there also was no way Nightingale could make it right.

While Nightingale maintained that he didn't know what to do, Hedstrom said, “I can't buy that,” explaining that he could have helped Mezoui by staying at the scene.

Not only did the family suffer an emotional loss, but also an “incredible” monetary loss, Hedstrom said.

Hedstrom said Nightingale had five misdemeanors from 1995 to 2010, the most serious ones being a driving under the influence charge in Sonoma County in 2007 that later was reduced to a lesser “wet reckless” charge and a DUI charge in 2009 for which he was placed on five years probation.

In June 2010 he admitted violating his probation while driving in January 2010 and was given three years probation, and this past February he admitted to those offenses and to violating his probation in two other cases by driving in August 2010.

Hedstrom denied Nightingale probation. “This court concludes that there is a likelihood that the defendant would be a danger to others if not in prison.”

Langan argued for the maximum term. “He's been admonished before, he's still doing it, and now the Mezoui family has paid the ultimate price for this,” adding that Nightingale needed punishment and deterrents.

Zamora argued that the suggestion that Nightingale's behavior was increasingly serious was “hard to swallow,” and wasn't backed up by the evidence. He said Nightingale could be helped and rehabilitated by the structure possible on probation, but since the judge was determining a prison term, he argued that all of the misdemeanor charges should be served concurrently, rather than consecutively.

In the end, Hedstrom ordered Nightingale to serve the upper term of four years in prison on the felony hit-and-run charge, with the misdemeanor charges each getting a year that he was ordered to serve concurrently, although much of that time was wiped out with time already served and other credits.

Nightingale also has been ordered to pay the Mezoui family more than $47,000 in restitution, which will be the subject of another hearing on May 17.

Hedstrom said the statute allows credit of up to one half of the sentence for good conduct, meaning Nightingale could be out of prison in about two years. He warned Nightingale that if he was released on parole and didn't follow the rules, he could be returned to prison for a “significant time.”

As he was being led out a side door to go back to the county jail, Nightingale told his family and friends, “See you in a few years.”

Afterward, Langan said it was the best outcome they could hope for given the evidence and the extent to which the law would allow them to go.

He said a witness driving behind Mezoui that day testified during the preliminary hearing that Mezoui was driving the speed limit – Nightingale, in his statements on Friday, alleged that Mezoui was driving 70 miles per hour – and that Nightingale had slowed or stopped before pulling out. Another witness claimed that Nightingale broke traction while taking off at the intersection.

Langan stated the circumstances of the case were “egregious.”

Jan Mezoui wasn't ultimately pleased with the outcome. “I don't feel like justice was served. I really don't,” she said, adding that never once did Nightingale say he was sorry for his part in the incident.

Zino Mezoui's sons, Zino Jr. and his brother, Sami, 21 – both resembling their father with their jet-black hair and good looks – are continuing their education. Jan Mezoui said they are good young men.

Zino Jr., said he is studying criminal justice and wants to be a police officer.

Reflecting on what he's endured following his father's death, he said, “I would hope that it would only strengthen my character.”

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

The California Employment Development Department's report on unemployment for March showed that the state's unemployment rate was 12 percent for March, compared to the revised percentage of 12.1 for February and down from 12.4 percent in March 2010.

In March unemployed Californians totaled 2,176,000 – down by 25,000 over the month, and down by 79,000 compared with March of last year, the Employment Development Department reported.

In Lake County, unemployment was at 19.5 percent in March, up from 19.2 percent in February and up from the 19 percent recorded in March 2010, the state reported.

Nationwide, unemployment decreased in March to 8.8 percent, down from 8.9 percent in February and 9.7 percent in March 2010, according to the US Bureau of Labor Statistics. That's the lowest nationwide unemployment since March 2009.

Lake County's most recent unemployment rate earned it a statewide rank of 49 out of 58 counties, the same as its February rank.

In March, Lake County's labor force included 24,510 people, of which 4,780 were unemployed, according to state figures. In February there were 24,440 local residents in the workforce, and 4,700 were out of work.

Marin continued to be the county with the lowest unemployment, at 8 percent, while Colusa County was ranked last of the state's counties, with 26.7 percent unemployment.

Lake's neighboring counties registered the following unemployment rates and statewide ranks: Colusa, 26.7 percent, No. 58; Glenn, 18.6 percent, No. 46; Yolo, 14.8 percent, No. 33; Mendocino, 12.5 percent, No. 22; Napa, 10.3 percent, No. 9; and Sonoma, 10.4 percent, No. 11.

In Lake County, Clearlake Oaks was the area with highest unemployment, 28.5 percent, followed by Nice, 27.8 percent; the city of Clearlake, 27.4 percent; Lucerne, 20.5 percent; Kelseyville, 19.8 percent; Middletown, 19.7 percent; city of Lakeport, 18.8 percent; Cobb, 17.5 percent; Lower Lake, 16.5 percent; Hidden Valley Lake, 16.2 percent; and north Lakeport, 15.6 percent. Upper Lake had the lowest unemployment rate, 10.3 percent.

Dennis Mullins of the Employment Development Department's Labor Market Information Division said total Lake County industry employment increased by 10 in March, ending the month-over period with 12,180 jobs.

He said 10 industries gained or were unchanged over the month and two declined. Government jobs remained down over the year, with a loss of 130 jobs.

Mullins said month-over job growth occurred in mining, logging and construction, 10; manufacturing, 10; professional and business services, 10; private educational and health services, 10; and government, 20.

Month-over job losses occurred in the farm category, down 20 jobs, and leisure and hospitality, down by 10, Mullins said, while industries with no change in March were trade, transportation and utilities; information; financial activities; and other services.

Surveys show mixed results for state job numbers

While California’s unemployment rate decreased in March, nonfarm jobs in California totaled 14,049,300 in March, a decrease of 11,600 jobs during the month, according to the Employment Development Department, which uses two separate surveys to gauge unemployment statewide – a federal survey of 5,500 California households and a survey of 42,000 California businesses.

The year-over-year change – March 2010 to March 2011 – shows an increase of 188,100 jobs, up 1.4 percent, the state said, while the federal survey of households showed a decrease in the number of employed people.

That federal survey estimated the number of Californians holding jobs in March was 15,902,000, a decrease of 14,000 from February, and down 61,000 from the employment total in March of

last year.

The Employment Development Department's report on payroll employment – wage and salary jobs – in the nonfarm industries of California totaled 14,049,300 in March, a net loss of 11,600 jobs since the February survey, which officials said followed a gain of 84,600 jobs in February.

There were 630,829 people receiving regular unemployment insurance benefits during the March survey week, which the state said compared with 666,260 last month and 768,583 last year. At the same time, new claims for unemployment insurance were 61,076 in March, compared with 68,203 in

February and 70,450 in March 2010.

The report's detailed breakdowns showed that four categories – information; professional and business services; educational and health services; and government – added jobs over the month, gaining 9,100 jobs. Educational and health services posted the largest increase over the month, adding

5,100 jobs.

Seven categories – mining and logging; construction; manufacturing; trade, transportation and utilities; financial activities; leisure and hospitality; and other services – reported job declines this month, down 20,700 jobs, the state said.

The report also stated that eight industry divisions – mining and logging; construction; manufacturing; trade, transportation and utilities; information; professional and business services; educational and health services; and leisure and hospitality – posted job gains over the year, adding 235,900 jobs.

Professional and business services posted the largest gain on a numerical basis, adding 83,800 jobs, a 4.1 percent increase. The state said information posted the largest gain on a percentage basis, up by 5.3 percent, an increase of 22,800 jobs.

Other report findings included three categories – financial activities, other services and government – posting job declines over the year, down 47,800 jobs, while government posted the largest decline on

both a numerical and percentage basis, down by 42,500 jobs, a 1.7 percent decrease.

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

In 1950, the California Centennial Commission declared the historic Stone House to be the oldest building in Lake County. It is State Historical Monument No. 450. Courtesy photo.

SOUTH LAKE COUNTY, Calif. – The Kelsey Creek Valley remains undisputedly the first area in Lake County to have been settled by those who were not the native Indians. Almost simultaneously, the first south county settlement by “gringos” was in Coyote Valley, now home to Hidden Valley Lake and, 10 miles or so southeast, Langtry (once Guenoc) Vineyards.

Salvador Vallejo, younger brother of General Mariano Vallejo, claimed the first Mexican land grant north of Mt. St. Helena in 1844.

Known as Rancho Lupyomi, it encompassed more than 70,000 acres that included all of Clear Lake and all of the fertile valleys on its shores – all that would become Upper Lake, Lakeport, Scotts Valley, Kelseyville, the Riviera, Nice, Lucerne, Glenhaven, Clearlake Oaks, Clearlake and Lower Lake. That claim was overruled in 1852.

About the same time, his brother-in-law, Jacob Primer Leese, was obtaining almost 30,000 acres and initiating a similar cattle-raising operation in the more southerly regions of Lake County, then still years away from being distinguished even as Napa County.

Gen. Vallejo was in charge of “el frontera del norte,” an area then stretching from San Jose to the border of the Oregon Territory and from the Pacific to the Mississippi.

In 1836, Vallejo was instructed to dismantle the missions and dispose of their holdings because the Mexican government could no longer afford to maintain them.

This meant that private ownership of land became possible. Huge tracts of land were granted to Mexican citizens essentially just for the asking. Vallejo himself claimed many thousands of acres, and was equally generous in obtaining land for his family and friends.

Leese obtained several grants, including 6,400 acres that years later would be home to San Bruno, Brisbane and Visitation Valley.

He traded that grant for Robert T. Ridley’s 8,242-acre Rancho Collayomi, home of Middletown, in 1845.

Weeks later he acquired the adjacent 21,200-acre Rancho Guenoc owned by George Roch.

Ridley – and probably Roch – had become a Mexican citizen, thus eligible for a land grant, by marrying into a Californio family.

Roch had promptly signed over a sizable grant in southern California the year before to the wealthy owner of adjacent property.

Leese sold both of his local ranchos to Capt. Archibald Alexander Ritchie for $14,000 in 1851.

A.A. Ritchie was an ambitious newcomer who arrived in Yerba Buena in mid-1848 after almost 30 years as a sea captain and as resident agent in Canton for a major shipping firm.

The boundaries of Rancho Collayomi and Rancho Guenoc are seen yet today on township maps. Roughly Y-shaped, Collayomi straddles Highway 29 north from around Bradford Road to Middletown, then east and west along Butts Canyon Road and Hwy 175. Guenoc extends from the mountains marking the northern boundary of Collayomi to the lower end of Spruce Grove Road, east to Detert Lake and west almost to Harbin Springs. Google image.

The legalities of property ownership had become remarkably muddled over the previous decade, as newcomers chose homesteads that were enclosed by huge land grants.

By 1851, so many fistfights, gunfights, lawsuits and killings had resulted that the U.S. Land Act decreed all titles must be validated in U.S. courts.

Ritchie claimed both grants in 1852, jointly with Paul S. Forbes.

Forbes may have never even visited California and is not apparently related to William Forbes, “father” of Lakeport. He was American Consul in Canton at the time Ritchie lived there.

There were a few squatters on the Lake County grants, who apparently created no trouble.

One was A.H. Butts, who later moved to Butts Canyon. Another was William H. Manlove, who became first sheriff of Lake County.

In the mountains west of the ranchos, John Cobb was setting up a homestead for his wife and children as early as 1853.

Until 1856, the only wagon trail into this area was the one carved by the military hauling their cannons toward the Bloody Island Massacre – over Howell Mountain, through Pope Valley and Butts Canyon, across the Rancho Guenoc and onto Lower Lake and Big Valley.

Only the hardiest made the trip; the earliest documented was the Hammack party who settled in Upper Lake in 1854.

In 1852, or perhaps earlier, Ritchie engaged young Robert Henry Sterling to settle on the Rancho Guenoc and act as manager of the two grants.

At 24, seaman Sterling had sailed around the world and taken part in numerous trips to China and throughout the West Indies.

He had just returned from a yearlong trip back home to Connecticut, where he had proposed to Lydia Jane Wheaton.

Sterling built an anomalous stone house, ready for his bride when she came ‘round The Horn and they were wed in May 1854.

She was accustomed to the security of large stone houses, the residences of prominent families, provisioned to serve as “safe houses” for everyone.

On July 9, 1856, Capt. A.A. Ritchie was found dead alongside his wagon. The probate dragged on into 1868.

A few parcels of Rancho Guenoc were leased to incoming settlers. The 1860 census tallied 131 residents in the village of Guenoc about a mile south of the stone house, where Hartmann Bridge today spans Putah Creek on Highway 29.

Finally, by 1870, the Ritchie family had started splitting the huge spreads into parcels for sale, and serious development of south Lake County got under way.

Meanwhile, around the lake, settlement had been increasing rapidly for 15 years.

Nina Bouska is a member of the Stone House Historical Society. Visit the group online at http://home.mchsi.com/~stonehouse/statement.htm .

For more information about the Lake County Sesquicentennial, visit www.lc150.org, join the celebration at https://www.facebook.com/home.php#!/pages/Lake-County-Sesquicentennial/171845856177015 and follow it on Twitter at http://twitter.com/LakeCo150 .

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The crash occurred at around 3:30 p.m. on Highway 175 in Cobb, the CHP said.

A Ford Focus and a Toyota Tercel collided near Cobb Mountain Elementary School, according to the CHP.

The report indicated that the roadway was blocked as medical personnel worked to extricate one subject.

Officials said the roadway was clear and most of the units cleared from the scene by about 5 p.m.

Information about those involved and the full extent of their injuries was not immediately available.

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Jess Jackson, founder of Kendall-Jackson Wines, died on Thursday, April 21, 2011. Photo courtesy of Kendall-Jackson.

GEYSERVILLE, Calif. – Jess Stonestreet Jackson, the wine visionary who popularized Chardonnay in America in the early 1980s with his immediately-successful Kendall-Jackson winery and then became a pioneering architect of the ascendant American wine industry, died Thursday at his Geyserville, Calif.

Jackson's death came at the end of a long and courageous battle with cancer. He was 81.

Jackson was considered a giant in the wine industry both nationally and locally.

“He was an icon in Lake County for sure,” said Shannon Gunier, executive director of the Lake County Winegrape Commission.

Gunier said that Jackson got his start growing wine in Lake County, where his company still has vineyards, a custom crush facility on Mathews Road in Lakeport and buys a lot of local grapes for use in its wines.

A one-time longshoreman and police officer, who put himself through University of California Berkeley's Boalt Hall law school, Jackson became one of the best-known figures in American viticulture, as Kendall-Jackson became the best-selling Chardonnay in America for over two decades, the company said in a Thursday statement.

Jackson was born Feb. 18, 1930. Raised in San Francisco during the Great Depression, Jackson worked as a farmer, policeman and land-use lawyer.

Local lore holds that Jackson was introduced to the winegrape industry by local winegrape grower Hank Bartolucci, after the two men happened to sit next to each other on an airplane flight back from Hawaii.

He started the Kendall-Jackson wine business with the family's 1974 purchase of an 80-acre pear and walnut orchard in Lakeport, which he converted to a vineyard.

Gunier said Kendall-Jackson has helped promote Lake County's Sauvignon Blanc, considered one of its most successful varietals.

In 1982, he produced his first bottle of wine under the Kendall-Jackson label, and the following year the wine won the first double Platinum Award ever presented by the American Wine Competition. Kendall-Jackson Wine Estates remains today one of the most awarded wineries in the United States.

Jackson's original winemaker was Jed Steele, who left in 1990 and went on to found the award-winning Steele Wines in Kelseyville.

The two men at one point ended up in Lake County Superior Court, with Judge John Golden issuing a 1992 decision that the New York Times called a “milestone ruling” for the California wine industry.

Golden found “that a winemaking process constitutes a trade secret belonging to a winery and may not be divulged by the winemaker to subsequent employers or consulting clients,” according to reporter Lawrence M. Fisher in an article published July 2, 1992.

Said Gunier, “It was pretty contentious back in the day.”

Jackson's vision and outspoken manner often ran counter to conventional industry practices. When he realized that the quality of the French oak barrels used to age his wine was inconsistent, he invested in his own mill in France to provide barrel staves, and became a partner in a cooperage located in Missouri.

He created his own California distribution company to remain free of industry consolidation there. He was a leader in the sustainable farming movement within the wine industry, implementing dozens of environmentally-friendly farming innovations throughout the vineyards of Jackson Family Wines. As a philanthropist he and his wife Barbara Banke quietly donated millions of dollars in support of local and national charitable organizations.

Jackson was a founding member of Family Winemakers of California. In 2009, Jackson was inducted into the Vintner's Hall of Fame.

At that time he remarked, "Wine is entirely different from liquor and beer, and I'd like to see our industry free itself from the images that are used to sell those products. Wine is a part of our cultural heritage. It has always been the traditional partner with food. Wine celebrates friends, family, and love – all of the best things in life.

“When my family and I founded Kendall-Jackson in 1982, we simply wanted to create extraordinary wine from California's best vineyards,” Jackson wrote in his biographical notes. “We grow grapes on our own 14,000 acres of California coastal vineyards. We take the no-compromise, high road approach to quality required to grow our world-class grapes and produce acclaimed award-winning wines.

“From day one we have been a family-owned and family-run business,” he said. “It is a distinction that is rapidly becoming a rarity in our industry. Our family culture is built on the time-honored principles of hard work, integrity, and uncompromising desire for quality and the long-term stewardship of the land.”

Among the wines made in the Jackson Family collection are Kendall-Jackson Wine Estates, Cambria, Stonestreet, Edmeades, La Crema, Cardinale, Lokoya, Hartford Family Winery, Verite, Atalon, Carmel Road, Murphy Goode, La Jota, Freemark Abbey, Bryon Estates, Arrowood, all in the U.S.; Chateau Lassegue in France; Tenuta di Arceno in Italy; Yangarra in Australia; and Calina in Chile. Jackson Family Wines is one of California's few remaining family-owned winery groups, with family members working full-time in a variety of positions.

Jackson's passion for farming and horses led him later in life to thoroughbred breeding and racing. In 2007, he became majority stakeholder in the racehorse Curlin who then won Horse of the Year for two consecutive years (2007 and 2008).

The following year, Jackson's filly, Rachel Alexandra became the first filly to win the Preakness Stakes at Pimlico in 85 years. She also won 2009 Horse of the Year. An outspoken leader in the reform of racing, Jackson won the Sportsman of the Year 2008 Insider Award.

He is survived by his wife, Barbara Banke, five children: Jennifer Hartford, Laura Giron, Katie Jackson, Julia Jackson and Christopher Jackson and two grandchildren, Hailey Hartford and MacLean Hartford.

In lieu of flowers, the family suggests a donation to one of the following organizations:

• Family Justice Center of Sonoma County, 600 Administration Drive, Room 103-J, Santa Rosa, CA 95403, telephone 707-565-8257, www.fjcsc.org/content.aspx?sid=1029&id=1511 .

• Redwood Empire Food Bank, 3320 Industrial Drive, Santa Rosa, CA 95403, 707-523-7900, www.refb.org/waystodonate.html .

• Boys & Girls Club Central Sonoma County, P.O. Box 7460, Santa Rosa, CA 95407, 707-528-7977, www.bgccsc.org/give.aspx .

• Racetrack Chaplaincy of America, 2365 Harrodsburg Road, Suite A120, Lexington, KY 40504, 859-410-7822, http://rtcanational.org/giving/ .

• Belmont Child Care Association, Gate 6, 2150 Hempstead Turnpike, Elmont, NY 11003, 516-488-2103, www.belmontchildcare.org/a-bcca-give.html .

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To celebrate the 21st anniversary of the Hubble Space Telescope's deployment into space, astronomers at the Space Telescope Science Institute in Baltimore, Md., pointed Hubble's eye at an especially photogenic pair of interacting galaxies called Arp 273. The larger of the spiral galaxies, known as UGC 1810, has a disk that is distorted into a rose-like shape by the gravitational tidal pull of the companion galaxy below it, known as UGC 1813. This image is a composite of Hubble Wide Field Camera 3 data taken on December 17, 2010, with three separate filters that allow a broad range of wavelengths covering the ultraviolet, blue, and red portions of the spectrum.Credit: NASA, ESA, A. Riess (STScI/JHU), L. Macri (Texas A&M University), and Hubble Heritage Team (STScI/AURA).

To celebrate the 21st anniversary of the Hubble Space Telescope's deployment into space, astronomers at the Space Telescope Science Institute in Baltimore, Md., pointed Hubble's eye at an especially photogenic pair of interacting galaxies called Arp 273.

“For 21 years, Hubble has profoundly changed our view of the universe, allowing us to see deep into the past while opening our eyes to the majesty and wonders around us,” NASA Administrator Charles Bolden said. “I was privileged to pilot space shuttle Discovery as it deployed Hubble. After all this time, new Hubble images still inspire awe and are a testament to the extraordinary work of the many people behind the world's most famous observatory.”

Hubble was launched April 24, 1990, aboard Discovery's STS-31 mission. Hubble discoveries revolutionized nearly all areas of current astronomical research from planetary science to cosmology.

“Hubble is America's gift to the world,” Sen. Barbara Mikulski of Maryland said. “Its jaw-dropping images have rewritten the textbooks and inspired generations of schoolchildren to study math and science. It has been documenting the history of our universe for 21 years. Thanks to the daring of our brave astronauts, a successful servicing mission in 2009 gave Hubble new life. I look forward to Hubble's amazing images and inspiring discoveries for years to come.”

The newly released Hubble image shows a large spiral galaxy, known as UGC 1810, with a disk that is distorted into a rose-like shape by the gravitational tidal pull of the companion galaxy below it, known as UGC 1813. A swath of blue jewel-like points across the top is the combined light from clusters of intensely bright and hot young blue stars. These massive stars glow fiercely in ultraviolet light.

The smaller, nearly edge-on companion shows distinct signs of intense star formation at its nucleus, perhaps triggered by the encounter with the companion galaxy.

Arp 273 lies in the constellation Andromeda and is roughly 300 million light-years away from Earth. The image shows a tenuous tidal bridge of material between the two galaxies that are separated from each other by tens of thousands of light-years.

A series of uncommon spiral patterns in the large galaxy are a tell-tale sign of interaction.

The large, outer arm appears partially as a ring, a feature seen when interacting galaxies actually pass through one another. This suggests the smaller companion dived deep, but off-center, through UGC 1810.

The inner set of spiral arms is highly warped out of the plane, with one of the arms going behind the bulge and coming back out the other side. How these two spiral patterns connect is not precisely known.

The larger galaxy in the UGC 1810 - UGC 1813 pair has a mass about five times that of the smaller galaxy.

In unequal pairs such as this, the relatively rapid passage of a companion galaxy produces the lopsided or asymmetric structure in the main spiral.

Also in such encounters, the starburst activity typically begins in the minor galaxies earlier than in the major galaxies. These effects could be because the smaller galaxies have consumed less of the gas present in their nuclei, from which new stars are born.

The interaction was imaged on Dec. 17, 2010, with Hubble's Wide Field Camera 3 (WFC3). The picture is a composite of data taken with three separate filters on WFC3 that allow a broad range of wavelengths covering the ultraviolet, blue, and red portions of the spectrum.

The Hubble Space Telescope is a project of international cooperation between NASA and the European Space Agency. NASA's Goddard Space Flight Center manages the telescope.

The Space Telescope Science Institute (STScI) conducts Hubble science operations. STScI is operated for NASA by the Association of Universities for Research in Astronomy Inc. in Washington, D.C.

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Shortly before 9:30 p.m. Thursday a corrections deputy completing required cell checks found the 29-year-old male inmate, whose name was not released, in the process of the suicide attempt, according to a report from Capt. Timothy Pearce of the Mendocino County Sheriff's Office.

Pearce said the corrections deputy summoned assistance and assessed the condition of the inmate, who had no pulse and was not breathing.

Life saving measures were immediately initiated and the fire department was notified, Peace said.

Upon their arrival, fire department personnel were able to detect a pulse. Peace said the inmate was then transported to Ukiah Valley Medical Center. The inmate was subsequently transferred to St. Helena Hospital.

Pearce said the inmate's name is being withheld pending notification of family members.

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John Burciaga, 57, of Kelseyville, Calif., was arrested for allegedly threatening to shoot his neighbor, brandishing a firearm and vandalism on Wednesday, April 20, 2011. Lake County Jail photo.

KELSEYVILLE, Calif. – A Wednesday argument between neighbors that appeared to start over an offer of pork chops resulted in shots being fired and the arrest of one of the men.

John Joseph Burciaga, 57, of Kelseyville was arrested for felony criminal threats, and misdemeanor charges of brandishing a firearm, discharging a firearm in a negligent manner and vandalism, according to Capt. James Bauman of the Lake County Sheriff's Office.

On Wednesday, April 20, at approximately 2:45 p.m., sheriff’s deputies responded to the Live Oak Mobile Home Park in Kelseyville on a report that Burciaga had fired a shotgun at a camper belonging to his neighbor, 49-year-old Jerry Wesley Cobb, Bauman said.

Bauman said that, upon their arrival, deputies located Burciaga in his mobile home and detained him without incident.

The investigation revealed that shortly after 2:30 p.m., Burciaga and Cobb had encountered each other at their mail boxes and Cobb had offered Burciaga some pork chops to have for his dinner later, Bauman said.

Burciaga declined the offer and when Cobb allegedly persisted, Burciaga pushed Cobb away and the two got into a brief physical altercation. Bauman said the altercation ended and both men returned to their respective homes.

Approximately one minute later, Cobb was outside of his home working on his motorcycle when Burciaga came out of his home with a shotgun. As Burciaga walked towards Cobb, he fired one shot into the air and then pointed the gun at Cobb, stating he would shoot him, according to Bauman.

Bauman said Burciaga then pointed the gun at the cab-over camper on Cobb’s parked truck and fired another shot, causing an estimated $1,000 in damage.

Burciaga then pushed Cobb’s motorcycle down on the ground, breaking one of the sideview mirrors, and returned to his home with the gun, Bauman said.

It is unknown exactly why the altercation erupted over one man offering the other food and Burciaga had no plausible explanation for retrieving the shotgun and discharging it when the altercation had already ended. Bauman said no injuries reported as a result of the incident.

Burciaga was arrested and booked at the Lake County Hill Road Correctional Facility, Bauman said.

Burciaga's bail was set at $10,000. Jail records indicated he later posted bail and was released.

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The quake occurred at 12:42 p.m., according to a preliminary report from the US Geological Survey.

It was recorded two miles north northeast of The Geysers geothermal steamfield, four miles west of Cobb and seven miles northwest of Anderson Springs, at a depth of 1.5 miles, the survey reported.

The US Geological Survey received two shake reports – one from Kelseyville, one from San Francisco.

A 3.3-magnitude quake was recorded in the Anderson Springs area on April 10, as Lake County News has reported.

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

Daniel Wood, 29, of Middletown, Calif., is facing a series of additional charges alleging crimes against children following his conviction on indecent exposure charges on March 30, 2011. Lake County Jail photo.

LAKEPORT, Calif. – A 29-year-old Middletown man who a jury found guilty last month of committing sex crimes now faces as many as 15 additional charges alleging crimes against children under the age of 14.

Daniel Laine Wood is the focus of the new charges, according to Capt. James Bauman of the Lake County Sheriff's Office.

On March 30, Wood was found guilty of two misdemeanor counts of indecent exposure and annoying or molesting a child, as Lake County News has reported.

That case related to an August 2010 incident in Middletown, in which Wood reportedly exposed his genitals to two 12-year-old girls.

Since Wood's arrest in December for the August 2010 incident, sex crimes detectives with the Sheriff’s Major Crimes Unit continued to investigate Wood and have developed new information on cases alleging that he had committed criminal acts on several young girls between 2002 and 2003, Bauman said.

The allegations, according to Bauman, relate to crimes that reportedly occurred in or around Wood’s home in Anderson Springs and involve three female victims who were either 8 or 9 years of age at the time.

Last Friday, April 15, a complaint was submitted by sheriff’s sex crimes detectives alleging 15 new felony violations of lewd and lascivious acts with a child under the age of 14 years against Wood, Bauman said.

Bauman said Lake County Superior Court Judge Stephen Hedstrom signed a warrant on Monday, April 18, charging Wood with the new allegations. Wood subsequently was booked on the new charges at the Lake County Hill Road Correctional Facility.

Bauman said sheriff’s detectives sought and acquired a bail enhancement on Wood, who remains in the custody of the sheriff with a $250,000 bail and is scheduled to be arraigned on the new charges on April 24.

As a result of his March 30 conviction, Wood is already required to register as a sex offender for the rest of his life, Bauman said.

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Qiong Wang, 32, pleaded guilty to felony conspiracy and taking abalone for commercial purposes in Mendocino County Superior Court, according to a report from the California Department of Fish and Game.

Officials said Wang was sentenced to one year in jail and three years of probation, in addition to being fined $20,000 and forced to forfeit his vehicle and all dive equipment. His fishing license also was revoked for the rest of his life.

Wang illegally took 96 abalone over the course of 17 days in February 2011, according to the Department of Fish and Game.

The last of the three arrests occurred near Van Damme State Park on Feb. 19, just five days after he was released from jail for the last poaching incident, officials said.

Abalone season closed Dec. 1, and did not reopen until April 1, the state reported.

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