The feathery fronds of the dill plant are best snipped with scissors, rather than chopped with a knife, to preserve its delicate flavor. Photo by Esther Oertel.

A backyard herb garden is slowly taking shape at my home.

Throughout the last month, a variety of fragrant starts have found their way into terra cotta dwellings on my deck or patio. Little by little, the garden – such as it is – is growing, both in height and breadth.

Its latest addition is a healthy little dill plant, though “little” is a relative term. Compared to the young starts of other herbs such as basil, mint or thyme, it’s fairly tall, with feathery-leaved arms waving in the breeze, looking loftily down on its shorter herbal brethren.

Some dill plants grow to an impressive height of more than five feet; however, three feet or so is a more typical size. Dill attracts bees to the garden and is often used as a magnet for beneficial insects in companion plantings with vegetables.

Dill, hearty and resilient, is known for reseeding and spreading throughout a garden.

Dill flowers are umbels, meaning many stalks emanate from a common stem, each with a flower at its tip. Together they form a large, round, flat-topped yellow bloom about six inches across.

Dill’s feathery foliage may be harvested beginning in spring and throughout the summer. The blooming season for dill is generally from July through September, and seeds are harvested when the flowers mature.

With both the foliage and seeds used in cuisine, dill leaves are sometimes called “dill weed” to differentiate it from the seeds of the plant.

Dill is native to southern Russia, western Asian (India, for example) and the Mediterranean region of southern Europe and North Africa. It’s popular as a seasoning in the cuisines of these regions, in addition to northern and central Europe (think Scandinavia and Germany), the Middle East (particularly Iran) and Southeast Asia (specifically Laos, though parts of northern Thailand and areas of Vietnam utilize it).

In Southeast Asia, dill is known in English as Laotian coriander, and is typically used with seafood in that country, such as with fish steamed in banana leaves or in seafood curries.

Similarly, in Scandinavia, dill is used to flavor gravlax, a cured salmon dish. Dill, along with salt, sugar and coarse black pepper, coat the fish as it’s curing, a process that’s done over a few days in the fridge while the salmon is wrapped and weighted. Thin slices of gravlax make a slightly sweet and salty appetizer, often paired with hearty rye bread, mustard and cucumber.

Dill, both the leaves and seeds, are used as pickling spices. Dill pickles made from cucumbers preserved in brine and dill are enjoyed throughout Europe and North America; however, dill is also used as a pickling spice in Arabic countries, where the term for dill translates as “cricket eye.”

The root of the English word for dill is not quite as colorful, though it has a practical meaning. It comes from the Norse word “dilla,” which means “to lull,” appropriate because of its calming effect on the muscles, particularly those of the digestive tract. It’s been used for centuries in teas and other remedies as a curative for digestive problems.

This baby dill - purchased in a local market - may be used to flavor a variety of dishes and is compatible with a wide range of foods, from beets to salmon to eggs to potatoes to cucumbers and tomatoes. Photo by Esther Oertel.

In India, dill is used in “mukhwas,” an after-meal digestive aid, and in medieval Europe, Charlemagne is said to have made dill seeds available on his banquet tables as a carminative (an anti-flatulence agent) for his guests. Gripe water, a remedy for colicky babies, has dill seed as an ingredient.

The ancient Greeks considered dill a sign of wealth, even burning the oil to display status.

Hippocrates, a physician in that society, recommended dill for cleaning the mouth. His recipe reads more like an after dinner drink than a cleanser, however: “Clean teeth with a ball of wool dipped in honey and rinse with 1 teaspoon of dill seed boiled in 1/2 cup of white wine.”

Whenever possible, use fresh dill leaves, rather than dried, as the flavor and fragrance of the fresh, feathery fronds are superior. Because the flavor of fresh dill breaks down in cooking, add it at the last minute. It is recommended that dill be snipped with scissors, rather than chopped with a knife, to preserve its delicate flavor.

Fresh dill should be stored in the fridge, either with its stems placed in water or wrapped in a damp paper towel. Dill can be frozen, either whole or chopped, in an airtight container. Some people keep whole dill fronds in zipper locked bags in the freezer, pulling them out to snip off just enough dill for a recipe and then returning them to the freezer.

Dried dill seeds will stay fresh for about six months if kept in an airtight container (preferably glass) in a cool, dry, dark place.

Both the seeds and leaves contain calcium, iron and manganese; in fact, a tablespoon of dill seeds contains as much calcium as one-third of a cup of milk. Dill is considered a good source of fiber.

Dill has anti-bacterial properties due to the volatile oil present in the plant. As well, the activity of its volatile oils qualify it as a “chemoprotective” food (much like parsley) that can help neutralize particular types of carcinogens, such as smoke from charcoal grills, cigarettes and the like.

In addition to pickling, dill seeds are used to flavor breads, like the caraway seeds to which they’re often compared. The seeds have a stronger flavor than the leaves.

Fresh dill leaves make a wonderful sauce for fish or asparagus when combined with mayonnaise, yogurt or sour cream and flavored with fresh lemon juice.

Dill is a main flavor component of beet borscht, Russia’s signature soup and a favorite in Eastern European countries. I especially love borscht served hot with a dollop of thick Greek yogurt or sour cream and freshly-snipped dill.

Fresh dill adds brightness to scrambled eggs, omelets, egg salads and stuffed eggs. I like using it in sandwiches, such as with tuna or fresh garden tomatoes.

Cucumbers and dill are made for each other, as are dill and tomatoes. When these companionable vegetables are pulled from summer gardens, make a salad, simply dressed with olive oil, a splash of red wine vinegar and fresh dill.

Combining cucumber, yogurt and fresh dill makes for a cooling summer salad. When the cucumber is diced finely, an Indian- or Greek-inspired dip or sauce is created.

You may be wondering why I didn’t mention dill and potatoes, another classic combo, especially in cold potato salads. Perhaps you could say I saved the best for last.

I made a red potato salad with dill this evening for dinner, and I made note of the proportions of each component so I could fashion it into a recipe for you. My version of this classic salad, simple yet tasty, is below. Enjoy!

Dilled red potato salad

2 pounds or more small red potatoes

3-4 scallions, white and green parts thinly sliced

Approximately ¼ cup snipped fresh dill (or less to taste)

½ cup sour cream

½ cup mayonnaise

1 tablespoon white wine vinegar

Salt and pepper to taste

Wash potatoes and remove eyes. (Do not peel.) Cut them into bite sized pieces and cook until just tender in salted, boiling water. Drain and plunge into ice water bath to stop cooking process.

Combine sour cream, mayonnaise, vinegar, dill and scallions and blend well. Adjust seasonings, adding salt and pepper to taste.

Drain potatoes and put in a serving bowl. Pour sour cream dressing over them, gently folding potatoes into dressing to coat all pieces well.

Makes six to eight servings.

Recipe by Esther Oertel.

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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This dilled red potato salad is flavored with fresh dill and scallions and is dressed very simply to allow those flavors to shine. Photo by Esther Oertel.

Caltrans reported on Friday that the project is under way along Highway 53, stretching from 40^th Avenue to Highway 20.

Crews will repave roughly four miles of highway, widen the highway shoulders, add and extend turn pockets at intersections, and install lighting at intersections, according to Caltrans spokesman Phil Frisbie.

One of the project's main components will be in the installation of a traffic signal at the intersection of Highway 53 and Olympic Drive, Frisbie said. The signal will replace temporary stop signs placed there last spring.

The stoplight project – which had, at one point, looked as if it would be delayed – has been moved up, according to Frisbie.

“We have also modified the contractor's schedule to focus on widening and paving the south section near Olympic Drive first so we can install the signal this fall, instead of next fall,” he said.

Frisbie said the project's purpose is to bring that section of Highway 53 up to current design standards and enhance safety for all highway users – motorists, bicyclists and pedestrians.

He said work is anticipated to be completed by fall 2012.

Work hours are 7 a.m. to 6 p.m., weekdays. Frisbie said one-way traffic control will be in effect, and motorists should anticipate 10-minute delays.

For the most current road information on all state highways, call 1-800-427-7623 (1-800-GAS-ROAD) or visit www.dot.ca.gov.

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Craig Lemke, 48, was approved for medical parole by the state Board of Parole Hearings on Wednesday, June 15, 2011, under a state law that allows seriously ill offenders to be released. Photo courtesy of the California Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation.

LAKE COUNTY, Calif. – In a first-of-its-kind decision, the Board of Parole Hearings on Wednesday approved the medical parole of a former Lake County man sentenced to 68 years in prison for a third strike case involving the home invasion robbery of an elderly couple.

The Board of Parole Hearings found that 48-year-old Craig Alvin Lemke was not a safety risk due to his “greatly impaired medical condition,” according to California Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation spokesman Luis Patino.

Patino said the board has up to 120 days to review Lemke's case and can change or reverse the decision at any time during that period. However, Patino added that the board plans an expedited review of the decision in light of the medical parole hearing's unique circumstances.

Lake County Chief Deputy District Attorney Richard Hinchcliff, who prosecuted Lemke and traveled to Pleasant Valley State Prison near Coalinga on Wednesday to argue against the medical parole, called the situation “a farce.”

Lemke “has left a path of victims his entire life,” and has never shown anyone any compassion, Hinchcliff said.

Hinchcliff also believes the medical parole statute is unconstitutional, as he said it directly contradicts aspects of the voter-approved “three strikes law,” a constitutional amendment meant to increase prison sentences for offenders convicted of multiple, serious felonies.

Nancy Kincaid, spokesperson for the California Prison Health Care Services, said the medical parole cases currently proposed are estimated to save the state's prison system $10 million in the first year, with the care of some inmates costing as much as $1.5 million a year.

She said she could not disclose the particular's of Lemke's case, nor the amount of money his care costs the state, due to privacy requirements.

Lemke was the second California prison inmate to be considered for medical parole but the first to be granted release under the auspices of SB 1399, authored by state Sen. Mark Leno (D-San Francisco).

The bill, which Leno said is meant to save the state prison system millions of dollars in medical care, was passed last year by the state Legislature and signed in September 2010 by then-Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger.

Leno's bill provides for the medical parole of prisoners who are “permanently medically incapacitated with a medical condition that renders him or her permanently unable to perform activities of basic daily living, and results in the prisoner requiring 24-hour care.”

It requires prisoner release in such circumstances if the Board of Parole Hearings determines that the conditions under which the prisoner would be released would not “reasonably” pose a threat to public safety.

Prisoners sentenced to life without the possibility of parole or who have received death sentences aren't eligible for medical parole under the bill.

A violent history

Lemke, who has a lengthy criminal record going back to the early 1980s, was sentenced by Judge Stephen Hedstrom to 68 years to life in state prison in November 2007 for the February 2006 home invasion robbery of an elderly Lower Lake couple.

According to case records, on the night of Feb. 12, 2006, Lemke and Joe Moncivaiz Jr. went to the home of the elderly couple, who Lemke knew, and got the 90-year-old man to open the door on the pretext that they had run out of gas and needed to borrow some.

The two men, dressed in dark clothing and skeleton masks, then rushed the elderly male victim and threw him to the floor, tying his hands with electrical tape.

The 71-year-old female heard noises, came out of her bedroom, was grabbed and had her wrists and ankles tied with plastic ties, and was told she would be killed if she made any noise, according to case records.

The two men then proceeded to destroy phone lines and ransack the house, taking $2,000, six rifles and a bag with ammunition, although case records noted they left the rifles at the end of the driveway because it was too much to carry.

At a three-and-a-half-week-long trial, Lemke took the stand and denied being at the crime scene. But his denials didn't convince a jury, who convicted him of two counts of first degree home invasion robbery, first degree burglary, three counts of elder abuse, grand theft of firearms, two on-bail enhancements, two strikes and other enhancements, leading to his 68-year sentence and a minimum eligible parole date of July 1, 2071, Hinchcliff said.

Hinchcliff said that Lemke effectively received a life sentence where he would have died in prison if legislators hadn't enacted the medical parole statute.

Lemke's previous criminal history, stretching back to 1981, included cases involving resisting arrest, possession of a sawed off shotgun, drunk in public and driving under the influence, petty theft, methamphetamine sales, burglary, vehicle theft and violation of parole.

In two separate cases from 1990, he was charged with assaulting his 77-year-old grandmother and stealing checks from her to support his heroin habit, with both cases being dismissed for a plea in another case, according to arrest records.

In April 1994 he was sentenced to seven years in prison for robbery and threatening to dissuade a witness in a case that was his first home invasion robbery.

In that case he and an accomplice held a man and his 15-year-old son at gunpoint, tied them up, ransacked their home and threatened to fire bomb the residence if they called police.

Arguing before the state board

Kincaid said the recommendation for medical parole comes from the state's prison doctors who don't have access to an inmate's criminal records and wouldn't therefore know the issues surrounding an inmate's incarceration unless the inmate volunteers it.

She said there's a “very hard wall” between the medical and the custodial sides for a reason. “The medical professionals, you want them focused on delivering medicine,” and not being influenced by concerns about the inmates' records, Kincaid explained.

While the prison doctors make the recommendation based on medical condition, the Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation and Board of Parole Hearings must conduct the safety evaluation, Kincaid said.

Due to federal medical privacy rules and the fact that Lemke hadn't signed a waiver to disclose his medical condition, Hinchcliff said he wasn't given any information by prison officials about Lemke's health issues in order to prepare for the Wednesday hearing.

However, when Hinchcliff arrived to argue against the release on Wednesday, Lemke had signed a waiver which disclosed that, since June 11, 2010, he has been in a hospital outside of the prison, suffering from a variety of health issues that have left him incapacitated and requiring 24-hour care.

During the time Lemke has been hospitalized, two prison guards have been stationed to watch him, at an annual cost of $750,000, said Hinchcliff, who argued before the board that if Lemke was indeed so medically incapacitated he shouldn't have required round-the-clock guards.

Hinchcliff said he understood that the requirement for a minimum of two guards was written into the state prison guards' latest contract with the Gov. Brown. He said the state could have cut costs by eliminating that requirement, but suggested the state won't stand up to the power prison guard union.

Hinchcliff said the hearing lasted two and a half hours, and included him, two Board of Parole Hearings commissioner's and Lemke's attorney.

He said the hearing lasted longer than expected because the commissioners spent a considerable amount of time on the phone with Board of Parole Hearings legal counsel “due to the uniqueness of the hearing and the fact they were wading into new legal waters.”

Hinchcliff gave the commissioners a letter from the daughter of the male robbery victim from February 2006, asking that parole be denied.

“I also argued there were other ways to solve the financial issue that is at the heart of the medical parole statute, without going through the legal formality of granting parole,” Hinchcliff said. “However, there was little that could be done because the release is mandatory under the statute where the inmate meets the designated criteria for release.”

Prison doctors reported that Lemke's prognosis is poor but he could live several more years, said Hinchcliff.

Hinchcliff said Lemke won't come back to Lake County, but is being paroled to the bed where he has been for a year.

“The terms are, if he ever gets better, he goes back into prison,” said Hinchcliff.

Officials can't divulge Lemke's whereabouts because of privacy law. Speaking generally due to privacy requirements, Kincaid said, “Any inmate who is on medical parole, who is in an outside facility, would likely stay in that outside facility.”

She said it depends on the individual, but in some cases, inmates can even be released to family members if it's deemed appropriate.

Hinchcliff disputed the idea that releasing Lemke from prison actually saves taxpayers money, pointing out that now federal Medicare funds, rather than simply state resources, also will be tapped to cover Lemke's care.

“They're not saving the taxpayers a dime because we're just paying out of our left pocket instead of our right pocket,” he said.

Contradicting the three strikes law

Hinchcliff said that the three strikes law sets down requirements that Leno's bill contradicts.

The three strikes law “specifically says that the person has to be sent to prison. There is no alternative,” including county jails, work camps or other facilities, he said.

Leno's bill, which wasn't approved by a two-thirds majority vote of the Legislature and wasn't a voter initiative, is changing that, Hinchcliff said.

The three strikes law also is meant to result in “terms proportionate to the seriousness of the offense with provisions for uniformity of sentences.”

According to Hinchcliff, releasing an inmate 64 years early while others have to serve their full term does not result in uniformity of sentences but rather a term that is extremely disproportionate to the seriousness of the offense, and emasculates the legislatively established purpose of imprisonment, which is punishment.

On Thursday, a day after granting Lemke medical parole, the Board of Parole Hearings held a third medical parole hearing at North Kern State Prison, granting release to inmate Juan Garcia Sandoval, who did not sign a waiver on his condition, requiring the board to discuss his health issues in private, according to a statement issued by Patino.

Patino reported that Sandoval was in prison on a first-degree murder conviction, and had been sentenced to a 27-year term.

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

On Monday, the unit will staff a fire engine at each of its 20 fire stations, as well as three bulldozers, 11 fire crews and one helicopter.

The Sonoma Air Attack Base will be opened for reloading air tankers. On July 1, one air tactical plane and two air tankers will arrive at the air attack base to begin the 2011 fire season.

The Sonoma-Lake-Napa Unit will enter into the peak staffing period on Monday, July 4, with all firefighting equipment staffed and ready for emergency response.

At peak staffing the unit has a total of 31 wildland fire engines, six bulldozers, 11 fire crews, one helicopter, two air tankers and one air tactical plane.

To meet the staffing needs for fire season, the Cal Fire Sonoma-Lake-Napa Unit augments its permanent workforce with approximately 200 seasonal firefighters.

Sonoma-Lake-Napa Unit Chief Tim Streblow reminds residents while maintaining their defensible space to use caution when mowing.

Each year mowing and equipment caused fires rank in the top five fire causes for the Sonoma-Lake-Napa Unit.

Chief Streblow urges residents to mow early in the day to avoid high temperatures and windy conditions. Ensure your mower is set at a height high enough to avoid hitting rocks with the blade. Most mowing caused fires result from a spark cast into dry grass when the blade strikes a rock.

For more information on defensible space and safe practices for mowing residents can go to Cal Fire's Web site at www.fire.ca.gov or contact their nearest Cal Fire facility.

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In commemoration of the 150^th anniversary of the founding of Lake County this year, Lake County News is publishing a series of historical stories about the county, its people and places. In this week's story, excerpted from the files of historian Henry Mauldin, the arrival of the Reeves family is recounted.

LAKE COUNTY, Calif. – Elijah Reeves was born in Kentucky in 1821, and crossed the plains in 1848.

He was one of the first white men to see Lake County when he traveled through with a group of Spaniards. He thought it was so beautiful he returned to Illinois to bring his wife and family back to California.

They left Mt. Sterling, Illinois in May of 1853, and joined a wagon train of 150 wagons. He served as a scout, spending most of his time ahead of the train, searching for water and pasture.

Martha Caroline Lamphier Reeves was born in Holland on March 5, 1825.

Her father worked as a shipbuilder. While Martha was still a young girl, he packed up his family and moved to New York. They eventually settled in Illinois, where she met and married Elijah.

As they crossed the plains, Martha told incredible tales, including how she attempted to lighten the load of their wagon by walking almost the whole way to California while pregnant.

When they arrived in Shasta, Calif., they didn’t even have time to find a house, as her son William was born under an oak tree, with quilts hung from limbs to provide privacy.

The family spent the winter in Shasta working the lead mines. Elijah would not move his family again until the spring of 1854, when they traveled 12 days by way of Howell Mountain and Pope Valley to Lake County (which was then part of Napa County).

They arrived to find a lovely lake, surrounded by meadows of clover and tall grass.

A large settlement of Pomo Indians were living very near where Kelseyville is today. They followed Kelsey Creek down into Big Valley and took up 160 acres about one mile from the lake and two and a a half miles from Kelseyville. They were the first white family to settle in Big Valley.

The only other settlers in this region were the Hammacks in Lower Lake, and a group of cattlemen, Robert Gaddy, Press Rickabaugh, Steve Tuck and Ad Benson – all bachelors.

On Aug. 30, 1855, in a cabin Elijah had built of oak logs, the first white settler was born in Lake County. His name was George Washington Reeves. He was followed by nine more children, with a total of 14 brothers and sisters, of which 11 survived.

Elijah Reeves died on March 7, 1872, and is buried in the Pioneer Cemetery in Kelseyville. His wife Martha died Oct. 9, 1898, and is buried in the Kelseyville Cemetery. George Washington Reeves passed away March 18, 1915, at the age of 60.

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Firefighters are continuing to monitor a fire that broke out in a railroad tunnel near Cloverdale, Calif., on Wednesday, June 15, 2011. Photo courtesy of the Cloverdale Fire Protection District and Cal Fire.

CLOVERDALE, Calif. – Firefighters are continuing to monitor a fire that broke out in a Sonoma County railroad tunnel earlier this week.

The Cloverdale Fire Protection District and the California Department of Forestry and Fire Protection (Cal Fire) responded to a fire involving an abandoned railroad tunnel shortly after 6 p.m. on Wednesday.

The tunnel is located along the Russian River, north of Cloverdale, near the Sonoma-Mendocino county line.

Firefighters found a fire involving the wood structure supporting the tunnel and were able to extinguish the fire on the southern end of the tunnel structure. However, officials reported that firefighters were unable to enter the tunnel to fully extinguish the fire due to the damaged wood structure and potential of collapse.

The firefighters reportedly observed wood and other material falling from the tunnel’s roof and walls. Cal Fire said the wood structure appears to be mainly untreated redwood timbers.

The owner of the tunnel, the Northwestern Pacific Railroad Co., was notified of the fire. Northwestern personnel have remained at the tunnel since Wednesday night, summoning water tenders and bulldozers to combat the fire, and sealing the ends of the tunnel, using bulldozers to pile dire, according to Cal Fire's report.

Cal Fire said smoke may remain visible to passing motorists on Highway 101 and residents of the area. The tunnel structure is expected to continue to burn for at least a week until it is smothered by the lack of fresh air.

The tunnel has not been used since railroad services stopped more than 10 years ago, Cal Fire said. The tunnel is 1,800 feet long and was originally built in 1898. It was refurbished in 1969.

Cal Fire said firefighters are ready to respond if the fire spreads to the surrounding vegetation.

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A bulldozer uses dirt to seal the north end of the railroad tunnel where a fire broke out near Cloverdale, Calif., on Wednesday, June 15, 2011. Photo courtesy of the Cloverdale Fire Protection District and Cal Fire.

SACRAMENTO – California Attorney General Kamala Harris on Thursday announced the results of a statewide sweep in which 1,209 firearms were seized from individuals legally barred from possessing them, including persons determined to be mentally unstable and those with active restraining orders.

The six-week sweep garnered three times as many firearms as were seized in 2007 when the last statewide sweep was conducted.

Harris made the announcement at the third in a series of region-by-region zone meetings for members of the law enforcement community.

“Seizing guns from felons, gang members and other prohibited persons is the kind of smart, proactive law enforcement that makes a difference in the everyday lives of Californians,” said Harris. “We are all safer thanks to the sworn officers who carried out this sweep and I am committed to strengthening this program.”

In the recently concluded sweep – the second statewide APPS effort – 99 agents from the Department of Justice seized 1,209 firearms from individuals prohibited from owning or possessing firearms. Agents also seized 155,731 rounds of ammunition and two grenades.

To clear the APPS backlog of approximately 34,000 handguns, Harris is the sponsor of Senate Bill 819, which would revise the penal code to expand the use of existing regulatory fees collected by gun dealers to allow the state Department of Justice to use fee revenue to pay for the APPS program.

The bill would also allow the DOJ to seek to hire new agents, and offer training to local law enforcement agencies in support of the APPS program.

“SB 819 addresses a troubling blind spot in our current enforcement of existing firearms laws,” said Sen. Mark Leno, D-San Francisco, author of SB 819.

“Innocent lives have already been lost because we allow guns to be in the hands of known criminals, gang members and people who have serious mental illnesses,” Leno said. “Increased confiscation of these unlawfully-possessed firearms will help prevent future crimes and result in cost savings to the state due to avoided prosecution and incarceration.”

As part of Thursday's meeting, the assembled police officers and sheriffs received an overview on the APPS program and the ways in which local agencies can assist to keep firearms out of the hands of those prohibited from possessing them.

Experts from the Department of Justice also briefed the law enforcement leaders on the attorney general's new Mortgage Fraud Strike Force and, with experts from the California Department of Corrections, provided local law enforcement with the latest intelligence detailing how transnational gangs have integrated their operations across California communities and from inside our prisons.

Sacramento County Sheriff Scott Jones hosted Thursday's meeting.

“In today's economic reality, it is more important than ever to work together to find new solutions to common problems,” said Sheriff Jones. “We need to share ideas, manpower, intelligence and energy to continue to make headway in the fight against crime.”

The Zone IV meeting was attended by law enforcement from Alpine, Amador, Calaveras, El Dorado, Nevada, Placer, Sacramento, San Joaquin, Stanislaus, Tuolumne and Yolo counties.

Harris also presented awards to nine individuals in recognition of their deep commitment to serving and protecting their communities. The sworn officers who received the Attorney General Awards demonstrated uncommon bravery and ingenuity.

The zone meetings – and the renewed focus on the APPS program – are part of a series of targeted law enforcement programs designed to reduce the reach of transnational gangs trafficking in guns, drugs and human beings across California.

Thursday's meeting follows closely on the heels of a series of major gang takedowns, including the arrests of 101 individuals in the Central Valley.

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This is an artist's impression of a growing supermassive black hole located in the early Universe, showing a disk of gas rotating around the central object that generates copious amounts of radiation. This gas is destined to be consumed by the black hole. The black hole's mass is less than one hundredth of the mass it will have when the Universe reaches its present day age of about 13.7 billion years. Image credit: NASA/CXC/A.Hobart.

Using the deepest X-ray image ever taken, astronomers found the first direct evidence that massive black holes were common in the early universe.

This discovery from NASA's Chandra X-ray Observatory shows that very young black holes grew more aggressively than previously thought, in tandem with the growth of their host galaxies.

By pointing Chandra at a patch of sky for more than six weeks, astronomers obtained what is known as the Chandra Deep Field South (CDFS).

When combined with very deep optical and infrared images from NASA's Hubble Space Telescope, the new Chandra data allowed astronomers to search for black holes in 200 distant galaxies, from when the universe was between about 800 million to 950 million years old.

“Until now, we had no idea what the black holes in these early galaxies were doing, or if they even existed,” said Ezequiel Treister of the University of Hawaii, lead author of the study appearing in the June 16 issue of the journal Nature. “Now we know they are there, and they are growing like gangbusters.”

The super-sized growth means that the black holes in the CDFS are less extreme versions of quasars – very luminous, rare objects powered by material falling onto supermassive black holes.

However, the sources in the CDFS are about a hundred times fainter and the black holes are about a thousand times less massive than the ones in quasars.

The observations found that between 30 and 100 percent of the distant galaxies contain growing supermassive black holes.

Extrapolating these results from the small observed field to the full sky, there are at least 30 million supermassive black holes in the early universe. This is a factor of 10,000 larger than the estimated number of quasars in the early universe.

“It appears we've found a whole new population of baby black holes,” said co-author Kevin Schawinski of Yale University. “We think these babies will grow by a factor of about a hundred or a thousand, eventually becoming like the giant black holes we see today almost 13 billion years later.”

This artist's impression shows a very young galaxy located in the early Universe less than one billion years after the Big Bang. The distorted appearance of the galaxy is caused by the large number of mergers occurring at this early epoch, and the blue regions mark where star formation is occurring at a high rate. The core of the galaxy is embedded within heavy veils of dust and gas. A cut-out from the core shows that this dust and gas is hiding very bright radiation from the very center of the galaxy, produced by a rapidly growing supermassive black hole. Image credit: NASA/CXC/M.Weiss.

A population of young black holes in the early universe had been predicted, but not yet observed. Detailed calculations show that the total amount of black hole growth observed by this team is about a hundred times higher than recent estimates.

Because these black holes are nearly all enshrouded in thick clouds of gas and dust, optical telescopes frequently cannot detect them. However, the high energies of X-ray light can penetrate these veils, allowing the black holes inside to be studied.

Physicists studying black holes want to know more how the first supermassive black holes were formed and how they grow. Although evidence for parallel growth of black holes and galaxies has been established at closer distances, the new Chandra results show that this connection starts earlier than previously thought, perhaps right from the origin of both.

“Most astronomers think in the present-day universe, black holes and galaxies are somehow symbiotic in how they grow,” said Priya Natarajan, a co-author from Yale University. “We have shown that this codependent relationship has existed from very early times.”

It has been suggested that early black holes would play an important role in clearing away the cosmic “fog” of neutral, or uncharged, hydrogen that pervaded the early universe when temperatures cooled down after the Big Bang.

However, the Chandra study shows that blankets of dust and gas stop ultraviolet radiation generated by the black holes from traveling outwards to perform this “reionization.” Therefore, stars and not growing black holes are likely to have cleared this fog at cosmic dawn.

Chandra is capable of detecting extremely faint objects at vast distances, but these black holes are so obscured that relatively few photons can escape and hence they could not be individually detected. Instead, the team used a technique that relied on Chandra’s ability to accurately determine the direction from which the X-rays came to add up all the X-ray counts near the positions of distant galaxies and find a statistically significant signal.

NASA's Marshall Space Flight Center in Huntsville, Ala., manages the Chandra program for the agency's Science Mission Directorate in Washington. The Smithsonian Astrophysical Observatory controls Chandra's science and flight operations from Cambridge, Mass.

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The reserved life estate is an example. You retain the use of the property during the remainder of your lifetime while giving the property away. Let’s examine the life estate.

One may transfer his or her real property (while alive) and keep the right to use, live-in and rent the same property for the rest of one’s lifetime. The gift is completed (irrevocable) when made. And so, like any other lifetime gift, avoids probate at one’s death.

While alive, the life estate owner remains responsible for the property’s upkeep and paying the real property taxes. The grantee who takes subject to the reserved life estate, i.e., the “remainderman,” has a vested legal ownership right.

If the remainderman predeceases the life tenant then that vested ownership remains part of his or her estate, or part of a living trust estate if conveyed by the remainderman into a probate avoidance living trust, and passes to his or her heirs or beneficiaries.

No reassessment of real property taxes occurs during the life tenant’s life. If the remainderman is a surviving child or spouse then the applicable exclusion prevents subsequent reassessment for property taxes.

Nowadays, the life estate has lost much of its usefulness and appeal due to the advantages of the living trust. But, in certain situations the life estate can provide a better solution.

Most importantly, under current law, a person receiving Medi-Cal can transfer his or her home subject to a retained life estate. Doing so will avoid Medi-Cal estate recovery against the transferred home after death, under present law.

When the life estate terminates Medi-Cal cannot recover against the home because ownership was transferred during life; typically to the surviving children.

If one knows, as close to an absolute certainty as is humanly possible, that he or she will continue to live in his or her residence till death; that he or she will not change his or her mind about who should inherit the house; that he or she will not need to tap into an equity line of credit on the house, or a reverse mortgage, to supplement his or her income; and that transferring ownership outright to the intended beneficiaries will not have negative implications for them in the future; then transferring the home subject to a retained life estate may be desirable as a simpler and less costly solution than the living trust.

Unfortunately, such absolute certainty is seldom possible.

Typically, the living trust approach is far superior to the retained life estate because of its flexibility. The trust approach is much more flexible and forgiving because a living trust allows the following major options (not found in the retained life estate approach): selling the home if necessary or desirable (e.g., relocating); using the equity in the residence to live-on; and changing who inherits the house, and under what terms, as family circumstances evolve.

In sum, under existing law, the reserved life estate is sometimes relevant as an important Medi-Cal planning tool, but it is not typically a desirable estate planning tool, given the flexibility of the living trust.

The decision to use any estate planning approach requires careful examination of one’s own particular circumstances and objectives.

This should be done in consultation with a qualified estate planning attorney who can evaluate and advise as to different available options, and who can properly implement any chosen solution.

Dennis A. Fordham, attorney (LL.M. tax studies), is a State Bar Certified Specialist in Estate Planning, Probate and Trust Law. His office is at 55 First St., Lakeport, California. Dennis can be reached by e-mail at This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. or by phone at 707-263-3235.

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Samuel Douglas Murphy, 26, of Cobb, was the victim of the crash, according to Capt. James Bauman of the Lake County Sheriff's Office, which handled the coroner's case.

According to a California Highway Patrol report, the crash occurred just after 7:30 p.m. Tuesday, June 14.

Murphy was riding a Yamaha ATV alone and without a helmet, traveling northbound on Gifford Springs Road south of Tanya Terrace, at an undetermined high rate of speed, the CHP reported.

He was traveling uphill and drove straight through a right curve in the road. The CHP said Murphy went off the roadway and collided with a cluster of trees along the east shoulder.

Murphy sustained fatal injuries as a result of the collision and was pronounced dead at the scene, the CHP said.

The CHP report said alcohol is believed to have been a factor in the collision.

Officer Adam Garcia is investigating the incident.

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