This male domestic shorthair has a gray and white coat.
He is 1 year old and weighs nearly 6 pounds.
He is in cat room kennel No. 120, ID No. LCAC-A-874.
Female yellow tabby
This female yellow tabby kitten has a short coat.
She is in cat room kennel No. 135, ID No. LCAC-A-822.
Male domestic shorthair
This young male domestic shorthair has a gray coat.
He is under 1 year old and weighs more than 2 pounds.
He is in kennel No. 150a, ID No. LCAC-A-836.
Female Abyssinian kitten
This female Abyssinian kitten has a short brown and black coat.
She weighs just over 2 pounds.
She is in cat room kennel No. 150, ID No. LCAC-A-837.
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.
LAKE COUNTY, Calif. — Lake County Animal Care and Control has a big and varied group of dogs waiting for new homes this week.
Dogs available for adoption this week include mixes of Airedale terrier, Belgian malinois, German shepherd, Great Pyrenees, husky, Labrador retriever, McNab, pit bull, Rottweiler and shepherd.
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.
The following dogs at the Lake County Animal Care and Control shelter have been cleared for adoption (additional dogs on the animal control website not listed are still “on hold”).
This male Airedale terrier has a curly tan and red coat.
He is estimated to be 10 years old.
He is in kennel No. 7, ID No. LCAC-A-889.
Male German shepherd
This male German shepherd has a medium-length black and tan coat.
He is 8 years old and 101 pounds.
He is in kennel No. 11, ID No. LCAC-A-879.
Female Rottweiler-shepherd
This female Rottweiler-shepherd mix has a medium-length black and red coat.
She is in kennel No. 12, ID No. 14575.
‘Indie’
“Indie” is a female German shepherd mix with a short black and tan coat.
She weighs 51 pounds and is estimated to be less than 1 year old.
She is in kennel No. 13, ID No. LCAC-A-768.
‘Stimpy’
“Stimpy” is a young female McNab mix with a medium-length white and brindle coat.
She is in kennel No. 14, ID No. 14570.
‘Ren’
“Ren” is a young male McNab mix with a short brindle and white coat.
He has been neutered.
He is in kennel No. 15, ID No. 14571.
Female Labrador retriever mix
This female Labrador retriever mix has a short black coat with white markings.
She is 3 years old and weighs 53 pounds.
She is in kennel No. 16, ID No. LCAC-A-850.
Female Belgian malinois
This young female Belgian malinois mix has a short brown brindle coat.
She is under 1-year-old and weighs 35 pounds.
She is in kennel No. 18, ID No. LCAC-A-842.
Female Great Pyrenees
This female Great Pyrenees has a medium-length white coat.
She is estimated to be 2 years old and 84 pounds.
She is in kennel No. 19, ID No. LCAC-A-892.
Female pit bull terrier
This female pit bull terrier has a short blue and white coat.
She is in kennel No. 22, ID No. 14486.
Rottweiler-pit bull mix
This female Rottweiler-pit bull mix has a short black coat.
She has been spayed.
She is in kennel No. 27, ID No. 14551.
‘Brutus’
“Brutus” is a male pit bull terrier with a short gray and white coat.
He is in kennel No. 28, ID No. 14507.
‘Apollo’
“Apollo” is a male husky mix with a medium-length red and white coat and blue eyes.
He is in kennel No. 31, ID No. 14569.
German shepherd mix puppy
This female German shepherd mix puppy has a short tan coat.
She is in kennel No. 34a, ID No. LCAC-A-839.
German shepherd mix puppy
This female German shepherd mix puppy has a short tan coat.
She is in kennel No. 34a, ID No. LCAC-A-840.
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.
Mendocino College graduates enjoyed a free dinner and virtual commencement ceremony this year.
In April, a survey was sent to all graduating students to gather input about how best to celebrate their accomplishments this year. The response from the majority of students was that they preferred a virtual ceremony.
“This past year has forever changed our world. Despite all the adversities, our graduates exemplified the resiliency the world needs,” said Mendocino College Superintendent/President Tim Karas. “Our graduates are strong and will make the world a better place for everyone. We are very proud of our graduates! They will forever be an alumnus of Mendocino College and part of our family.”
Thanks to the Mendocino College Foundation, students were given a $50 dinner voucher to be used at a select group of participating local restaurants throughout the district. This allowed students to celebrate the actual day of graduation with a meal at home with their families while at the same time supporting local restaurants.
There will also be a listing of all 2021 graduates in a special magazine that will be circulated in both Lake and Mendocino counties.
Amy Adams, who received two AS degrees, one in business management and the other in business accounting, said, “Although I was sad not to be able to walk the stage for my very first time, I felt the college did their best to celebrate my accomplishments, even in the midst of a pandemic. To top it off, they provided a graduation dinner in partnership with various local vendors. I chose Taqueria Bravo in Willits, which was delicious and the manager was so sweet and congratulated me on my graduation.”
“The foundation is honored to provide financial support towards this year’s commencement activities. Now more than ever, it’s important that we sufficiently honor and recognize our 2021 Mendocino College graduates,” said Mendocino College Foundation Board President Tom Dow.
Mendocino College hopes to have a traditional in person commencement ceremony next year and will invite all 2020 and 2021 graduates to participate if they wish.
The recording of the 2021 virtual commencement ceremony can be viewed above.
They’re the most consumed fruit in the United States and, if you exclude tomatoes (which aren’t really fruit from a culinary standpoint), they’re also the favorite fruit of the world.
Despite their ubiquity, there are some surprising things that you may not know about them. They’re far more than a creamy white fruit in a bright yellow jacket. Read on to discover a few banana facts that may be new to you.
There are pink hairy bananas and lots of other types, too.
Bananas are grown in more than 150 countries and it’s estimated that there are over 1,000 types worldwide. These include a wide variety of shapes, sizes, textures and colors, some quite exotic.
Blue Java bananas (also known as ice cream bananas) have blue skin and flesh that tastes like vanilla ice cream.
The tangy Apple banana, popular in Hawaii, has a tart apple-like flavor, and the square-sided Burro banana tastes like lemon when it’s ripe.
Diminutive Lady Finger bananas are just 3 inches long with a creamy texture and honey-like flavor.
The Macabu banana is black when fully ripe and the scarlet banana, native to China and pollinated by bats, has bright red skin.
As to the aforementioned hairy pink bananas, they’re grown mostly for ornamental purposes; however, the flesh is edible and sweet. Watch out for the seeds, though! Like wild bananas, the pea-sized seeds are hard and plentiful.
Don’t throw those skins away — you can cook with them!
While banana peels are common in some world cuisines (Southeast Asia and India, for example), in the last few years they’ve been trending as a culinary alternative in the Western world.
I recently read that British culinary superstar Nigella Lawson demonstrated a fragrant curry using banana skins and cauliflower on her television show, causing a bit of consternation in the British media. This led me to a flurry of research and to my surprise I found that using banana peels as a component of cuisine is becoming a popular topic.
I’ve learned that if banana skins are cooked with onions, garlic and barbecue sauce, they can become a no-meat alternative to pulled pork or chicken (“pulled not-pork,” as some like to call it), and that banana peels can also be made into an alternative for bacon.
Banana skins can be pureed to use in baked goods to punch up flavor (think banana bread or cake) and chopped bits of peel add texture.
If you’d like to try your hand at cooking with banana skins, be sure to buy organic bananas to avoid pesticides and scrub them well.
Banana skins are also good for some pretty surprising things!
I haven’t tested any of these claims, but banana peels are said to be useful for a plethora of ailments, bodily and otherwise!
They can be rubbed on the skin to remove ink, to soothe insect bites or to help loosen splinter fragments. Dusting plant leaves, polishing shoes, and even whitening teeth are in the banana peel’s repertoire.
Some have rubbed them on a scratched CD or DVD to prevent skipping. (They say this fills the scratches without damaging the plastic finish.)
Perhaps most surprising of all (at least to me) is that powder made from banana skins is used to clean heavy metal contamination from rivers and other water sources. Up to 65% is removed after just 40 minutes, and the process can be repeated.
Despite appearances, bananas don’t grow on trees.
Banana plants are not trees at all (though they’re called that colloquially); rather, they’re an herb distantly related to ginger. They’re classified as such because the stem is a succulent stalk rather than a woody trunk. In scientific circles the stalk is referred to as a “pseudostem.”
As a bonus, I’ll note that bananas grow in what are known as “hands” because of their fingerlike appearance.
Some scientists believe that bananas may have been the first fruit.
Bananas are believed to have originated in Southeast Asia, in the jungles of Malaysia, Indonesia or the Philippines, where many wild varieties still grow today. Some horticulturists believe they may be the world’s oldest fruit.
The first bananas were likely first cultivated some 7,000 years ago in what is now Papua New Guinea. They’re mentioned in ancient Hindu, Chinese, Roman and Greek texts, with the earliest, written in Sanskrit, dating back 5,000 years.
Apart from this and as an aside, Carl Linnaeus, an 18th century Swedish botanist, theorized that the fruit eaten by Eve in the Biblical story was a banana.
You can make paper and textiles with banana trees and it’s good for the environment!
Banana fabric is soft with a natural shine and is often compared to silk. It’s made from fiber from the stalks of the banana plant — the pseudo stem — which are often discarded once the bananas have been harvested. (This happens since fruit can only be harvested from the plant once in its lifetime.)
Fabric made from banana fiber is experiencing a rise in popularity, however, the process isn’t new. Textiles have been made in Asia from this resource since at least the 13th century, but the fabric fell out of favor with the rise of silk and cotton.
A leather-like, biodegradable paper is also made from banana fiber. Used mostly for artistic purposes or products like paper pens, notebooks, wallets, and business cards, it’s produced in a rainbow of colors.
Utilizing banana stalks in these ways drastically reduces the waste from banana agriculture which would otherwise negatively affect surrounding ecosystems.
Every part of the banana plant is useful.
The banana plant is quite generous. In addition to delicious fruit and the various beneficial uses of its skins and stalks, it offers its flowers and leaves for some interesting culinary opportunities.
Banana leaves are used in a variety of cuisines (Asian, Caribbean, Hispanic and Hawaiian, for example). They add a mild, sweet, earthy flavor to foods that are wrapped in them when cooked, and because they’re sturdy and large with a deep green color, they make decorative and practical serving vessels.
Banana flowers are subtly sweet, with a similar aromatic profile to a banana, though more delicate and less pronounced. They can be eaten raw, such as in a salad, or cooked, often in a stir-fry or soup.
Tea is made from the blossoms, as well, and is obtainable online if you’d like to try it.
Commercially grown bananas are clones and monoculture may be a death knell.
Bananas grown commercially are propagated through cuttings and not sprouted from seeds, making each banana a clone of the original. (Unlike wild bananas, the seeds of cultivated bananas are mere specks and not viable.)
There is no banana cloned more than the Cavendish variety. It’s the banana we commonly see in supermarket produce aisles.
Of the more than 1,000 varieties of bananas that are grown throughout the world, the Cavendish makes up a full 47% of global banana production.
This all means that bananas are grown in a monoculture system (i.e., planting just one type of crop rather than a variety), and while this can increase production, it makes the crop notoriously vulnerable to disease.
Before the Cavendish banana was the most popular variety, there was the Gros Michel (also known as the Big Mike), the first to be cultivated on a large scale. Unfortunately, a virulent fungus known as the Panama Disease descended on Gros Michel plantations, devastating the crop and rendering the Gros Michel banana virtually extinct.
A variety of the Panama Disease is successfully attacking Cavendish bananas because of its lack of genetic diversity and the fear of extinction once again looms.
On a brighter note, today’s recipe utilizes plantains, a member of the banana family popular in cuisine around the world, particularly in the Caribbean, Central and South America, Africa, and Southeast Asia.
Plantains are starchier and less sweet than other bananas, making them perfect for savory dishes like these griddle cakes.
Plantain Griddle Cakes
6 plantains, soft and very ripe (skin will be blackened) 1 cup milk, either dairy or plant-based ½ cup whole wheat flour 1 ½ cups cornmeal 4 tablespoons coconut oil, liquefied, plus more for the griddle* 1 small onion or medium shallot, chopped 4 scallions, chopped 1 ½ teaspoons kosher salt
Chop and mash the plantains in a large bowl.
Add the remaining ingredients (other than the oil reserved for the griddle) and combine, stirring and mashing until thoroughly mixed but slightly chunky.
Cover bowl and refrigerate mixture for about 30 minutes.
Heat a large nonstick pan or griddle and brush with coconut oil.
Ladle ½ cup plantain mixture onto pan or griddle and spread it into a circle that’s roughly four inches in diameter.
Cook over medium heat until golden brown, about 3 minutes per side.
Transfer to a paper towel-lined baking pan to allow excess fat to drain.
Repeat until all batter is used. This should make about 8 griddle cakes.
Serve hot and enjoy! (They’re yummy accompanied by black beans and avocado.)
*Note: If preferred, a neutral oil such as canola or sunflower can be used for the griddle in place of coconut oil.
Esther Oertel is a writer and passionate home cook from a family of chefs. She grew up in a restaurant, where she began creating recipes from a young age. She’s taught culinary classes in a variety of venues in Lake County and previously wrote “The Veggie Girl” column for Lake County News. Most recently she’s taught culinary classes at Sur La Table in Santa Rosa. She lives in Middletown, California.
BERKELEY — Global land-use changes — including forest fragmentation, agricultural expansion and concentrated livestock production — are creating “hot spots” favorable for bats that carry coronaviruses and where conditions are ripe for the diseases to jump from bats to humans, finds an analysis published this week by researchers at the University of California, Berkeley, the Politecnico di Milano (Polytechnic University of Milan) and Massey University of New Zealand.
While the exact origins of the SARS-CoV-2 virus remain unclear, scientists believe that the disease likely emerged when a virus that infects horseshoe bats was able to jump to humans, either directly through wildlife-to-human contact, or indirectly by first infecting an intermediate animal host, such as the pangolin, sometimes known as the scaly anteater.
Horseshoe bats are known to carry a variety of coronaviruses, including strains that are genetically similar to ones that cause COVID-19 and severe acute respiratory syndrome, or SARS.
The new study used remote sensing to analyze land use patterns throughout the horseshoe bat’s range, which extends from Western Europe through Southeast Asia.
By identifying areas of forest fragmentation, human settlement and agricultural and livestock production, and comparing these to known horseshoe bat habitats, they identified potential hot spots where habitat is favorable for these bat species, and where these so-called zoonotic viruses could potentially jump from bats to humans.
The analysis also identified locations that could easily become hot spots with changes in land use.
“Land use changes can have an important impact on human health, both because we are modifying the environment, but also because they can increase our exposure to zoonotic disease,” said study co-author Paolo D’Odorico, a professor of environmental science, policy and management at UC Berkeley. “Every formal land use change should be evaluated not only for the environmental and social impacts on resources such as carbon stocks, microclimate and water availability, but also for the potential chain reactions that could impact human health.”
Most of the current hot spots are clustered in China, where a growing demand for meat products has driven the expansion of large-scale, industrial livestock farming.
Concentrated livestock production is particularly concerning because the practice brings together large populations of genetically similar, often immune-suppressed animals that are highly vulnerable to disease outbreaks, the researchers said.
The analysis also found that parts of Japan, the north Philippines and China south of Shanghai are at risk of becoming hot spots with further forest fragmentation, while parts of Indochina and Thailand may transition into hot spots with increases in livestock production.
The analyses aimed to identify the possible emergence of new hot spots in response to an increase in one of three land use attributes, highlighting both the areas that could become suitable for spillover and the type of land use change that could induce hot spot activation,” said study co-author Maria Cristina Rulli, a professor in hydrology and water and food security at the Politecnico di Milano in Italy. “We hope these results could be useful for identifying region-specific targeted interventions needed to increase resilience to coronavirus spillovers.”
Human encroachment into natural habitat can also indirectly increase exposure to zoonotic disease by reducing valuable biodiversity. When forest lands become fragmented and natural habitats are destroyed, species that require very specific habitat to survive, called “specialists,” may dwindle or even go extinct. Without competition from specialists, “generalist” species, which are less picky about their habitat, can take over.
Horseshoe bats are a generalist species and have often been observed in areas characterized by human disturbance. Earlier work by Rulli, D’Odorico and study co-author David Hayman has also linked forest fragmentation and habitat destruction in Africa to outbreaks of the Ebola virus.
“By creating conditions that are disadvantageous to specialist species, generalist species are able to thrive,” D’Odorico said. “While we are unable to directly trace the transmission of SARS-CoV-2 from wildlife to humans, we do know that the type of land use change that brings humans into the picture is typically associated with the presence of these bats who are known to carry the virus.”
While China has been a leader in tree planting and other greening efforts over the past two decades, many of the trees have been planted in discontinuous land areas or forest fragments. To tilt the ecological balance back in favor of specialist species, creating continuous areas of forest cover and wildlife corridors are more important than increasing total tree cover.
“Human health is intertwined with environmental health and also animal health,” D’Odorico said. “Our study is one of the first to connect the dots and really drill down into the geographic data on land use to see how humans are coming into contact with species that might be carriers.”
Co-authors of the paper also include Nikolas Galli of the Politecnico di Milano and David Hayman of Massey University
This research was supported by the Eni Enrico Mattei Foundation (FEEM), the Cariplo Foundation (SusFeed project 0737 CUP D49H170000300007), Regione Lombardia (RUD0CONV01/ASSO project D44I20002000002), a Royal Society Te Apārangi Rutherford Discovery Fellowship RDF-MAU1701 MAU1701, and the Massey University Foundation.
Kara Manke writes for the UC Berkeley News Center.
CLEARLAKE, Calif. — Clearlake Animal Control has half a dozen dogs waiting for new homes this week.
The following dogs are ready for adoption or foster. The newest dog is listed at the beginning of the list.
‘Princess’
Is a female American pit bull terrier mix with a short fawn and white coat.
She is dog No. 4840.
‘Bear’
“Bear” is a male American Staffordshire terrier mix with a short brown coat.
He has been neutered.
He is dog No. 3476.
‘Cleo’
“Cleo” is a female Doberman pinscher mix with a short gray coat who is new to the shelter.
She has been spayed.
She is dog No. 4865.
‘Dusty’
“Dusty” is a male American Pit Bull Terrier with a tan and white coat.
He is dog No. 4750.
‘Sassy’
“Sassy” is a female Labrador retriever and pit bull mix with a short black with white markings.
She is house-trained.
She is dog No. 4602.
‘Toby’
“Toby” is a friendly senior male boxer mix.
He has a short tan and white coat.
Toby is house trained and neutered.
He is dog No. 4389.
Call the Clearlake Animal Control shelter at 707-273-9440, or email This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. to inquire about adoptions and schedule a visit to the shelter.
Visit Clearlake Animal Control on Facebook or on the city’s website.
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.
LAKE COUNTY, Calif. — Authorities on Saturday continued their search for a man who went missing in Clear Lake after an early morning boating accident.
The man, whose name so far hasn’t been released, was in a boat with four other people offshore of Clearlake Oaks when the boat capsized shortly before 12:30 a.m. Saturday, as Lake County News has reported.
Radio reports described the missing man as a Black male in his 50s.
The man was reported to have been trying to rescue someone shortly before he disappeared.
The boat was recovered near the Clearlake Oaks boat launch and removed from the scene early Saturday morning.
Lt. Corey Paulich of the Lake County Sheriff’s Office told Lake County News that the sheriff’s Marine Patrol had searched for the man throughout the day on Saturday but hadn’t located him.
Paulich said the search will continue on Sunday morning.
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.
What's up for June? A partial solar eclipse, the scorpion's sting and June is for Juno!
Following last month's total lunar eclipse, June brings us a solar eclipse. On June 10, the moon will slip briefly between Earth and the sun, partially obscuring our local star from view.
Whereas May's lunar eclipse was best viewed around the Pacific, this month's solar eclipse will be a treat for those in the northeast U.S., eastern Canada and Northern Europe.
For U.S. viewers, this is a sunrise event, with the moon already appearing to have taken a bite out of the sun as it's rising. So you'll want to find a clear view toward the eastern horizon to observe it.
Those farther to the north and east will see more of the sun obscured by the moon. For those in northern Europe, it's more of a lunchtime eclipse.
Wherever you are, please review eclipse safety practices, and never look at the sun without proper protection for your eyes.
On summer evenings, you may notice a curved grouping of stars crawling across the southern sky, among them a brilliant red beacon. This is the constellation Scorpius, the scorpion, and beginning in June, it's the prime time to look for it.
This grouping of stars has been thought of as having the shape of a scorpion going back to ancient times in the Mediterranean and Middle East.
In the Greek myth, the scorpion's deadly sting brought down the great hunter Orion, and that's why — the story goes — we find them on opposite sides of the sky today.
This pattern of stars also been seen as part of a great dragon, in China, and the fish hook of the demigod Maui in Hawaii. That fish hook shape also forms the tail of the scorpion.
At the beginning of June, if you're in the northern hemisphere, the scorpion's tail might still be below the horizon for you, early in the evening. It rises over the first few hours after dark. But by the end of the month, the scorpion's tail will be above the horizon after sunset for most stargazers.
That bright, beacon-like star in Scorpius is Antares, which is a huge red giant star, and one of the brightest in the sky. It forms the blazing heart of the scorpion. So look toward the south and use Antares as your guide to find the constellation Scorpius.
Finally, this month, you'll remember back in December, when Jupiter and Saturn had their incredibly close meetup in the sky.
In the run-up to that "Great Conjunction," Jupiter led Saturn across the sky all through 2020.
Well, six months later, the pair continue to move farther apart, and now Saturn has the lead position as the two planets rise and set. Look for them in the east after midnight, or toward the south at dawn.
And for more Jupiter excitement in June, NASA's Juno spacecraft is making its next close flyby over Jupiter on June 8, and this time it will also make a low-altitude flyby over the planet-sized, icy moon Ganymede on June 7.
This is the first of several planned flybys of the Jovian moons by Juno, over the next couple of years, that include encounters with icy Europa and volcanic Io!
You can catch up on all of NASA's missions to explore the solar system and beyond at nasa.gov.
Preston Dyches works for NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory.
On Friday, Gov. Gavin Newsom selected the first 15 lucky Californians to be awarded $50,000 for doing their part in getting vaccinated against COVID-19.
The $750,000 awarded in Friday’s randomized drawing is part of California’s new $116.5 million Vax for the Win program — the largest vaccine incentive program in the nation — which includes $50 incentive cards to newly vaccinated residents and cash prize drawings for all who have received at least one dose.
This historic program is designed to motivate Californians to get vaccinated leading up to the state’s reopening on June 15.
"California has made incredible progress in the fight against COVID-19, with the lowest case rates in the entire country and millions more vaccines administered than any other state. But we aren't stopping there, we're doing everything it takes to get Californians vaccinated as we approach June 15 to help us safely reopen and bring the state roaring back,” said Gov. Newsom.
Since Vax for the Win launched, roughly a million vaccine doses have been recorded, including roughly 350,000 Californians newly starting their vaccination process.
In total, California has administered more than 38 million vaccines, ranked No. 8 in the world.
California has administered 15.4 million more doses than any other state and more than 70 percent of the adult population has received at least one dose.
“We are making another push to get more Californians vaccinated against COVID-19,” said Dr. Tomás J. Aragón, CDPH director and state Public Health officer. “With more than 70 percent of adults having already received at least one dose, the Vax for the Win program is the creative approach we need to make that final push for those who remain unvaccinated.”
More than 21 million Californians aged 12 and older are at least partially vaccinated and automatically entered to win in the cash prize drawings.
The second $50,000 drawing will take place on Friday, June 11, when an additional 15 Californians will be selected.
On June 15, when California safely reopens, 10 winners will be selected to receive $1.5 million each — adding up to a total of $15 million in cash prizes.
On top of that, the two million newly-vaccinated Californians who get their dose since Vax for the Win launched will be eligible to receive $50 prepaid and grocery cards.
Winners from Friday’s drawing live throughout the state in the following counties: Mendocino, Los Angeles, Santa Clara, Alameda, San Diego, San Francisco, Orange and San Luis Obispo.
They start being notified directly by the California Department of Public Health within hours of the drawing and over the next four days by telephone, text, email or other contact information associated with the person’s record in the state’s vaccine registry.
To protect their privacy, all winners will have the option to accept their cash prize while remaining anonymous or decline it altogether.
Winners must complete their vaccination in order to claim their prize. If someone under 18 wins, the cash will be put in a savings account for them until they turn 18.
LAKE COUNTY, Calif. — As temperatures heat up in the mid to late spring and summer begins to draws near, vibrant pink to fuchsia to violet wildflowers, some with highlights of red to white, begin to show up in profusion and bid a “farewell to spring,” which is the name of one aptly-name species of clarkia that graces us in Lake County.
There are 18 different species of clarkia identified as growing in Lake County, according to CalFlora, with different blooming periods that can last from January through September and each with their slightly different bloom times, colors, petal shapes, and soil/sun preferences.
If you’re looking for a native wildflower to add to your gardens that doesn’t require a lot of water, clarkia is a great choice and with a little irrigation, bloom times can be extended to early summer, with elegant clarkia blooming into the fall.
Most species of Clarkia thrive in well-drained clay soils or any dry soil that doesn't retain a lot of water and can grow well in sandy soils as long as they have full sun to partial shade.
All of the clarkia species play important roles in their local ecosystems as they provide habitat for native pollinators so are a good choice for your home gardens in Lake County.
Some pollinators even rely on clarkia exclusively, such as the “clarkia bee,” according to Wikipedia. They’re also used as host plants by some species as caterpillars, such as Sphingidae moths.
Seeds of the clarkia germinate easily when sown at the beginning of the rainy season and make a wonderful addition to your home gardens with gorgeous flowers and attractive reddish hued stems that require little to no water; ideal for our summer dry climate.
More information can be found here on the 18 species of clarkia in Lake County.
To see and learn more about the species of clarkia in Lake County, visit CalFlora.
Terre Logsdon is an environmentalist, certified master composter, and advocate for agroecology solutions to farming. An avid fan and protector of California wildflowers, plants, natural resources, and the environment, she seeks collaborative solutions to mitigate the effects of climate change. Kim Riley is retired, an avid hiker at Highland Springs, and has lived in Lake County since 1985. After 15 years of trail recovery and maintenance on the Highland Springs trails, she is now focused on native plants, including a native plant and pollinator garden on her property as well as promoting and preserving the beauty of the Highland Springs Recreation Area. Karen Sullivan has operated two nurseries to propagate and cultivate native plants and wildflowers, has lived in Kelseyville for the past 30 years, rides horses far and wide to see as many flowers as possible, and offers native plants and wildflowers for sale to the public. You can check her nursery stock here. They are collaborating on a book, Highland Springs Recreation Area: A Field Guide, which will be published in the future. In the meanwhile, please visit https://www.facebook.com/HighlandSpringsNaturalists and https://www.facebook.com/HighlandSpringsRecreationArea.
LAKE COUNTY, Calif. — Firefighters and deputies searched overnight for a man reported missing after the boat he and several other people were riding in early Saturday overturned near Clearlake Oaks.
Firefighters were first dispatched to the boating accident shortly before 12:30 a.m. Saturday.
The initial call that reported the incident said that the boat overturned about 500 yards offshore of Island Drive.
Dispatch directed firefighters and deputies to respond to the Clearlake Oaks boat launch at 12684 Island Drive for the water rescue, according to radio traffic.
The sheriff’s Marine Patrol responded and the Northshore Dive Team was requested. A REACH helicopter also came to help search from the air.
Incident command reported over the air that five people had been in the boat and that three people had gotten to shore.
It was later reported that four people were accounted for, but that they were still searching for the fifth.
The missing person was described as a Black male in his 50s who was reported to have been trying to pull someone from the water when he was last seen.
Shortly after 2 a.m., incident command reported that they had still not located the missing man and that they needed a tow truck to help pull the overturned boat to shore because the Marine Patrol boats were having difficulty navigating in the shallow water.
About a half-hour later, incident command said that all rescue personnel were out of the water and they were planning to switch from a search to a recovery mission.
Additional information will be published as it becomes available.
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.
This is the first assignment I give students in my public health classes, filled with do-gooders passionate about saving the world. Their homework is to play a game called Plague, in which they pretend to be pathogens bent on infecting everyone on the globe before humans can develop a cure or a vaccine.
With COVID-19, thinking like a pathogen leads to an inevitable conclusion: Getting the vaccine out to everyone in the world as quickly as possible is not just an ethical imperative, but also a selfish one.
In the interim, SARS-CoV-2 will take advantage of this opening.
In reality, pathogens don’t actually want to kill all of their human hosts, because they would eventually have nowhere to live. Their goal is to pass on their genetic material to the next generation. They will do what they can to answer their evolutionary call.
A virus to-do list
Of course, viruses and bacteria don’t have brains so they don’t “think,” per se. But like all life forms, these particular living creatures are trying to maximize their chances of reproducing and having their offspring survive and reproduce.
As a single virus particle, you have two key items on the to-do list. First, you need a place to propagate. You need to reproduce yourself in large numbers, to increase the chances that one of your kids will do the right thing and provide you with some grandchildren. As a virus you are very good at this bit. No need to visit Tinder and find the perfect match, as you reproduce asexually. Instead you use the cellular machinery of your host – the human you infect – to reproduce yourself.
Second, you need a way to get from your current host to the next host that you will infect, otherwise known as transmission. For that you need both a portal of exit – the way to get out of your current host – and a portal of entry – the way to get into your next host. You need a susceptible host. And you need a way to travel to your next host.
Susceptible hosts? That was easy for SARS-CoV-2 when it first came on the scene. Because it was a novel pathogen, the entire global population was susceptible. No humans had full immunity to this particular virus from previous exposure, because it didn’t exist in human populations before 2019. Now, with each person who gets exposed or vaccinated, the number of susceptible hosts dwindles.
For a portal of exit, SARS-CoV-2 has a few options – mostly exhalation through breathing, but also through pooping and expelling other bodily fluids. For a portal of entry it has inhalation – the new host breathes it in – and to a lesser extent ingestion – the new host consumes it orally.
This means that transmission of this virus is relatively easy, involving an activity that people of all ages do all day: breathing. Other viruses require more specific activities or conditions, such as sexual intercourse or needle-sharing for HIV, or being bitten by a particular species of mosquito for Zika.
SARS-CoV-2 is one smart virus
SARS-CoV-2 has had a lot of things playing in its favor, aside from having a global population naïve to it. Several other characteristics make it particularly successful.
First, while it does kill, it can also cause mild or asymptomatic infections in others. When pathogens kill most of their hosts, they are not so successful in spreading, because humans change their behavior in response to the perceived threat of the disease.
Ebola is a perfect example. College students would have been more likely to cancel their spring break plans to Florida in 2020 if they had expected that it might cause them to bleed out of their eyeballs, as happens in some people infected with the Ebola virus.
SARS-CoV-2 also has a long incubation period – the time between its infection of a new host and the start of the host’s symptoms. Yet it can be transmitted during the time before symptoms occur, which allows it to spread unnoticed.
More transmission, more new variants
If you’re thinking like the SARS-CoV-2 pathogen now, you’re furiously searching for a way around current vaccine formulations. The more cases you cause, the more chances you have for new variants that can break through the vaccines. You don’t care whether these cases occur in Montana or Mumbai. This is why no human is safe from the pandemic until transmission is controlled everywhere.
Thinking like a pathogen requires thinking over an evolutionary time scale, which for a virus is very short, sometimes the course of a single human infection. SARS-CoV-2 and other viruses have astonishing powers to adapt to changing conditions.
One of their survival strategies is the built-in mistakes in their reproduction machinery that cause mutations. Occasionally, a mutation occurs that improves the ability of a virus to survive and spread.
This leads to new variants, like those we have seen emerge recently. So far, available vaccines appear effective against the variants. But new variants may reduce vaccine effectiveness, or lead to a need for booster shots. The increased transmissibility of the new variants has already likely made chances of reaching herd immunity through vaccination out of reach.
We watch in horror as the virus ravages India, and to some it may seem like a distant threat. But every new case offers another opportunity for a new variant to emerge and spread worldwide.
To outsmart the virus, we need shots in arms everywhere
That is why global access to vaccines is not only a moral imperative but also the only way to outsmart the virus. The U.S. can do a lot right now to ensure global access to vaccines even as we step up vaccination here.
The U.S. has already made substantial commitments to COVAX, a global collaboration to accelerate the development and manufacture of COVID-19 vaccines and guarantee equitable distribution.
The U.S. could channel additional funds now and pressure other countries to do the same. Funding commitments to COVAX may be hollow without a concurrent plan to quickly distribute the vaccine stockpile the U.S. has amassed as we raced to buy up the first available doses.
In addition to vaccination, the U.S. and other well-resourced countries can help increase the availability of testing in all countries. These countries can also provide technical and logistics assistance to improve vaccine rollout efforts and work to coordinate and improve global genomic surveillance so new variants are quickly identified.
If this all seems expensive, think of the crushing economic costs of going back into lockdown. This is no time to be cheap.
To avoid jeopardizing the effectiveness of the millions of shots going into arms in rich countries, we must get shots into the arms of people in all countries.