LAKEPORT, Calif. – The Lakeport Police Department is looking for a male subject who attempted to rob a city grocery store at gunpoint Sunday afternoon.

The agency said the incident occurred at Bruno's Shop Smart on Lakeport Boulevard.

Police officers responded to the store at 12:45 p.m. on the report of the attempted robbery, the agency said.

Before the officers arrived, the male subject had fled the scene in an unknown direction of travel, according to police.

During the investigation officers learned that the male subject approached the customer service counter, displayed a black-colored handgun and demanded cash. He then fled the scene before getting money and his whereabouts are unknown, police reported.

Police said the man responsible for the attempted robbery was described by witnesses as a white male adult with a brown mustache, standing approximately 5 feet, 10 inches tall and weighing approximately 220 to 240 pounds

He was wearing a blue beanie style cap with yellow lettering, black mirror sunglasses, a black canvas jacket, brown button up collared shirt, blue utility jeans and brown work boots, police said.

The police department is encouraging citizens not to approach the suspect if seen and to call 911 as he is considered armed and dangerous.  

Anyone with information is asked to call the Lakeport Police Department at 707-263-5491.

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Research by two University of Arizona planetary scientists reveals fascinating clues about Pluto, suggesting the small world at the fringes of our solar system is much more active than anyone ever imagined.

Sputnik Planitia, a 1,000-kilometer-wide basin within the iconic heart-shaped region observed on Pluto's surface, could be in its present location because accumulation of ice made the dwarf planet roll over, creating cracks and tensions in the crust that point toward the presence of a subsurface ocean.

Published in the Nov. 17 issue of Nature, these are the conclusions of research by James Keane, a doctoral student at the University of Arizona's Lunar and Planetary Laboratory, and his adviser, assistant professor Isamu Matsuyama.

They propose evidence of frozen nitrogen pileup throwing the entire planet off kilter, much like a spinning top with a wad of gum stuck to it, in a process called true polar wander.

“There are two ways to change the spin of a planet,” Keane said. “The first – and the one we're all most familiar with – is a change in the planet's obliquity, where the spin axis of the planet is reorienting with respect to the rest of the solar system. The second way is through true polar wander, where the spin axis remains fixed with respect to the rest of the solar system, but the planet reorients beneath it.”

Planets like to spin in such a way that minimizes energy. In short, this means that planets like to reorient to place any extra mass closer to the equator – and any mass deficits closer to the pole.

For example, if a giant volcano were to grow on Los Angeles, the Earth would reorient itself to place L.A. on the equator.

To understand polar wander on Pluto, one first has to realize that unlike Earth, whose spin axis is only slightly tilted so that the regions around the equator receive the most sunlight, Pluto is like a spinning top lying on its side. Therefore, the planet's poles get the most sunlight. Depending on the season, it's either one or the other, while Pluto's equatorial regions are extremely cold, all the time.

Because Pluto is almost 40 times farther from the sun than we are, it takes the little ball of rock and ice 248 Earth-years to complete one of its own years.

At Pluto's lower latitudes near the equator, temperatures are almost as cold as minus 400 degrees Fahrenheit – cold enough to turn nitrogen into a frozen solid.

Over the course of a Pluto year, nitrogen and other exotic gases condense on the permanently shadowed regions, and eventually, as Pluto goes around the sun, those frozen gases heat up, become gaseous again and re-condense on the other side of the planet, resulting in seasonal “snowfall” on Sputnik Planitia.

“Each time Pluto goes around the sun, a bit of nitrogen accumulates in the heart,” Keane said. “And once enough ice has piled up, maybe a hundred meters thick, it starts to overwhelm the planet's shape, which dictates the planet's orientation. And if you have an excess of mass in one spot on the planet, it wants to go to the equator. Eventually, over millions of years, it will drag the whole planet over.”

In a sense, Pluto is a (dwarf) planet whose shape and position in space are controlled by its weather.

“I think this idea of a whole planet being dragged around by the cycling of volatiles is not something many people had really thought about before,” Keane said.

The two researchers used observations made during New Horizons' flyby and combined them with computer models that allowed them to take a surface feature such as Sputnik Planitia, shift it around on the planet's surface and see what that does to the planet's spin axis. And sure enough, in the models, the geographic location of Sputnik Planitia ended up suspiciously close to where one would expect it to be.

If Sputnik Planitia were a large positive mass anomaly – perhaps due to loading of nitrogen ice – it would naturally migrate to Pluto's tidal axis with regard to Charon, Pluto's largest moon, as it approaches a minimum energy state, according to Keane and Matsuyama. In other words, the massive accumulation of ice would end up where it causes the least wobble in Pluto's spin axis.

This phenomenon of polar wander is something that was discovered with the Earth's moon and with Mars, as well, but in those cases it happened in the distant past, billions of years ago.

“On Pluto, those processes are currently active,” Keane said. “Its entire geology – glaciers, mountains, valleys – seems to be linked to volatile processes. That's different from most other planets and moons in our solar system.”

And not only that, the simulations and calculations also predicted that the accumulation of frozen volatiles in Pluto's heart would cause cracks and faults in the planet's surface in the exact same locations where New Horizons saw them.

The presence of tectonic faults on Pluto hint at the existence of a subsurface ocean at some point in Pluto's history, Keane explained.

“It's like freezing ice cubes,” he said. “As the water turns to ice, it expands. On a planetary scale, this process breaks the surface around the planet and creates the faults we see today.”

The paper is published alongside a report by Francis Nimmo of the University of California, Santa Cruz, and colleagues, who also consider the implications for Pluto's apparent reorientation. The authors of that paper agree with the idea that tidal forces could explain the current location of Sputnik Planitia, but in order for their model to work, a subsurface ocean would have to be present on Pluto today.

Both publications underscore the notion of a surprisingly active Pluto.

“Before New Horizons, people usually only thought of volatiles in terms of a thin frost veneer, a surface effect that might change the color, or affect local or regional geology,” Keane said. “That the movement of volatiles and shifting ice around a planet could have a dramatic, planet-moving effect is not something anyone would have predicted.”

Co-authors on the research paper ( http://dx.doi.org/10.1038/nature20120 ) are Shunichi Kamata of the Creative Research Institution, Hokkaido University, Sapporo, Japan, and Jordan Steckloff of Purdue University in West Lafayette, Indiana, and the Planetary Science Institute in Tucson, Arizona.

Daniel Stolte is with the University of Arizona communications office.

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LAKE COUNTY, Calif. – If you're looking for a new dog to join your family, Lake County Animal Care and Control has a large selection of dogs ready to go home with you.

The dogs available this week include mixes of Australian Cattle Dog, beagle, Chihuahua, dachshund, German Shepherd, Labrador Retriever, pointer, pit bull and terrier.

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.

If you're looking for a new companion, visit the shelter. There are many great pets hoping you'll choose them.

The following dogs at the Lake County Animal Care and Control shelter have been cleared for adoption (additional dogs on the animal control Web site not listed are still “on hold”).

Chihuahua-dachshund mix

This male Chihuahua-dachshund mix has a long white coat with tan markings, gold eyes and floppy ears.

He's in kennel No. 2, ID no. 6519.

Terrier-beagle mix

This female terrier-beagle mix has a short tricolor coat.

She's in kennel No. 3, ID No. 6523.

Pit bull terrier

This male pit bull terrier has a short gray and white coat and brown eyes.

He's in kennel No. 8, ID No. 6443.

Shepherd-beagle mix

This female shepherd-beagle mix has a short tricolor coat.

She's in kennel No. 9, ID No. 6517.

Terrier mix

This male terrier mix has a short black coat with white markings and floppy ears.

He's in kennel No. 11, ID No. 6505.

Labrador Retriever

This male Labrador Retriever has a short black coat and brown eyes.

He's in kennel No. 15, ID No. 6463.

Australian Cattle Dog

This female Australian Cattle Dog has a short black and white coat.

She's in kennel No. 16, ID No. 6529.

Retriever mix

This male black retriever mix has a medium-length all-black coat.

He's in kennel No. 19, ID No. 6530.

Pit bull terrier

This female pit bull terrier has a short blue and white coat.

She's in kennel No. 20, ID No. 6451.

German Shepherd

This female German Shepherd has a short black and brown coat and brown eyes.

She's in kennel No. 23, ID No. 6442.

Pit bull terrier mix

This female pit bull terrier has a short black and brown coat.

Staff said she is very scared in the shelter and needs some tender loving care.

She's in kennel No. 24, ID No. 6506.

Labrador Retriever-border collie mix

This male Labrador Retriever-border collie mix has a short black and white coat and brown eyes.

He's in kennel No. 26, ID No. 6438.

'Kali'

“Kali” is a female pit bull terrier mix.

She has a short blue and white coat, brown eyes and cropped ears.

She's in kennel No. 27, ID No. 6424.

Labrador Retriever

This male Labrador Retriever mix has a short black coat and brown eyes.

Shelter staff said he is a sweet, energetic boy who would do wonderfully with an active family. He has been introduced to several dogs at the shelter, with all of those encounters ending playfully and happily.

He has typical lab energy and would be a great running companion. While he pulls on the leash he responds appropriately with correction.

He's in kennel No. 28, ID No. 6415.

'Nevaeh'

“Nevaeh” is a female pit bull terrier mix with a short blue and white coat.

She's in kennel No. 29, ID No. 6450.

Pointer mix pup

This young pointer mix has a short brown and white coat.

He's kennel No. 31, ID No. 6518.

To fill out an adoption application online visit http://www.co.lake.ca.us/Government/Directory/Animal_Care_And_Control/Adopt/Dog___Cat_Adoption_Application.htm .

Lake County Animal Care and Control is located at 4949 Helbush in Lakeport, next to the Hill Road Correctional Facility.

Office hours are Monday through Friday, 11 a.m. to 5 p.m., and 11 a.m. to 3 p.m., Saturday. The shelter is open from 11 a.m. to 4 p.m. Monday through Friday and on Saturday from 11 a.m. to 3 p.m.

Visit the shelter online at http://www.co.lake.ca.us/Government/Directory/Animal_Care_And_Control.htm .

For more information call Lake County Animal Care and Control at 707-263-0278.

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.

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LAKE COUNTY, Calif. – After almost six years, and with the help of numerous donors, the Lake County Land Trust reported that it has completed its first purchase of land in the Big Valley Wetlands preservation area.

Purchase of the 34-acre shoreline and inland wetland piece of property from George and Lisa Melo was completed in October, the group said.

This property is a keystone parcel for what the Land Trust hopes will eventually be protection of the largest remaining area of wetland/riparian habitats adjacent to Clear Lake.

The vital Clear Lake shoreline stretches from Clear Lake State Park, west to Lakeport and maintains high value habitats with pristine lakeshore vegetation and mature oaks used by a variety of species.

The Melo property, located on Clipper Lane off of Soda Bay Road, includes beautiful native wetland and shoreline forests as well as upland wet meadow, pasture and oaks.

The Land Trust will steward this property for its wildlife values including its littoral shoreline that provides nesting habitat for both wildfowl and fish, and tules that provide a filtration system important to the water quality of Clear Lake.

A management plan will be developed for this parcel that may include some public access opportunities taking into consideration the ultimate goal of the project which is to protect the natural values of the land and shoreline.

The property is part of the Big Valley Wetlands Conceptual Area Protection Plan, or CAPP, developed by the Lake County Land Trust and approved by the State Department of Fish and Wildlife.

The existence of the CAPP, which includes numerous properties along this shoreline, makes the area eligible for funding from the Wildlife Conservation Board the land acquisition arm of the Department of Fish and Wildlife.

The purchase price was $215,000 plus appraisal and closing costs, of which $110,000 was contributed by the Wildlife Conservation Board. The remainder of the funds came from individual donations, foundations and businesses.

Of note was an original $20,000 donation from John Sheridan and Andrea DuFlon which kicked off the fundraising campaign in 2014. The Pitzer Family Foundation of Southern California also donated $35,000.

Donors included the Priest Foundation and the Keeling-Barnes Family Foundation, and funds from both the Robert Morse and John Graham bequests were used as were donations from numerous individuals and businesses that will be listed in full in the upcoming Lake County Land Trust newsletter.

“George and Lisa Melo need to be commended for their patience during this whole process,” said Lake County Land Trust President Val Nixon. “Six years is a long time for a property transaction, but they were extremely patient and supportive the whole time.”

The Land Trust owns the Rodman Preserve near Nice and the Rabbit Hill chaparral preserve in Middletown, and holds conservation easements on three privately owned parcels.

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CLEARLAKE, Calif. – The Rotary Club of Clear Lake will present its 24th annual community Christmas dinner and celebration on Saturday, Dec. 10.

The popular holiday gathering will take place from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. at Burns Valley School Multipurpose Room, 3620 Pine St., Clearlake.

This year, between 900 and 1,000 are expected to enjoy a dinner prepared and served by Clear Lake Rotarians, and their family and friends.

Parents stand in line with their children to visit and share their Christmas wishes with Santa. They receive a photo and a toy from Santa’s elves, portrayed by local high school students from Carlé and Lower Lake High School. Faces light up and smiles abound as 500 to 600 children pass through the line.

Dinner includes ham, scalloped potatoes, yams, vegetables and rolls, and for your sweet tooth pumpkin pie and chocolate chip cookies are served.

Yes, you can go back for seconds – but that rarely happens because plates are filled to the brim the first time around. You can even take home a meal for a family member who was unable to attend. Meals On Wheels delivers the warm meals to the seniors on their list.

There’s no charge, as it's the club's contribution to the community.

The Warm for the Winter program also continues this year. This is a free giveaway of new and gently used coats, warm clothing, sleeping bags and blankets held outside the building and available to all.

If you wish to contribute items, contact Joyce Overton at 707-350-2898.

“Tell me, what is it you plan to do with your one wild and precious life?When it's over, I want to say: all my life I was a bride married to amazement. I was the bridegroom, taking the world into my arms.
To pay attention, this is our endless and proper work.”
– Mary Oliver

LOWER LAKE, Calif. – On a recent walk in Anderson Marsh I took in the peaceful stillness and noted the surrounding hills that reflected fall's tones.

There is a waning sweetness attached to fall's vibrancy now. Searching the wide polished sky, I noted a kettle of turkey vultures circling above the grassland, just beyond the ranch house.

On the ground below the cauldron of giants was a bird intent on feeding. Wondering what was on their menu, I zoomed in on the bird with my binoculars to spy on its banquet. On closer inspection, the feeding bird was not one of the vultures, but a golden eagle feeding on a Canada goose!

Staring in voiceless wonder, I watched, transfixed at the eagle as it pulled downy feathers from its prey, cast them aside and fed heartily.

The differing habitats at Anderson Marsh State Historic Park support a wide variety of bird life and wildlife.

The golden eagle is only one of many bird species found here. In the marsh you will see gulls, mallards, double-crested cormorants, terns, grebes, coots, yellow-headed blackbirds and marsh wrens.

In the riparian woodlands here you can seek out red-shoulder hawks, American crows, northern orioles and great blue herons.

Such diversity of habitats here is the reason you will be privy to ever more species of birds and wildlife.

The oak woodlands and grasslands are amazing resources for sustaining western meadowlarks, sparrows, kites American kestrels and more.

The golden eagle belongs to a group called 'booted eagles', due to the feathery pantaloons over their legs.

The golden eagle has a reputation for being one of the most magnificent of the eagles and raptors, with a wingspan that has a range of more than 7 feet.

When flying, golden eagles can be seen forming a “V” with their wide wingspan, and often flap with a 6/8 beat cadence. Their territories may range up to 77 square miles, where they are found to nest in cliffs and lofty places.

Golden eagles' mates are theirs for many years, or, it is believed, for life. The birds soaring above the golden eagle in the shimmering blue soon left for greener pastures.

However, a lone Canada goose made wide loops above the marsh and the terrible beauty of the feasting bald eagle below, while I anthropomorphize its mourning nearby.

Kathleen Scavone, M.A., is a retired educator, potter, writer and author of “Anderson Marsh State Historic Park: A Walking History, Prehistory, Flora, and Fauna Tour of a California State Park” and “Native Americans of Lake County.” She also writes for NASA and JPL as one of their “Solar System Ambassadors.” She was selected “Lake County Teacher of the Year, 1998-99” by the Lake County Office of Education, and chosen as one of 10 state finalists the same year by the California Department of Education.