How to resolve AdBlock issue? LAKE COUNTY, Calif. – Lake County Public Services announced that closures will be in place for its facilities during Christmas week.
The Eastlake Landfill in Clearlake will be closed Saturday, Dec. 24; Sunday, Dec. 25; and Monday, Dec. 26, for the Christmas holiday.
The Lakeport Public Services office will be closed Friday, Dec. 23; Monday, Dec. 26; and Tuesday, Dec. 27.
The landfill will reopen Tuesday, Dec. 27, and the Public Services office will open on Wednesday, Dec. 28. Normal landfill operating hours are 7:30 a.m. to 3 p.m. daily.
The Public Services office normal operating hours are Monday through Friday, 8 a.m. to 5 p.m.
Christmas trees can be dropped off at Lake County Waste Solution, 230 Soda Bay Road in Lakeport; at the Southlake Refuse Recycling drop-off, located at the Eastlake Landfill, 16015 Davis St. in Clearlake; and Quackenbush at 16520 Davis St., starting Dec. 28 and continuing through Jan. 9.
South Lake Refuse and Recycling and Quackenbrush buyback/drop-off centers are open from 7:30 a.m. until 3 p.m. daily.
Lake County Waste Solutions in Lakeport's buyback/drop-off center is open 7:30 a.m. to 4 p.m., Monday through Saturday and accepts many other recyclable materials.
Lake County Waste Solutions and South Lake Refuse & Recycling will be providing free curbside Christmas tree recycling for all their customers.
Cut trees into 3-foot pieces, place your tree into your green waste container on your regular pickup day and make sure the lid will shut. Please remove all ornaments, lights and tinsel for all Christmas tree recycling. No flocked or artificial trees will be accepted.
If you have any questions regarding this subject or any of the solid waste issues in Lake County, please call 707-262-1760.
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- Lake County News reports
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VIDEO: Clearlake celebrates Christmas season
CLEARLAKE, Calif. – Clearlake kicked off the Christmas holiday on Saturday night with its annual parade and Christmas celebration.
The parade – shown in the video above – wound its way from Redbud Park to Austin Park, with the roadway lined with parents, children and dogs, some of them decked out in holiday costume.
Clearlake Police, Lake County Fire, Lower Lake High School, and many local organizations and groups participated in the parade.
Once at Austin Park, children could meet with Santa Claus, high schoolers performed Christmas songs and led carol singing, and the big Christmas tree was lit up for the season.
- Tim Riley
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'Bad Santa 2' offers profane humor; 'Savage Kingdom' on TV
BAD SANTA 2 (Rated R)
A television commercial for an Xfinity home entertainment system shows a family gathering for the holidays deciding almost immediately not to screen “Bad Santa” as one of their many viewing options.
That’s understandable given that the original “Bad Santa,” starring Billy Bob Thornton as a dissolute jolly fat man fully disengaged from the Christmas spirit, was a profane comedy highly unsuitable for family entertainment.
Now, 13 years later, along comes “Bad Santa 2,” which still has a surfeit of offensive humor that is to be expected when almost every character has a vocabulary that might make a sailor blush.
Billy Bob Thornton’s Willie Soke, even out of his dirty, soiled Kris Kringle costume, is a miserable person whose fondness for booze, women and larceny knows no bounds.
The opening scene shows Willie distracted by the sight of a buxom young mother breastfeeding before plowing a Mustang convertible into a valet stand. You know the car is stolen even before he flees the scene.
Still living in Phoenix, Willie can’t shake child-like Thurman (Brett Kelly), now a young adult but still delusional like he was 13 years ago, who still follows him around because he has no family of his own. No wonder then that Willie attempts to commit suicide by putting his head in an electric stove.
Things don’t get any better when his old backstabbing accomplice Marcus (Tony Cox) recruits him for a big heist in Chicago.
Instead of robbing a shopping mall, Willie and Marcus team up with Willie’s estranged criminal mother, Sunny Soke (Kathy Bates), the ringleader of a plan to rob a children’s charity on Christmas Eve.
Not only is Kathy Bates the criminal mastermind, but she practically steals the show with her loudmouth behavior and her ability to transform from a tattooed biker chick with a dark, cold heart into the con artist disguise of a prim and proper old lady.
As you can expect, complications always arise during the execution of the plan, as Willie can’t help but screw things up. Heck, he even seduces the charity founder’s sexy wife (Christina Hendricks), a recovering alcoholic.
The problem with “Bad Santa 2,” other than the raunchy humor and political incorrectness that may go too far, is that it lacks the spark of ingenuity of the original. And yet there is something perversely funny about Billy Bob Thornton as an unlikeable curmudgeon.
In many respects, “Bad Santa 2” is similar to “The Hangover 2” as it compares to “The Hangover,” in that both sequels are not altogether unsatisfying to the fans of the original. I would suggest not going for a third chapter.
TV Corner: 'Savage Kingdom' on Nat Geo WILD
The Nat Geo WILD cable channel is going all out with a three-part global miniseries event with “Savage Kingdom,” an unflinching look at five animal clans pitted against each other during a deadly drought in remote Botswana.
“Unflinching” seems to be the operative word for this nature series, which is narrated in deadly serious tone by Charles Dance, who appropriately had the role of Tywin Lannister on HBO’s “Game of Thrones.”
“Savage Kingdom” marks a step forward in wildlife filmmaking by playing more like a scripted drama than a nature documentary. Nevertheless, the series is an up-close look at the vicious fight for survival in the animal kingdom.
This series is no Disney version of the circle of life, even though the primary animals in focus have been named like characters in “The Lion King.”
In the “Clash of Queens” episode, the lion Matsumi has ascended the throne to become Queen of the Marsh Pride.
Nat Geo WILD is pushing this series as having a parallel between the battle for power in George R.R. Martin’s fictional world of “Game of Thrones” and the brutal power struggles on the African savanna.
Queen Matsumi is seen leaving the pride in order to give birth to two cubs. Lions can be volatile and brutal bedfellows, and Matsumi’s king and chief protector, Sekekama, gives no second chances to his enemies, not even his own family.
When Matsumi goes into hiding, Charles Dance, with a sense of dread in his voice, intones that “enemies are closing in from all sides.” Indeed, it gets real ugly when Matsumi’s cubs are abducted by her murderous family.
Even for the most dedicated aficionado of wildlife storytelling, “Savage Kingdom” is almost an endurance test. But the payoff comes from the incredible cinematography that brilliantly captures what even a big game hunter would be unlikely to see on an African safari.
Episodes of “Savage Kingdom” focus on a variety of the royal families that also consist of leopards, hyenas and wild dogs. Each episode is told from one predator’s point of view, resulting in dramatic storytelling that is more drama than documentary.
Another interesting character is Saba the leopard, a solitary killer without rival, constantly on the prowl. Saba is a spectacular and resourceful hunter who haunts the trees and hills in the heart of the realm.
“Savage Kingdom” is so violent and bloody that each episode is preceded with a warning that the footage may not be suitable for family viewing. There’s plenty of heartbreak in the animal kingdom.
Tim Riley writes film and television reviews for Lake County News.
- Editor
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History roundtable to discuss Mussolini Dec. 5
UPPER LAKE, Calif. – The next Lake County Historical Roundtable will explore the life of Benito Mussolini.
The presentation will be at the Tallman Hotel in historic downtown Upper Lake on Monday, Dec. 5, starting at 6:15 p.m.
Mussolini was an Italian politician, journalist, and leader of the National Fascist Party, ruling Italy as prime minister from 1922 to 1943.
He ruled constitutionally until 1925, when he dropped all pretense of democracy and set up a legal dictatorship.
Known as Il Duce (The Leader), Mussolini was the founder of Italian Fascism, a major ally of Adolf Hitler and attempted to reconquer the territory of the former Roman Empire.
In late April 1945, with total defeat looming, Mussolini attempted to escape but was captured and summarily executed near Lake Como by Italian Communists. His body was then taken to Milan, where it was hung upside down at a service station for public viewing and to provide confirmation of his demise.
Or so that is what the history books tell us. But what is the real story? Local author and historian Gene Paleno will look into the life and times of an amazing and tragic historical figure, one who once had the love and admiration of his country, but later became the most hated man in Italy.
The Lake County Historical Roundtable is an informal group of local history buffs that meet monthly to hear presentations on historical topics. Admission is free and everyone is welcome.
The Blue Wing Saloon (next door) is offering a 10-percent discount all Italian food for roundtable attendees.
Contact Phil Smoley at 707-264-4905 or Zane Jensen at 707-349-6390 for more information.
- Kathleen Scavone
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The Living Landscape: Geology – the lay of the land
“It was during my enchanted days of travel that the idea came to me, which, through the years, has come into my thoughts again and again and always happily – the idea that geology is the music of the earth.” – Hans Cloos
“The earth is large and old enough to teach us modesty.” – Hans Cloos
LAKE COUNTY, Calif. – Our natural physical environment changes in increments on a daily basis.
Landforms like streams are constantly changing our valleys. The work of wind, freezing, thawing and erosion from weathering are all factors in the lay of the land.
Geologists compare time and space with 1 millimeter in measurement equaling about one year in terms of geology, and around 3 feet in any direction is equal to about 1,000 years.
UC Davis geologist Eldridge Moores is quoted in an online SF Gate news article: “If you compare the distance across the country it wouldn’t be until you hit the East Coast – around Boston – that you’d reach four and a half billion years, the birth of our planet, and the very start of the geologic forces that we are still studying today.”
Lake County is rich in geologic features created by forces that are hard to fathom.
Here, we have the largest geothermal field in the world at The Geysers; a volcano, Mt. Konocti, that is about 4,000 feet in elevation; and the oldest lake in North America, our own Clear Lake, with its 44,000 acres of surface waters.
To elucidate the geology of Lake County, Dr. Harry Lyons explained in a statement for the Lake County Library's “Know Lake County" series, “We live in a clutter of marine rocks, delivered from the Pacific by forces beautifully described by a theory called plate tectonics. The position and composition of the rocks, for millions of years, have formed and subsidized the ecosystem of the Clear Lake Basin. Our dynamic landscape, powered by the San Andreas Fault System, has led to the development of our famous eutrophic lake, a favorite of biologists worldwide.”
Lake County's hills and streams house an abundance of shiny serpentine, California's state rock.
Serpentine's color ranges from green to black, and is speckled with both dark and light features. It is also abundant in the Sierra Nevada foothills and the Klamath Mountains.
According to the California Geologic Survey publications, serpentine can be metamorphic as well as igneous, containing peridotite straight from earth's mantle, which is below earth's crust.
Many other unique and beautiful rock specimens can be seen in our hills and valleys, and also in our local museums. Fluorite, scratching in at a 4 on the Mohs scale of mineral hardness is a soft mineral which is located around the world. It has been used for jewelry, glass lenses and industrially as a flux.
Mica is a lovely gem and is found in the areas of all of the three main rock types: igneous, metamorphic and sedimentary.
Because of Mica's cleavage, it contains a crystalline structure that can be split into sheets, which has made it useful as insulation.
Harking back to our classrooms and the study of rock's properties, we can recall that cleavage is the ability of a mineral to split on its planes. Magnesite veins are often found with serpentinite, and measures between 3 and 4 on the Mohs scale of hardness.
Magnesite has been identified in both meteorites and on Mars through the special instruments such as infra-red spectroscopy.
Magnesite has been used in kilns and industrial furnaces. In our county's past Pomo Indians wore and traded beautiful beads made of magnesite.
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.
- Morgen Wells
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Sutter Lakeside Hospital participates in toy drive
LAKEPORT, Calif. – Sutter Lakeside Hospital is proud to participate in the Lake County Family Resource Center’s annual toy drive.
The toy drive gives more than 200 children the gift of Christmas, according to Jennifer Dodd, executive director, Lake County Family Resource Center.
Sutter Lakeside Hospital has participated for more than 10 years, and usually provides at least 100 gifts, said Dodd.
“My favorite thing about the toy drive is all of the excitement ahead of time,” said Dodd. “We work with families to figure out what they need, and they know they have something to look forward to. It’s not just about the kids – you’re helping the whole family. To see the impact on the family starts from the moment we start collecting tags. It’s more than just the toy – we get to see firsthand how generous the people in this county are.”
Sutter Lakeside Hospital staff have the opportunity to pick a gift tag of their choice, which lists a child’s name, age, and desired gift.
“Everyone looks forward to the toy drive every year,” said Siri Nelson, chief administrative officer, Sutter Lakeside Hospital. “Staff get creative with buying toys – a lot of people pick more than one gift tag.”
The Lake County Family Resource Center holds a holiday social for participating families, with activities for the children. Meanwhile, parents discreetly pick up the donated gifts.
“However families usually celebrate the holidays is maintained,” said Dodd. “The children are completely surprised.”
To find out more, contact Lake County Family Resource Center at 707-279-0563.
Morgen Wells is Community Relations and Fund Development coordinator for Sutter Lakeside Hospital.
LAKEPORT, Calif. – Lake County Librarian Christopher Veach announced that new books have been made available for the library’s business and technology section with money donated by the Friends of the Lake County Library.
“The library works hard to make sure the library collection stays relevant and useful to the community despite low funding levels for new library materials,” said Veach. “Quality information on business and technology is needed in our county to help support local small business.”
The library looks at community needs when deciding what to buy for the collection.
According to the Lake County Comprehensive Economic Development Strategy, the self-employed make up the single largest group of the total workforce of Lake County.
The new purchases include books on writing business plans, improving customer service, marketing your business using social media and more.
People can look at the list of new business titles purchased on the library Web site and request books for pick up at their local branch.
The list is available online at http://www.co.lake.ca.us/Government/Directory/Lake_County_CA__Library/Catalog/NewNoteworthyBusTech.htm .
The library depends on monetary donations from The Friends of the Library and other donors to add new books to the system.
Visit www.friendsofthelakecountylibrary.org to learn more about the Friends of the Lake County Library and how it supports the library.
The Lake County Library is on the Internet at http://library.lakecountyca.gov and Facebook at www.facebook.com/LakeCountyLibrary .
Jan Cook works for the Lake County Library.
- Elizabeth Larson
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Helping Paws: Vizslas and terriers
LAKE COUNTY, Calif. – Lake County Animal Care and Control has another varied group of canines for adoption this week.
The available dogs include mixes of Australian Cattle Dog, beagle, dachshund, husky, Labrador Retriever, pit bull, shepherd, terrier and Viszla.
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”).
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 blue and tan coat.
She's in kennel No. 17, ID No. 6511.
Vizsla mix
This female Vizsla mix has a short black and brown coat.
She's in kennel No. 6537, ID No. 22a.
Vizsla mix
This male Vizsla mix has a short black coat with white markings.
He's in kennel No. 22b, ID No. 6538.
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.
Shar Pei-pit bull mix
This male Shar Pei-pit bull mix has a short black and white coat.
Shelter staff said he already has been neutered, and would do well in a home with no livestock.
He's in kennel No. 25, ID No. 6629.
'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.
Dachshund-terrier mix
This female dachshund-terrier mix has a short red and white coat.
Shelter staff said she already has been spayed.
She's in kennel No. 29, ID No. 6531.
Husky mix
This male husky mix has a medium-length tricolor coat.
He's in kennel No. 31, ID no. 6582.
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.
- Editor
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AT&T donates to fire relief fund
LAKEPORT, Calif. – The Lake County Rising Fire Relief Fund this fall received a $5,000 contribution from AT&T to support residents with urgently needed assistance to help rebuild homes and businesses destroyed in the Clayton fire.
Preston Dickinson, representative for AT&T, presented a $5,000 contribution to the Lake County Rising Fire Relief Fund on Oct. 27 at the Lake County Courthouse.
Present at the contribution were Bill Groody and Terry Dereniuk representing the Fire Relief Fund along with Lake County Supervisors Rob Brown and Jim Comstock.
“We are very appreciative of the ongoing commitment AT&T has made to Lake County,” said supervisor Brown “Our residents need support after a disaster like this and it’s nice to know that a company like AT&T is there to support us in our time of need.”
“Lake County has been hit with fires now in two consecutive years and we felt that we needed to step in to help the victims not only of the Clayton fire but also the fires of past,” said Lake County Wine Alliance Board member Bill Groody. “We thank AT&T for their support in helping community members who were affected by the Clayton fire.”
“AT&T rapidly deployed communications to the fire affected areas so that our first responders and residents could communicate. Today’s contribution is further proof that AT&T cares about Lake County, so I want to thank them for what they have done here,” said Supervisor Jim Comstock.
With the onset of another devastating fire in Lake County, the Lake County Rising, which is a partnership between the Lake County Winegrape Commission, the Lake County Winery Association and the Lake County Wine Alliance, is working with county staff to aid the community by assisting fire victims and helping those in need as a result of the fire destruction.
- Editor
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St. John's Episcopal Church and Soper Reese present advent concerts
LAKEPORT, Calif. – St. John's Episcopal Church and the Soper Reese Theatre are presenting advent concerts this month.
The concerts are free and open to the public.
At noon on Wednesday, Dec. 7, organist Mel Taylor will give a one-hour performance.
He will play selections from the “California Wine Suite Opus 40” by Hans Uwe Hielscher as well as “Variations on New Britain (Amazing Grace)” by David P. Dahl. Admission is free.
At 6 p.m. on Wednesday, Dec. 14, a Capella group My Divas will perform.
This a Capella group, which includes six talented Lake County women, will sing madrigals (parts songs) and intricately interwoven melodies in three- and four-part harmonies.
The series is presented by with generous support from Anne Barquist.
St. John’s Episcopal Church is located at 1190 N. Forbes St. in Lakeport.
- NATIONAL AERONAUTICS AND SPACE ADMINISTRATION
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Space News: The mystery of coronal heating
Imagine standing around a roaring campfire, roasting s’mores. You feel the warmth of the flames as the marshmallows crackle. Now back away. You get cooler, right?
That's not how it works on the sun. The visible surface of the sun has a temperature of 10,000° F. Backing away from the inferno should cool things down, but it doesn’t.
Instead, the sun's upper atmosphere, or corona, sizzles at millions of degrees – a temperature 200 to 500 times higher than that of the roaring furnace below.
For more than a half-century, astronomers have tried to figure out what causes the corona to be so hot. It is one of the most vexing problems in astrophysics.
Solar physicist Bart De Pontieu of the Lockheed Martin Solar & Astrophysics Laboratory says, “The problem of coronal heating was first discovered in the 1940s. The problem involves a variety of complex physical processes that are difficult to directly measure or capture in theoretical models.”
On June 27, 2013, with campfires blazing around the USA, NASA launched the Interface Region Imaging Spectrograph (IRIS) – a space-based solar observatory designed to get to the bottom of how the solar atmosphere is heated.
“IRIS studies the transition region between the sun’s surface and the corona,” explained De Pontieu, who is the science lead of the observatory. “It can track the temperature and motions of hot gas at unprecedented spatial (0.33 arcsec), temporal (2 s) and spectral (2 mi/s) resolution.”
Most researchers agree that the corona is probably heated in several different ways. For instance, plasma waves from the sun can rise into the corona and crash, depositing their energy there.
At the same time, “heat bombs” could be going off. These explosions happen when magnetic fields in the corona criss-cross and realign, exploding like a miniature solar flare.
One of the big questions of coronal heating has been: Is the corona heated everywhere at once, or is heat delivered in discrete, bomb-like events?
De Pontieu said, “These two possibilities are very different, but the distinction can be difficult to observe.”
The problem is the corona is a great thermal conductor. If a heat bomb goes off, the resulting heat rapidly spreads out over a large region. Blink, and it looks much the same as uniform heating.
Fortunately, IRIS never blinks. A recent observation by the observatory’s spectrographs has found evidence for these discrete, explosive events.
Paola Testa of the Harvard-Smithonian Center for Astrophysics, lead author of the paper reporting the results said, “Because IRIS can resolve the transition region ten times better than previous instruments, we were able to see hot material rushing up and down magnetic fields in the low corona. This is compatible with models from the University of Oslo, in which magnetic reconnection sets off heat bombs in the corona.”
Testa emphasizes that other heating mechanisms may be at work, too. Even so, these new observations could help tease out how much of the heating comes from discrete heating events, helping researchers sort out a decades-old puzzle of great complexity.
- Editor
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Democratic Club hosts Thompson Dec. 14
LOWER LAKE, Calif. – The Lake County Democratic Club will host Congressman Mike Thompson at its meeting on Wednesday, Dec. 14.
The meeting will begin at 6:30 p.m. in the Social Hall of the United Methodist Church, 16255 Second St., Lower Lake. He will address the club on "Our Way Forward."
The business meeting will follow the speaker.
Democratic Club meetings are held on the second Wednesday of every month at 6:30 p.m. Please note that the club has changed its meeting days to Wednesdays. Also, the club will resume having meetings in Lower Lake at the Methodist Church Social Hall.
All meetings are open to the public. Membership is open to registered Democrats.
The Lake County Democratic Club is an officially chartered club of the Democratic Party of Lake County.
For more information visit www.lakecountydemocraticclub.org or contact the club at This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. .
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