LAKEPORT, Calif. – “Sail Away,” the 45th quilt block on the Lake County Quilt Trail, has been Installed at 1860 High St. in Lakeport.
Mike Borg is sponsor of the “Sail Away” quilt block and owner of the building on which it is installed.
Borg feels this pattern of a sailboat with a mountain and valley border is very appropriate since the site is on the shore of Clear Lake looking out onto Mt. Konocti.
The mountain and valley pattern mimics the mountains and valleys surrounding our beautiful lake.
Back in the 1940s this building housed the woodshop of the nearby Clear Lake High School.
The Hospice of Lake County currently occupies this building. Grief counseling is part of the use of this site. The sail boat is used in many traditions to symbolize the “passing” from our earthly life to the ethereal spirit life.
The GPS location of “Sail Away” is Latitude: 39.054, Longitude: -122.916.
The quilt block was drawn and painted by the Lake County Quilt Trail team, a group of dedicated quilters, graphic artists, painters, writers, carpenters and a videographer.
Also, this week “Blazing Star” moved to the 3600 block of Main Street in downtown Kelseyville from its original 2010 location at Big Oak Ranch on Gaddy Lane.
Owners of the building and the 8-foot by 8-foot “Blazing Star” are Brian Fisher and JB Ballesteros.
The Lake County Quilt Trail is an agricultural and tourism project designed to promote community pride.
For more information about the Lake County Quilt Trail visit www.lakecountyquilttrail.com or go to the quilt trail’s Facebook page.
NORTHERN CALIFORNIA – On Friday, several U.S. Representatives from Northern California called on the Brown Administration to withdraw and fully revise their proposed Bay Delta Conservation Plan (BDCP) in light of draft environmental documents being found “biased” and “insufficient” by federal agencies in public comments made available Thursday.
The U.S. Bureau of Reclamation, U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, and National Marine Fisheries Service provided these comments to the California Department of Water Resources (DWR) as part of a review of the draft environmental impact report/environmental impact statement.
The members of Congress condemning the plan included Congressman Mike Thompson (CA-5) and Congressman John Garamendi (CA-3), who represent Lake County.
“These reports confirm what we’ve been saying all along – this proposed BDCP is not a workable solution to California’s water challenges,” said Thompson.
“It’s rushed, flawed, hurts wildlife and puts the interests of South-of-Delta water contractors ahead of North-of-Delta farmers, fishers and small business owners,” he added. “Until we have a plan that is transparent, based on sound science and developed with all stake-holders at the table, then any process that moves us closer to building these tunnels will recklessly risk billions of California tax dollars and thousands of jobs.”
“The peripheral tunnel plan is incredibly destructive, and because it does not add one drop to our water supply, incredibly unproductive. The current plan concludes that massive water diversions south of the Delta are needed and then twists arguments to meet that conclusion. Instead, we need a scientific process, freed from the blinders of bias, to meet the legally mandated co-equal goals of ecological conservation and reliability of water supply – both of which are essential to the state’s economy,” said Garamendi.
“As an alternative to the current BDCP, I have proposed a framework that would expand our water supply and protect the Delta through greater water conservation, recycling, and storage, levee improvements, and the protection of existing water rights. We need a water system that meets the needs of all Californians,” Garamendi added.
"We have said from day one that any proposal related to the Sacramento-San Joaquin Delta must be based on sound science and an accurate cost-benefit analysis,” said Rep. Jerry McNerney (CA-09). “The recently-released reports clearly show that Governor Brown's misguided plan for the Delta is based on neither.”
He continued, “To continue to move forward without taking into consideration the concerns of all stakeholders, the countless jobs that could be lost, and the billions of taxpayer dollars at stake is a clear disservice to the people of California. I will continue to fight against any plan that would divert more water from the Delta, and to stand up for the families, farmers and small business owners who rely upon a healthy Delta for their livelihoods."
“The governor’s administration told us time and again that their process would be governed by unbiased, sound science. But these federal reports confirm the opposite,” said Rep. George Miller (CA-11).
“As we suspected, this process has been rushed, biased, and excludes viable alternatives at the behest of big irrigators and agencies that stand to gain huge profits from their increased access to northern water,” Miller said. “To proceed any further without major revisions that take into account the concerns of all stakeholders, not just those with political and financial influence, would be shortsighted, unproductive, and ultimately a failure.”
“The federal agency comments on the BDCP’s draft environmental documents continue to show not only that the project doesn’t solve the water problems that face our state, but that the BDCP as written is truly flawed,” said Rep. Doris Matsui.
“Until we have a process that includes all stakeholders and is based on sound science, we are wasting precious time and taxpayer money,” Matsui continued. “This is time and money that we do not have. In the meantime, the environment of the Delta continues to decline and our state’s water problems continue to grow. We must get on track with a process that will produce a viable solution for California’s future.”
“As someone who played a major role in California’s landmark 2009 water reforms, I have been concerned from the very beginning that the Bay Delta Conservation Plan is not meeting the high standards and requirements established in that legislation,” said Rep. Jared Huffman (CA-02). “These reports are just the latest in a series of wake up calls showing that the BDCP is headed in a dangerous direction. We need a plan for the Bay-Delta that is based on science and follows the law, and it looks to me – and clearly, to many others – like the BDCP continues to fall short.”
LAKE COUNTY, Calif. – A vehicle stop conducted Tuesday afternoon by the Lake County Sheriff’s Narcotics Task Force has resulted in two arrests and the seizure of methamphetamine, prescription medication and drug paraphernalia.
Erik Neal Mezori, 34, of Las Vegas and 32-year-old Tasha Lorraine Cattani of Lucerne were arrested following the vehicle stop, according to Lt. Steve Brooks.
On Tuesday at approximately 4:30 p.m., a narcotics detective noticed a vehicle traveling in front if him on northbound Highway 29 with an expired registration tab. Brooks said the detective confirmed the expired registration through Central Dispatch.
The narcotics detective conducted the enforcement stop on Highway 29 near the intersection of Highway 175 Hopland. He contacted the driver, Mezori, and explained the reason why he was being stopped, Brooks said.
He said the narcotics detective recognized the passenger seated in the front seat as Cattani, who he knew from previous law enforcement contacts was a prior narcotics offender.
The narcotics detective noticed that both Mezori and Cattani exhibited signs of being under the influence of a controlled substance. Brooks said Cattani admitted she had “slipped” and last used the day before, on Monday.
Cattani was asked if she had anything illegal in her possession and she admitted that she did. The narcotics detective asked her to give him all the illegal items she possessed. Brooks said Cattani reached down the front of her pants and removed a clear plastic bag containing a white crystalline substance, which the detective recognized to be methamphetamine.
Brooks said the narcotics detective asked Cattani if she had anything else illegal in her possession and she reached down the front of her pants and removed a glass “meth” pipe. She then reached down the front of her pants again and removed a pink and blue bag.
The detective opened the bag and found two small bags containing a white crystalline substance and some prescription medication, Brooks said. The detective recognized the white crystalline substance to be methamphetamine and the prescription medication to be Vicodin.
The detective arrested Mezori being under the influence of a controlled substance. He arrested Cattani for possession of a controlled substance, possession of a controlled substance for sales, transportation of a controlled substance and possession of controlled substance paraphernalia, Brooks said. Both were transported to the Lake County Hill Road Correctional Facility and booked.
The narcotics detective later tested the crystalline substance using a narcotics identification kit. The test flashed blue, indicating a presumptive positive for methamphetamine. The approximate weight of all three bags of methamphetamine was 9 grams, Brooks said.
The Sheriff’s Narcotics Task Force can be contacted through is anonymous tip line at 707-263-3663.
High above our planet in the realm of satellites and space stations, the familiar rules of Earth do not apply.
The midday sky is as black as night. There is no up and no down. Dropped objects do not fall, and hot air does not rise.
Of all the strange things that happen up there, however, it is possible that the strangest happens to coffee.
Physics professor Mark Weislogel of Portland State University has given a lot of thought to coffee (and other fluids) in space, and he describes what happens.
“For starters,” he said, “it would be a chore just getting the coffee into the cup. Absent the pull of gravity, pouring liquids can be very tricky.”
“But, for the sake of argument, let’s suppose you are on the space station and you have a cup of coffee in your hand.”
The most natural thing would be to tip the cup toward your lips, but when you do …
“The coffee would be very hard to control,” he continued. “In fact, it probably wouldn't [come out of the cup]. You'd have to shake the cup toward your face and hope that some of the hot liquid breaks loose and floats toward your mouth.”
On the bright side, you will probably be wide awake by the time the cup is empty.
Coffee is not the only liquid that misbehaves in space. Cryogenic fuels, thermal coolants, potable water and urine do it, too. The behavior of fluids is one of the most un-intuitive things in all of space flight.
This poses an extreme challenge for engineers designing spacecraft systems that use fluids. “Our intuition is all wrong,” lamented Weislogel. “When it comes to guessing what fluids will do in new systems, we are often in the dark.”
To develop a better understanding of fluids in microgravity, Weislogel and colleagues are conducting the Capillary Flow Experiment onboard the International Space Station.
For instance, one of the devices in their experiment suite looks at “interior corners.” If two solid surfaces meet at a narrow-enough angle, fluids in microgravity naturally flow along the join – no pumping required.
This capillary effect could be used to guide all kinds of fluids through spacecraft, from cryogenic fuel to recycled waste water.
The phenomenon is difficult to study on Earth, where it is damped by gravity, yet on the space station large scale corner flows are easy to create and observe.
Weislogel and colleagues have already been granted three patents for devices invented as a result of their work.
One is for a microgravity condensing heat exchanger. Another describes a device that separates and controls multiphase fluids. The third patent is for – you guessed it – a low-gravity coffee cup.
Astronaut Don Pettit, who worked with the Capillary Flow Experiment during his time on board the ISS, helped invent the cup, and he shares the patent along with Weisogel and two mathematicians, Paul Concus and Robert Finns, who performed the first theoretical analysis of the phenomenon.
Basically, one side of the cup has a sharp interior corner. In the microgravity environment of the space station, capillary forces send fluid flowing along the channel right into the lips of the drinker.
“As you sip, more fluid keeps coming, and you can enjoy your coffee in a weightless environment-- clear down to the last drop,” said Pettit. “This may well be what future space colonists use when they want to have a celebration.”
Indeed, the patent application specifically mentions “toasting” as one of the uses of the device.
It’s easy to imagine what they might be toasting: toilets and air conditioners and fuel tanks and recycling systems, working better thanks to capillary flow experiments on the ISS.
Dr. Tony Phillips works for the National Aeronautics and Space Administration.
MIDDLETOWN, Calif. – The Sheriff’s Narcotics Task Force arrested a Santa Rosa man and seized methamphetamine and Vicodin tablets following a traffic stop this week.
Lt. Steve Brooks said 51-year-old Peter Jessie Molina was arrested on Monday night.
At 10:45 p.m. Monday a narcotics detective observed a vehicle traveling in front of him on south bound Highway 29, just south of Middletown. The vehicle crossed over the double yellow lines on three occasions. The detective also observed the vehicle cross over the fog line several times, Brooks said.
The narcotics detective conducted an enforcement stop on the vehicle at the intersection of Highway 29 and Shady Grove in Middletown. He contacted Molina, who Brooks said was the driver.
Brooks said Central Dispatch conducted a records check of Molina and advised that his driving privileges were suspended and he had two warrants for his arrest.
As the narcotics detective was speaking to Molina, he noticed Molina appeared to be very nervous. Molina denied having anything illegal in the vehicle. Molina was detained for the warrants and driving on the suspended license, Brooks said.
The detective deployed his narcotics detection K9, who has been trained specifically for detecting the odor of five different controlled substances. Brooks said the K9 alerted to the odor of narcotics coming from inside the vehicle.
The detective located four plastic bags. Two of the plastic bags contained a white crystalline substance and other two bags contained an orange colored crystalline substance, Brooks said.
The detective recognized the contents of the bags to be methamphetamine. There was also a glass “meth” pipe containing a white and brown residue and 16 Vicodin tablets located with the methamphetamine, according to Brooks. Molina admitted the methamphetamine was his and he was going to Clearlake to sell it.
The narcotics detective tested the crystalline substance using a narcotics identification kit. The test flashed blue, indicating a presumptive positive for methamphetamine. The approximate weight of all four bags of methamphetamine was 52.4 grams. Brooks said the estimated street value of the methamphetamine is $5,240.
Molina was arrested for possession of a controlled substance for sale, transportation of a controlled substance, possession of a specified controlled substance, possession or purchase for sale of a specified controlled substance, transportation of a specified controlled substance and possession of controlled substance paraphernalia. He was transported to the Lake County Hill Road Correctional Facility and booked.
The Sheriff’s Narcotics can be contacted through its anonymous tip line at 707-263-3663.
LAKE COUNTY, Calif. – A vehicle stop conducted Tuesday afternoon by the Lake County Sheriff’s Narcotics Task Force has resulted in two arrests and the seizure of methamphetamine, prescription medication and drug paraphernalia.
Erik Neal Mezori, 34, of Las Vegas and 32-year-old Tasha Lorraine Cattani of Lucerne were arrested following the vehicle stop, according to Lt. Steve Brooks.
On Tuesday at approximately 4:30 p.m., a narcotics detective noticed a vehicle traveling in front if him on northbound Highway 29 with an expired registration tab. Brooks said the detective confirmed the expired registration through Central Dispatch.
The narcotics detective conducted the enforcement stop on Highway 29 near the intersection of Highway 175 Hopland. He contacted the driver, Mezori, and explained the reason why he was being stopped, Brooks said.
He said the narcotics detective recognized the passenger seated in the front seat as Cattani, who he knew from previous law enforcement contacts was a prior narcotics offender.
The narcotics detective noticed that both Mezori and Cattani exhibited signs of being under the influence of a controlled substance. Brooks said Cattani admitted she had “slipped” and last used the day before, on Monday.
Cattani was asked if she had anything illegal in her possession and she admitted that she did. The narcotics detective asked her to give him all the illegal items she possessed. Brooks said Cattani reached down the front of her pants and removed a clear plastic bag containing a white crystalline substance, which the detective recognized to be methamphetamine.
Brooks said the narcotics detective asked Cattani if she had anything else illegal in her possession and she reached down the front of her pants and removed a glass “meth” pipe. She then reached down the front of her pants again and removed a pink and blue bag.
The detective opened the bag and found two small bags containing a white crystalline substance and some prescription medication, Brooks said. The detective recognized the white crystalline substance to be methamphetamine and the prescription medication to be Vicodin.
The detective arrested Mezori being under the influence of a controlled substance. He arrested Cattani for possession of a controlled substance, possession of a controlled substance for sales, transportation of a controlled substance and possession of controlled substance paraphernalia, Brooks said. Both were transported to the Lake County Hill Road Correctional Facility and booked.
The narcotics detective later tested the crystalline substance using a narcotics identification kit. The test flashed blue, indicating a presumptive positive for methamphetamine. The approximate weight of all three bags of methamphetamine was 9 grams, Brooks said.
The Sheriff’s Narcotics Task Force is contacted through is anonymous tip line at 707-263-3663.
LAKEPORT, Calif. – On Friday, the Lake County District Attorney's Office moved to dismiss drug and human trafficking charges against two men in preparation for the US Attorney's Office taking over the drug aspect of the prosecution.
Ryan Alan Balletto, 30, of Lakeport, Calif., and Patrick Steven Pearmain, 25, of Clearlake, were arrested May 1 on marijuana cultivation and weapons charges, as Lake County News has reported.
Later, both men had been charged by District Attorney Don Anderson's office with human trafficking, statutory rape, oral copulation on a person under age 16, sodomy, false imprisonment, and annoying or molesting a child relating to a teenage girl who allegedly had been kept at the grow site. Balletto also was charged with lewd and lascivious acts on a child under age 14 or 15.
But on Friday all of the drug, human trafficking and sex-related charges were dropped without prejudice, said Anderson.
That's because the US Attorney's Office is preparing to come in and take over the drug prosecution, Anderson explained.
Anderson said that the US Attorney's Office already has gotten federal indictments secured for both men.
“It originally was a federal investigation that started the whole thing,” Anderson said of the case.
At Balletto’s 681-acre property near Clearlake Oaks, authorities found nearly 1,500 marijuana plants and a large and sophisticated cache of military grade sniper and assault rifles, automatic assault rifles and pistols, and ammunition, high capacity magazines, military grade body armor and military grade scopes.
Lake County officials stepped in after they became aware that the men allegedly had been holding a 15-year-old runaway girl from Los Angeles at the property, Anderson said.
Case records indicate that Los Angeles County officials contacted local authorities about the missing girl, who they believed had been brought to Northern California by Balletto for use in a child pornography operation.
It's alleged that the girl – who is estimated to have been at the property for about a month before the arrests occurred – was at times held in a large, specially constructed box as punishment, according to Anderson.
Anderson said he and one of his deputies, Ed Borg, who was handling the cases against Balletto and Pearmain, met with federal prosecutors about how to move forward.
“We agreed that they'll do the guns and the marijuana,” said Anderson.
He said the federal punishment for the charges the men are facing is much more severe than the penalties they would receive in local court, with the possibility that the men could serve life in prison rather than just a few years in state prison or the local jail.
In the meantime, Anderson said his staff will continue its investigation into the sex crimes and human trafficking aspect of the case, with a view to possibly refiling at some point in the future.
“There's still a lot more work that needs to be done,” he said.
Anderson said that, regardless of what the US Attorney's Office does, his office can file charges again if it's warranted.
He said federal officials are expected to come and transfer Balletto and Pearmain to federal custody in the Bay Area on Monday.
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.
NASA's Hubble Space Telescope has discovered a new moon orbiting the distant blue-green planet Neptune, the 14th known to be circling the giant planet.
The moon, designated S/2004 N 1, is estimated to be no more than 12 miles across, making it the smallest known moon in the Neptunian system.
It is so small and dim that it is roughly 100 million times fainter than the faintest star that can be seen with the naked eye.
It even escaped detection by NASA's Voyager 2 spacecraft, which flew past Neptune in 1989 and surveyed the planet's system of moons and rings.
Mark Showalter of the SETI Institute in Mountain View, Calif., found the moon July 1, while studying the faint arcs, or segments of rings, around Neptune.
“The moons and arcs orbit very quickly, so we had to devise a way to follow their motion in order to bring out the details of the system,” he said. “It's the same reason a sports photographer tracks a running athlete – the athlete stays in focus, but the background blurs.”
The method involved tracking the movement of a white dot that appears over and over again in more than 150 archival Neptune photographs taken by Hubble from 2004 to 2009.
On a whim, Showalter looked far beyond the ring segments and noticed the white dot about 65,400 miles from Neptune, located between the orbits of the Neptunian moons Larissa and Proteus.
The dot is S/2004 N 1. Showalter plotted a circular orbit for the moon, which completes one revolution around Neptune every 23 hours.
Dr. Tony Phillips works for the National Aeronautics and Space Administration.
NICE, Calif. – Damaged power equipment is believed to have caused a wildland fire that burned close to Highway 20 and several homes on Thursday night.
Firefighters were dispatched to the area of E. Highway 20 at Carson Street in Nice shortly after 9:30 p.m. on the report of a blown transformer, downed power lines and a resulting wildland fire that was threatening several structures, according to radio reports.
The fire personnel from Northshore Fire and Cal Fire who arrived on scene minutes later found the fire running uphill, reports from the scene indicated.
Northshore Fire Deputy Chief Pat Brown said the fire burned about a half an acre total, but it came extremely close to nearby residences.
“It ran up between four different homes,” he said, adding that none of the homes were damaged.
Shortly after the fire was reported, Pacific Gas & Electric Co. said there were almost 1,600 customers without power in and around the Nice area due to damaged power equipment on a pole.
Brown said he did not know if there had been a blown transformer in the area as had been indicated in the multiple 911 calls reporting the fire, but firefighters found a separated primary line down on the ground.
A Northshore Fire engine responding to the fire was involved in a traffic collision, according to the California Highway Patrol, radio and witness reports.
The CHP said the fire truck was out of commission as a result of the crash.
Brown said there were no injuries related to the collision.
By 2 a.m. 627 customers remained without power, with PG&E estimating power would be restored to all of its customers by 4:30 a.m.
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.
LOWER LAKE, Calif. – Caltrans said a repaving project on Highway 29 south of Lower Lake will begin on Monday, July 22.
This $1.7 million project will repave about seven miles of Highway 29 from Lower Lake to near Hidden Valley Lake with a thin asphalt overlay to provide a smoother, safer, driving surface.
The new asphalt layer will be porous, which allows water to drain through the surface. This will provide better traction and reduce tire road spray during wet weather.
Work is anticipated to be completed by the end of August.
Work hours will be 5:30 a.m. to 4 p.m., weekdays.
One-way traffic control will be in effect, and motorists should anticipate up to 10-minute delays.
The contractor is Windsor Fuel Co. of Pittsburg.
For the most current road information on all California State highways, please call 1-800-427-7623 (1-800-GAS-ROAD) or visit www.dot.ca.gov .
KELSEYVILLE, Calif. – The Lake County Sheriff's Office has released the name of a woman who died following a head-on collision near Kelseyville on Thursday.
Lt. Steve Brooks identified the woman as Lee Ann White, 63, of Hidden Valley Lake.
White died of her injuries at Sutter Lakeside Hospital following the crash, which occurred shortly after noon on Highway 29 north of Highway 281, as Lake County News has reported.
White was driving her 1995 Mitsubishi Expo northbound when 60-year-old Janet Lee Mix of Clearlake crossed into White's path and hit her head-on, the CHP.
Mix, who was driving southbound, had allowed her 1999 Toyota Sienna to drift onto the highway shoulder and made an unsafe turning movement to get back onto the road, which caused the vehicle to cross the southbound lane and travel into the northbound lane, where she hit White.
Mix, who had moderate injuries, was arrested for driving under the influence of drugs and released to Sutter Lakeside Hospital, where White also was transported, according to the CHP.
Two children riding in Mix's vehicle, a 7-year-old boy and a 10-year-old girl, suffered major injuries, with the boy flown to UC Davis Medical Center with the girl taken to Sutter Lakeside Hospital, the CHP said.
The CHP said the crash remains under investigation.
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.
KELSEYVILLE, Calif. – An early Thursday morning fire left a local family homeless, and an effort now is under way to raise funds to help them get back on their feet.
The home of the Leary family, located on Fairway Drive in Kelseyville, was reported on fire at around 2:15 a.m. Thursday, as Lake County News has reported.
Erik and Jessica Leary and their four children – 9-year-old twin boys Kyle and Tyler, 6-year-old son Ryder and 1-year-old daughter Allyson – were able to get out safely, but the home burned to the ground, and all but the clothes they were wearing and their vehicles were destroyed, said Erik Leary's brother-in-law, Django Dexter.
“They've lost absolutely everything,” said Dexter.
The family of six was renting the home from Erik Leary's parents, according to Dexter.
Kelseyville Fire Battalion Chief Joe Huggins confirmed the home was a total loss.
He said Kelseyville Fire and Cal Fire each sent two engines, Lakeport Fire sent one engine, with a medic unit, chiefs from Lakeport and Kelseyville, and battalion chiefs from Kelseyville and Cal Fire also responding.
In addition to destroying the Leary home, “A neighboring house did suffer some damage to the exterior wall,” said Huggins.
Huggins said the cause of the fire is still under investigation. “The guys have been out there the majority of the day,” he said on Thursday.
Dexter reported that the Red Cross gave the family some temporary lodging and cash, which was important since their identification cards and credit cards were burned up in the fire.
On Thursday the family's friends and relatives got to work trying to get them some additional help.
Erik Leary is a water treatment operator for Riviera West Mutual Water Co. and his wife is a preschool teacher at Learning House Infant Toddler Center in Kelseyville, Dexter said.
The fundraising goal has been set at $50,000, with about $7,200 raised in the first 15 hours, according to the GoFundMe Web site.
For additional information on how to help the family, go to http://www.gofundme.com/3myu8o and click on “contact” next to Dexter's picture.
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.