Employees at Space Launch Complex 41 of Cape Canaveral Air Force Station, Fla., keep watch as the payload fairing containing NASA's Mars Science Laboratory spacecraft is lifted up the side of the Vertical Integration Facility on Nov. 3, 2011. Image credit: NASA.

NASA's most advanced mobile robotic laboratory, which will examine one of the most intriguing areas on Mars, is in final preparations for a launch from Florida's Space Coast at 7:25 a.m. PST on Friday, Nov. 25.

The Mars Science Laboratory mission will carry Curiosity, a rover with more scientific capability than any ever sent to another planet.

The rover is now sitting atop an Atlas V rocket awaiting liftoff from Cape Canaveral Air Force Station.

“Preparations are on track for launching at our first opportunity,” said Pete Theisinger, Mars Science Laboratory project manager at NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory in Pasadena. “If weather or other factors prevent launching then, we have more opportunities through Dec. 18.”

Scheduled to land on the Red Planet in August 2012, the one-ton rover will examine Gale Crater during a nearly two-year prime mission.

Curiosity will land near the base of a layered mountain 3 miles (5 kilometers) high inside the crater. The rover will investigate whether environmental conditions ever have been favorable for development of microbial life and preserved evidence of those conditions.

“Gale gives us a superb opportunity to test multiple potentially habitable environments and the context to understand a very long record of early environmental evolution of the planet,” said John Grotzinger, project scientist for the Mars Science Laboratory at the California Institute of Technology in Pasadena. “The portion of the crater where Curiosity will land has an alluvial fan likely formed by water-carried sediments. Layers at the base of the mountain contain clays and sulfates, both known to form in water.”

Curiosity is twice as long and five times as heavy as earlier Mars rovers Spirit and Opportunity. The rover will carry a set of 10 science instruments weighing 15 times as much as its predecessors' science payloads.

A mast extending to 7 feet (2.1 meters) above ground provides height for cameras and a laser-firing instrument to study targets from a distance. Instruments on a 7-foot-long (2.1-meter-long) arm will study targets up close.

Analytical instruments inside the rover will determine the composition of rock and soil samples acquired with the arm's powdering drill and scoop. Other instruments will characterize the environment, including the weather and natural radiation that will affect future human missions.

“Mars Science Laboratory builds upon the improved understanding about Mars gained from current and recent missions,” said Doug McCuistion, director of the Mars Exploration Program at NASA Headquarters in Washington. “This mission advances technologies and science that will move us toward missions to return samples from, and eventually send humans to, Mars.”

The mission is challenging and risky. Because Curiosity is too heavy to use an air-bag cushioned touchdown, the mission will use a new landing method, with a rocket-powered descent stage lowering the rover on a tether like a kind of sky-crane.

This computer-generated view depicts part of Mars at the boundary between darkness and daylight, with an area including Gale Crater beginning to catch morning light. Image credit: NASA/JPL-Caltech.

The mission will pioneer precision landing methods during the spacecraft's crucial dive through Mars' atmosphere next August to place the rover onto a smaller landing target than any previously for a Mars mission.

The target inside Gale Crater is 12.4 miles (20 kilometers) by 15.5 miles (25 kilometers). Rough terrain just outside that area would have disqualified the landing site without the improved precision.

No mission to Mars since the Viking landers in the 1970s has sought a direct answer to the question of whether life has existed on Mars. Curiosity is not designed to answer that question by itself, but its investigations for evidence about prerequisites for life will steer potential future missions toward answers.

The mission is managed by JPL for NASA's Science Mission Directorate in Washington. Curiosity was designed, developed and assembled at JPL. Launch management for the mission is the responsibility of NASA's Launch Services Program at the Kennedy Space Center in Florida. NASA's Space Network, managed by the Goddard Space Flight Center in Greenbelt, Md., will provide space communications services for the rocket. NASA's international Deep Space Network will provide MSL spacecraft acquisition and communication throughout the mission.

For more information, visit: http://www.nasa.gov/msl and http://mars.jpl.nasa.gov/msl . You also can follow the mission on Facebook at http://www.facebook.com/marscuriosity and on Twitter at http://www.twitter.com/marscuriosity.

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This oblique view of Gale Crater shows the landing site and the mound of layered rocks that NASA's Mars Science Laboratory will investigate. The landing site is in the smooth area in front of the mound. Image credit: NASA/JPL-Caltech/ASU/UA.

If that CPI were already in use, military retirees, disabled veterans and social security recipients would be getting a 3.4 percent COLA in January rather than the planned 3.6 percent hike, government price data show.

Democrats and Republicans on the powerful 12-member Joint Select Committee on Debt Reduction offered separate partisan packages late last month toward trimming at least $1.2 trillion off projected budget deficits over the next decade. Republican members predictably stuck to their pledge not to accept new tax hikes, which Democrats demanded for “balance” of sacrifice.

A feature said to be in both packages is adoption of the chain-weighted or “chain” CPI for adjusting federal entitlements, a move estimated to save $200 billion over 10 years.

Many economists say the chain CPI is a more accurate index of inflation because it addresses “substitution bias” found in traditional consumer price indices run by the Bureau of Labor Statistics.

Many entitlements now are adjusted based on the CPI for Urban Wage Earners and Clerical Workers, or CPI-W. It track prices for a market basket of good and services, which are weighted based on spending patterns of American of mostly blue-collar workers.

Every two years BLS conducts a new survey to readjust how goods and services are weighted in the basket.

What CPI-W doesn’t do is change the mix of goods and services surveyed to reflect changes in spending behavior. For example, as the price of beef rises, consumers buy less beef and more chicken. Because CPI-W doesn’t take account of that, critics contend, it exaggerates inflation.

The chain CPI reflects not only changes in prices but in spending behavior, from more expensive items to less expensive substitutes.

But critics of this index argue it ignores the fact that consumers might prefer beef to chicken. So that over time the chain CPI will leave consumers feeling worse off because of what they can afford.

Recent debt-reduction reports, including the National Commission on Fiscal Responsibility and Reform last December, have recommended adopting the chain CPI for Urban Consumers (C-CPI-U).

Since 2002, when BLS first established this index, it has measured inflation rising at a slower pace, almost three-tenths of a percentage point a year lower than the CPI-W.

Testifying Tuesday (Nov. 1) before the super committee, the co-chairs of the fiscal reform commission again endorsed shifting to the chain CPI.

“If we could do it government wide it would save billions,” said Alan Simpson, a Republican and former senator from Wyoming.

No criticism was offered.

Erskine Bowles, Simpson’s partner on the commission, included the chain CPI feature in a $3.9 billion possible debt reduction deal he outlined for super committee members, contending most elements were agreed to previously by Democrats and Republicans.

Bowles indicated the chain CPI was a feature he knows both sides of the super committee support.

TARGETING ‘PRIME’ RETIREES

Sen. John McCain (R-Ariz.) has advised the super committee to consider ending access to TRICARE Prime, the military’s popular managed care option, for working-age retirees and their families, to avoid spending cuts that would directly impact readiness.

Unless at least seven of 12 super committee members agree on a $1.5 billion, 10-year package to attack the national debt, the Budget Control Act signed in August will require automatic federal program cuts of $1.2 trillion, with roughly $450 billion from defense programs.

The cuts would be in addition to nearly $500 billion in defense spending curbs over 10 years already ordered by President Obama as part of an earlier deficit-reduction agreement.

Uniformed leaders of the Army, Navy, Air Force and Marine Corps testified Nov. 1 to the devastating impact these automatic cuts, called sequestration, would have on force levels and weapons modernization programs if the super committee can’t reach a deal by its Nov. 23 deadline.

Pulling the TRICARE Prime idea from a recent Congressional Budget Office report, McCain said forcing retirees under 65 to use TRICARE Standard, the fee-for-service option, or health insurance from civilian employers, or space-available care at base clinics or hospitals, could save DoD medical accounts up to $111 billion over the next decade.

McCain, ranking Republican on the Senate Armed Services Committee, was once a champion for expanded TRICARE benefits to retirees. He was not available for an interview.

But a staff member explained the senator feels eliminating retiree TRICARE Prime is more acceptable than alternatives to cut equipment, training or key weapon programs needed by the current force.

“Faced with the possibility of sequester and its potential for an enormously harmful impact on national security,” he said, McCain wants the super committee to consider carefully options “that would not impose drastic negative impacts on the Defense Department, or the currently serving force and their families, while sustaining the TRICARE benefit.”

McCain also has embraced President Obama’s proposal to set a $200 a year enrollment fee for TRICARE for Life, the prized supplement to Medicare for military beneficiaries age 65 and older.

Retirees under 65 are another 40 percent of the TRICARE-eligible population. TRICARE Standard users face higher out-of-pockets costs, with annual deductibles and cost-sharing requirements but they can choose their own care providers. Beneficiary costs can’t exceed an annual catastrophic cap. But CBO suggests raising that cap of $3,000 a year per family to $7,500.

CBO said 71 percent of working-age military retirees currently use some form of TRICARE. That number would fall to 35 percent if access to Prime were denied.

Most of these beneficiaries would elect to use civilian employer health insurance, thus reversing a trend over the last few decades of military retirees leaving employer insurance plans to use TRICARE.

To comment, email This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it., write to Military Update, P.O. Box 231111, Centreville, VA, 20120-1111 or visit: www.militaryupdate.com.

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On the ballot Tuesday were board of trustee positions for the Mendocino-Lake Community College District, Upper Lake Elementary School, Upper Lake High School and Lakeport Unified School District.

In Hidden Valley Lake, voters also selected three new members for the Hidden Valley Lake Community Services District Board.

For the Mendocino-Lake Community College District seat, retired Lake County Superintendent of Schools Dave Geck of Kelseyville won election to a seat he's filled by appointment.

He received 56.6 percent of the vote, or 1,907 ballots, to defeat Derek Tippit, also of Kelseyville, who received 1,443 votes, or 42.8 percent, according to elections returns posted Tuesday night.

Voters selected Ron Raetz and Mel O'Meara to fill two seats on the Upper Lake Elementary School District Board. Raetz received 388 votes (40.8 percent), followed by O'Meara with 359 votes (37.8 percent). Walt Christensen finished third with 203 votes, or 21.4 percent.

In the Upper Lake High School District, where another two seats were decided, Keith Austin was the top vote getter, receiving 518 votes (35.9 percent), followed by Richard Swaney with 488 votes (33.9 percent) and Wanda Quitiquit, who received 430 votes, or 29.8 percent, the Lake County Registrar of Voters reported.

Three seats were open on the Lakeport Unified School District Board of Trustees. The field was led by Phil Kirby, 27.8 percent or 760 votes, followed by Wally Cox, 26.8 percent, 732 votes; Lori Holmes, 23.2 percent, 633 votes; and Renee Teverbaugh, 22 percent, 600 votes.

In Hidden Valley, Jim Freeman, Jim Lieberman and Carolyn Graham were elected to the Hidden Valley Lake Community Services District, according to the election returns.

Freeman received 215 votes (16 percent), followed by Lieberman, 205 votes (15.2 percent), and Graham, 183 votes (13.6 percent).

Also in the field were Michael H. Sand, 165 votes (12.3 percent); Lyle La Faver, 156 (11.6 percent); Frances Bunce, 153 votes (11.4 percent); Bob Barton, 153 votes (11.4 percent); and Wanda Harris, 109 votes (8.1 percent).

Of Lake County's 16,990 registered voters, only 3,532 – or 20.8 percent – cast ballots by mail and in person for the Tuesday election, according to the Lake County Registrar of Voters.

Only 819, or 4.8 percent of registered county voters cast their ballot in local precincts, with 16 percent – or 2,713 voters – voting by mail.

That turnout is the lowest reported in a Lake County election over the last five years, according to archived election data on the Lake County Registrar of Voters' Web page.

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The initiative would require genetically engineered foods (also known as genetically modified organisms, or GMOs) and foods containing GMO ingredients to be clearly labeled, similar to current labels with other nutritional information.

Genetically engineered food is usually plant or meat product that has had its DNA artificially altered in a lab with genes from other plants, animals, viruses or bacteria, in order to produce foreign compounds in that food. This genetic alteration is experimental, and is not found in nature.

The risk of genetically engineered foods is unclear, and unlike the strict safety evaluations required for the approval of new drugs, the safety of genetically engineered foods for human consumption has not been adequately tested, the group said.

Recent studies show that genetically engineering food can create new, unintended toxic substances and increase allergies, cancer risks and other health problems, especially for children.

Experts agree that by labeling genetically engineered food, we can help identify foods that cause health problems, the committee said.

“Because the FDA has failed to require labeling of GMO food, this initiative closes a critical loophole in food labeling law. It will allow Californians to choose what they buy and eat and will allow health professionals to track any potential adverse health impacts of these foods,” says Andy Kimbrell, Director of the Center for Food Safety.

The two most common genetically engineered traits are the expression of an insecticide in the tissue of “Bt Corn” and the expression of a compound in “Roundup Ready Soy” which enables high doses of Monsanto’s Roundup weed killer to be sprayed while the plant survives.

As much as 85 percent of corn in the U.S. is genetically engineered. BT Corn is currently regulated by the Environmental Protection Agency as an insecticide.

Robyn O’Brien, author and founder of the Allergy Kids Foundation says, “I support labeling genetically engineered foods because allergy-sensitive people can exercise caution with essential information to make informed decisions about what they eat.”

Fifty countries including the European Union and Japan have laws mandating that genetically engineered foods be labeled, but the United States does not have such a requirement.

Public opinion polls indicate that over 90 percent of California voters support the labeling of genetically engineered foods.

Efforts to enact labeling laws in Congress and the California legislature have been blocked by big food and chemical company lobbyists. This measure will take the issue directly to the people to decide whether genetically engineered foods should be labeled.

“These genetically engineered foods have been allowed into our food supply without warning, and they aren’t labeled,” said Pamm Larry, founder of the grassroots movement and the Committee For the Right to Know. “The bottom line is Californians have a right to know what’s in the food we eat and feed our children. It’s time to send a strong, direct message to those who govern us, whether they be agency or elected, that we want genetically engineered foods labeled.”

The California Right to Know Genetically Engineered Food Act was carefully and specifically written to avoid any unnecessary burden or cost to consumers or producers. California voters are expected to have the chance to vote on the initiative in November 2012.

The full text submitted to the attorney general can be read below.

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November 2011 - California Right to Know Initiative

The fire was first reported shortly after 2 p.m. in a doublewide mobile home with an addition at 8120 Reclamation Road, according to radio reports.

The initial reports stated there was a fire somewhere in the residence and that the occupants had safely evacuated.

Northshore Fire Protection District Chief Jay Beristianos said the district sent three engines to the scene, and had the fire knocked down within a few minutes. A few hours later all units had cleared the scene.

Beristianos said it was a “room and contents” fire, with the blaze confined to one bedroom and minimal smoke damage throughout the rest of the house.

“The cause on this is clearly electrical,” Beristianos said.

Beristianos estimated total damage at between $14,000 and $15,000.

The two adult residents of the home were displaced, but were uninjured, said Beristianos. Red Cross was called to give them housing assistance.

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New York state residents Michael Gladis, 25; Laura Fowler, 27; and 32-year-old James Waugh were arrested on Monday during the service of two search warrants in the city of Clearlake, according to a Tuesday report from the Clearlake Police Department.

An investigation that served as the basis for the search warrants' issuance allegedly revealed that the two residences – 15933 35th Ave. and 15933 36th Ave. – and their occupants were connected to the illegal cultivation and distribution of marijuana, police said.

On Monday, Clearlake Police officers along with Lake County District Attorney’s Office investigators, served two search warrants simultaneously at two Clearlake residences, according to the Tuesday report.

At 15933 35th Ave. police and district attorney investigators arrested Gladis and Fowler. Police said Gladis was arrested for cultivation of marijuana for sale, possession of simulated hand grenades, possession of illegal assault rifles, armed in the commission of a felony and conspiracy. Fowler was arrested for cultivation for sale, possession of illegal assault rifles, armed in the commission of a felony and conspiracy.

At 15933 36th Ave., Waugh was arrested for cultivation of marijuana for sale and conspiracy, police said.

Also at that residence, police reported that officers seized more than 300 marijuana plants in various stages of growth out of the residences, an AR-15-type assault rifle, an SKS type assault rifle, two simulated hand grenades and $13,464 pending judicial asset forfeiture proceedings.

Police said the investigation revealed that the conspirators were planning on growing the marijuana for sale and were possibly going to ship the marijuana via the U.S. Postal Service to other parts of the country.

Fowler and Gladis are being held at the Lake County Jail with a bail of $150,000 each, and Waugh is being held at the Lake County Jail with a bail of $100,000, according to jail records.

The Clearlake Police Department thanked the Lake County District Attorney’s Office for its assistance with the investigation and the concerned citizens who brought this matter to law enforcement's attention.

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The Veterans History Project of the Library of Congress American Folklife Center was created by the U.S. Congress in 2000 to collect, preserve and make accessible the personal accounts of American war veterans so that future generations may hear directly from veterans and better understand the realities of war.

“This project is a valuable history lesson for young people to hear firsthand what serving our nation during war time means,” said Thompson. “The recordings will serve as keepsakes for generations, allowing grandchildren and great grandchildren to learn about their family members who served on the battlefield so they could grow up free.”

The Veterans History Project program comprises individual audio- and video-recorded interviews, original photographs, letters and other historical documents from veterans of every war and conflict since World War I.

Students and veteran “coaches” will be paired with a combat veteran to record the interview. Students are encouraged to consider the Veterans History Project for their senior project and Scout troops are encouraged to include Veterans History Project on their path to Eagle Scout.

Veterans are encouraged to sign up to be interviewed and to be coach mentors and work with students and veterans throughout the project. Interested students, teachers and veterans may call Congressman Thompson’s district office in Napa County at 707-226-9898.

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Wotherspoon is being recognized for his leadership, mentoring and charitable involvement throughout the region.

“I feel that being a PGA professional means many things, but the most important is promoting the game of golf by setting a positive example,” said Wotherspoon. “I do this by giving back to the community and to those in the business that I have the pleasure of mentoring,”

Wotherspoon is among 18 recipients of the NCPGA’s 2011 Annual Section Awards.

Section awards are given to PGA Professionals and industry leaders who have excelled in the game and business of golf.

The NCPGA will recognize its 2011 Annual Section Award winners on Sunday, Dec. 4, at the NCPGA Special Awards Ceremony & President’s Dinner at Marin Country Club in Novato.

This event, a highlight for the year, will be held the evening prior to the NCPGA Annual Meeting. There are more than 200 golf professionals and industry leaders expected to attend.

“Mark has helped so many people through golf,” said NCPGA Awards Chairman Cathy Jo Johnson, PGA. “He has been a great leader as the founder of the North Coast Chapter of the NCPGA, he has mentored many golf associates, and he has been responsible for raising hundreds of thousands of dollars for local charities.”

Wotherspoon has been a leader within the NCPGA. He helped found the North Coast Chapter (NCC) of the Nor Cal PGA Section, served four years as NCC President and Chapter Representative on the NCPGA Board of Directors, three years as the NCC Vice President, and three years as the NCC Tournament Chairman.

He founded the Lake County Amateur Golf Circuit 19 years ago and today it ranks as the third largest amateur golf circuit in the Northern California Golf Association (NCGA). He also helped overturn non-PGA biased NCPGA Tournament Rules and Regulations.

He takes pride in knowing he has mentored at least 10 current PGA professionals whether it was a co-worker or an up and coming apprentice working toward membership. Seeing a need within his Chapter, Wotherspoon started an apprentice fund in the NCC to support apprentices with their education.

Wotherspoon’s community involvement and charitable contributions are many and have resulted in tremendous benefits for organizations locally and abroad.

He hosted the Lake County Wine Alliance Event and the Pepsi Celebrity Quarterback Shootout with Konocti Harbor Resort. The Lake County Wine Alliance Event generated donations up to $100,000 annually that were directed locally and the Pepsi Celebrity Quarterback Shootout generated donations up to $250,000 annually that were distributed locally and abroad amongst several United Way-affiliated organizations.

During his 20 years at Buckingham Golf & Country Club, he has been responsible for more than $100,000 being given back to the local community in green fees, cart fees, dinners and 19th hole donations.

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Anthony Romero Diaz Jr., 58, of Clearlake was identified as the fatality, according to Capt. James Bauman of the Lake County Sheriff's Office.

Bauman said an autopsy was conducted, and Diaz's preliminary cause of death was listed as drowning.

An official cause of death is pending as toxicology testing and necropsy reports have not been finalized, Bauman said.

Clearlake Police responded to the 14100 block of Lakeshore Drive on Wednesday, Nov. 2, on the report of a body floating offshore, as Lake County News has reported.

Diaz was found floating facedown. He was not clothed, but police reported finding his clothes and personal items on shore nearby.

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Net neutrality has survived another challenge.

On Thursday, the U.S. Senate rejected a motion to proceed on its “resolution of disapproval” of the Federal Communications Commission’s Net Neutrality rules.

The resolution failed by a margin of 52-46.

The measure, introduced by Sen. Kay Bailey Hutchison (R-TX), was an effort to reverse the FCC’s December 2010 rules intended to prevent Internet service providers from blocking or discriminating against content and applications on the Web.

The SavetheInternet.com Coalition reported that calls and emails from citizens across the country led to the vote against the measure.

Craig Aaron, president and chief executive officer of the Free Press Action Fund, said the Senate sent a strong signal to would-be gatekeepers that the free and open Internet needs to stay that way.

“The American public doesn't want phone and cable companies undercutting competition, deciding which websites will work or censoring what people can do online,” Aaron said. “And this shows that the Senate, for today at least, is willing to stand up to extremists who would rather waste time with partisan measures than make good policy.”

He said the fight for real net neutrality continues.

“Now that this appalling legislative stunt is finished, I hope policymakers can return to the actual priority here: strengthening these rules to protect all Internet users, no matter if they connect from their home computer or a mobile phone,” he said. “Free Press will continue to push the FCC to make better rules and to actually enforce them. Today's vote is a major victory for the public, but the fight for the free and open Internet is far from over.”

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The California Department of Fish and Game on Wednesday commenced the process to join federal litigation that challenges the removal of vegetation on levees.

The case, Friends of the River, et. al. v. United States Army Corps of Engineers, et. al. was filed in the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of California. It essentially challenges the Army Corps of Engineers' adoption of a national policy that requires removing virtually all trees and shrubs on federal levees.

“DFG, along with many other local, state and federal agencies, has been in discussion with the Corps about this policy for several years,” said DFG Director Charlton H. Bonham. “It’s unfortunate that the discussions haven’t led to a more agreeable outcome, but if adhered to, the policy will do incredible damage to California’s remaining riparian and adjacent riverine ecosystem, especially in the Central Valley.”

Roundtable discussions on the policy have included the California Department of Water Resources (DWR), Central Valley Flood Protection Board, National Marine Fisheries Service and U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service. DWR and DFG have repeatedly expressed concerns about the policy in letters to the Corps. The policy has also received pushback from farmers and other water users.

The Central Valley is home to the Sacramento-San Joaquin River Flood Management System. This flood protection system has approximately 1,600 miles of federal project levees along the Sacramento and San Joaquin rivers and tributaries. This policy would require removing most of the remaining five percent of riparian forest there.

Riparian habitat is essential for several endangered species including Chinook salmon, Central Valley steelhead, Valley elderberry longhorn beetle, riparian brush rabbit, Western yellow-billed cuckoo and Swainson's hawk.

Moreover, the riparian habitat provides scenic beauty and recreational enjoyment for people up and down the river.

The policy adopted by the Corps fails to comply with either the National Environmental Policy Act or the federal Endangered Species Act.

Historically, the Corps has allowed and even encouraged the planting of trees and other vegetation on California levees. They have even collaborated with state and federal agencies in developing levee design approaches intended to benefit federal- and state-listed threatened and endangered species. The new policy directly conflicts with their past actions.

DFG and DWR estimate that complying with the Corps' policy could cost up to $7.5 billion and divert funds away from more significant levee deficiencies like seepage and erosion.

DFG seeks to join current plaintiffs in the case including Friends of the River, Defenders of Wildlife and the Center for Biological Diversity.

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LAKEPORT, Calif. – A unique educational program is coming to Lake County, with members of the local judiciary, attorneys and educators meeting this week for an initial orientation.

The Lake County Superior Court and the Lake County Office of Education are partnering to bring the California Mock Trial Program to Lake County.

A program orientation for members of the legal and academic communities will take place from 5 p.m. to 6:30 p.m. Thursday, Nov. 10, in Department 2 of the Lake County Superior Court, located on the fourth floor of the Lake County Courthouse, 255 N. Forbes St., Lakeport.

Representatives of the Mendocino County's Mock Trial Program will offer an overview of the program.

The orientation is the first step in planning for implementing the competition; the first will take place in Lake County in the 2012-13 school year.

In 1980, Constitutional Rights Foundation introduced the Mock Trial program to all the counties in California, according to the foundation's Web site, www.crf-usa.org/mock-trial-program/mock-trial-program.html.

The Mock Trial Program currently has 36 California counties participating, Constitutional Rights Foundation reported.

The program was created to help students acquire a working knowledge of the judicial system, develop analytical abilities and communication skills, and gain an understanding of their obligations and responsibilities as participating members of society.

In addition, the Mock Trial Program assists students in developing skills to master state content standards for history and social science, the foundation reported.

Cases are released to all California counties in the early fall, with county-level competitions usually taking place in late fall or early spring, according to the foundation Web site.

The foundation explained that county competition winners go on to the state finals in March, and in May, the winner of the state competition represents California at the annual National High School Mock Trial Competition, involving teams from 54 states and territories.

For more information on the Mock Trial Program in Lake County, call the Lake County Office of Education, 707-262-4100.

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