Cal Fire, which has a worldwide reputation as a superior wildland firefighting and emergency response department, is hosting the group from France’s Ecole Nationale Superiure des Officiers Sapeurs Pompiers (ENSOSP), which translates to “The National School of Superior Fire Officers.”

The group will shadow Cal Fire Incident Command Team 5 and meet with Cal Fire personnel from April 4 to 12.

“Along with the privilege of living in our beautiful and diverse state comes the responsibility to be prepared for the host of natural and man made disasters California is vulnerable to," said Ken Pimlott, acting Cal Fire director. “We are happy to share our experiences with our French colleagues who experience similar challenges such as a climate that's hospitable to large, damaging wildfires and terrain that can make fighting them difficult.”

The French instructors and graduates are members of the 72nd French Academy for Fire, Rescue and Civil Protection Officers of ENSOSP.

Each class from ENSOSP has the opportunity for further study once they have graduated and this year the group decided to come to the United States to exchange ideas, information and technology with CAL FIRE personnel regarding “All Hazard” emergency service techniques.

The entire cost of their trip is being paid for by the ENSOSP group through donations and fundraising efforts.

On Tuesday, April 5, the group will be in Napa County to receive instruction on Cal Fire's Fire Prevention Program and Cooperative Fire Protection Services.

On Wednesday, April 6, the group will be in Lake County in the morning and see a demonstration of Cal Fire's hand crew and bulldozer operations. In the afternoon the group will tour the State Capitol in Sacramento and visit the Fallen Firefighters Memorial.

In the morning on Thursday, April 7, the group will be introduced to Cal Fire's Air Program at McClellan Air Park and will meet later with Cal Fire Acting Director Ken Pimlott. The day will end with a visit to California Operation Center at CalEMA.

On Friday, April 8, the group will tour the Angora Fire Incident in South Lake Tahoe where 3,100 acres and 309 homes were destroyed in 2007.

The group will be in Butte County on Saturday, April 9, and Sunday, April 10, and will review a vegetation management plan burn, a hazardous material incident, a swift water rescue and a high angle/low angle rescue technique demonstration, as well as other rescue type demonstrations.

The last stop on the tour will be a trip to Cal Fire's Northern Operations Center in Redding on Monday, April 11, officials said.

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These fingerling potatoes are so small that this pile could easily fit into a cereal bowl. Photo by Esther Oertel.

The varied shapes of these long, slender potatoes captured not only my eyes, but my imagination, beginning a train of vegetable rumination that hasn’t quite stopped.

We are a nation of potato eaters. Each year more than a million acres of farmland in the U.S. are devoted to growing potatoes, and our per capita consumption each year is a whooping 126 pounds.

Worldwide, the potato is the fourth largest food crop, following rice, wheat and maize (known to us as corn).

Much of the potato’s popularity in the U.S. is due to the fast food industry and the deep-fried potatoes served up in these neon bright establishments. Snack foods such as potato chips also contribute their share.

But despite these not-so-healthy offerings, the potato stripped of such fatty preparation is a surprisingly healthy food choice.

I’m not sure if I meet the average per capita consumption of 126 pounds – especially since I stay away from fast food restaurants and rarely eat potato chips – but I do know that I enjoy nearly every potato I consume. They’re among my favorite foods; there’s just something about them that’s immensely nurturing.

Being a favorite comfort food for many – myself included – it’s not surprising that its scientific name, Solanum tuberosum, is derived, in part, from a Latin word that means soothing.

The potato's name also reflects that it belongs to the Solanaceae family, otherwise known as nightshades, whose members include tomatoes, eggplants, peppers and tomatillos.

The potato is a tuber, rather than a root, meaning the edible portion underground is a swollen part of the stem that develops to feed the leafy green portion of the plant. If allowed to flower and bear fruit, some varieties will yield small, inedible, green tomato-like globes.

There are more than 100 varieties of potatoes (some sources claim more than 1,000), and they come in varied colors such as golden yellow, deep blue, lavender or rosy red. Size and shape varies, as well, with the aptly-named fingerling potatoes in my CSA box a fraction of the size of heavy, lumpy, brown Russets stacked high in supermarket bins.

The potato wasn’t always such a popular fellow, however, and its history is a checkered one.

Potatoes originated in the Andes mountain range in South America, and the Inca Indians of what is now Peru were the first to cultivate them. Not many other cultivated foods were able to withstand the high altitudes of this area, making potatoes the staple food crop of the people there.

The traditional Irish mashed potato dish known as

David Green of Clearlake Oaks, Calif., was arrested on Thursday, March 31, 2011, after he was found in possession of methamphetamine during a traffic stop in which he was the passenger. Lake County Jail photo.

CLEARLAKE OAKS, Calif. – A field enforcement stop conducted by detectives with the Sheriff’s Narcotics Task Force in Clearlake Oaks has led to a felony arrest, the seizure of methamphetamine, and the seizure of currency for asset forfeiture.

David Edward Green, 51, of Clearlake Oaks was taken into custody, according to Capt. James Bauman of the Lake County Sheriff's Office.

On Thursday, March 31, at approximately 3:40 p.m., narcotics detectives were conducting proactive enforcement activities in the Clearlake Oaks area when they stopped a Chevrolet pickup truck being driven by 48-year-old Laurie Jean Goodall of Clearlake Oaks, Bauman said.

He said Goodall initially gave detectives a false name to avoid being arrested for driving with a suspended license. Detectives confirmed her license was suspended and she was detained.

Green, who was a passenger in the truck, was detained after displaying symptoms of being under the influence of a controlled substance. Bauman said Green was on formal probation for a prior narcotics possession conviction. Field testing confirmed he was in fact under the influence and he was arrested.

Incident to his arrest, detectives searched Green and recovered a baggie containing approximately one-half ounce of methamphetamine and over $400 in currency from his pockets, Bauman said. The currency was seized for asset forfeiture as the suspected profits of drug trafficking.

Green was booked at the Lake County Hill Road Correctional Facility on charges of possession of a controlled substance for sales, transportation of a controlled substance, being under the influence of a controlled substance and violation of probation, Bauman said.

Green remains in the custody of the sheriff with a no-bail probation violation hold, according to jail records.

Bauman said Goodall was issued a citation for giving false information to a peace officer and for driving while suspended.

The Sheriff’s Narcotics Task Force's anonymous tip line is 707-263-3663.

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The Anderson Marsh Interpretive Association's sixth annual Old Time Bluegrass Festival will be held on Saturday, Sept. 10, 2011, and will feature a lineup including Grammy award winner Laurie Lewis with her band, the Right Hands, the always exciting Stairwell Sisters. Courtesy photo.

LOWER LAKE, Calif. – The Anderson Marsh Interpretive Association (AMIA) has announced the acts that will be performing at the sixth annual Old Time Bluegrass Festival, to be held rain or shine at Anderson Marsh State Historic Park on Saturday, Sept. 10.

The event will be held from 9:30 a.m. to 6:30 p.m.

“I’m thrilled about this year’s lineup, which will include Grammy award winner Laurie Lewis with her band, the Right Hands, the always exciting Stairwell Sisters, Lake County’s own Pat Ikes and Bound to Ride and the singing and yodeling of Fur Dixon & Steve Werner,” said Festival Musical Director Don Coffin.

Also being featured from Lake County are 3-Deep, the Cobb Stompers, the Konocti Fiddle Club and the Clear Lake Clikkers, Coffin said. Joining the Festival from Sonoma County are Mighty Chiplings and Two Rock Ramblers.

“The festival is a family event, with great music, food, art and crafts, a children’s activity area and more,” says Festival Coordinator Henry Bornstein. “With two stages and non-stop music from 10 a.. to 6:30 p.m., there’s something for everyone.”

Bornstein said in addition to music there will be special activities for children all day and musician’s workshops led by pros such as Laurie Lewis, Jim Williams, Steve Werner, Pat Ikes, Andy Skelton and Don Coffin.

There also will be a wine and beer garden featuring Lake County wines, demonstrations of wool spinning and weaving, an Art-in-the-Barn exhibit and dozens of food and handicraft booths.

“We encourage those attending to bring their instruments for workshops and informal jam sessions behind the ranch house,” Bornstein said.

This year, the festival will close with everyone being invited to an outdoor dance to the music of the Stairwell Sisters, a favorite of festival attendees.

“The Old Time Bluegrass Festival is a community fundraiser supporting the work of AMIA”, says Gae Henry, AMIA Board member. “Our mission is to protect and support the natural and cultural resources at Anderson Marsh State Historic Park.”

The event is held each year at the Park, which is on Highway 53, between the towns of Clearlake and Lower Lake.

For more information, or to become involved in this year’s Bluegrass Festival as an AMIA member, volunteer or sponsor, you may contact AMIA at 707-995-2658 or by email at This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it..

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High lake levels have led to flooding in some campground areas at Clear Lake State Park in Kelseyville, Calif., pictured here on Saturday, April 2, 2011. Photo by Elizabeth Larson.

LAKE COUNTY, Calif. – On Saturday morning, after more than a week of flood warnings, Clear Lake's waters receded back to below flood stage.

The lake's waters went below the flood stage mark, 9 feet Rumsey, early Saturday. By the end of the day the level had gone down to 8.92 feet Rumsey, with the Cache Creek Dam releasing at 3,340 cubic feet per second, according to the US Geological Survey.

The National Weather Service subsequently ended its flood warning, which had been in effect since last week, with Lake County the only area in the state to be under such a warning during the last few days.

The Rumsey gauge is the special measure used to determine Clear Lake's depth. Lake County Water Resources said it's based on the natural lake level maintained by the Grigsby Riffle, a rock sill located at the confluence of Cache and Seigler Creeks near Lower Lake.

Last Friday, the lake had gone into flood stage for the first time since 1998, according to Water Resources officials.

The lake peaked at 9.37 feet Rumsey on Monday and then began its decline, which during the last several days was aided by no rain, warm spring days and continued high releases from the Cache Creek Dam.

The dam was built in 1914, and since then it has been used to manipulate the lake level, according to Water Resources.

Over the 97 years since the dam was built, only 15 of those years have seen the lake above 9 feet on the Rumsey gauge, according to US Geological Survey records on Clear Lake.

Besides 2011, the records show those years in which the lake was in flood stage include 1914, 1915, 1927, 1938, 1942, 1956, 1958, 1965, 1970, 1974, 1980, 1986, 1995 and 1998.

Lake County News correspondent Ed Oswalt contributed research on lake levels for this story.

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NORTHERN CALIFORNIA – U.S. Transportation Secretary Ray LaHood said Friday that the number and rate of traffic fatalities in 2010 fell to the lowest levels since 1949, despite a significant increase in the number of miles Americans drove during the year.

“Last year's drop in traffic fatalities is welcome news and it proves that we can make a difference,” said U.S. Transportation Secretary Ray LaHood. “Still, too many of our friends and neighbors are killed in preventable roadway tragedies every day. We will continue doing everything possible to make cars safer, increase seat belt use, put a stop to drunk driving and distracted driving and encourage drivers to put safety first.”

According to the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration's (NHTSA) early projections, the number of traffic fatalities fell 3 percent between 2009 and 2010, from 33,808 to 32,788.

Since 2005, fatalities have dropped 25 percent, from a total of 43,510 fatalities in 2005, the report said.

The same estimates also project that the fatality rate will be the lowest recorded since 1949, with 1.09 fatalities per 100 million vehicle miles traveled, down from the 1.13 fatality rate for 2009.

The decrease in fatalities for 2010 occurred despite an estimated increase of nearly 21 billion miles in national vehicle miles traveled, the Department of Transportation reported.

A regional breakdown showed the greatest drop in fatalities occurred in the Pacific Northwest states of Washington, Oregon, Idaho, Montana and Alaska, where they dropped by 12 percent. Arizona, California and Hawaii had the next steepest decline, nearly 11 percent.

“The decrease in traffic fatalities is a good sign, but we are always working to save lives,” said NHTSA Administrator David Strickland. “NHTSA will continue pressing forward on all of our safety initiatives to make sure our roads are as safe as they can possibly be.”

The Department of Transportation has taken a comprehensive approach to reducing roadway fatalities by promoting strong traffic safety laws coupled with high-visibility enforcement and through rigorous vehicle safety programs and public awareness campaigns.

In 2009, Secretary LaHood launched a national anti-distracted driving campaign modeled on other successful NHTSA efforts to reduce fatalities, such as its Over the Limit Under Arrest and Click It Or Ticket campaigns to curb drunk driving and increase seat belt use.

The agency has launched a dedicated website, www.distraction.gov, to provide the public with a comprehensive source of information on distracted driving.

The Department of Transportation also has hosted two national summits devoted to the issue, crafted sample legislation which states can use to adopt distracted driving laws, and initiated pilot law enforcement programs in Hartford, CT and Syracuse, NY.

NHTSA has also taken action to improve vehicle safety. The agency has urged automakers to swiftly and voluntarily report safety defects to keep the driving public safe. NHTSA also has encouraged the development and use of technologies to prevent crashes, such as electronic stability control, forward collision warning and lane departure warning systems.

The agency also unveiled an updated five-star rating system in 2010, which established more rigorous crash-test standards and began providing consumers with improved information about which cars perform best in collisions.

The U.S. Department of Transportation's Federal Highway Administration (FHWA) has also been encouraging the use of Safety Edge technology – which reduces drivers’ risk of running off the road by shaping pavement edge – on new road and highway projects.

FHWA has also promoted the use of rumble strips and cable median barriers to separate opposing directions of traffic to reduce the incidence of crossover head-on collisions.

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But an advocate for the contractor counters that the percentage of Army reservists medically ready to deploy within 72 hours actually has jumped over the last several years, from 24 percent to 62 percent.

Rep. Joe Heck (R-Nev.) says he has watched with rising frustration as an arrangement with Logistics Health Inc. (LHI) of La Crosse, Wis., has handcuffed his Reserve medical staff on weekend drills from providing basic preventive health services to fellow reservists.

Heck charges that this has cut training opportunities for reserve medics. And LHI contract rules create barriers to using reserve medical personnel effectively, to give flu shots, for example, or to do preventive dental care.

Heck also contends that thousands of reservists every year are wrongly classified as medically nondeployable because LHI relies too heavily on soldiers’ responses to health questionnaires to assess fitness for duty.

On written responses alone LHI will lower medical readiness profiles of soldiers needlessly, sometimes for conditions that medical boards already have reviewed and deemed soldiers fit and deployable, Heck says.

An advocate for LHI, who asked not to be identified, says Heck seems not to understand that the Army Reserve was and is incapable of providing enough health services on its own to bring overall readiness rates higher.

Besides being a freshman member of Congress, Heck commands the Western Area Medical Support Group in San Pablo, Calif., one of four such groups in the Army Reserve. He oversees 2200 medically trained reservists assigned to 13 units across six states.

LHI does important work to ensure reservists stay medically fit, Heck says. “The problem is it doesn’t really accomplish that in a timely, cost-effective manner.”

“I would send a soldier who was well to a PHA” – Periodic Health Assessment conducted by LHI – “and he would come back broken, this is, medically nondeployable for an issue that was really not an issue,” Heck said. “But it would take six months to a year for us to clear it up.”

Heck estimated that 10,000 Army Reservists currently have a “P-3 profile” from LHI “that renders them medically nondeployable. And most of those, I am sure, will be adjudicated as not valid.”

Army Reserve Mobilization Support Units still are responsible for medical processing of reservists when mobilized and on return. But if the same personnel “want to do soldier readiness processing at my unit, they can’t do it on a drill weekend for my soldiers even though that’s their job should they be mobilized,” Heck said.

Heck raised these issues last week at House military personnel subcommittee hearing where senior defense health officials and the military surgeons general testified on TRICARE fees.

He expanded on his concerns in a phone interview for this column. Heck says he has asked Defense and Army medical leaders to answer a number of questions including whether LHI adds value for the government and whether contract changes are planned.

LHI, in a statement, said that neither the company nor the Reserve Health Readiness Program it services prohibits reserve components “from performing their medical readiness services organically.”

LHI said it only follows guidance from the Army Reserve Surgeon’s office and the office for Force Health Protection and Readiness under the assistant secretary of defense for health affairs. And “LHI only initiates” the annual health profile for drilling reservists.

“LHI is not the final authority on eligibility. For Army Reserve, the regional support command surgeon’s office has the authority to override any issue identified.”

LHI said in the last three years the Army Reserve “has witnessed historical medical and dental readiness improvement.”

Heck said he has been raising questions about the LHI contract for at couple of years based on “my firsthand experience. Now it’s just that I’m in a position to maybe get some answers.”

Maj. Gen. Richard A. Stone, deputy surgeon general of the Army for mobilization, readiness and reserve affairs, said in a statement that readiness of the Army Reserve and Army National Guard “has steadily improved with the growth of the Reserve Health Readiness Program.”

He notes that the two reserve components “have taken different approaches” to achieve soldiers’ medical fitness. “The Army Reserve has used LHI, thus freeing their medical providers for collective training during a time of intense utilization of the Army Reserve medical force,” Stone said.

Donald J. Weber, a former Marine and Vietnam veteran, is CEO and chairman of LHI. He started it in 1999 and soon landed a contract with DoD to help with mass immunization of military members against anthrax. Weber previously had founded National Health Screenings, which provided preemployment drug testing services, a business he sold before starting LHI.

When Reserve and National Guard mobilizations after 9/11 found many members nondeployable because of dental and medical issues, the departments of Defense, Veterans Affairs and Health and Human Services formed the Federal Strategic Health Alliance (FEDS_HEAL), a joint initiative to provide medical support to reserve units.

LHI’s business boomed under FEDS_HEAL. It hired prominent names in government health. Tommy G. Thompson, former governor of Wisconsin and former HHS secretary for President George W. Bush, became company president in 2005. In 2007, William Winkenwerder Jr., former assistant secretary of defense for health affairs, joined the LHI executive team.

Later that year the FEDS_HEAL contract was restructured as the RHRP, and a five-year contract worth up to $790 million was awarded to LHI. It now has 839 full-time employees at its La Crosse headquarters and uses a nationwide network of 25,000 medical and dental providers.

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

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The crash, involving a pickup into a ditch, occurred on the Dry Creek Cutoff near Middletown at around 6:20 p.m., according to radio reports.

The California Highway Patrol said one person was ejected from the pickup's bed while another person was trapped inside.

The names of those involved were not immediately available.

An air ambulance transported one subject to Santa Rosa Memorial Hospital and the CHP indicated the other subjects were transported to St. Helena Hospital, Clearlake.

The CHP reported a blood draw was ordered as part of the investigation.

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NORTHERN CALIFORNIA – For recreational fishing enthusiasts, springtime is in the air, and this year, in the water as well.

Saturday, April 2 is opening day for salmon fishing in ocean waters off most of California and for the first time in many years the forecast suggests anglers may have many a tight line to look forward to.

Both the California Fish and Game Commission (FGC) and the Pacific Fishery Management Council (PFMC) approved the April 2 opening date based on scientific information suggesting that the Sacramento River Fall Chinook ocean population size is more than 700,000 fish – almost triple last year’s forecast.

“We are cautiously optimistic that Sacramento River salmon stocks have recovered to the point that fisheries this year – our California sport and commercial ocean fisheries as well as river fisheries – can be sustained while still being confident that enough fish will return to natural spawning grounds and hatcheries to reproduce next fall,” said the Department of Fish and Game’s (DFG) Marija Vojkovich, who represents the state of California on the Pacific Fishery Management Council.

The April 2 opening date applies to waters south of Horse Mountain (near Cape Mendocino) southward to the U.S.-Mexico border.

For waters north of Horse Mountain to the California-Oregon border, the opening date will be determined in mid-April, but is anticipated to be a date in May.

When the 2011 recreational season is open off California, salmon fishing is allowed seven days per week, the minimum size limit is 24-inches total length, and the bag and possession limit is two fish per person. The retention of coho salmon and steelhead remains prohibited in all ocean fisheries.

Sacramento River fall chinook generally comprise 80 to 90 percent of the salmon catch in ocean waters off California. Therefore, the forecast for this stock plays a crucial role in determining when and where fishing opportunities can be provided.

In 2008 and 2009, virtually no fishing was allowed because of low abundance forecasts and poor returns of fish to the Sacramento River Basin. Fishing in 2010 was also constrained for the same reasons.

Approximately 125,300 adult fall Chinook returned to the Sacramento River Basin in the fall of 2010, exceeding the minimum goal of 122,000 adult fish.

In 2009, the return of adult Sacramento River Fall Chinook salmon was an all-time low of approximately 39,500 fish. The 2010 return is the highest observed since 2006.

Most charter boat operators no longer carry one-day licenses for purchase. DFG reminds anglers to purchase their license ahead of time at one of approximately 1,500 license agent locations or online at www.dfg.ca.gov/licensing/.

For complete regulations as well as additional information on the 2011 fishing season, visit www.dfg.ca.gov/marine/oceansalmon.asp.

On Friday, California’s popular red abalone season opened in waters north of San Francisco Bay.

DFG reminds divers and rock pickers that anyone taking abalone must record their catch on an abalone report card, and tag the animal with corresponding tags from the cards.

This year, all licenses and cards will be available through the new Automated License Data System (ALDS), which automatically records purchases in an active database.

“Abalone report cards are a vital source of information needed to manage this resource, and the ALDS will allow us to track whether individuals have returned their report cards as required by law,” said DFG Associate Marine Biologist Jerry Kashiwada. “In the past, we could not easily determine who had not returned their cards.”

Abalone report cards should be returned to the DFG Fort Bragg office at 32330 North Harbor Drive, Fort Bragg, CA 95437-5554. This season’s return deadline is Jan. 31, 2012, although cards may be submitted early. Abalone report cards must be returned even if no abalone is taken.

Because of the nature of the paper used for the ALDS abalone report card and tags, scissors are needed to separate the tags from the card just prior to attaching them to an abalone. In the past, scissors were not needed to separate the pre-perforated tags.

Tags that are separated from the cards ahead of time are invalid. Holes may be punched in the tags immediately after purchase, however. Other slight modifications to the tagging procedure, such as using scissors to cut off tags, may be needed with the ALDS report cards.

Currently, the only open abalone fishery in California is in the northern region of the state. This fishery is biologically sustainable and has remained productive for nearly 60 years. In 2009, the most recent year for which figures are available, the recreational catch in northern California was an estimated 295,000 abalone.

Everyone engaging in the take of abalone is responsible for knowing and abiding by all California abalone sport fishing regulations.

A complete list of abalone fishing regulations is also available in the 2011 Ocean Sport Fishing regulations booklet, available wherever fishing licenses are sold, at DFG offices and online at www.dfg.ca.gov/regulations.

The Clear Lake State Park Education Pavilion in Kelseyville, Calif., was dedicated at an afternoon ceremony on Saturday, April 2, 2011. Photo by Elizabeth Larson.

KELSEYVILLE, Calif. – As volunteers, park officials, elected representatives and community members looked on Saturday afternoon, the State Parks Department formally received an important gift – the new Clear Lake State Park Education Pavilion.

Clear Lake State Park Interpretive Association President Madelene Lyon not only officially handed over the seven-year labor of love to State Parks Director Ruth Coleman, she also topped off the gift with a hug.

That gesture captured not just personal warmth but also pointed to the greater cooperation that has formed between private and public interests in accomplishing the pavilion's completion.

The new building sits across from the park's visitor center. It features a covered area with an outdoor sink, counter and power outlets, and a secure enclosed portion where equipment can be stored.

CLSPIA's goal, the group said, was to create an outdoor educational space for young people, to keep them engaged and to make sure “no child was left inside.”

The vision turned into action in 2004, and Lyon and the group pursued years of fundraising, planning and lobbying to turn ideas into sketches, and sketches into a structure.

Along the way, one of the worst economic climates in memory hit, which has had critical impacts on state funding and, especially, the state parks.

Clear Lake State Park itself was on a list of parks former Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger proposed for closure, but a local grassroots campaign by the group and the community at large spared the park.

It was the community's very vociferous defense of its park – as well as CLSPIA's ongoing commitment to offering educational programs like the Junior Rangers, park tours and bird walks – that kept the park open, officials said Saturday.

Coleman had been a staffer for Mike Thompson when he was in the state Legislature, before he moved into Congress. Noting, “Once you work for Mike you always work for Mike,” Coleman recalled Thompson calling her in about 2005 to ask if she had money to devote to the pavilion project.

The state did put aside funding for the project before leaner times arrived. While it took a lot of time and more than the estimated $20,000 to build it, Coleman said the pavilion was nonetheless an important example of what private and public entities can do when they work together.

She said the park would not be nearly as successful as it is if it weren't for its nonprofit partner, CLSPIA, adding that partnership “is the reason this park is still open.”

Thompson, who along with wife Jan came over for the afternoon for the dedication, credited Lyon's tenacity with pushing the project forward, which he said made “absolute perfect sense” in its goal of reaching young people, whose ability in science will be crucial to the country.

With so many partners – the community, the government and the organization – pushing in the same direction, it spelled success, he said.

Assemblyman Wes Chesbro – who Saturday afternoon was heading back to Sacramento and back to work in the Legislature – said it's seemed like a dark time for the state, with its budget woes.

However, Chesbro was heartened by the hope he said he saw expressed in the project's cooperative nature.

It was an example that Chesbro said could be used to confront other problems.

Chesbro said when a community supports a state park, it makes it easier for their government representatives to push to keep them open.

“I'd say this park is in good hands,” said Chesbro, who noted he loved the park and had visited it with his family many times.

Lauding Lyon, Coleman and Thompson, Chesbro added, “Really, the whole community deserves the credit.”

Clear Lake Section Superintendent Bill Salata also spoke, thanking CLSPIA. “What they did was just incredible.”

He also thanked the California Conservation Corps, which built the pavilion.

Lyon, before she turned over the pavilion and the hug to Coleman, thanked everyone, agreeing with others who had spoke that it took the entire community to make it possible.

“We saw such a huge need for this,” she said.

CLSPIA reported that major donors to the project included the Keeling-Barnes Family Foundation, Wildhurst Vineyards, Brad and Kathy Barnwell, William and Roberta Beat, the California State Park Foundation, D.A. and Leona Butts, Henry and Dorothy Hurkett, Madelene and Walt Lyon, Ernie Mendes, Dorothy Meyer, Tom and Val Nixon, Brad Onorato, the Priest Family Charitable Fund, Rotary Club of Lakeport, Grant Cary Family, Thrivent, Neil and Bobbi Towne, and Tom and Tina Wasson.

The dedication ceremony also coincided with the opening of the park for the season. Officials reported that a new ranger was on temporary assignment for the summer to assist at the park.

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The blueprints for the education pavilion at Clear Lake State Park in Kelseyville, Calif., were prepared by Bud Hurkett, a Clear Lake State Park Interpretive Association volunteer. The plans were submitted to the state in 2005. Photo by Elizabeth Larson.

A NASA fireball camera at the Marshall Space Flight Center. Photo courtesy of the National Aeronautics and Space Administration.

What are the signs of spring? They are as familiar as a blooming daffodil, a songbird at dawn, a surprising shaft of warmth from the afternoon sun.

And, oh yes, don't forget the meteors.

“Spring is fireball season,” said Bill Cooke of NASA's Meteoroid Environment Center. “For reasons we don't fully understand, the rate of bright meteors climbs during the weeks around the vernal equinox.”

In other seasons, a person willing to watch the sky from dusk to dawn could expect to see around 10 random or “sporadic” fireballs.

A fireball is a meteor brighter than the planet Venus. Earth is bombarded by them as our planet plows through the jetsam and flotsam of space – i.e., fragments of broken asteroids and decaying comets that litter the inner solar system.

In spring, fireballs are more abundant. Their nightly rate mysteriously climbs 10 percent to 30 percent.

“We've known about this phenomenon for more than 30 years,” said Cooke. “It's not only fireballs that are affected. Meteorite falls – space rocks that actually hit the ground--are more common in spring as well1.”

Researchers who study Earth's meteoroid environment have never come up with a satisfactory explanation for the extra fireballs. In fact, the more they think about it, the stranger it gets.

Consider the following: There is a point in the heavens called the “apex of Earth's way.” It is, simply, the direction our planet is traveling. As Earth circles the sun, the apex circles the heavens, completing one trip through the Zodiac every year.

The apex is significant because it is where sporadic meteors are supposed to come from. If Earth were a car, the apex would be the front windshield. When a car drives down a country road, insects accumulate on the glass up front. Ditto for meteoroids swept up by Earth.

Every autumn, the apex climbs to its highest point in the night sky. At that time, sporadic meteors of ordinary brightness are seen in abundance, sometimes dozens per night.

Read that again: Every autumn.

“Autumn is the season for sporadic meteors,” said Cooke. “So why are the sporadic fireballs peaking in spring? That is the mystery.”

Meteoroid expert Peter Brown of the University of Western Ontario notes that “some researchers think there might be an intrinsic variation in the meteoroid population along Earth's orbit, with a peak in big fireball-producing debris around spring and early summer. We probably won't know the answer until we learn more about their orbits.”

To solve this and other puzzles, Cooke is setting up a network of smart meteor cameras around the country to photograph fireballs and triangulate their orbits.

As explained in the Science@NASA story “What's Hitting Earth?”, he's looking for places to put his cameras; educators are encouraged to get involved. Networked observations of spring fireballs could ultimately reveal their origin.

“It might take a few years to collect enough data,” he cautioned.

Until then, it's a beautiful mystery. Go out and enjoy the night sky. It is spring, after all.

Dr. Tony Phillips works for the National Aeronautics and Space Administration.

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LAKE COUNTY, Calif. – After a stormy winter, and a particularly rough March filled with storms and floods, the month ended on a bright note.

Lucerne photographer Ron Keas captured this spectacular sunset from Nice on Thursday, March 31.

The day of bright spring colors and warm weather seemed to signal that spring has finally arrived in Lake County.

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