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Space News: Is it snowing microbes on Enceladus?
There's a tiny moon orbiting beyond Saturn's rings that's full of promise, and maybe – just maybe – microbes.
In a series of tantalizingly close flybys to the moon, named "Enceladus," NASA's Cassini spacecraft has revealed watery jets erupting from what may be a vast underground sea. These jets, which spew through cracks in the moon's icy shell, could lead back to a habitable zone that is uniquely accessible in all the solar system.
"More than 90 jets of all sizes near Enceladus's south pole are spraying water vapor, icy particles, and organic compounds all over the place," said Carolyn Porco, an award-winning planetary scientist and leader of the Imaging Science team for NASA’s Cassini spacecraft. "Cassini has flown several times now through this spray and has tasted it. And we have found that aside from water and organic material, there is salt in the icy particles. The salinity is the same as that of Earth's oceans."
Thermal measurements of Enceladus's fissures have revealed temperatures as high as -120 deg Fahrenheit (190 Kelvin). "If you add up all the heat, 16 gigawatts of thermal energy are coming out of those cracks," said Porco.
She believes the small moon, with its sub-surface liquid sea, organics, and an energy source, may host the same type of life we find in similar environments on Earth.
"The kind of ecologies Enceladus might harbor could be like those deep within our own planet. Abundant heat and liquid water are found in Earth's subterranean volcanic rocks,” Porco said. “Organisms in those rocks thrive on hydrogen (produced by reactions between liquid water and hot rocks) and available carbon dioxide and make methane, which gets recycled back into hydrogen. And it's all done entirely in the absence of sunlight or anything produced by sunlight."
But what makes Enceladus special is that its habitable zone offers itself up for easy access.
"It's erupting out into space where we can sample it,” Porco said. “It sounds crazy but it could be snowing microbes on the surface of this little world. In the end, it's is the most promising place I know of for an astrobiology search. We don't even need to go scratching around on the surface. We can fly through the plume and sample it. Or we can land on the surface, look up and stick our tongues out. And voilà … we have what we came for."
The source of Enceladus' heat appears to be Saturn itself. Researchers say Saturn's gravitational pull causes the moon's shape to change slightly on a daily basis as it orbits.
Flexing motions in its interior generate heat – like the heat you feel in a paper clip when you bend it back and forth rapidly.
"But the tidal flexing occurring now is not enough to account for all the heat presently coming out of Enceladus,” Porco said. “One way out of this dilemma is to assume that some of the heat observed today was been generated and stored internally in the past."
Porco believes Enceladus's orbit could have been much more eccentric, and the greater the eccentricity, she said, the greater the tidal flexing and resulting structural variations that produce the heat.
In this scenario, the heat would have been stored inside the little moon by melting some of the ice to recharge the liquid sea.
"Now that the orbit's eccentricity has lessened, the heat emanating from the interior is a combination of heat produced today and in the past. But since more heat is coming out presently than is being produced, Enceladus is in a cooling off stage and the liquid water is returning to ice. There are models to show that it never really freezes entirely, so the eccentricity may increase again, restarting the cycle."
Whatever is turning up the heat, Porco has a plan of action. It's simple.
"We need to get back to Enceladus and check it out,” she said.
Dauna Coulter works for the National Aeronautics and Space Administration.
Sutter Lakeside Hospital to begin staff reductions
LAKEPORT, Calif. – Facing a continued drop in revenue and higher numbers of uninsured patients, Sutter Lakeside Hospital notified staff on Wednesday that staff cuts are beginning immediately.
Lake County News obtained a two-page “Turn-Around Progress Report” sent to all Sutter Lakeside Hospital staff, community advisory committee and foundation board members in which Chief Administrative Officer Siri Nelson announced the layoffs.
“Our net revenue has shrunk in the last four years from an average of $5.5 million a month in 2007 to an average of $4.8 million a month for the first 2 months of 2012. During this same time our operating expenses have continued to grow,” Nelson wrote.
“We have come to the tough, but unavoidable conclusion that the only way to achieve the significant cost savings necessary is through staff reductions,” she told staff.
In a Thursday interview with Lake County News, Nelson said Sutter Lakeside – which currently has 300 full-time employees – will see a 10-percent staff reduction across all areas of the hospital.
She said every individual at the hospital will feel the impact – from those losing their jobs to those who have to pick up extra responsibility due to the staff cuts.
Nelson said the hospital has taken numerous steps in recent years to reduce operating expenses, increase efficiencies and cut waste.
“We've done a lot of things to avoid having to do this,” Nelson said of the layoffs.
Some of the measures Nelson outlined in her report to staff included working to increase patient volumes and revenue, improving operational efficiencies, “aggressive flexing” of work schedules to respond to patient volumes, and a recently instituted wage freeze for managers and all exempt staff.
Nelson’s report said that if the hospital doesn’t take additional action it’s on track to lose more than $10 million this year.
Based on Sutter Lakeside’s Form 990 filings, which are submitted to the Internal Revenue Service, the hospital has been registering larger losses in recent years.
In 2009 – the most recent year available – the documents showed $70.3 million in income and $76.7 million in expense that year, for a total loss of $6.3 million.
That’s compared to $68.7 million in revenue and $72.5 million in expense in 2008, when the organization registered a loss of $3.7 million.
For 2007, the hospital had $66.5 million in revenue and $67.4 million in expense, for a loss of just over $939,000.
Last week, the nonprofit Sutter Health – of which Sutter Lakeside is a part – announced its financial performance for 2011, when total income was $634 million, compared to $878 million in 2010.
The system’s total 2011 operating revenues for 2011 were $9.1 billion, compared to $8.8 billion in 2010. Operating expenses in 2011 were $8.3 billion last year, compared to $8 billion the year before.
Sutter Lakeside last announced layoffs in January 2010, when 19 support and administrative positions were cut, as Lake County News has reported. Those cuts were attributed to dropping patient volumes.
A challenging economic climate
The biggest problem Sutter Lakeside Hospital is facing right now is Lake County's economic climate, Nelson said Thursday.
She explained that the hospital's financial challenges can be correlated to the recession in recent years and its impact on the county, including a shrinking commercial base and loss of jobs. There also are anticipated cuts from state and federal reimbursements.
“I don't know if this is the bottom,” she said.
Because of the tough economic times, Nelson said there has been a big shift in the hospital’s “payer mix.”
Specifically, there has been a big increase in the number of uninsured patients and those who can’t afford to pay for services, she explained.
Nelson said Sutter Lakeside Hospital is a nonprofit, and therefore it takes all patients regardless of ability to pay.
In past years, the hospital has offered an average of $7 million annually in health care services to the uninsured, Nelson said.
That number, Nelson added, jumped to $12 million in 2011, and it may be higher in 2012.
Nelson said the Wednesday report to staff, committee and board members was the first step in carrying out the workforce reductions.
The document stated that staff who will be laid off will be notified over the next few weeks, and that they will be assisted in a number of ways, including preferential hiring for openings that become available at Sutter Lakeside Hospital and other Sutter Health affiliates.
Because the hospital is subject to collective bargaining rules with the two unions with which its employees are members, it has a number of complex steps to go through to complete the layoff process, she said.
Not all of the details of how the process will proceed are available, Nelson said.
“The goal is to get everything done by April 20,” she said.
Nelson said she wanted to calm community fears – “We’re not closing,” she said – and emphasized that the hospital was cutting staff in order to continue to serve the community.
“Our goal is to provide care for Lake County long into the future,” she said.
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Hells Angels members ordered to stand trial for June 2011 fight
LAKEPORT, Calif. – Three Sonoma County Hells Angel Chapter members have been ordered to stand trial for allegedly attacking club rivals during a June 2011 tattoo convention at Konocti Vista Casino.
Judge Andrew Blum ordered Josh Johnson, 36; Nicolas Carrillo, 33; and Timothy Bianchi, 34, to stand trial for their alleged part in the fight with Michael Burns, a validated Vagos motorcycle gang member, and Kristopher Perkin on June 4, 2011.
All three are facing a felony charge of participation in a criminal street gang, and misdemeanor counts of disturbing the peace and battery. Bianchi is facing an additional felony count of assault with a deadly weapon other than a firearm, and Johnson and Carrillo each face a second misdemeanor battery count.
David Dabbs, another Hells Angel member alleged to have been in the fight, still remains at large.
The day of testimony began with Deputy District Attorney Art Grothe calling to the stand Lake County Sheriff's Det. John Drewrey.
Drewrey briefly testified regarding sheriff's reports related to a fatal collision on July 27, 2011, between a vehicle and a small child.
Sheriff Frank Rivero, during the first day of testimony on Wednesday, has testified to getting video surveillance from Konocti Vista Casino immediately after the fight on June 4, 2011.
He had testified to having a working relationship with Tribal Chair Tony Jack, who he said had come to him about the crash involving the child. However, that fatal crash had actually occurred nearly two months after the fight, not before it, as Rivero had indicated.
Grothe had requested Rivero be available to retake the stand and be subject to further cross-examination, explaining that he wanted to correct any inaccuracies that may have occurred during testimony.
Later in the morning, however, the defense would decide that they did not need Rivero to make another appearance, as the attorneys believed Rivero's statements would not be relevant to the core of the case. They also want to see a full transcript of his testimony.
Carrillo's attorney Michael Clough instead wanted to call to the stand Deputy Gary Frace, who provided testimony that contradicted other statements made on the stand Wednesday by Rivero.
“We are calling this witness because of testimony that was given regarding the videotapes,” Clough said.
Clough explained that Rivero had given conflicting testimony about the video, stating on Wednesday that no other members of his department had viewed the video before he did. However, Frace had, in fact, viewed them prior to Rivero obtaining them, Clough said.
“His testimony is absolutely crucial to answering a whole series of questions,” Clough said of Frace, adding that Frace also originally had been on the witness list.
Jai Gohel, Bianchi's defense attorney, made a different offer of proof, stating he thought there were serious credibility issues with Rivero's testimony.
Rivero had not been sure of what was on the video but yet rushed to get it, Gohel said. “I think there's credibility problems with that.”
Frace's report, said Gohel, stated that he saw the videos on the afternoon of the fight, before Rivero became involved. The defense wanted to inquire if Frace had reported seeing the videos to Rivero.
Gohel added, “The sheriff realized that there was going to be some difficulties, potentially, in getting a warrant for these tapes.” He said it seemed “incredible” that Rivero would not know one of his staff had seen the videos.
Clough asked Blum for a five-minute recess in order to ask Frace some questions and ascertain if his testimony was truly necessary. Blum agreed.
Frace, the defense attorneys, Grothe and Sgt. John Gregore went into the jury room and had a brief closed-door discussion. After they returned, Grothe – who initially had objected – agreed that it was appropriate to call Frace to the stand.
Clough added that Frace had knowledge of exchanges with the sheriff that would impeach Rivero's testimony on the previous day.
Deputy explains work on the case
Frace was called to the stand, but before he began to testify Grothe said issues needed to be addressed, particularly, that he had been informed that based on the June 2011 fight the sheriff's department had initiated and still held open an internal affairs investigation on Frace.
Grothe said Frace had been ordered not to talk to anyone about the incident. “I believe he's got conflicting orders,” and Grothe suggested the court would need to order Frace to testify.
Blum asked if there was a possible Fifth Amendment issue regarding self-incrimination. Both Grothe and Frace said they didn't believe so. Clough suggested that out of an abundance of caution Frace should be advised that he's entitled to counsel.
Blum advised Frace of his Fifth Amendment rights, and asked if he wished for counsel, to which Frace said no. At Grothe's request, Blum said Frace was under oath and required to answer questions.
As Clough began to question Frace Grothe asked for a brief interruption when Capt. Chris Macedo of the Lake County Sheriff's Office arrived in the courtroom. Grothe asked that Macedo be allowed to make a statement on the record, which Clough didn't object to although he noted it was “highly unusual.”
Macedo told the court that he was releasing Frace from his admonition not to speak about the situation in responding to questions about the incident in court.
Frace told the court he had arrived on the scene of the fight within minutes of the call, which occurred shortly before 1:30 p.m. Saturday, June 4, 2011.
He said a security guard told him about the fight, with Deputy Walter White – who also responded and testified about doing so on Wednesday – contacting Burns as he was attempting to leave in a vehicle. The Hells Angels Club President told Frace nothing had happened.
Later that afternoon, Frace wrote a report on the incident, retrieved a copy of a surveillance video request form from the sheriff’s office and returned to submit it to the casino, where he also was allowed to view footage of the fight. Another deputy later had to resubmit the form because it had the former sheriff’s name on it and the casino wouldn’t accept it.
Frace said he spoke to Sgt. Chris Chwialkowski about seeing the video. By the end of Frace’s shift that day, Chwialkowski told Frace that Rivero was immediately ordering him not to talk to Deputy Walter White or then-Deputy Elvis Cook about the incident. He said he asked Chwialkowski to put it in writing and he did.
Clough asked him if he had ever been ordered not to talk to other deputies about a case. “No, I have not,” said Frace.
Officer discusses gangs
During the remainder of the day, Lakeport Police Officer Norm Taylor, who is his department’s gang expert and is on the county’s gang task force, testified about the Hells Angels, their rules and activities around the area, and the June 2011 fight.
The defense questioned him at length and wanted him disqualified, but Blum ruled Taylor was qualified. “He knows vastly more than the average person on the street and quite a bit more than the average officer.”
Taylor testified that a fellow Lakeport Police officer encountered Burns in the months before the June 2011 fight in downtown Lakeport, after he had apparently been assaulted during another confrontation with Hells Angels members who appeared to be from the Sonoma County chapter.
He said Hells Angels have long claimed California as their own. At one point in Lake County there were no active motorcycle gangs, then the Vagos set up a chapter in the county in 2006. He said that the Sonoma County Hells Angels chapter considered that complete disrespect.
Taylor testified that the assault at Konocti Vista of Burns and Perkin was for the purpose of showing dominance in Hells Angels territory. He said the Hells Angels are no different than any other street gang. He said they derive fear from assaults and violence; people don’t want to cross them and don’t want to contact law enforcement due to fear of retaliation.
Patrick Ciocca, Johnson’s attorney, asked if it was possible that during the fight Johnson had just responded to aid a brother. “Based on the entire circumstances, I don’t believe so,” said Taylor.
The defense attorneys argued that the charges, even at a preliminary hearing level, didn’t stand up, and that at the very least all charges should be reduced to misdemeanors.
Grothe, however, said that Burns suffered a broken bone, which meets the statutory guidelines of “great bodily injury,” and that the fight took place in the middle of day in front of numerous innocent “civilians.”
Blum ruled there was a strong suspicion – which is all that’s required at preliminary hearing – that the three men committed the crimes with which they’re charged, and ordered them to stand trial.
He watched the videos closely and said it was clear to him that all three were involved in the fight, although he was not sure that Johnson or Carrillo ever laid a hand on Burns. Bianchi, however, was hitting Burns and “using great force.”
Bianchi, Carrillo and Johnson have been ordered to return for arraignment on April 16.
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Mother of murdered child takes stand Thursday
LAKEPORT, Calif. – A young woman who was shot and seriously wounded in a June 2011 attack that claimed the life of her 4-year-old son took the stand on Thursday in the trial of the two men accused of the crime.
Desiree Kirby testified for a few hours in the trial of Paul William Braden, 22, and Orlando Joseph Lopez, 24, who on June 18, 2011, are alleged to have shot into a crowd at the Lakeshore Drive home in Clearlake that Kirby and boyfriend Ross Sparks shared along with her 4-year-old son, Skyler Rapp, and the couple’s baby daughter.
Braden and Lopez are facing 15 counts including murder for the death of the child, who was shot and died at the scene, and numerous attempted murder, mayhem and other charges for injuring Kirby, Sparks, Andrew Sparks, Joey Armijo and Ian Griffith.
Braden is represented by attorney Doug Rhoades, and Lopez by attorney Stephen Carter.
Kirby described the events of the evening, and under questioning by District Attorney Don Anderson she described her own serious wounds, which have left her with permanent injuries to her right arm and right leg.
She was struck by a barrage of shotgun fire that has led to multiple surgeries, and left her with still more pellets yet to be removed from her arm, leg and knee cap. She said she was supposed to have surgery a week ago on her reconstructed arm, where a metal rod is about to push out.
Her arm, right hand and lower leg have suffered permanent nerve damage, and she no longer has a full range of motion with her right arm.
She said she can no longer take care of herself or her young daughter.
“It just ruined my whole life,” Kirby said.
Although only in her early 20s, Kirby’s injuries have left her with an arthritic knee and difficulty walking.
Recalling muzzle flashes
Andrew Sparks followed Kirby to the stand on Thursday afternoon.
He said he had known both Lopez and Braden from school, and had never had problems with them until the June 2011 shooting.
On the day of the shooting, Sparks said he had been home most of the day, and about 5 p.m. was called by his brother, Ross Sparks, and asked to come to the Lakeshore Drive residence.
“He just asked me to come over because he had some problems with some guys,” said Andrew Sparks, explaining that he got to his brother’s home about 6 p.m.
He recalled about 12 people were at the home at various points. During the afternoon, he said his brother was on the phone on and off.
“I could hear him yelling and arguing with someone but I really wasn’t paying attention to what he was saying,” Sparks said.
His aunt, Crystal Pearls, also was on the phone arguing with someone at one point, Sparks said.
Sparks said he hung out, had four to five beers and some shots of Jack Daniels. “I was probably a little intoxicated.”
Later that night, Skyler was roasting marshmallows and Sparks was talking to Kirby near the barbecue when he heard the first shot.
When Anderson asked how many shots he heard, Sparks responded, “I couldn’t even tell you. It sounded like a lot.”
The shots were coming from the fence separating Sparks’ and Kirby’s residence from that of neighbor Curtis Eeds, Andrew Sparks said.
Sparks said he saw a man sitting on the top of the fence – or, as he described later, standing on a washing machine in Eeds’ backyard – and saw muzzle flashes through a notch in the top of the fence.
“I could tell that he had no hair,” he said of the first shooter.
He also saw muzzle flashes coming from an area of the fence where a board was missing.
Sparks ran and hid behind a vehicle parked in the yard until the shooting stopped. He said he then tried to pick up Skyler.
“He wasn’t breathing. He was pretty much gone already,” Sparks said.
He said he left the child where he fell. “His mom told me to leave him alone.”
Sparks said he went to the home, where several people were piled on top of each other in the doorway. His brother was helping Kirby.
“She had blood all over her. She was screaming for help,” he said.
Armijo was on the floor as well. “He was pretty messed up, too,” said Sparks, recalling seeing wounds on Armijo’s arm.
Sparks himself also was shot. “I knew I got shot but I didn’t know how many times or where,” he said.
In all, he said he suffered 12 wounds to his leg and five to his arm. Anderson asked him to show his scars to the juries, which he did.
Rhoades asked Sparks about his statement that he could see a person shooting who had a bald head, which Rhoades pointed out differed from Sparks’ statements in the case’s preliminary hearing last fall, when he said the person had short hair.
Sparks, who has very short hair, said the person’s hair was about the length of his. He said he couldn’t tell much about the second shooter.
The trial will reconvene at 9 a.m. Wednesday, April 4.
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