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REGIONAL: Wardens arrest two repeat abalone poachers
MENDOCINO COUNTY, Calif. – California Department of Fish and Game (DFG) wardens have arrested two repeat abalone poachers for poaching and possession of abalone for sale on the black market.
Paul Chak Po Mak, 61, and Samuel Xing Sin, 41, both of Oakland, have been charged with poaching a total of 84 abalone for commercial purposes between April 23 and May 21.
The two were arrested by DFG’s Special Operations Unit (SOU) after they were observed taking large overlimits of abalone during an intensive investigation dubbed “Operation Scoop and Run.”
Wardens served search and arrest warrants on the suspect’s homes on May 24 and seized evidence including abalone report cards and dive gear. Mak was charged with the illegal take of 52 abalone and Sin was charged with the illegal take of 32 abalone.
Wardens allege the two men also “high graded” abalone, meaning they knowingly harvested far more than their daily limit of three, with the intention of taking only the largest. One seized abalone measured 10 ¾ inches across, which is an extremely large abalone.
Both suspects were transported and booked into Mendocino County Jail.
Additional pending charges include possession of abalone and intention to sell on the black market.
In addition to previous abalone poaching convictions, Sin has a currently pending case related to abalone poaching and sales in Mendocino County. Mak is currently on probation in Sonoma County for
abalone-related convictions.
Abalone typically sell for up to $100 each on the black market, and some of the bigger abalone will fetch much more.
“Profit remains the primary motive for abalone poachers,” said DFG Capt. Bob Farrell, who oversees the SOU. “Profits from black market abalone sales easily cover the hard expenses poachers expend for travel and equipment. It is clear – and disappointing – that penalties from prior convictions failed to deter either of these men.”
Space News: NASA showered with bold new concepts for Mars exploration
NASA's call to scientists and engineers to help plan a new strategy to explore Mars has resulted in a flurry of unique and bold ideas, almost doubling the number of expected submissions.
"This strong response sends a clear message that exploring Mars is important to future exploration," said John Grunsfeld, associate administrator for NASA's Science Mission Directorate at the agency's headquarters in Washington and an astrophysicist and astronaut.
NASA is reformulating the Mars Exploration Program to be responsive to high-priority science goals and President Obama's challenge of sending humans to Mars orbit in the 2030s.
About 400 concepts or abstracts were submitted to the Concepts and Approaches for Mars Exploration Workshop in Houston.
Submissions came from individuals and teams that included professional researchers, undergraduate and graduate students, NASA centers, federal laboratories, industry, and international partner organizations.
"The challenge now will be to select the best ideas for the next phase," said Grunsfeld.
Selected abstracts will be presented during the workshop June 12-14 hosted by the Lunar and Planetary Institute in Houston. Selectees are now being invited to present and discuss concepts, options, capabilities and innovations to advance Mars exploration.
Workshop discussion will help inform a strategy for exploration within available resources beginning as early as 2018, and stretching into the next decade and beyond. Proceedings will be streamed live online.
"Developing abstracts is very time consuming, requiring intense preparation, and we appreciate the fabulous response," said Doug McCuistion, director, NASA's Mars Exploration Program in Washington. "Even though space is limited, to ensure transparency in the process anyone can observe the scientific and engineering deliberations via the Web."
Based on the abstracts selected, associated working groups will consider the ideas and concepts in depth during the workshop.
Near-term ideas will be taken into consideration for early mission planning in the 2018-2024 timeframe, while mid- to longer-term ideas will inform program-level architecture planning for 2026 and beyond.
The Mars Program Planning Group (MPPG), tasked with developing options for a reformulated Mars Exploration Program, will consider the workshop inputs for the various options, taking into consideration budgetary, programmatic, scientific, and technical constraints.
Options developed by the MPPG are expected to advance the science objectives in the National Research Council's Planetary Science Decadal Survey.
The survey rated the return of Mars samples to Earth as a top scientific goal. Developed in consultation with the scientific and technical community, the MPPG report is expected to be delivered for NASA review at the end of the summer.
"Getting to Mars is hard," said Grunsfeld. "We've had successes and losses, but the human spirit to continue exploring the Red Planet prevails."
For updates and more information aboouut the workshop, visit http://www.nasa.gov/offices/marsplanning/home/index.html .
Late night fire destroys home, displaces family
CLEARLAKE, Calif. – A Clearlake family lost their home in a fire that broke out Thursday night.
The fire was reported in a singlewide mobile home on the east end of 19th Avenue at approximately 11:18 p.m. Thursday, according to Lake County Fire Protection District Battalion Chief Charlie Diener.
Diener said Lake County Fire, Northshore Fire and Cal Fire all responded, the latter because the fire spread into nearby wildland.
He said it took about an hour to contain the fire, with firefighters challenged by conditions.
“We were battling higher winds,” said Diener. “We had gusts up to 25 miles per hour.”
The fire destroyed the older mobile home. On Friday afternoon Diener said he did not yet have a full value estimate of the losses associated with the fire.
He said Red Cross responded to set up housing for the family – three adults and a baby – that had been living in the home.
No injuries were reported, Diener said.
A cause is still being determined. “We know that it was unintentional but we believe it to be accidental, possibly mechanical or something like that,” he said.
Due to the winds and concerns that the fire might reignite, firefighters continued to check the area of the burned home throughout the night and into Friday, Diener said.
“We've checked it a couple times today and it's looking pretty good,” he said.
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Oakland man receives minor injuries in Friday morning rollover
LOWER LAKE, Calif. – An Oakland man came away with some minor injuries after his pickup overturned on Highway 29 Friday morning.
Rafael Pena Gomez, 38, was involved in the single-vehicle crash, which occurred at about 6:30 a.m. on Highway 29 north of C Street near Lower Lake, according to California Highway Patrol Officer Kory Reynolds.
Reynolds said Gomez was driving his 2008 Chevrolet Pickup northbound at approximately 65 miles per hour when, according to his statement to the CHP, he fell asleep at the wheel.
Gomez's pickup drifted onto the right shoulder and collided with a guardrail before overturning several times, Reynolds said.
Gomez was wearing his seatbelt and received only minor injuries in the collision, according to Reynolds.
Reynolds said Gomez was treated at St Helena Hospital Clearlake.
