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LAKE COUNTY – The arrival of August means it's once again time for the Perseid meteor shower.
Earth is entering a stream of dusty debris from Comet Swift-Tuttle, the source of the annual Perseid meteor shower, and although the shower won't peak until Aug. 11 and 12, the show is already getting under way, according to NASA.
Bill Cooke of NASA's Meteoroid Environment Office says that although meteors are visible in the nighttime skies now.
“We're just in the outskirts of the debris stream now. If you go out at night and stare at the sky, you'll probably only see a few Perseids per hour,” he said, but this will change, however, as August unfolds, according to NASA.
The moon is currently waxing and will be full on Wednesday, Aug. 5, rising at 8:11 p.m. in Lake County, the Old Farmers' Almanac reports.
The full moon in August is called the Sturgeon Moon according to the Old Farmers' Almanac, because some Native American tribes knew that the sturgeon of the Great Lakes and Lake Champlain were most readily caught during this full Moon; others called it the Green Corn Moon or the Grain Moon.
"Earth passes through the densest part of the debris stream sometime on August 12th," Cooke states in a recent NASA release, and dozens of meteors per hour can be viewed.
For sky watchers in Lake County, NASA recommends to begin watching after nightfall on Aug. 11 through sunrise on Aug. 12 for maximum viewing.
Veteran observers suggest unfolding a blanket on a flat patch of ground (NASA notes the middle of your street is not a good choice), and lie down and look up.
Perseids can appear in any part of the sky, their tails all pointing back to the shower's radiant in the constellation Perseus, NASA said.
There is one light you cannot escape on Aug. 12, according to NASA – that's the 55-percent gibbous moon which will brightly shine from the constellation Aries beside the meteor shower's radiant in Perseus. So avoid looking at the moon, as bright moonlight will ruin night vision and prevent you from viewing faint Perseids in that part of the sky.
With the dark nighttime skies in Lake County, there are many locations ideal for viewing this annual nighttime show – but even your backyard or out on a dock is better than most city-dwellers will find in a 50-mile radius of their home.
E-mail Terre Logsdon at
The crash, which involved two vehicles, occurred shortly before 10:30 a.m. on Highway 29 at Spruce Grove Road Extension, as Lake County News has reported. The roadway wasn't fully reopened until nearly two hours later.
Jon Johnson, 52, was driving toward Middletown on Highway 29 shortly before 10:30 a.m. Saturday in a 2001 Dodge Durango, according to his son, Jason Johnson.
Witnesses said Jon Johnson was driving at the 55 mile per hour speed limit when, a short ways from Spruce Grove Road Extension, a Lincoln sedan pulled out into his path. Johnson swerved but wasn't able to miss the sedan, which it hit squarely on the driver's side.
An off-duty firefighter reported the first fatality, according to reports at the scene, within minutes of the collision.
That victim, the sedan's driver, was identified as Eugene Klebe, 80, of Hidden Valley Lake to Johnson's family, according to Jason Johnson. Other community members also have identified Klebe as one of the fatalities.
Klebe died at the scene, according to witnesses. Rescue personnel spent a long time at the scene attempting to resuscitate an elderly female passenger in Klebe's car, who died a short time later.
Jason Johnson said his father had to climb out the back of his Durango because the doors were locked. Jon Johnson went to the hospital as a precaution where he was x-rayed, and is otherwise OK, his son said.
Specifics about the crash investigation haven't been released to the public by the CHP.
E-mail Elizabeth Larson at
MIDDLETOWN – For the eighth year in a row, Calpine’s geothermal operations at The Geysers is the winner of the California Department of Conservation (DOC) award for its ongoing commitment to safety and the environment and its excellence in lease maintenance.
“Renewable energy is vital to California’s future, and it is encouraging that Calpine, the nation’s largest geothermal producer, consistently maintains its facility at The Geysers in an environmentally sound manner. The Department of Conservation is pleased to recognize companies that manage their facilities in a responsible way and congratulates Calpine on its eighth consecutive lease award,” said DOC Director Bridgett Luther.
Mike Rogers, Calpine’s Senior vice president, geothermal region, accepted the award on behalf of Calpine from Ms. Luther.
“We are very pleased that for the eighth year in a row The Geysers has been recognized for exemplary performance in maintaining leases that are environmentally clean and safe,” Rogers said. “We take seriously our responsibilities to put forth our best efforts to protect the environment and act as good neighbors in the community. This award is a testament to the team spirit and effort by our employees at The Geysers.”
District 1 Supervisor Jim Comstock appeared to offer a congratulatory speech and Calpine received a Joint Certificate of Special Recognition from Assemblymember Noreen Evans and Senator Patricia Wiggins.
Calpine currently owns and operates 15 geothermal plants at The Geysers, providing approximately 725 megawatts of generating capacity to northern California’s power grid.
Calpine is the largest producer of electricity from geothermal resources in the United States. Its operation at The Geysers accounts for about 20 percent of the renewable power produced in California.
To learn more about The Geysers and about geothermal energy, The Geysers Visitor Center is open to the public 10 a.m. to 4 p.m., Wednesday to Saturday, at 15500 Central Park Road, Middletown. Call 1-866-GEYSERS for more information. Visit them on the Web at http://www.geysers.com .
Zino's Ristorante: 6330 Soda Bay Road, Kelseyville; telephone 707-279-1620. Open for dinner every day of the week, 5 p.m. to 10 p.m. Visit the restaurant online at www.zinoclearlake.com .
I was standing in The Kitchen Gallery during an event some time ago when a beautiful young woman came up to me and asked (the exact question has been changed to protect the innocent), “Are you Ross Christensen, the food writer?”
Since up to this point I had been standing anonymously in front of Zino Mezoui, the owner of Zino’s Ristorante, I stood there not knowing what to say. After all, I didn’t want to be recognized by a restaurant owner that I would be reviewing one day, but after a couple of awkward moments I turned away from Zino and his staff and said to her, “Yes, I am.” OK, so pretty women are my kryptonite, and I couldn’t be rude to her.
I have avoided doing a review on Zino’s out of fear that they would recognize me from that incident. But it had been quite a while, and I was recently camping nearby Zino’s with my daughter and we decided to have dinner with them. After all I’m not that memorable in the looks department and I was sure they wouldn’t recognize me.
In the world of Italian restaurants you can predict the food by what the restaurant calls itself. A ristorante is the most formal type of establishment with printed menus and haute cuisine, while a trattoria is casual, family style eatery. An osteria is similar to a tavern or working class type regional food, a pizzeria and spaghetteria … you get the hint. Zino’s is a ristorante.
We arrived at Zino’s just as they were opening and were able to immediately get a table. Our waiter Jim introduced himself and we knew that this evening was going to be special.
Jim is a very formal and practiced waiter, appearing almost like he was military trained if there was a martial maitre d’ program. He would approach our table and appear to almost stand stiffly at attention before asking “May I take these away” followed by a crisp gesture to the empty plates. His formality, poise and professionalism made me feel guilty for wearing a t-shirt and shorts to dinner, but after all, I was on a camping trip.
He did make one notable mistake with our dinner that we didn’t even notice until we got home and started comparing notes for writing this review, but it didn’t detract anything from the meal, and since it took us so long to figure it out we’ll just keep it too ourselves this time.
The décor of the restaurant is nice with rustic walls and a little fitting artwork, but the dominating feature of the room are the windows looking over the lake. There isn’t a table in the house that can’t see the water. The lake is the major decoration of the dining room.
One of the highlights of the evening for me was when my daughter went to take a drink from her glass and she accidentally hiccuped into it giving off a loud echoing “Heeerraap!” as if a pterodactyl had just swooped into the room. Her face turned bright red as she glanced around the room to see if anyone else noticed. I thought it was adorable. Just a little daddy moment to share.
We ordered the crab cake appetizers that were the special for the evening, and for entrees I had the petrale sole special with lemon butter while my daughter ordered the pepper steak. They both came with mashed potatoes, sautéed vegetables, and we ordered the Caesar salad instead of the soup.
The crab cakes were very good with a couple different colors of sweet peppers adding some great color to the interior. They were sitting in one sauce and topped with another which seemed a bit over the top, but they worked well together and didn’t overpower the cakes.
Now, there will never be a man so educated or refined that will live up to my daughter’s expectations. I know this because when the salad showed up my daughter looked up at me all bright-eyed and said, “Wow, a classic Caesar salad!” Now to prove my point we’ll pause for a moment for parents of teenage boys to ask their young men what that means ...
Yeah, she’s a spoiled girl.
I’ve written column on the history of Caesar salad that you’ll read soon, but for this story I’ll let you know that Caesar salad should contain whole romaine lettuce leaves from the center of the head which are meant to be eaten with the fingers and not a fork. The Caesar salad at Zino’s was exactly that, hearts of romaine leaves stacked neatly like Lincoln logs, then dressed and covered in Parmesan cheese. My daughter recognized it instantly. Although it's not really “classic” Caesar salad at Zino’s it was close enough to thrill my daughter.
The petrale sole was fantastic, simply prepared, perfectly seasoned and a very good sized portion. The mashed potatoes were unique, being made with a combination of sweet potatoes, starchy potatoes and waxy potatoes in perfect harmony with some of the potato peels also included.
The sautéed vegetables surprised me because the combination of broccoli, summer squash and carrots all cook at different rates yet were all perfectly cooked, and I ate every single bit of them, happy knowing that Zino’s kitchen staff was really on the ball.
My daughter ordered her steak rare and it was perfectly done to that standard. It was a large portion which she wasn’t able to finish, which caused the chef to send Jim to our table to ask if everything was OK. We said it was but since the steak was probably a full 1 percent of her body weight it just wasn’t going to get finished.
Part of the way through our dinner I noticed that every table in the room was either full or had a reserved placard on it, so I would definitely recommend calling ahead for a table before you make the drive. Prices are fair for the experience that you receive. If you are curious about what they have to eat and the prices, their usual menu is posted on their Web site.
Zino’s has several reviews online already and they all are in the four- to five-star range and I would have to agree. Zino’s Ristorante is a definite “must visit,” whether you are a local resident or visiting the county.
Ross A. Christensen is an award-winning gardener and gourmet cook. He is the author of "Sushi A to Z, The Ultimate Guide" and is currently working on a new book. He has been a public speaker for many years and enjoys being involved in the community.
Planning for transitions in ownership and control is necessary to ensure retirement income to the owner; liquidity to the owner’s estate upon death; preservation of the business as a “going concerns”; and estate tax minimization, as relevant.
If you are a business owner, such planning entails asking yourself the following: (1) How will your business continue without you – will you keep the business in your family or sell it, and if so, to whom; (2) if some children will participate in the business and others not how will your estate plan accommodate that; (3) Are there key employees you need to retain; (4) Does your business need reorganization; (5) Do you have a “buy sell” agreement in place (presuming multiple owners); and (6) How will the “buy sell” agreement be funded. Now, let’s examine each area.
At the outset, examine your business and family goals, and identify limitations placed on such goals by business agreements with co-owners; determine who will be your successor(s). If you plan to sell to outsiders, ask yourself what do you need to get the business ready for sale, and how will you find potential buyers? Presuming family participation, who has the interest and necessary aptitude? Do you need the consent of the other partners? Will their plans and your plans coincide nicely? Will a sale to them provide you with an adequate retirement? Will you continue as a consultant or employee to assist them and to earn retirement income?
Next, how will your estate plan provide for your other children not in the business? Does being fair to them mean treating them equally or unequally? Are there other assets (like insurance) to give them? Do you wish to give them an economic ownership interest only? If so, should the active family be allowed to buy-out the inactive family?
What about your key employees, will they be retained after you leave? Will your family accept them, and vice versa? Should they have an ownership stake? If so, will they be allowed to buy-in, or will they receive their interests as conditional employee bonuses (sweat equity) subject to forfeiture? Furthermore, will they participate in management?
Does your business need reorganization in order to transfer or retain control and/or ownership interests as desired? Sole proprietorships are often converted into LLC’s, corporations or partnerships. For example, with an LLC you can retain control as the general partner but allow your children ownership as limited partners.
Alternatively, you may want to give control but retain an economic interest for your retirement. For example, with a corporation you can retain preferred stock and transfer common stock, and so require that dividends be paid to you first.
A “buy sell” agreement is needed when you have co-owners in order to allow your interest to be purchased upon certain triggering events: disability, retirement, and death. The agreement sets the a price, often by formula or appraisal. Also, it may allow the business itself, or your remaining co-owners, a right of first refusal to purchase your interest.
Above all, how will you fund the plan? Usually the business or its owners purchase life insurance, and sometimes disability insurance, on each owner. Alternatively, an installment sale to the business, its remaining owners, or outsiders may be used. Installment sales, however, may present a cash flow problem to your estate when it needs money in order to support your family, to pay immediate administration costs, and to pay taxes.
Lastly, succession planning is a multi-disciplinary endeavor involving business planning, estate planning, financial planning, income tax and estate tax planning, and perhaps business counseling. Typically, a team consisting of an attorney, accountant, and a financial planner is needed to advise and assist you.
Dennis A. Fordham is an attorney licensed to practice law in California and New York. He earned his bachelor's degree at Columbia University, his juris doctor at the State University of New York at Buffalo, and his LL.M in taxation at New York University. He concentrates his practice in the areas of estate planning and aspects of elder law. His office is at 55 First St., Lakeport. He can be reached by e-mail at dennis@dennisfordhamlaw , com or by phone at 707-263-3235.
The California Highway Patrol has confirmed two fatalities in the crash, which occurred on Highway 29 at Spruce Grove Road Extension shortly before 10:30 a.m
CHP reported one fatality when officials first arrived at the scene, with another person with major injuries.
Fire officials were attempting to extricate another victim as sheriff's officials responded.
The second death was confirmed at approximately 10:53 a.m.
The crash also blocked the roadway. Just after 11 a.m. officials opened the road with one-way traffic control, which was in effect for just over 40 minutes before the highway was once again opened. Tow services were summoned to remove vehicles from the scene.
CHP has so far not offered any other details on the specifics of the incident, including how many cars were involved and the identities of the victims.
E-mail Elizabeth Larson at
