LAKEPORT, Calif. – The Lakeport Economic Development Advisory Committee will hold elections for its leadership this week and hear an update on a local art program.

The committee, or LEDAC, will meet from 7:30 to 9 a.m. Wednesday, Jan. 10, at Lakeport City Hall, 225 Park St.

The meeting is open to the public.

On the agenda is a status update on the Lakeport City Council’s appointment of new members.

The council approved a reorganization to include specific entities. As a result, new appointees include Valerie Jensen, Mendocino College Lake Center, and Candy De Los Santos, workforce development/CareerPoint Lake. Melissa Fulton, Lake County Chamber of Commerce, and Panette Talia, Lakeport Main Street Association, are continuing members. Other members include Denise Combs, Terre Logsdon, Bill Eaton and Chair Wilda Shock.

There also will be elections for the chair, vice chair and secretary, and an update on the 2018 meeting schedule.

Other agenda items include a committee report on a guide to doing business in Lakeport and city Web site development, an an update on city projects.

In other business, Martha Mincer of the Lake County Arts Council Board of Directors will present information about the Rural Arts Initiative, a new effort to align the arts with education and economic development in Lake County.

Following the Wednesday meeting, the next LEDAC meeting will take place March 14.

LEDAC advocates for a strong and positive Lakeport business community and acts as a conduit between the city and the community for communicating the goals, activities and progress of Lakeport’s economic and business programs.

Email Elizabeth Larson at This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.. Follow her on Twitter, @ERLarson, or Lake County News, @LakeCoNews.

California’s Racial and Identity Profiling Advisory, or RIPA, Board has released its inaugural annual report.

The report is required by Assembly Bill 953 (AB 953), the Racial and Identity Profiling Act of 2015, and represents the first statewide report in California on racial and identity profiling in law enforcement.

The report provides baseline information about existing policies and practices to prevent racial and identity profiling and sets the agenda and vision for the future work of the board.

This year’s report is accompanied by a video, which can be seen above, that illustrates the purpose of the RIPA Board and highlights the work that has been accomplished to date.

“On behalf of the California Police Chiefs Association, it has been my honor to represent our association alongside the many distinguished members of the RIPA Board. We hope that in the future, through the collection of data, we can identify the true scope of racial and identity profiling and establish an evidence-based approach to increase public trust with the police,” said Chief Edward Medrano, co-chair of the RIPA Board and President of the California Police Chiefs Association. “This first report by the RIPA board is the beginning of a journey that will allow Californians to understand the level of racial and identity profiling in policing and assist in the development of community-police partnerships and programs to improve trust in the police.”

“In 2014, the young people of Ferguson, Mo., awakened the country, afresh, to the deeply-felt pain of communities of color with respect to law enforcement sworn to protect them,” said Rev. Ben McBride, co-chair of the RIPA Board and co-director of People Improving Communities Through Organizing CA. “The chasm of mistrust moved thousands into the street, including across California, to ultimately pass AB 953, in 2015. The work of the RIPA Board has been to deny the false choice of ‘us vs. them’ and find ways to collaboratively protect all Californians, providing them with dignity and respect. As co-chair, I invite both the public and law enforcement to lean into the opportunity we have of building trust through reform, making us all safer and more secure, regardless as to whether we’re wearing a hoodie or a uniform.”

“The RIPA Board’s work is critical to ensuring public safety and effective law enforcement-community relations,” said California Attorney General Xavier Becerra. “From experiencing a police stop as a young man, to sitting down with family members of individuals who have lost their lives, and working today with our men and women who wear the badge and strive to keep us safe, I can tell you this work is crucial for us to get right. I applaud the RIPA Board on its tremendous efforts to address racial and identity profiling in California. The board’s commitment is evident in this report. At the California Department of Justice, we are honored to have been a part of this process and to continue to lead efforts on this front.”

The following information is included in this year’s report:

– A summary of the information that law enforcement agencies will collect and report to the California Department of Justice regarding stops. This includes information about the stop itself, such as; the reason for stop, actions taken by the officer during the stop, and outcome of the stop. In addition, information will be collected about the person who was stopped, and the officer’s perception of the race, gender, age and LGBT status of that person;

– A history of racial and identity profiling and information on current evidence-based research that will help stakeholders understand the issues;

– Analysis of the data collected regarding citizen/civilian complaints, including complaints alleging racial and identity profiling, that were reported to the DOJ by law enforcement in 2016;

– A summary of the results of a survey the RIPA Board distributed to law enforcement agencies regarding agency policies on racial and identity profiling; and

– Analysis and recommendations about racial and identity profiling trainings provided to officers.

In each section of the report, the RIPA Board offers recommendations for best practices, next steps, and a vision for the Board’s future work and reports.

The RIPA Board was formed as part of the Racial and Identity Profiling Act of 2015, authored by Assemblymember Shirley Weber (D-San Diego), and began its work in July 2016.

The California Legislature charged the board with an ambitious purpose – to eliminate racial and identity profiling, and improve diversity and racial and identity sensitivity in law enforcement.

By unifying a diverse group of individuals from across different sectors – law enforcement, civil and human rights organizations, community groups, and academia – in a shared cause, the RIPA Board aims to improve law enforcement-community relations in California through collaboration, transparency, and accountability.

For additional information on the RIPA Board and for the datasets related to the report, visit https://oag.ca.gov/ab953/board.

Ripa Board Report 2018 by LakeCoNews on Scribd

LAKE COUNTY, Calif. – In May of 2017, about 114 Lake County High School seniors planned to attend institutions of higher learning to gain the much sought-after “college experience.”

These students have now completed their first semester in college and they’ve learned many lessons about what college truly is and how to succeed.

Lake County students Bryan Burkdoll, SammyJo Brassfield and Jordan Zabek shared some of the lessons they learned in their first semester of college.

One of the first things incoming freshmen learn is the importance of responsibility, which accounts for a great deal of one’s success, both in academics and in the dorm setting.

“Living with a roommate is a big change, you have to be more aware of everything you’re doing,” said Ethan Plettinck, a freshman at Baylor University. “There is really no one else to rely on besides yourself, in a way it's like a job. Feed yourself, clean your room and, of course, prepare for school.”

Plettinck has learned the important lesson that he is truly the only one responsible for his success and while at college he can only rely on himself.

Food is another important part of one’s college experience.

According to Middletown Christian School graduate Bryan Burkdoll, “The (dorm) food is good but it gets repetitive very quickly.”

Burkdoll, a mechanical engineering major and a freshman at LeTourneau University in Longview, Texas, has realized that one way to combat the monotony of cafeteria food is to have a stash of snacks in your dorm.

Sonoma State student Sammy Jo Brassfield suggested, “Always have snacks on hand, it gives you something to do while you work, keeps you awake, and then you don’t have to go anywhere.”

Snacks such as macaroni and cheese, Hot Pockets or the well-loved Top Ramen are perfect for a student tired of eating the same type of pizza for 11 days straight when studying for finals.

Of course, where you sleep and what you eat is only a fraction of the college experience.

Professors greatly affect the quality of one’s education and academic life. According to many students, communication is key.

“My professors … have been really helpful and understanding. As long as you communicate and make yourself known to the professor, they will notice your efforts and do their best to help you succeed,” said Jordan Zabek, a graduate of Clear Lake High School who attends San Francisco State University.

Brandon Clemons is a freshman at Baylor University who has also had the privilege of being taught by great professors.

“The word that comes to mind when talking about my professors is approachable. They do a really good job at being available to see (students) outside of class, and communicating to us about changes that will occur in the learning environment.” Clemons said.

One of the most difficult parts of being a college student is moving away from home.

Many students travel to the other side of the country to seek out their education. In situations such as these, it is important to rely on one’s resources and connections.

“One of the key ways to deal with the challenge of living away from home is realizing that you’re not alone in your isolation,” said Baylor freshman Noah Dellinger. "We’re gathered in a community in which everyone starts alone. … It’s crucial to reach out to others. Even if they don’t seem like they’re alone, talk to them. More than likely they feel the same as you.”

A student's first semester in college is a combination of excitement and terror, it’s a leap of faith that requires only the best of what one can offer.

Relying on loved ones back home and acting on the advice of others who have gone before is one of the simplest ways to ensure a successful college career.

Samuel Toback is from Middletown, where he attended Middletown Christian School. He is a journalism student at Baylor University in Waco, Texas.

"The sound of birds stops the noise in my mind." – Carly Simon

LAKE COUNTY, Calif. – Nature is the quintessential storyteller. Through her recurrent procession of seasons she tells us of the sagas of predator and prey, the succession of breeding and fruition.

Her ever-present themes of planetary progression, star-shine, moon phases and meteor showers are all daily or nightly dramas unfolding whether we choose to observe or not.

Within this bounty of stories that silently play all around us, we are most fortunate here in Lake County to witness a multitude of avian species that either make their homes here, or grace us with a fleeting observation during their annual migration.

The American robin (Turdus migratorius), although a common bird, is, nonetheless a striking sight to behold.

Often seen after a rain, yanking up a juicy worm on the lawn, robins can be found around berry bushes as well.

These resourceful songbirds can be sighted dining on the bright red berries of the toyon bush. Toyon, native perennial shrub decorates the winter landscape with bright berries against leafy green leaves.

In fact, the toyon plant makes a good addition to gardens due to its drought tolerance. During summertime it displays delicate, white blooms. The toyon berry is a favorite of many berry loving birds, such as the varied thrush, turkey and pileated woodpecker.

The American robin definitely dominated the busy toyon bush when I was observing the comings and goings of the various birds in the vicinity of the bush.

Since the birds consume the berries whole and excrete the seeds unharmed in the process, they are great distributors of the plant. American robins wear a feather-coat of reddish-orange on their breast and grayish-brown heads and backs.

They are anywhere from 9 to 11 inches in length, with a wingspan of roughly a foot. They can be spotted hopping across the lawn, and then standing upright, looking proud.

They are found most everywhere, from yards, forests and woodlands to shrublands. They are active most of the day, with a diet of berries, bugs, grubs, earthworms and fruit. Their predators include snakes, hawks and cats.

These beautiful birds breed across North America all the way up to Alaska, and south to Mexico as well as Florida.

This popular songbird who sings both before and after a storm, is the state bird of three states: Wisconsin, Connecticut and Michigan.

Ornithologists have determined that the American robin has a number of calls, or songs which are quite complex. These vocalizations communicate calls to announce the presence of predators to the flock, to defend their nest during nesting season and at dawn when they arise.

Visit the Cornell Lab of Ornithology's Web site to hear the American robin’s songs at https://www.allaboutbirds.org/guide/American_Robin/sounds.

Kathleen Scavone, M.A., is a retired educator, potter, writer and author of “Anderson Marsh State Historic Park: A Walking History, Prehistory, Flora, and Fauna Tour of a California State Park” and “Native Americans of Lake County.” She also formerly wrote for NASA and JPL as one of their “Solar System Ambassadors.” She was selected “Lake County Teacher of the Year, 1998-99” by the Lake County Office of Education, and chosen as one of 10 state finalists the same year by the California Department of Education.

LAKE COUNTY, Calif. – This week the county of Lake will begin holding a series of community visioning forums in an effort to solicit input from county residents on their priorities regarding government services and finances.

County Administrative Officer Carol Huchingson said the forums are meant to help the county government prioritize serves and financial needs in the face of difficult budgetary decisions that the county is facing.

The meetings are being held in the evenings to ensure that those who work can attend.

Residents are encouraged to come and share their ideas and ask their questions.

Each of the forums will be attended by the district’s supervisor: District 1, Moke Simon; District 2, Jeff Smith; District 3, Jim Steele; District 4, Tina Scott; and District 5, Rob Brown.

Also in attendance will be county administrators and department heads from major county government agencies.

The first forum, in Kelseyville, will take place at 7 p.m. Monday, Jan. 8, at Kelseyville Presbyterian Church, 5340 Third St.

That will be followed later in the week by the forum in Clearlake, which takes place at 7 p.m. Wednesday, Jan. 10, at the Clearlake Community Center, 3245 Bowers Ave., and the Northshore forum at 7 p.m., Thursday, Jan. 11, at Robinson Rancheria Hotel, 1545 Highway 20 in Nice.

Next week, the Lakeport forum will be held at 7 p.m. Wednesday, Jan. 17, at the Soper Reese Community Theater, 275 S. Main St.

The final forum in Middletown will be held the last week of the month. It will take place at 7 p.m. Monday, Jan. 29, at Twin Pine Event Center, 22223 Highway 29.

For more information, call the County Administrative Office, 707-263-2580, and ask for Matthew.

LAKE COUNTY, Calif. – Lake County Animal Care and Control has seven adult dogs ready for their new homes.

The dogs offered adoption this week include mixes of cattle dog and pit bull.

Dogs that are adopted from Lake County Animal Care and Control are either neutered or spayed, microchipped and, if old enough, given a rabies shot and county license before being released to their new owner. License fees do not apply to residents of the cities of Lakeport or Clearlake.

If you're looking for a new companion, visit the shelter. There are many great pets hoping you'll choose them.

The following dogs at the Lake County Animal Care and Control shelter have been cleared for adoption (additional dogs on the animal control Web site not listed are still “on hold”).

Male pit bull terrier

This male pit bull terrier has a short tri-colored coat.

He’s in kennel No. 6, ID No. 9173.

Female pit bull terrier

This female pit bull terrier has a short gray and white coat.

She’s in kennel No. 10A, ID No. 9197.

Female pit bull terrier

This female pit bull terrier has a short black and white coat.

She’s in kennel No. 10B, ID No. 9198.

‘Roxy’

“Roxy” is a female cattle dog mix.

She has a short brown coat with white markings.

She’s in kennel No. 18, ID No. 9196.

‘Romeo’

“Romeo” is a male pit bull terrier.

He has a short gray and white coat.

He’s in kennel No. 19, ID No. 9075.

Male pit bull terrier

This male pit bull terrier has a short blue coat with white markings.

He’s in kennel No. 27, ID No. 9201.

Male pit bull terrier

This male pit bull terrier has a short tan coat.

He’s in kennel No. 30, ID No. 9192.

Lake County Animal Care and Control is located at 4949 Helbush in Lakeport, next to the Hill Road Correctional Facility.

Office hours are Monday through Friday, 11 a.m. to 5 p.m., and 11 a.m. to 3 p.m., Saturday. The shelter is open from 11 a.m. to 4 p.m. Monday through Friday and on Saturday from 11 a.m. to 3 p.m.

Visit the shelter online at http://www.co.lake.ca.us/Government/Directory/Animal_Care_And_Control.htm.

For more information call Lake County Animal Care and Control at 707-263-0278.

Email Elizabeth Larson at This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.. Follow her on Twitter, @ERLarson, or Lake County News, @LakeCoNews.

For the first time, scientists have shown through direct satellite observations of the ozone hole that levels of ozone-destroying chlorine are declining, resulting in less ozone depletion.

Measurements show that the decline in chlorine, resulting from an international ban on chlorine-containing manmade chemicals called chlorofluorocarbons, or CFCs, has resulted in about 20 percent less ozone depletion during the Antarctic winter than there was in 2005 — the first year that measurements of chlorine and ozone during the Antarctic winter were made by NASA’s Aura satellite.

“We see very clearly that chlorine from CFCs is going down in the ozone hole, and that less ozone depletion is occurring because of it,” said lead author Susan Strahan, an atmospheric scientist from NASA’s Goddard Space Flight Center in Greenbelt, Maryland.

CFCs are long-lived chemical compounds that eventually rise into the stratosphere, where they are broken apart by the Sun’s ultraviolet radiation, releasing chlorine atoms that go on to destroy ozone molecules.

Stratospheric ozone protects life on the planet by absorbing potentially harmful ultraviolet radiation that can cause skin cancer and cataracts, suppress immune systems and damage plant life.

Two years after the discovery of the Antarctic ozone hole in 1985, nations of the world signed the Montreal Protocol on Substances that Deplete the Ozone Layer, which regulated ozone-depleting compounds. Later amendments to the Montreal Protocol completely phased out production of CFCs.

Past studies have used statistical analyses of changes in the ozone hole’s size to argue that ozone depletion is decreasing.

This study is the first to use measurements of the chemical composition inside the ozone hole to confirm that not only is ozone depletion decreasing, but that the decrease is caused by the decline in CFCs.

The study was published Jan. 4 in the journal Geophysical Research Letters.

The Antarctic ozone hole forms during September in the Southern Hemisphere’s winter as the returning sun’s rays catalyze ozone destruction cycles involving chlorine and bromine that come primarily from CFCs.

To determine how ozone and other chemicals have changed year to year, scientists used data from the Microwave Limb Sounder, or MLS, aboard the Aura satellite, which has been making measurements continuously around the globe since mid-2004.

While many satellite instruments require sunlight to measure atmospheric trace gases, MLS measures microwave emissions and, as a result, can measure trace gases over Antarctica during the key time of year: the dark southern winter, when the stratospheric weather is quiet and temperatures are low and stable.

The change in ozone levels above Antarctica from the beginning to the end of southern winter — early July to mid-September — was computed daily from MLS measurements every year from 2005 to 2016.

“During this period, Antarctic temperatures are always very low, so the rate of ozone destruction depends mostly on how much chlorine there is,” Strahan said. “This is when we want to measure ozone loss.”

They found that ozone loss is decreasing, but they needed to know whether a decrease in CFCs was responsible. When ozone destruction is ongoing, chlorine is found in many molecular forms, most of which are not measured.

But after chlorine has destroyed nearly all the available ozone, it reacts instead with methane to form hydrochloric acid, a gas measured by MLS. “By around mid-October, all the chlorine compounds are conveniently converted into one gas, so by measuring hydrochloric acid we have a good measurement of the total chlorine,” Strahan said.

Nitrous oxide is a long-lived gas that behaves just like CFCs in much of the stratosphere. The CFCs are declining at the surface but nitrous oxide is not.

If CFCs in the stratosphere are decreasing, then over time, less chlorine should be measured for a given value of nitrous oxide.

By comparing MLS measurements of hydrochloric acid and nitrous oxide each year, they determined that the total chlorine levels were declining on average by about 0.8 percent annually.

The 20 percent decrease in ozone depletion during the winter months from 2005 to 2016 as determined from MLS ozone measurements was expected.

“This is very close to what our model predicts we should see for this amount of chlorine decline,” Strahan said. “This gives us confidence that the decrease in ozone depletion through mid-September shown by MLS data is due to declining levels of chlorine coming from CFCs. But we’re not yet seeing a clear decrease in the size of the ozone hole because that’s controlled mainly by temperature after mid-September, which varies a lot from year to year.”

Looking forward, the Antarctic ozone hole should continue to recover gradually as CFCs leave the atmosphere, but complete recovery will take decades.

“CFCs have lifetimes from 50 to 100 years, so they linger in the atmosphere for a very long time,” said Anne Douglass, a fellow atmospheric scientist at Goddard and the study’s co-author. “As far as the ozone hole being gone, we’re looking at 2060 or 2080. And even then there might still be a small hole.”

To read the study, visit: http://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1002/2017GL074830/abstract.

Samson Reiny is a member of NASA’s Earth Science News Team.

NORTHERN CALIFORNIA – If you’ve been anywhere that has some kind of water habitat associated with it, you’ve no doubt seen the black American Coot (Fulica Americana) – and usually in large numbers.

A relative of rails, the coot is one of the most widespread and easily recognizable water birds in the state.

The females are slightly smaller than the males, and the males have more feathers on their head (their “ruff”) which they display in battle with other males.

Otherwise the sexes look alike: black or very dark grey bodies, yellow legs, and a stark white bill and forehead (the frontal shield) which has a dark red spot on the top of it between the eyes.

Their most remarkable feature, though, is their feet. Rather than having webbing between their toes like a duck, coots have blue-green toes with long movable lobes on them. The lobes help to push the coots through the water, but flatten down when the bird is on land, so they don’t interfere with its walking.

Both attributes are handy for the coot who spends time both in and out of the water on a regular basis.

Coots both dabble and dive for food in the water, and although they eat a variety of aquatic plants they will also graze on land for grains and terrestrial foliage like oak leaves and grasses.

Coots aren’t vegetarians, however; they also eat insects, snails and crayfish, small fish, tadpoles and salamanders. I once saw a coot trying to gobble up the pink entrails of another bird that had been downed by a hawk and fallen into the water.

Coot behavior is also varied. Often characterized as “grumpy and pugnacious,” real life Angry Birds, coots will aggressively defend their courtship and nesting platforms from interlopers, often rearing up in the water and smacking an opponent with their large lobed feet.

An aggravated coot will also sometimes try to force a rival onto its back, push it down under the surface of the water in an attempt to drown it.

Additionally, the females are known to be conspecific (“same species”) brood parasites: they will lay their eggs in the nests of other coots whenever the opportunity arises.

Coots can also be rather brutal to their offspring, initially choosing favorites based on “chick ornaments,” those bright yellow-orange feathers that pop out at all angles like a fright-wig on the head and neck of their chicks.

The chick with the most bling, gets the most food … Usually. Sometimes, however, if a runty chick with fewer ornaments demonstrates to its parents that it’s tough enough to survive even if it’s half-starved and its bigger siblings pick on it, the parents will do an about-face and make the runt their favorite, lavishing it with food and attention at the expense of the others in the brood.

On the plus side, coots are monogamous; they mate for life. And they are gregarious birds over the winter months when they’re not breeding, tolerating the closely proximity of neighbors, often forming into flocks that can number into the hundreds.

They will also cooperate with one another when danger is present. It’s not unusual to see coots group together into “covers” (on land) or “rafts” (in the water) in order to confuse and evade predators.

I’ve witnessed flocks of coots form large rafts in the water and then swim as a synchronized unit, like a school of fish, this way and that along the surface, in response to the presence of bald eagles – one of the coots’ most fearsome predators. (Studies have indicated, in fact, that about 80 percent of a bald eagle’s diet is coot meat.)

Coots can fly, but usually only for short distances and somewhat low to the ground with their feet dangling – rather like chickens.

Taking off from the water is particularly cumbersome for them. They have to flap their wings vigorously while they run across the top of the water for several feet before they can manage to get any kind of lift. It’s during this kind of clumsy take-off that they are often open to attack.

One predator coots don’t have to worry too much about, though, is humans. Since coot meat is considered inedible – some say it tastes “swampy” – it’s not sought after by hunters.

And that can help the coots live longer than many of their waterfowl brethren, up to about 24 years in the wild.

Mary K. Hanson is a Certified California Naturalist, author and nature photographer. She will be co-teaching a naturalist course for the public through Tuleyome in early 2018. Tuleyome is a501(c)(3) nonprofit conservation organization based in Woodland, Calif. For more information, visit www.tuleyome.org.

LAKEPORT, Calif. – Recently the Westside Community Park Committee completed installation of the “Ron Raetz Dog Park” sign at the Westside Community Park in Lakeport.

Following a request by the committee to the Lakeport City Council, the council approved the naming of the dog park in recognition of Raetz’s contributions to the park’s development.

Raetz served as the chairperson of the Westside Community Park Committee for eight years.

During his tenure almost $80,000 was raised towards the park’s development, the initial grading and storm drainage was completed on the Jane Barnes Field, the Westside Community Park entry sign was installed and the picnic area at the Rotary Field was constructed.

In addition, Raetz was the driving force behind the construction of the dog park. Without his leadership the dog park might not have been constructed.

In addition to his service on the Westside Community Park Committee , Raetz was a teacher in the Upper Lake High School District, a member of the district’s Board of Trustees and the president of the Konocti Youth Soccer League for 10 years.

In 2017 he saw the installation of lights for the Upper Lake High School football field. The “Lights of Love,” as that project was known, was spearheaded by Raetz.

Raetz has been a leader in the creation of recreation facilities in Lake County and as such it is fitting that the dog park which he worked so diligently to see completed should be named in his honor.

The purchase and installation of the “Ron Raetz Dog Park” sign was made possible by community donations.

Darren Jordon, owner of Rock Creation, donated his skill to create the footing for the sign with concrete donated by Clear Lake Redi-Mix.

The finally installation was completed with the assistance of the city of Lakeport Public Works Department.

NORTHERN CALIFORNIA – North Bay legislators have officially introduced a bill that will set statewide emergency alert protocols.

The new legislation follows the devastating October firestorm that ravaged Sonoma, Napa, Lake and Mendocino counties, destroying more than 6,000 homes, scorching more than 170,000 acres, causing billions in damage and resulting in the death of more than 40 residents.

“The size and scope of wildland fire events in California are only getting worse. It's clear there are shortcomings in our emergency alert system and residents deserve timely notifications and up-to-date information,” Sen. Mike McGuire (D-North Bay) said. “Lives depend on the Legislature and governor taking swift action to ensure statewide emergency alert standards are adopted, training is implemented and funding is secured to ensure communities big and small have reliable alert systems deployed.”

SB 833, introduced this week by Sen. McGuire, along with joint authors Senators Bill Dodd and Jerry Hill, and principal co-authors, members of the Assembly Cecilia Aguiar-Curry, Marc Levine and Jim Wood, creates statewide emergency alert protocols.

There are several different emergency warning systems available to counties that alert residents through cell phone calls, text messages and landline recordings.

Some systems require residents to “opt-in” to the alert notifications, and others have limitations on how they can be targeted in specific areas.

SB 833 will require every county in California to adopt the up-to-date Wireless Emergency Alert system with trained operators who can implement an evacuation order using the alert system.

The legislation will also set out standards for when counties should use the system, the legislation will mandate that alerts have to be sent out via landline telephones and mobile phones along with other communication mediums, it will advance communication between counties and the state at the start of a disaster and it will create guidelines and protocols for when and how the alerts should be sent.

“When wildfires and other disasters strike, it’s critical that impacted residents get emergency alerts as quickly as possible,” said Sen. Bill Dodd (D-Napa). “Regardless of where you live in California, everyone should be able to rely on a comprehensive, modern warning systems that gets information to the people who need it, when they need it. Emergency alerts can save lives, which is why Senator McGuire and I are partnering with our colleagues in the state Assembly to advance a system that meets our twenty-first century needs.”

“The raging wildfires endangering Californians across the state is without precedent. Lawmakers must protect our communities with the best safety notifications available to prevent loss of life during emergency situations,” said Assemblymember Marc Levine (D-Marin County). “All California communities should have dependable emergency alert systems and be notified when lives are in danger.”

“The recent devastating fires in Northern California have put laser focus on our need to fix our emergency notification system,” said Assemblymember Jim Wood (D-Healdsburg). As we now see with the fires in Southern California, the time is now to protect our residents with a system that works for everyone, both urban and rural.”

“As a member of the Joint Committee on Emergency Management, we heard testimony this week on how critical it is for local governments to alert our mutual constituents in times of crisis,” said Assemblymember Aguiar-Curry (D-Winters). “I’m happy to join in this effort with my legislative and local government colleagues, and I look forward to continuing our work together that started during the North Bay wildfires. As the recovery continues, we must also stay vigilant to protect people in the event of future emergencies.”

“Last year’s fires exposed deadly problems in our emergency alert patchwork,” said Senator Jerry Hill (D-San Mateo and Santa Clara Counties). “I applaud Senator McGuire for leading this effort to make sure that the state and local governments properly notify and evacuate residents to save lives during emergencies.”

NORTHERN CALIFORNIA – On Friday the Independent Forensic Team released additional findings from its review of the February 2017 Lake Oroville Spillways incident.

The report builds on the team’s interim memo from September 2017 that identified physical causes of the incident.

While the California Department of Water Resources is in the process of fully reviewing this lengthy report, the department intends to incorporate the latest findings into its ongoing efforts.

“We strongly supported having an independent assessment of the spillway failure and take the findings very seriously,” said DWR Director Grant Davis. “This report is consistent with the independent team’s initial technical findings from last May which were fully incorporated in the design of the reconstructed spillways. As we have done in the past, we will carefully assess this report, share it with the entire dam safety community and incorporate the lessons learned going forward to ensure California continues to lead the nation on dam safety.”

The department said it has already made significant progress to bolster the dam safety program to include comprehensive re-evaluations of every spillway with attributes similar to Lake Oroville’s.

These re-evaluations go far beyond the standard inspections to include extensive hydrologic, structural and geotechnical work and a thorough investigation of records.

In May, DWR began planning for a comprehensive needs assessment of the entire Oroville complex to understand what changes, if any, need to be made long term to bolster dam safety of the Oroville complex.

An evaluation of DWR’s dam safety program is already underway, and as a result of the findings of the Independent Forensic Team, or IFT, DWR will also assess its existing organizational structures.

DWR said it will continue to invest in resources to learn from other dam safety programs and plans to convene experts over the coming months to digest the findings and recommendations from this report to identify tangible actions in response.

In addition to identifying the combined causes that led to the incident, the latest IFT report also comments on decisions made as the spillway incident unfolded in February 2017.

“During the incident, our sole focus was protecting public safety,” said Joel Ledesma, Deputy Director of the State Water Project. “DWR supported this independent assessment – so we can learn from the past and continue to improve now and into the future.”

DWR agrees with the IFT’s conclusion that all dam owners need to reassess current procedures.

As the report notes, “the fact that this incident happened to the owner of the tallest dam in the United States, under regulation of a federal agency, with repeated evaluation by reputable outside consultants, in a state with the leading dam safety regulatory program, is a wake-up call for everyone involved in dam safety. Challenging current assumptions on what constitutes ‘best practice’ in our industry is overdue.”

Following the February incident, the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission directed DWR to establish an Independent Forensic Team to determine the root cause of the spillway incident, as well as other contributing causes including operations, structural, geologic, and management.

To provide an independent review, DWR contacted the Association of State Dam Safety Officials and the United States Society of Dams, two nationally recognized dam safety organizations, to propose a team of experts capable of conducting a forensic evaluation of the Lake Oroville spillways incident. The six members of the IFT were identified on March 15.

Preliminary findings were released on May 5, 2017, listing 24 physical factors that potentially contributed to the main spillway damage and four physical factors that may have contributed to the emergency spillway damage.

On September 5, 2017, the IFT published an interim memorandum summarizing its findings of the Lake Oroville spillways failure and DWR released a statement regarding the memo. The latest report from the IFT incorporates these previous findings in addition to the contributing human factors.

The video above is the latest DWR video update from December, showing work on the spillway’s phase two.

Twinkle, twinkle, little star, how I wonder what you are. Astronomers are hopeful that the powerful infrared capability of NASA’s James Webb Space Telescope will resolve a puzzle as fundamental as stargazing itself — what IS that dim light in the sky?

Brown dwarfs muddy a clear distinction between stars and planets, throwing established understanding of those bodies, and theories of their formation, into question.

Several research teams will use Webb to explore the mysterious nature of brown dwarfs, looking for insight into both star formation and exoplanet atmospheres, and the hazy territory in-between where the brown dwarf itself exists.

Previous work with Hubble, Spitzer, and ALMA have shown that brown dwarfs can be up to 70 times more massive than gas giants like Jupiter, yet they do not have enough mass for their cores to burn nuclear fuel and radiate starlight.

Though brown dwarfs were theorized in the 1960s and confirmed in 1995, there is not an accepted explanation of how they form: like a star, by the contraction of gas, or like a planet, by the accretion of material in a protoplanetary disk? Some have a companion relationship with a star, while others drift alone in space.

At the Université de Montréal, Étienne Artigau leads a team that will use Webb to study a specific brown dwarf, labeled SIMP0136.

It is a low-mass, young, isolated brown dwarf – one of the closest to our Sun – all of which make it fascinating for study, as it has many features of a planet without being too close to the blinding light of a star.

SIMP0136 was the object of a past scientific breakthrough by Artigau and his team, when they found evidence suggesting it has a cloudy atmosphere.

He and his colleagues will use Webb’s spectroscopic instruments to learn more about the chemical elements and compounds in those clouds.

“Very accurate spectroscopic measurements are challenging to obtain from the ground in the infrared due to variable absorption in our own atmosphere, hence the need for space-based infrared observation. Also, Webb allows us to probe features, such as water absorption, that are inaccessible from the ground at this level of precision,” Artigau explained.

These observations could lay groundwork for future exoplanet exploration with Webb, including which worlds could support life.

Webb’s infrared instruments will be capable of detecting the types of molecules in the atmospheres of exoplanets by seeing which elements are absorbing light as the planet passes in front of its star, a scientific technique known as transit spectroscopy.

“The brown dwarf SIMP0136 has the same temperature as various planets that will be observed in transit spectroscopy with Webb, and clouds are known to affect this type of measurement; our observations will help us better understand cloud decks in brown dwarfs and planet atmospheres in general,” Artigau said.

The search for low-mass, isolated brown dwarfs was one of the early science goals put forward for the Webb telescope in the 1990s, says astronomer Aleks Scholz of the University of St. Andrews.

Brown dwarfs have a lower mass than stars and do not “shine” but merely emit the dim afterglow of their birth, and so they are best seen in infrared light, which is why Webb will be such a valuable tool in this research.

Scholz, who also leads the Substellar Objects in Nearby Young Clusters (SONYC) project, will use Webb’s Near-Infrared Imager and Slitless Spectrograph (NIRISS) to study NGC 1333 in the constellation of Perseus.

NGC 1333 is a stellar nursery that has also been found to harbor an unusually high number of brown dwarfs, some of them at the very low end of the mass range for such objects – in other words, not much heavier than Jupiter.

"In more than a decade of searching, our team has found it is very difficult to locate brown dwarfs that are less than five Jupiter-masses – the mass where star and planet formation overlap. That is a job for the Webb telescope,” Scholz said. “It has been a long wait for Webb, but we are very excited to get an opportunity to break new ground and potentially discover an entirely new type of planets, unbound, roaming the Galaxy like stars."

Both of the projects led by Scholz and Artigau are making use of Guaranteed Time Observations, or GTOs, observing time on the telescope that is granted to astronomers who have worked for years to prepare Webb’s scientific operations.

The James Webb Space Telescope, the scientific complement to NASA's Hubble Space Telescope, will be the premier space observatory of the next decade. Webb is an international project led by NASA with its partners, ESA (European Space Agency) and CSA (Canadian Space Agency).

For more information about the Webb telescope, visit www.nasa.gov/webb or www.webbtelescope.org .

Leah Ramsay is a member of the Space Telescope Science Institute in Baltimore, Md.