Expectations of perfection on special occasions can add to the normal stress of parenting. skynesher/E+ via Getty Images
Holidays are often depicted as picture-perfect moments: families blissfully united around a table filled with seasonal food favorites against an immaculate backdrop. For many parents, attempting to meet such unrealistic expectations can undermine their self-worth – and their sanity.
In the real world, parents are juggling more activities than there are candles on the menorah after eight nights of Hanukkah. It’s all too easy to fall into survival parenting, an approach where the focus is on simply getting through the day. When those holiday cookies need baking, there’s no time to teach a child how to crack an egg.
As mothers ourselves, we understand that these occasions can feel like anything but a holiday. We are both child psychologists and mental health experts who work with kids, adolescents and their families to support realistic and healthy approaches to parenting. We know what’s on parents’ lists, and, fortunately, this wish list is easier to fulfill than many moms and dads realize.
The current state of parenting
U.S. Surgeon General Dr. Vivek Murthy released an advisory in August 2024 calling for a rapid resuscitation of parental well-being. Murthy – along with scientists and parents – sees that the current stress of parenting is seriously affecting the physical and mental health of caregivers.
Dr. Vivek Murthy states his concern over reports that most days, nearly half of all parents feel overwhelmed by stress.
Mothers and fathers today are busier and more isolated than ever. According to a report released in April 2024 by the Bureau of Labor Statistics, both parents are employed in nearly 2 in 3 U.S. households led by married couples. For single-parent households, the number of employed parents rises to just over 3 in 4 families led by mothers and over 4 in 5 families led by fathers.
Our experience as both clinicians and moms is that kids are similarly busier than ever between school and extracurricular activities. It’s no wonder parents move into survival mode, simply trying to get through all that needs to be done and requiring their kids and others to do the same.
The science behind ‘survival parenting’
Our research shows that focusing only on getting through the day with your kids is linked to more stress and harsher parenting behaviors.
When a mom or dad is in survival mode, they tend to be more prone to yelling demands and criticizing their children’s behavior, as opposed to thinking through the impacts of these behaviors. Stressed-out parents are quicker to criticize little things that get in the way of accomplishing immediate goals, such as spilling flour on the floor. And they are slower to notice and acknowledge their child’s strengths, such as their interest in helping in the kitchen.
The result is more stress and less joy in their parenting.
You may be able to alleviate some parenting stress by simplifying plans around holidays and special occasions.
As good research ideas often do, this one came from our own experiences. During the COVID-19 pandemic, we noticed that even the most well-meaning fathers and mothers – ourselves included – struggled to stay out of the survival parenting trap amid the isolation, overscheduled time and life stresses. We found ourselves frantically trying to get everything done in our day without any support, so we pushed our children to hurry up, stop dawdling, not make mistakes. We were living moment to moment rather than thinking through the potential long-term impacts of our behavior.
Recent epidemiological studies show that we were not alone – parents with children at home were, and continue to be, depressed, anxious and burned out. These challenges negatively affect their relationships with their children and the children’s mental health.
Ironically, this is the very opposite outcome of what parents are working so hard for.
It can be difficult to react to your children’s minor mistakes with compassion when you feel like you are just trying to keep your head above water.Ariel Skelley/The Image Bank via Getty Images
Strategies for enjoying the holidays with your children
Fortunately, bringing joy back to parenting this holiday season – and any time of the year – is more straightforward than most recipes on Pinterest.
In our research and in our clinical practices, we have found some strategies that can help parents slow down, rest more and tend to their own needs. If you find yourself moving into survival mode, it’s time to step back from the to-do list and try the following:
Shift your thinking from reacting to what is going on in the moment to focusing on the larger experiences and future you’re trying to create for yourself and your family. For example, if your goal is to enjoy time with your child, try including them in the holiday preparations. If you remind yourself of what you’re really trying to get out of each activity, then the fact that the cookies are burned doesn’t really matter as long as you burned them together.
Reconnect with your friends and relatives who are also in the parenting trenches to lighten each other’s loads, both physically and emotionally. This might mean batch cooking, carpooling or delivering coffee to a friend. Interacting with people you genuinely enjoy for the purpose of laughter, joy and connectedness goes a long way in supporting overall wellness. Build time into your day – not week or month – to connect with your social support system. Even better, allow it to replace an unnecessary to-do list task that drains you.
Notice if you’ve become beholden to the dreaded “shoulds” – “I should be able to get all of this cooking done myself,” or “I should be able to finish this task in an hour with two kids in tow.” Shoulds can motivate, but they give way to a sense of parenting failure if you don’t meet the standards you’ve set. Instead, replace “should” with “am trying” or “would like to,” as in, “I am trying to finish wrapping gifts today,” or “I would like to play with my child for 10 uninterrupted minutes.”
Envision what you want your holidays – and specifically your relationship with your child – to look like five, 10, even 20 years from now. What do you see and hear? Who’s there? How do people feel about each other and interact? Forthcoming research from our team suggests that broadening the time horizon and considering how current actions shape the future improves parenting behaviors.
In five years, it’s unlikely that your kids will remember the cleanliness of the floor, but they may remember the emotions of the moment.
Memories of cookies accidentally baked with salt instead of sugar age better when they are accompanied by laughter and love, rather than frenzied rebaking.
The secret is taking the pressure off surviving the moment and refocusing on the future you want to create.
Operations teams have confirmed NASA’s mission to “touch” the Sun survived its record-breaking closest approach to the solar surface on Dec. 24, 2024.
Breaking its previous record by flying just 3.8 million miles above the surface of the Sun, NASA’s Parker Solar Probe hurtled through the solar atmosphere at a blazing 430,000 miles per hour — faster than any human-made object has ever moved. A beacon tone received late on Dec. 26 confirmed the spacecraft had made it through the encounter safely and is operating normally.
This pass, the first of more to come at this distance, allows the spacecraft to conduct unrivaled scientific measurements with the potential to change our understanding of the Sun.
"Flying this close to the Sun is a historic moment in humanity’s first mission to a star,” said Nicky Fox, who leads the Science Mission Directorate at NASA Headquarters in Washington. “By studying the Sun up close, we can better understand its impacts throughout our solar system, including on the technology we use daily on Earth and in space, as well as learn about the workings of stars across the universe to aid in our search for habitable worlds beyond our home planet.”
Parker Solar Probe has spent the last six years setting up for this moment. Launched in 2018, the spacecraft used seven flybys of Venus to gravitationally direct it ever closer to the Sun. With its last Venus flyby on Nov. 6, 2024, the spacecraft reached its optimal orbit. This oval-shaped orbit brings the spacecraft an ideal distance from the Sun every three months — close enough to study our Sun’s mysterious processes but not too close to become overwhelmed by the Sun’s heat and damaging radiation. The spacecraft will remain in this orbit for the remainder of its primary mission.
“Parker Solar Probe is braving one of the most extreme environments in space and exceeding all expectations,” said Nour Rawafi, the project scientist for Parker Solar Probe at the Johns Hopkins Applied Physics Laboratory (APL), which designed, built, and operates the spacecraft from its campus in Laurel, Maryland. “This mission is ushering a new golden era of space exploration, bringing us closer than ever to unlocking the Sun’s deepest and most enduring mysteries.”
Close to the Sun, the spacecraft relies on a carbon foam shield to protect it from the extreme heat in the upper solar atmosphere called the corona, which can exceed 1 million degrees Fahrenheit. The shield was designed to reach temperatures of 2,600 degrees Fahrenheit — hot enough to melt steel — while keeping the instruments behind it shaded at a comfortable room temperature. In the hot but low-density corona, the spacecraft’s shield is expected to warm to 1,800 degrees Fahrenheit.
“It’s monumental to be able to get a spacecraft this close to the Sun,” said John Wirzburger, the Parker Solar Probe mission systems engineer at APL. “This is a challenge the space science community has wanted to tackle since 1958 and had spent decades advancing the technology to make it possible.”
By flying through the solar corona, Parker Solar Probe can take measurements that help scientists better understand how the region gets so hot, trace the origin of the solar wind (a constant flow of material escaping the Sun), and discover how energetic particles are accelerated to half the speed of light.
“The data is so important for the science community because it gives us another vantage point,” said Kelly Korreck, a program scientist at NASA Headquarters and heliophysicist who worked on one of the mission’s instruments. “By getting firsthand accounts of what’s happening in the solar atmosphere, Parker Solar Probe has revolutionized our understanding of the Sun.”
Previous passes have already aided scientists’ understanding of the Sun. When the spacecraft first passed into the solar atmosphere in 2021, it found the outer boundary of the corona is wrinkled with spikes and valleys, contrary to what was expected. Parker Solar Probe also pinpointed the origin of important zig-zag-shaped structures in the solar wind, called switchbacks, at the visible surface of the Sun — the photosphere.
Since that initial pass into the Sun, the spacecraft has been spending more time in the corona, where most of the critical physical processes occur.
“We now understand the solar wind and its acceleration away from the Sun,” said Adam Szabo, the Parker Solar Probe mission scientist at NASA’s Goddard Space Flight Center in Greenbelt, Maryland. “This close approach will give us more data to understand how it’s accelerated closer in.”
Parker Solar Probe has also made discoveries across the inner solar system. Observations showed how giant solar explosions called coronal mass ejections vacuum up dust as they sweep across the solar system, and other observations revealed unexpected findings about solar energetic particles. Flybys of Venus have documented the planet’s natural radio emissions from its atmosphere, as well as the first complete image of its orbital dust ring.
So far, the spacecraft has only transmitted that it’s safe, but soon it will be in a location that will allow it to downlink the data it collected on this latest solar pass.
“The data that will come down from the spacecraft will be fresh information about a place that we, as humanity, have never been,” said Joe Westlake, the director of the Heliophysics Division at NASA Headquarters. “It’s an amazing accomplishment.”
The spacecraft’s next planned close solar passes come on March 22, 2025, and June 19, 2025.
Mara Johnson-Groh works for NASA’s Goddard Space Flight Center in Greenbelt, Maryland.
LAKE COUNTY, Calif. — Authorities are investigating the circumstances that led to a deputy shooting an individual during an early morning confrontation on Friday.
In a brief report, the Lake County Sheriff’s Office said that one of its deputies was involved in the shooting at 3 a.m.
The incident occurred in the 3600 block of Highway 20 in Nice, the sheriff’s office said.
“As a result, one subject was transported to a local hospital and is currently being treated for their injuries,” the sheriff’s office said.
Radio traffic regarding the incident indicated that Northshore Fire Protection District firefighters responded to the incident just after 3 a.m. and were seeking an air ambulance to transport the individual with the gunshot wound.
Dispatch told firefighters that no air ambulances were available due to weather.
The Lake County Critical Incident Protocol was activated, and a parallel investigation is being conducted by the Lake County District Attorney’s Office.
The District Attorney’s Office confirmed to Lake County News that its work on the matter is underway.
On Friday, the agency said its investigators were actively working on the investigation.
The sheriff’s office followed up on Friday evening by reporting that, per the Lake County Critical Incident Protocol, the deputy involved has been placed on administrative leave.
The subject who was shot was treated at a local hospital and transferred out of county for continued treatment, the sheriff’s office said in its followup report.
The sheriff’s office and DA’s Office both said more information will be released as it becomes available.
In the meantime, anyone with information regarding the incident is asked to contact Sgt. Jeff Mora at This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. or call the Major Crimes Unit tip line at 707-262-4088.
The last shooting involving a deputy that triggered the Lake County Critical Incident Protocol occurred in November 2023. In that case, a Lakeport man was fatally shot.
Email Elizabeth Larson at This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.. Follow her on Twitter, @ERLarson, and on Bluesky, @erlarson.bsky.social. Find Lake County News on the following platforms: Facebook, @LakeCoNews; X, @LakeCoNews; Threads, @lakeconews, and on Bluesky, @lakeconews.bsky.social.
As the 118th Congress comes to a close, Rep. Mike Thompson released the following update on his work delivering for the constituents of California’s Fourth District, which includes Lake County.
Dear Friends,
As the 118th Congress comes to a close, here’s what my team and I have done…
Delivering for Constituents
Supporting Fourth District residents like you is the cornerstone of all that we do at Team Thompson. Since the start of this congress, my staff and I have worked with federal agencies to return $26,369,178.98 to residents of our district and helped 3,923 constituents receive assistance from the federal government.
My team and I have responded to over 277,000 letters, emails, and phone calls from community members, reached over 400 veterans and their families through town halls, and scheduled 3,184 White House and Capitol tours for constituents.
My team and I were pleased to introduce new ways to reach Team Thompson this year. Starting this summer, we launched regular office hours throughout our district to provide an easy way for community members to drop in and speak face-to-face with a member of my staff about any challenges or concerns they face. We look forward to hosting more office hours sessions in 2025.
If you or someone you know needs help with passports and visas, veterans benefits, IRS issues, agricultural issues, small business assistance, immigration, Medicare and Medicaid, or if you are facing any other problem navigating the federal government, my team is ready to help. Click here or call me at one of my offices to get started:
As we close out the 118th Congress, I’m proud to report that I secured $16,375,174 in federal funding for community projects across all five counties in our district. This congress, six of my bills were signed into law.
In 2025, I look forward to continuing my work to pass bipartisan, sensible legislation that will deliver for our district and improve the quality of life for millions of Americans.
I plan to introduce legislation next congress to increase access to health care by expanding telemedicine, provide funding to research the causes of mental health issues, take on the gun violence epidemic, support veterans, address the housing shortage, protect agricultural producers from the impact of natural disasters, protect our public lands, and address the climate crisis. Working across the aisle is the best way to get things done, and I will continue to work with anyone who will help get these priorities signed into law.
Delivering Long-Awaited Relief to Wildfire Victims
President Biden signing into law my bill delivering tax relief to wildfire victims was a highlight of the 118th Congress.
As many of you know too well, federally declared wildfires in 2015, 2017, and 2018 devastated entire communities across our district and across the state of California.
While the courts eventually created a path to compensation, victims were subjected to unfair taxes on their settlement money. That’s why I worked across the aisle to draft and pass legislation providing tax relief to victims of federally declared disasters who face taxes on settlement money. The relief applies retroactively to qualified victims.
While no fire victim can ever be made truly whole, this law will provide needed and deserved relief to thousands in our community and across our country.
A look ahead to 2025
My priorities going into the 119th Congress remain the same: delivering for our district and helping every American live a healthy and successful life. I am committed to working with anyone in Congress to advance the issues that matter to our district.
I am honored to represent California’s Fourth District in Congress and look forward to continuing to serve our community in 2025.
I wish you and your family a happy, peaceful, and prosperous new year.
Sincerely, MIKE THOMPSON Member of Congress
Thompson represents California’s Fourth Congressional District, which includes all or part of Lake, Napa, Solano, Sonoma and Yolo counties.
As we head into the new year, the California Highway Patrol is highlighting the new public safety laws that were passed during this year’s legislative session and signed by Gov. Gavin Newsom.
Unless otherwise noted, the laws referenced below take effect on Jan. 1, 2025.
Combating retail theft
Crimes: Organized Theft (SB 982, Wahab)
Senate Bill 982 makes the crime of organized retail theft permanent and strengthens measures to address retail crime. The bill eliminates the expiration date for specific provisions targeting organized retail theft, ensuring long-term tools for law enforcement to combat this issue.
Crimes: Fires (SB 1242, Min)
Senate Bill 1242 amends Penal Code Section 452 regarding the unlawful setting of fires. It updates penalties and legal language to clarify offenses, including circumstances involving organized retail theft.
Sentencing enhancements: Sale, exchange or return of stolen property
Senate Bill 1416 (Newman)
Senate Bill 1416 focuses on combating organized retail theft by increasing penalties for those involved in the resale of stolen goods, often referred to as “fencing.” The bill, until January 1, 2030, creates sentencing enhancements for individuals who sell, exchange, or return stolen property for value, particularly when the property exceeds specific thresholds. Punishment increases from one year to four years based on a property value scale ranging from $50,000 to over $3 million.
Theft: Jurisdiction (AB 1779, Irwin)
Assembly Bill 1779 addresses the issue of organized retail theft by streamlining the prosecution process. Specifically, it allows district attorneys to consolidate charges for theft offenses committed across multiple counties into a single trial, provided all affected county district attorneys agree.
Crimes: Organized Theft (AB 1802, Jones-Sawyer)
Assembly Bill 1802 ensures that the crime of organized retail theft remains permanently defined in state law and extends the CHP’s Property Crimes Task Force indefinitely. This bill eliminates the “sunset” clause that would have otherwise allowed the statute and the task force to expire.
Regional Property Crimes Task Force (AB 1972, Alanis)
Assembly Bill 1972 expands the scope of the CHP's Regional Property Crimes Task Force to include cargo theft as a property crime for consideration and requires the task force to provide logistical and law enforcement support for railroad police.
This bill emphasizes cargo theft as a specific priority and aims to strengthen resources for law enforcement agencies to combat these issues. As an urgency statute, AB 1972 went into effect immediately upon its passage in August 2024 to address these concerns promptly.
Crimes: Shoplifting (AB 2943, Zbur)
Assembly Bill 2943, also called the “California Retail Theft Reduction Act,” strengthens measures to combat organized retail theft by creating a specific crime for serial retail theft, allowing the aggregation of property value for thefts committed within 90 days to qualify as grand theft. It empowers law enforcement to make arrests using video evidence or sworn statements, shields businesses from lawsuits for reporting crimes and promotes rehabilitation through diversion programs for minor offenders. The bill aims to dismantle theft rings while balancing public safety and criminal justice reforms.
Crimes: Theft: Retail Theft Restraining Orders (AB 3209, Berman)
Assembly Bill 3209 creates a retail crime restraining order. A court may issue a restraining order when sentencing an individual for specific retail theft-related crimes, including vandalism of a retail store and assaulting a retail store employee. The restraining order prohibits the individual from entering or being on the grounds of the establishment and may include parking lots adjacent to and used by the establishment.
Emergency alert information sharing
Electronic Toll Collection Systems: Information Sharing: Law Enforcement (AB 2645, Lackey)
Assembly Bill 2645 allows transportation agencies operating electronic toll collection systems to share real-time license plate data with law enforcement during active emergency alerts, such as AMBER, Ebony, or Feather Alerts. This legislation eliminates the need for a search warrant in such situations, enabling quicker responses to locate suspect vehicles linked to emergencies, such as child abductions.
Tools to address reckless driving and sideshows
Vehicles: Speed Contests (AB 1978, Sanchez)
Assembly Bill 1978 permits storing a vehicle when an individual is arrested but not taken into custody for obstructing or placing a barricade on a highway or off-street parking facility for purposes of aiding a speed contest or exhibition of speed.
Vehicles: Impoundment (AB 2186, Wallis)
Assembly Bill 2186 permits the arrest and custody of individuals engaged in an exhibition of speed in an off-street parking facility. It also permits the impounding of the individual’s vehicle for not more than 30 days.
Vehicles: Sideshows and Street Takeovers (AB 2807, Villapudua)
Assembly Bill 2807 defines a “sideshow” and a “street takeover” as the same type of event.
Vehicles: Removal and Impoundment (AB 3085, Gipson)
Assembly Bill 3085 provides authority to seize and impound a vehicle with a warrant when the vehicle was used in violation of a speed contest or exhibition of speed (including aiding or abetting). This bill also permits electronic service of the notices of impoundment and storage hearings.
Electric bicycle safety
Electric Bicycles, Powered Mobility Devices and Storage (SB 1271, Min)
Beginning January 1, 2026, SB 1271 focuses on improving the safety standards for electric bicycles (e-bikes), powered mobility devices, and related lithium-ion batteries. It requires these devices and their components, such as batteries and charging systems, to be tested by accredited laboratories to meet specific safety standards. The bill also mandates labeling these products to show compliance with safety regulations, ensuring consumers are informed. Furthermore, it prohibits distributing, selling, or leasing e-bikes and related equipment unless they meet these standards, aiming to reduce risks like fire hazards and electrical malfunctions. Beginning January 1, 2028, the bill would prohibit a person from renting or offering for rental an electric bicycle, powered mobility device, charging system, or storage battery unless it has been tested to the specified safety standard.
Vehicles: Electric Bicycles (AB 1774, Gipson)
Assembly Bill 1774 prohibits modifying an electric bicycle’s speed capability to an extent it no longer meets the definition of an electric bicycle. Also, it prohibits selling a product or device that can modify the speed capability of an electric bicycle to an extent it no longer meets the definition of an electric bicycle.
Vehicles: Electric Bicycles (AB 1778, Connolly)
Assembly Bill 1778 authorizes a local authority within the County of Marin, or the County of Marin in unincorporated areas, to enact an ordinance or resolution prohibiting a person under 16 years of age from operating a class 2 electric bicycle or requiring a person operating a class 2 electric bicycle to wear a helmet.
Vehicles: Electric Bicycles (AB 2234, Boerner)
Assembly Bill 2234 establishes the San Diego Electric Bicycle Safety Program and authorizes a local authority within the County of San Diego, or the County of San Diego in unincorporated areas, to enact an ordinance or resolution prohibiting a person under 12 years of age from operating a class 1 or 2 electric bicycle.
Photo Enforced Speed Enforcement Pilot Program
The City of Malibu’s Speed Safety System Pilot Program (SB 1297, Allen)
Senate Bill 1297 establishes a five-year Speed Safety System Pilot Program in the City of Malibu. The bill defines a ‘speed safety system’ as a fixed or mobile radar or laser system, or any other electronic device that utilizes automated equipment, to detect a violation of speed laws and obtains a clear photograph of a speeding vehicle’s license plate. The bill establishes mandates regarding policy, enforcement, implementation, public notification, and a system evaluation report.
Clean air vehicle sticker extension
Vehicles: High-Occupancy Vehicle Lanes (AB 2678, Wallis)
Assembly Bill 2678 permits vehicles with a Clean Air Vehicle decal to drive in High Occupancy Vehicle (HOV) lanes until Jan. 1, 2027, if federal law permits.
Senate Bill 1313 prohibits using, possessing, or selling devices designed to interfere with driver monitoring systems in vehicles equipped with advanced driver assistance systems or autonomous technology. These systems monitor driver alertness and help ensure safety when automated features are used. Violating this law is classified as an infraction. Exceptions are provided for manufacturers testing new technology, vehicle repairs, and updates compliant with safety standards or modifications for disability accommodations. This law aims to enhance road safety by preventing tampering with critical monitoring systems.
Autonomous Vehicles Interactions with First Responders and Traffic Violation Notices – AB 1777 (Ting)
Upon the Department of Motor Vehicles (DMV) adoption of necessary regulations, AB 1777 creates new authority for a law enforcement officer to issue a “notice of autonomous vehicle (AV) noncompliance” to an AV manufacturer for an alleged traffic violation committed by one of their vehicles. Beginning July 1, 2026, AB 1777 establishes additional requirements for how AVs that operate without a human operator in the vehicle interact with first responders, including a requirement for manufacturers to provide a two-way device in the vehicles to communicate with first responders.
Pedestrian safety around buses
Transit buses: Yield Right-of-Way Sign (AB 1904, Ward)
Assembly Bill 1904 authorizes a transit agency to equip a transit bus with a “yield” right-of-way sign on the left rear of the bus. The sign may be a static decal or a flashing light-emitting diode (LED).
License plate manipulation
License Plates: Obstruction or Alteration (AB 2111, Wallis)
Assembly Bill 2111 prohibits any alteration of a license plate’s reflective coating to avoid detection from any entity, not just law enforcement.
Property theft from a vehicle
Crimes: Theft from A Vehicle (SB 905, Wiener)
Senate Bill 905 creates the crime of Unlawful Entry of a Vehicle, which addresses unlawfully entering a vehicle with the intent to commit a theft or any felony. It also adds the crime of Automotive Property Theft for Resale, which addresses possessing stolen property obtained from a vehicle with the intent to sell or exchange the property for value. The property's value must be over $950.00 and not for personal use. The value of property can be combined within two years of separate acts.
Deep Space Station 23’s 133-ton reflector dish was recently installed, marking a key step in strengthening NASA’s Deep Space Network.
NASA’s Deep Space Network, an array of giant radio antennas, allows agency missions to track, send commands to, and receive scientific data from spacecraft venturing to the Moon and beyond. NASA is adding a new antenna, bringing the total to 15, to support increased demand for the world’s largest and most sensitive radio frequency telecommunication system.
Installation of the latest antenna took place on Dec. 18, when teams at NASA’s Goldstone Deep Space Communications Complex near Barstow, California, installed the metal reflector framework for Deep Space Station 23, a multifrequency beam-waveguide antenna. When operational in 2026, Deep Space Station 23 will receive transmissions from missions such as Perseverance, Psyche, Europa Clipper, Voyager 1, and a growing fleet of future human and robotic spacecraft in deep space.
“This addition to the Deep Space Network represents a crucial communication upgrade for the agency,” said Kevin Coggins, deputy associate administrator of NASA’s SCaN (Space Communications and Navigation) program. “The communications infrastructure has been in continuous operation since its creation in 1963, and with this upgrade we are ensuring NASA is ready to support the growing number of missions exploring the Moon, Mars, and beyond.”
Construction of the new antenna has been under way for more than four years, and during the installation, teams used a crawler crane to lower the 133-ton metal skeleton of the 112-foot-wide (34-meter-wide) parabolic reflector before it was bolted to a 65-foot-high (20-meter-high) alidade, a platform above the antenna’s pedestal that will steer the reflector during operations.
“One of the biggest challenges facing us during the lift was to ensure that 40 bolt-holes were perfectly aligned between the structure and alidade,” said Germaine Aziz, systems engineer, Deep Space Network Aperture Enhancement Program of NASA’s Jet Propulsion Laboratory in Southern California. “This required a meticulous emphasis on alignment prior to the lift to guarantee everything went smoothly on the day.”
Following the main lift, engineers carried out a lighter lift to place a quadripod, a four-legged support structure weighing 16 1/2 tons, onto the center of the upward-facing reflector. The quadripod features a curved subreflector that will direct radio frequency signals from deep space that bounce off the main reflector into the antenna’s pedestal, where the antenna’s receivers are housed.
Engineers will now work to fit panels onto the steel skeleton to create a curved surface to reflect radio frequency signals. Once complete, Deep Space Station 23 will be the fifth of six new beam-waveguide antennas to join the network, following Deep Space Station 53, which was added at the Deep Space Network’s Madrid complex in 2022.
“With the Deep Space Network, we are able to explore the Martian landscape with our rovers, see the James Webb Space Telescope’s stunning cosmic observations, and so much more,” said Laurie Leshin, director of JPL. “The network enables over 40 deep space missions, including the farthest human-made objects in the universe, Voyager 1 and 2. With upgrades like these, the network will continue to support humanity’s exploration of our solar system and beyond, enabling groundbreaking science and discovery far into the future.”
NASA’s Deep Space Network is managed by JPL, with the oversight of NASA’s SCaN Program. More than 100 NASA and non-NASA missions rely on the Deep Space Network and Near Space Network, including supporting astronauts aboard the International Space Station and future Artemis missions, monitoring Earth’s weather and the effects of climate change, supporting lunar exploration, and uncovering the solar system and beyond.
LAKE COUNTY, Calif. — Among its last items of business for this year, the Board of Supervisors earlier this month approved a lease agreement for office space for the Public Defender’s Office, but it did so over objections from a longtime defense attorney and a former supervisor citing issues of proximity to a public park and cost.
The Board of Supervisors approved the 10-year lease for the Public Defender’s Office on the second and third floors at 55 First St. in a unanimous vote on Dec. 3. The lease was retroactive to Dec. 1, and will end on Nov. 30, 2034.
The lease document also grants the county the first right of refusal to rent an additional 1,403 square feet in the building once the current tenant’s lease expires no later than Aug. 31, 2025.
Property records say the three-story building was constructed in 1987 and is 21,000 square feet in total size. It is owned by Lakeport Plaza LLC, based in West Sacramento, which was incorporated by Rahul Patel in January, according to Secretary of State’s Office business records.
In February 2023, the County Administrative Office brought to the board for discussion a report completed by the Boston-based Sixth Amendment Center, or 6AC, a national nonpartisan nonprofit the county hired in August 2021 to conduct an operational analysis of indigent defense services, as Lake County News has reported.
Following that, the board moved to accept the County Administrative Office’s direction toward transitioning from the Lake Indigent Defense contract to the Public Defender’s Office, a model that had been followed unsuccessfully in the early 1980s. That included considering an implementation plan for the public defender services program and reconstituting the Lake County Public Defender Advisory Committee.
In April 2023, the Board of Supervisors adopted a resolution establishing a position allocation for the 2022-23 budget year for the chief public defender.
The Public Defender’s Office, with its own specific budget unit under the County Administrative Office, was included for the first time in the 2023-24 final recommended budget, which was adopted at the board’s Sept. 12, 2023, meeting.
The document’s goal for the department included retaining a chief public defender and completing phase one of the workplace to transition to a statutory office.
At its next meeting on Sept. 19, 2023 the board voted unanimously to hire Raymond Buenaventura, the then-mayor of Daly City, as the chief public defender. His hire was effective Oct. 16, 2023, the day he was sworn in before the board.
The Public Defender’s Office has been operating out of the Lake County Courthouse on Forbes Street and has reportedly primarily used conference rooms.
County Administrative Office staff’s report to the board for its Dec. 3 meeting said its staff has been assisting the Public Defender’s Office with “searching for an appropriate office space for several months,” finding two “viable” spaces.
The one they didn’t propose — and which they did not specifically identify during the meeting — would have required many months of renovation, while they called 55 First St. “relatively move-in ready.”
Buenaventura received the county Space Use Committee’s approval of the location at its Sept. 12 meeting, staff reported.
“The space proposed for lease is 4,716 square feet, which is sufficient to accommodate existing and anticipated future Public Defender staffing requirements,” the staff report explained.
The monthly base rent amount is $9,903.60, static for 10 years — in other words, no consumer price index or other increases, staff reported.
In addition to that base amount, the lease terms require a $1/square foot charge for operating expenses, which encompass electricity, sewer, trash, disposal, water service, elevator service, heating, ventilation and air conditioning maintenance, pest control, basic landscaping and an alarm system.
That brings the overall monthly total to $14,619.60, which comes out of $3.10 per square foot.
Staff said the operating expenses flat fee will be “re-evaluated, and adjusted to reflect actual costs,” at the start of years four and seven of the lease agreement.
Concerns about location
Assistant County Administrative Officer Stephen Carter, who went over the written report’s highlights with the board at the meeting, noted, “Some concern has been raised that some clients may not be able to meet with public defender staff so near a public park.”
Those concerns were raised by Angela Carter — a longtime defense attorney who had, at one time, run the county’s public defender contract — and her husband, Rob Brown, the retired District 5 supervisor.
Specifically, Carter and Brown were concerned because of the potential for sex offenders to visit the Public Defender’s Office in its new location, which is in close proximity to Library Park’s playground.
Stephen Carter, who is not related to Angela Carter, said Buenaventura had provided his assurance that alternative locations are available, such as in the courthouse's conference rooms.
Another issue during the discussion that Brown raised was the version of the lease agreement that was made publicly available before the meeting. Stephen Carter told the board that, during multiple edits, the lease’s termination clause had been inadvertently omitted. He said that was later added back.
The lease may be terminated by mutual consent or by the county giving six months notice. Stephen Carter said the owner found a 30-day termination window to be too short.
Acknowledging that there had been comments made to county leadership about the cost of the lease, Stephen Carter said the county already has $78,000 budgeted, which he said was more than enough to cover it, as the budget also had included remodeling costs. There also is enough in the budget to cover the next fiscal year, he added.
Buenaventura, who thanked staff for their help in the process, said they had looked at four locations.
In addition to 55 First St., those included the Vista Point Shopping Center, purchased earlier this year by the Lake County Tribal Health Consortium; the former Record-Bee building at 2150 S. Main St., which he said required too much renovation; and the former Westamerica Bank building, for which he said the landlord would not commit.
He called it a “saving grace” that they didn’t get those spots and got the First Street location instead. “We will be very happy for the next 10 years to be in that spot. It has everything we need,” he said, pointing to its close proximity to the courthouse.
“We want to be good neighbors to our community and to the people that are at the park. We recognize what the law is and we will abide by the law,” Buenaventura said, adding that, at the same time, his office will take care of clients, no matter what charges they are facing.
Buenaventura said his staff is bursting at the scenes — suffocating in the space they are in currently — and ready to move. “I think it’s time,” he said, adding they can’t afford to wait any longer.
He said he believes the First Street location is “the ideal spot” for the location.
Board Chair Bruno Sabatier said he appreciated the ability to terminate the contract, as with the new courthouse being built on Lakeport Boulevard, there might be better options for the Public Defender’s Office in the future. While now it’s an easy walk, that won’t be the case when the new courthouse is completed.
Stephen Carter said in his “conversations” with Lakeport City Manager Kevin Ingram, Ingram had no issues with use of the building for the Public Defender’s Office.
“His only concern was the proximity to the park and certain clientele, which once I provided him that answer, did not have any further objections,” Stephen Carter said.
Separately, Ingram told Lake County News that the county had not made a formal inquiry or request for comment on the matter to the city.
However, he said County Administrative Office staff reached out to him on the day of the board meeting, and Sheriff Rob Howe also had contacted Police Chief Dale Stoebe.
“Our response was that the Lakeport Police Department actively enforces restrictions for registered sex offenders violating mandated distance restrictions from City Parks, specifically those involving children’s play structures,” Ingram wrote in an email.
When Lake County News asked how the county reached out, and if it was last minute, Ingram responded, “I would say that last minute is accurate. I would not say that they were even conversations, more of a note that it would be appearing on the 12/3 agenda and they had a couple of folks bringing up concerns about 290 registrants [registered sex offenders] being in close proximity to the park.”
Changing law regarding proximity to parks
Sabatier said the state law has changed somewhat recently about where registered sex offenders can be based on different tiers. He asked if staff wanted to elaborate.
“We actually did do some research,” said Buenaventura.
He said the laws have changed when it comes to convicted sex offenders and if you can ban them from the park. The law is that you cannot, he said, explaining that the California Supreme Court overturned such a law that allowed for that, claiming it was creating a homeless issue. They can, however, be ordered by a judge or parole board not to go to some spots.
Buenaventura’s comments appeared to refer to Proposition 83, or Jessica’s Law, passed by voters in 2006. The state Supreme Court found the law unconstitutional because it caused some offenders to become homeless and unable to access certain services.
Buenaventura said there is an entrance on the opposite side of the building that such clients can use to enter, and they don’t have to go near the park. At the same time, public defenders can meet them off site and occasionally even go to their homes.
He said they can accommodate clients and be good neighbors in the community.
The California Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation’s Division of Adult Parole Operations said they enforce rules that cover where registered sex offenders can live, which now can be no closer than half a mile to schools. Issues with parks became too broad.
Courts also can impose additional parole conditions keeping convicted sex offenders from living near parks and schools on a case-by-case basis.
‘The devil you don’t know’
During public comment, Angela Carter — who has been an attorney in Lake County for 33 years — said she practices almost exclusively criminal defense with these kinds of clients.
“It’s not the devil you know, it’s the devil you don’t know,” she said, referring to registered sex offenders who she said, when they are released from prison, have a parole condition requiring them to be 2,000 feet from a park.
Based on the mapping, the new office location is a few hundred feet from the park playground with play structures for the “littlest members of our community” and the restroom they use, she said.
She said she has clients who are registered sex offenders who come to her, and that attorneys don’t always have their full rap sheets available.
“These folks need an office. They really, really do,” she said of the Public Defender’s Office.
Angela Carter said she has spoken to many sex offenders over the years, noting, “It’s an impulsivity control thing. I don’t think anyone would deny that. I don’t think setting up a circumstance where those impulsivity problems come to fruition is a good idea. Just exercising my moral obligation to say so.”
Her husband, retired District 5 Supervisor Rob Brown, spoke next. Brown pointed out that the three-minute limit for public comment had emerged from times when people were lined up to speak on controversial topics.
“It was never intended to silence the public when there’s two people here,” he said, adding that keeping the rule in place appears to be a way to keep the “annoying public” from expressing their opinions, and the board might want to rethink the policy at some point.
Brown, a longtime bail bondsman who helped build the interview center for child sex abuse victims at the District Attorney's Office, said he was glad they were talking about the registered sex offenders issue.
He said that, in full disclosure, the city manager of Lakeport knew about the situation “because I brought it up,” adding he was glad they had spent the morning trying to resolve it.
Brown noted that while his wife cares about the law, he doesn’t, he doesn’t think sex offenders should be allowed near the park and that leaders have an obligation. While some criminal behavior can be solved, he said the impulsivity of child sex abuse cannot be.
With that being said, “I highly doubt you’re going to change your mind,” Brown said, noting a comment made by Stephen Carter earlier in the discussion about the building owner planning to be there that afternoon to sign the contract.
Brown also took issue with the rental cost. Usually, the more square footage there is, the less the cost. He pointed to the board’s July 2021 approval of new office space for the Lake County Registrar of Voters Office at 325 N Forbes St. The lease for that property was capped at $1.11 per square foot for a total of $2,200 per month for the first five years, and afterward increases of no more than 2% a year are possible based on 90% of the Consumer Price Index.
Explaining that the First Street location is the size and twice the money for the elections office, Brown said it's not a good deal.
He also faulted the county for not having the correct version of the lease available to the public ahead of the meeting. Stephen Carter said they had updated the document and set out paper copies for the public.
“That’s all the public had to look at until now,” Brown said of the incorrect version online.
He said the county is paying double for rent for a program that he said has not proven that it will be successful for 10 years, with “lots of hiccups” with it.
The Public Defender’s Office location and the conditions that apply to sex registrants need to be taken very seriously, Brown said. “It’s nice that you guys go to their homes, but you won’t have them come to your home, so that should be a test right there.”
Board deliberates, won’t reopen public comment
After the closing of public comment and during board deliberation, Supervisor Michael Green said the need for space for the Public Defender’s Office had been “amply demonstrated.”
“We need this service and the city has been a good partner,” he said.
Green said there had formerly been a wine bar near there and claimed he was the only person concerned about its nearness to the park.
He said the Lakeport Police Department conducts foot patrols in the park, and that while there are issues there with the homeless, “There’s a lot of eyes on that park.”
Brown wanted to speak again to the matter but Sabatier told him no, that public comment was closed. Brown said he should have the chance to respond.
“Tthank you for sitting down,” said Sabatier.
Brown in turn accused the board of not posting the agenda properly and not listening.
Supervisor EJ Crandell was interested if a shorter lease term was available, asking staff when the new courthouse was to be completed.
Stephen Carter said the most recent information is that it will be completed sometime around 2026. Even then, if they looked at placing the Public Defender’s Office in the fourth floor of the courthouse, where the court currently is located, it would need to be renovated in order to allow for county departments to move around, and that a shorter term would lead to higher expenses.
The plan is that the Lake County Sheriff’s Office headquarters will move to its new location at the former Lakeport Armory next to the Lake County Jail, the Probation Department will go into the current sheriff’s headquarters on Martin Street. The Public Defender’s Office is interested in taking over the current Probation Department space on Smith Street. But Stephen Carter said that’s years down the road.
Sabatier wanted to know if they could add language to the lease that no registered sex offenders will be seen on the premises.
Buenaventura said they should include language that the Public Defender’s Office will comply with all court orders and state law regarding registered sex registrants, as he did not think a blanket prohibition would stand.
Sabatier acknowledged concerns about the location. “The known is less scary to me than the unknown.”
He also recognized the cost for the rent is a lot, but that public defenders can’t continue in their current location. “We have to move somewhere.”
County Counsel Lloyd Guintivano noted a short time later that the language Buenaventura suggested about court orders would make the building’s owner responsible for enforcing it. Instead, he said Buenaventura may consider implementing internal policies within his office to impose certain standards and provisions in dealing with registered sex offenders.
“I can commit to that. I can absolutely commit to that,” said Buenaventure, adding he would draft that internal policy.
Green moved to approve the lease with the termination clause added, with Supervisor Moke Simon seconding and the board approving the motion 5-0.
Sabatier asked that a revised version of the lease be posted on the county’s website. As of the time of this article’s publication, the corrected lease did not appear to be on the county’s website, as the lease that was published had no specific termination clause.
County staff also did not respond to Lake County News’ question about whether or not the lease needed to be reposted for 72 hours due to the degree of changes in it.
Email Elizabeth Larson at This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.. Follow her on Twitter, @ERLarson, and on Bluesky, @erlarson.bsky.social. Find Lake County News on the following platforms: Facebook, @LakeCoNews; X, @LakeCoNews; Threads, @lakeconews, and on Bluesky, @lakeconews.bsky.social.
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