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- Written by: Elizabeth Larson
The outage in Hidden Valley Lake and Middletown was first reported just after 11:30 a.m., according to Pacific Gas & Electric spokesman J.D. Guidi.
The cause was a broken cross arm on a power pole, Guidi said.
Approximately 252 customers were impacted, according to Guidi.
He said 55 customers had their power restored just after 3 p.m., and by 3:30 p.m. the power went back on for another 60 homes.
The lights came on for the remaining 137 customers at 3:48 p.m., Guidi said.
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- Written by: Dr. Tony Phillips
Nearly a year after announcing the discovery of water molecules on the moon, scientists have revealed new data uncovered by NASA's Lunar CRater Observation and Sensing Satellite, or LCROSS, and Lunar Reconnaissance Orbiter, or LRO – and it's more than just water.
The missions found evidence that lunar soil within shadowy craters is rich in useful materials.
Moreover, the moon appears to be chemically active and has a full-fledged water cycle. Scientists also confirmed that 'moon water' was in the form of mostly pure ice crystals in some places.
These results are featured in six papers published in the Oct. 22 issue of Science.
The twin impacts of LCROSS and a companion rocket stage in the moon's Cabeus crater on Oct. 9, 2009, lifted a plume of material that might not have seen direct sunlight for billions of years.
As the plume traveled nearly 10 miles above the crater’s rim, instruments aboard LCROSS and LRO made observations of the crater and debris and vapor clouds. After the impacts, grains of mostly pure water ice were lofted into the sunlight in the vacuum of space.
“Seeing mostly pure water ice grains in the plume means water ice was somehow delivered to the moon in the past, or chemical processes have been causing ice to accumulate in large quantities,” said Anthony Colaprete, LCROSS project scientist and principal investigator at NASA's Ames Research Center.
In addition to water, the plume contained “volatiles.” These are compounds that freeze in the cold lunar craters and vaporize easily when warmed by the sun.
The suite of LCROSS and LRO instruments determined as much as 20 percent of the material kicked up by the LCROSS impact was volatiles, including methane, ammonia, hydrogen gas, carbon dioxide and carbon monoxide.
“The diversity and abundance of volatiles in the plume suggest a variety of sources, like comets and asteroids, and an active water cycle within the lunar shadows,” said Colaprete.
The instruments also discovered relatively large amounts of light metals such as sodium, mercury and possibly even silver.
Scientists believe the water and mix of volatiles that LCROSS and LRO detected could be the remnants of a comet impact.
According to scientists, these volatile chemical by-products are also evidence of a cycle through which water ice reacts with lunar soil grains.
LRO's Diviner instrument gathered data on water concentration and temperature measurements, and LRO's Lunar Exploration Neutron Detector mapped the distribution of hydrogen.
This combined data led the science team to conclude the water is not uniformly distributed within the shadowed cold traps, but rather is in pockets, which may also lie outside the shadowed regions.
The proportion of volatiles to water in the lunar soil indicates a process called “cold grain chemistry” is taking place. Scientists also theorize this process could take as long as hundreds of thousands of years and may occur on other frigid, airless bodies such as asteroids; the moons of Jupiter and Saturn (including Europa and Enceladus); Mars' moons; interstellar dust grains floating around other stars and the polar regions of Mercury.
“The observations by the suite of LRO and LCROSS instruments demonstrate the moon has a complex environment that experiences intriguing chemical processes,” said Richard Vondrak, LRO project scientist at NASA's Goddard Space Flight Center. “This knowledge can open doors to new areas of research and exploration.”
By understanding the processes and environments that determine where water ice will be, how water was delivered to the moon and its active water cycle, future mission planners might be better able to determine which locations will have easily-accessible water.
The existence of mostly pure water ice could mean future human explorers won't have to devise complicated processes to retrieve water out of the soil in order to use it for valuable life support resources.
In addition, an abundant presence of hydrogen gas, ammonia and methane could be exploited to produce fuel.
“NASA has convincingly confirmed the presence of water ice and characterized its patchy distribution in permanently shadowed regions of the moon,” said Michael Wargo, chief lunar scientist at NASA Headquarters in Washington. “This major undertaking is the one of many steps NASA has taken to better understand our solar system, its resources, and its origin, evolution, and future.”
LCROSS launched with LRO aboard an Atlas V rocket from Cape Canaveral, Fla., on June 18, 2009, and used the Centaur upper stage rocket to create the debris plume. The research was funded by NASA's Exploration Systems Missions Directorate at the agency's headquarters. LCROSS was managed by Ames and built by Northrop Grumman in Redondo Beach, Calif. LRO was built and is managed by Goddard.
For videos illustrating aspects of the mission, visit www.nasa.gov/mission_pages/LCROSS/main/oct_21_media_telecon.html .
Dr. Tony Phillips works for the National Aeronautics and Space Administration.
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- Written by: Elizabeth Larson
Lake County's unemployment rate rose from 16.8 percent in August to 17 percent in September, ranking it 53 among California's 58 counties, according to the Employment Development Department's Friday report.
In September 2009, the county's unemployment rate was 14.5 percent, based on state records.
California’s unemployment rate was unchanged at 12.4 percent in September, and nonfarm payroll jobs decreased by 63,600 during the month, according to data the state released based on from two separate surveys. In August, the state’s nonfarm payroll jobs were revised upwards 44,200 for a total gain of 10,700 jobs, with the unemployment rate at 12.4 percent.
The statewide unemployment rate was 12.1 percent in September 2009.
The U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics reported that the nation's unemployment rate also remained unchanged in September at 9.6 percent, down from the 9.8 percent rate reported the previous September.
The state said there were 595,996 people receiving regular unemployment insurance benefits during the September survey week, compared with 620,844 last month and 744,924 last year.
New claims for unemployment insurance were 75,316 last month, compared with 65,261 in August and 69,160 in September of last year, the Employment Development Department reported.
Marin continued to have the lowest unemployment rate in the state, with 8.4 percent, while Imperial's 30.4-percent rate ranked it last among the state's counties, according to the report.
In September, Lake County's workforce included 26,030 people, with 4,430 of them out of work. The August workforce was slightly larger, at 26,370, with the same number of people – 4,430 – unemployed.
For September, Lake's neighboring counties posted the following rates and state rankings: Glenn, 14.7 percent, No. 37; Yolo, 11.6 percent, No. 22; Mendocino, 10.7 percent, No. 14; Sonoma, 10.2 percent, No. 9; and Napa, 9.3 percent, No. 4.
Specifically within Lake County, Upper Lake had the lowest unemployment in September, with 8.8 percent, while Clearlake Oaks had 25.2 percent unemployment.
The following unemployment rates were reported for other areas of the county, from highest to lowest: Nice, 24.6 percent; city of Clearlake, 24.3 percent; Lucerne, 18 percent; Kelseyville, 17.3 percent; Middletown, 17.2 percent; city of Lakeport, 16.4 percent; Cobb, 15.2 percent; Lower Lake, 14.3 percent; Hidden Valley Lake, 14.1 percent; and north Lakeport, 13.5 percent.
State job numbers show drop in September
A survey of 42,000 California businesses, which is used to measure jobs, showed a decrease of 43,700 jobs – or a 0.3-percent drop – from September 2009 to September 2010.
Employment Development Department data showed that nonfarm jobs in California totaled 13,808,500 in September, a decrease of 63,600 over the month, according to a survey of businesses that is larger and less variable statistically. This followed a gain of 10,700 jobs in August.
A federal survey of households, done with a smaller sample than the survey of employers, showed an increase in the number of employed people during the month. It estimated the number of Californians holding jobs in September was 15,975,000, an increase of 7,000 from August, but down 11,000 from the employment total in September of last year.
The number of people unemployed in California was 2,270,000 – up by 10,000 over the month, and up by 69,000 compared with September of last year, the state reported.
The Employment Development Department report showed wage and salary jobs in the state's nonfarm industries totaled 13,808,500 in September, a net loss of 63,600 jobs since the August survey.
Four categories – trade, transportation and utilities; financial activities; professional and business services; and leisure and hospitality – added jobs over the month, gaining 20,700 jobs, the state reported. Leisure and hospitality posted the largest increase over the month, adding 7,400 jobs.
The report showed that seven categories – mining and logging; construction; manufacturing; information; educational and health services; other services; and government – reported job declines this month, down 84,300 jobs. Government posted the largest decline over the month, down by 37,300 jobs.
Four industry divisions – mining and logging; professional and business services; educational and health services; and leisure and hospitality – posted job gains over the year, adding 82,800 jobs. Professional and business services recorded the largest increase over the year on both a numerical and percentage basis, up 58,500 jobs, a 2.9-percent increase, the state said.
Seven categories – construction; manufacturing; trade, transportation and utilities; financial activities; other services; and government – posted job declines over the year, down 126,500 jobs, according to the report.
The state said construction employment showed the largest decline over the year on both a numerical and percentage basis, down by 50,700 jobs, a decline of 8.8 percent.
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- Written by: Elizabeth Larson
The crash occurred just before 2:30 p.m. on westbound Highway 20 near Lucerne, according to the California Highway Patrol.
A witness advised that the vehicle began to speed up and served prior to the collision, based on the CHP report.
Officials reported that the subject had to be extricated from a single-vehicle crash and flown by REACH, with the original destination being UC Davis Medical Center.
CHP Officer Joe Wind said the driver was believed to have suffered possible head trauma.
However, the inclement weather required the helicopter be turned back at Lake Berryessa, with it rerouted to Sutter Lakeside Hospital, according to radio reports.
Earlier in the afternoon, just after 1 p.m., another solo-vehicle crash occurred at Highway 20 and Highway 53, with a vehicle rolling over into a nearby field, according to the CHP.
Wind said it's believed that the driver took the corner too fast.
The CHP reported that the driver suffered minor injuries, including cuts to their arms, and sought their own medical aid.
With area roadways being wet due to rain, Wind urged that drivers be cautious.
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