LAKEPORT, Calif. – The Lakeport City Council this week will get updates on city projects, hear the latest on COVID-19 from the county Public Health officer and meet new city staff.

The meeting will take place via webinar beginning at 6 p.m. Tuesday, Sept. 15.

The agenda can be found here.

To speak on an agenda item, access the meeting remotely here or join by phone by calling toll-free 877-309-2074 or 213-929-4221. The access code is 596-105-550; the audio pin will be shown after joining the webinar. Those phoning in without using the web link will be in “listen mode” only and will not be able to participate or comment.

Comments can be submitted by email to This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.. To give the City Clerk adequate time to print out comments for consideration at the meeting, please submit written comments prior to 3:30 p.m. on Tuesday, Sept. 15.

Indicate in the email subject line "for public comment" and list the item number of the agenda item that is the topic of the comment. Comments that read to the council will be subject to the three minute time limitation (approximately 350 words). Written comments that are only to be provided to the council and not read at the meeting will be distributed to the council prior to the meeting.

On the agenda, Public Health Office Dr. Gary Pace will present an update on COVID-19 in Lake County.

Staff also will introduce to the council Civic Sparks Fellow Connie Warthan and new Community Development Director Jennifer Byers.

Also on Tuesday, Public Works Director Doug Grider will offer an update on the ongoing road and capital improvement projects citywide.

On the consent agenda – items considered noncontroversial and usually accepted as a slate on one vote – are ordinances; minutes of the regular council meeting on Aug. 18; confirmation of the continuing existence of a local emergency for the Mendocino Complex fire; confirmation of the continuing existence of a local emergency for the February 2019 storms; confirmation of the continuing existence of a local emergency for the October 2019 public safety power shutoff; confirmation of the continuing existence of a local emergency for the COVID-19 public health emergency; and the Aug. 20 warrant register.

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.

LAKE COUNTY, Calif. – Cal Fire said firefighters are continuing their work on the LNU Lightning Complex, which is inching toward full containment.

The 363,220-acre complex, burning for nearly a month, remained at 96-percent containment on Sunday, Cal Fire reported.

The 305,651-acre Hennessey Fire, which has burned in Colusa, Lake, Solano and Yolo counties, is at 98-percent containment, while the Walbridge fire in Sonoma County remained at 55,209 acres and 96-percent containment, according to Cal Fire’s Sunday report.

Cal Fire said 610 personnel, 30 engines, five water tenders, 19 hand crews and nine dozers are assigned.

Firefighters are still working on containment and suppression repair throughout the fire area, officials reported.

Widespread smoke from other fires will continue to be visible in the area, Cal Fire said.

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.

“You ate that first one and its flesh was sweet
like thickened wine: summer's blood was in it …”
– from Seamus Heaney's 'Blackberry-picking'

LAKE COUNTY, Calif. – After so many of us were evacuated due to the massive LNU Lightning Complex (or other) fires and then, by the grace of God – and the firefighters – allowed to repopulate, I viewed a scene which calmed me, as a black-tailed deer browsed the blackberry bushes near my home.

The blackberries are thriving now along creeks, roads and disturbed areas practically everywhere.

They are prolific and delicious, but most likely what we are all making pies, jams and cobblers out of are invasive Himalayan blackberries.

The berries native to California, Rubus ursinus once thrived here, but the introduced Himalayan blackberry is more prevalent now, due in part to California's own master gardener, Luther Burbank, who mistakenly took seeds that he thought had been collected close to the Himalayan Mountains.

The seeds turned out to have been from Armenia, but the name stuck, and the plants thrived partly due to birds feeding on the plump berries, and partly because of the plant's deep roots that make eradicating efforts very difficult.

Blackberries are not technically a berry, but an aggregate fruit made up of numerous tiny fruits that each contain their own pit.

The rich, purple beauties are packed with nutrients such as vitamins A and C, along with potassium, magnesium, iron and calcium.

According to the health website WebMD, chemicals in blackberries may have antioxidant properties as well as provide protection from certain cancers. Nutritious powerhouses, blackberries are loaded with dietary fiber as well.

These versatile plants and their fruit have been drawn on throughout history for a variety of medicinal purposes. The ancient Greeks thought the plant's leaves made a suitable tea to aid in sore throats, mouth sores and for ailments like thrush and diarrhea.

Historically, many California Indian groups made use of shoots of young spring plants or the dried, ground berries as the base for a medicinal tea.

Early settlers put the plant to use for help in easing stomach aches, common colds or congestion.

Today, some folks prefer to concoct a special blackberry brandy for their own “medicinal purposes.”

For some mouth-watering recipes like Humble Bumble Crumble bars, blackberry frozen yogurt or berry-beet salad visit Taste of Home's website.

Kathleen Scavone, M.A., is a retired educator, potter, freelance 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.”

NORTHERN CALIFORNIA – A group of massive fires on three National Forests have burned together and are now being managed together in one incident that is by far the largest wildland fire incident in California history.

The US Forest Service said on Friday that the fires known as the August Complex – or the Doe – along with the Elkhorn, Hopkins, Willow and Vinegar were combined and are now collectively known as the August Complex.

The August Complex has grown to 875,059 acres and is listed as the largest fire in California history.

The complex will be split into three management zones: South, North and West, the Forest Service reported.

These fires have all burned together and the intent is to simplify the coordination of effort, ordering and timely release of accurate information, officials said.

The South Zone consists of the Doe Fire; the main area previously identified as the August Complex. It reached 498,202 acres and 25-percent containment on Saturday.

The August Complex will be managed under unified incident command between Great Basin Team 2-DeMasters (South Zone), California Interagency Incident Management Team 5-Young (North Zone), and Cal Fire Team 5-Parkes (West Zone).

The August Complex is burning on the Mendocino, Shasta-Trinity and Six Rivers National Forests.

Smoke cleared on parts of the fire Friday and helicopters assisted crews with water drops on hot spots around the fire. On Saturday, the Forest Service said crews continued to clear fuels and prepare around structures near Lake Pillsbury and in the communities near Eel River and Bauer Ridge.

Officials said authorization has been given to utilize a decommissioned road within the Yuki Wilderness and resources will enter the area as necessary for fire suppression. Fire resources are coordinating with Cal Fire Team 5 on the West Zone.

Evacuations are in effect in many counties, including Lake County, where Pillsbury Ranch and the entire Lake Pillsbury basin remain under a mandatory order.

For property owners who would like to talk to the Mendocino National Forest about access into their cabins, call the Forest Supervisor’s Office at 530-934-3316 from 8 a.m. to 4:30 p.m., seven days a week.

LAKE COUNTY, Calif. – The Lake County Library today announced plans to expand its personal finance collections following receipt of a grant from the FINRA Investor Education Foundation.

The additional tools and resources will help ensure that residents have the information they need when making critical money decisions as they repair, rebuild, and recover following the recent fires and ongoing pandemic.

“When disaster strikes, the community comes together,” said Library Director Christopher Veach. “We want everyone to know that the library is both a welcoming convening place and a location where our families can obtain unbiased information to guide financial choices that will have lasting impact.”

Filing claims, accessing government resources, managing lump-sum payments from insurance companies, and meeting immediate expenses when income might be disrupted – these are just a few of the money challenges that residents in disaster areas must navigate.

FINRA Foundation President Gerri Walsh noted, “Many of us lack experience with these decisions. Nonetheless, we have to get it right the first time around or face long-term financial consequences. Fortunately, the library has information that can help.”

The expanded personal finance collections at the Library are made possible by a $5,000 grant from the FINRA Foundation.

For more than 15 years, the FINRA Foundation has provided funding, staff training and programs to build the capacity of public libraries to address the financial education needs of people nationwide. Much of this has been accomplished in partnership with the American Library Association through a program known as Smart investing@your library.

The FINRA Foundation is also providing the library with multimedia materials that explain the red flags of financial fraud and what people can do to be vigilant and counter the persuasion tactics that fraudsters use.

It is estimated that consumer financial fraud costs Americans more than $50 billion a year, according to FINRA Foundation research. Financial fraud is especially prevalent following major natural disasters.

Since it was established in 2005, the National Center for Disaster Fraud, which is part of the U.S. Department of Justice, has logged more than 100,000 disaster-related complaints from all 50 states. Financial fraud makes tough times all the more difficult for people recovering from the trauma inflicted by disasters.

The FINRA Foundation has issued an alert with practical guidance to help residents protect themselves from fraudulent schemes.

“Recovery follows disaster, but the path to recovery can be smooth or very bumpy,” Walsh said. “And financial fraud can be one of the biggest potholes along that road. Lake County Library has information to help people avoid the financial potholes and bring the route to recovery into sharper focus.”

The library’s website gives information about library programs, services and policies.

To speak to a library employee, call 707-263-8817.

The FINRA Foundation supports innovative research and educational projects that give Americans the knowledge, skills, and tools to make sound financial decisions throughout life.

LAKE COUNTY, Calif. – Lake County Animal Care and Control has many new dogs, including several small breeds, available for adoption this week.

Dogs available for adoption this week include mixes of Chihuahua, husky, German Shepherd, Labrador Retriever, pit bull, pug and terrier.

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.

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”).

Call Lake County Animal Care and Control at 707-263-0278 or visit the shelter online for information on visiting or adopting.

Female Labrador Retriever

This female Labrador Retriever mix has a short black coat with white markings.

She is in kennel No. 9, ID No. 13989.

Female pit bull terrier

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

She is in kennel No. 18, ID No. 13990.

‘Oso’

“Oso” is a male pug-Chihuahua mix with a short tan and black coat.

He has been neutered.

He is in kennel No. 19a, ID No. 13999.

‘Little Gizmo’

“Little Gizmo” is a male Chihuahua with a short tricolor coat.

He has been neutered.

He is in kennel No. 19b, ID No. 14000.

‘Bear’

“Bear” is a male Chihuahua-pug mix with a short tan coat.

He has been neutered.

He is in kennel No. 20a, ID No. 14001.

‘Raider’

“Raider” is a male Chihuahua with a short tricolor coat.

He has been neutered.

He is in kennel No. 20b, ID No. 14002.

Male Chihuahua-terrier mix

This young male Chihuahua-terrier mix has a short tricolor coat.

He is in kennel No. 23, ID No. 14022.

‘Shiloh’

“Shiloh” is a male pit bull-chow chow mix with a short tan coat.

He is in kennel No. 24, ID No. 13992.

Female German Shepherd

This female German Shepherd has a medium-length black coat.

She has been spayed.

She is in kennel No. 28, ID No. 13995.

‘Lilly’

“Lilly” is a female pit bull-husky mix with a short brown and white coat.

She is in kennel No. 29, ID No. 13991.

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.

As NASA's Mars rover Perseverance hurtles through space toward the Red Planet, the six-wheeler's twin is ready to roll here on Earth.

A full-scale engineering version of the Mars 2020 Perseverance rover – outfitted with wheels, cameras, and powerful computers to help it drive autonomously – has just moved into its garage home at NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory in Southern California.

This rover model passed its first driving test in a relatively tame warehouselike assembly room at JPL on Sept. 1.

Engineers expect to take it out next week into the Mars Yard, where a field of red dirt studded with rocks and other obstacles simulates the Red Planet's surface.

"Perseverance's mobility team can't wait to finally drive our test rover outside," said Anais Zarifian, the mobility test bed engineer at JPL. "This is the test robot that comes closest to simulating the actual mission operations Perseverance will experience on Mars – with wheels, eyes, and brains all together – so this rover is going to be especially fun to work with."

Wait, why does Perseverance need a twin?

Perseverance isn't flying to Mars with a mechanic. To avoid as many unexpected issues as possible after the rover lands on Feb. 18, 2021, the team needs this Earth-bound vehicle system test bed, or VSTB, rover to gauge how hardware and software will perform before they transmit commands up to Perseverance on Mars.

This rover model will be particularly useful for completing a full set of software tests so the team can send up patches while Perseverance is en route to Mars or after it has landed.

And just like Perseverance has a fitting name – one that captures the hard work of getting the rover on its way to Mars amid a pandemic – its twin has a name, too: OPTIMISM. While OPTIMISM is an acronym for Operational Perseverance Twin for Integration of Mechanisms and Instruments Sent to Mars, the name is also a nod to the mantra of the team that spent two years planning and assembling it.

"The Mars 2020 Perseverance test bed team's motto is 'No optimism allowed,'" said Matt Stumbo, the lead for the VSTB rover on the test bed team. "So we named the test rover OPTIMISM to remind us of the work we have to do to fully test the system. Our job is to find problems, not just hope activities will work. As we work through the issues with OPTIMISM, we gain confidence in Perseverance's capabilities and confidence in our ability to operate on Mars."

Almost identical

OPTIMISM is nearly identical to Perseverance: It is the same size, has the same mobility system and top driving speed (0.094 mph, or 0.15 kph), and features the same distinctive "head," known as the remote sensing mast.

After a second phase of building at the beginning of the new year, it will have the full suite of science instruments, cameras, and computer "brains" Perseverance has, plus its unique system for collecting rock and soil samples.

But since OPTIMISM lives at JPL, it also features some Earthly differences. For one thing, while Perseverance gets its power from a multi-mission radioisotope thermoelectric generator (a kind of nuclear battery that has reliably powered space missions since the 1960s), OPTIMISM features an umbilical cord that can be plugged in for electrical power.

That cord also provides an ethernet connection, allowing the mission team to send commands to and receive engineering data back from OPTIMISM without installing the radios Perseverance uses for communication.

And whereas Perseverance comes with a heating system to keep it warm in the frigid environment of Mars, OPTIMISM relies on a cooling system for operating in hot Southern California summers.

Welcome to the family

OPTIMISM isn't JPL's only VSTB rover. NASA's Curiosity Mars rover, which has been exploring the Red Planet since it landed in 2012, has a twin named MAGGIE (Mars Automated Giant Gizmo for Integrated Engineering). MAGGIE has been helping the Curiosity team particularly with strategies for driving across challenging terrain and drilling rocks.

OPTIMISM and MAGGIE will live side-by-side in the Mars Yard, giving JPL engineers a two-car garage for the first time.

"Missions that are operating require high-fidelity replicas of their systems for testing," Stumbo said. "The Curiosity mission has learned lessons from MAGGIE that were impossible to learn any other way. Now that we have OPTIMISM, the Perseverance mission is well equipped to learn what they need to succeed on Mars."

The Perseverance rover's astrobiology mission will search for signs of ancient microbial life. It will also characterize the planet's climate and geology, pave the way for human exploration of the Red Planet, and be the first planetary mission to collect and cache Martian rock and regolith (broken rock and dust). Subsequent missions, currently under consideration by NASA in cooperation with the European Space Agency, would send spacecraft to Mars to collect these cached samples from the surface and return them to Earth for in-depth analysis.

The Mars 2020 mission is part of a larger program that includes missions to the Moon as a way to prepare for human exploration of the Red Planet. Charged with returning astronauts to the Moon by 2024, NASA will establish a sustained human presence on and around the Moon by 2028 through NASA's Artemis lunar exploration plans.

JPL, which is managed for NASA by Caltech in Pasadena, California, built and manages operations of the Perseverance and Curiosity rovers.

Learn more about the Mars 2020 mission at https://www.nasa.gov/perseverance.

LAKEPORT, Calif. – The city of Lakeport has honored a man who stopped to help a police officer subdue the suspect in an assault on two elderly people at a city park.

Lakeport Police Chief Brad Rasmussen presented a commendation to Anthony Gladstein at the Lakeport City Council’s Sept. 1 meeting.

Rasmussen said on the evening of June 30, Lakeport Police officers were dispatched to Library Park to investigate the report of a suspect committing a violent assault on two senior citizens.

The suspect, later identified as 37-year-old Lakeport resident Todd Gary Ousterhout, fled the area on foot before the officers arrived. However, Rasmussen said the victims and other citizens pointed Ousterhout out and reported his direction of travel.

During a search of the area, Rasmussen said an officer found Ousterhout on N. Forbes Street, confronting him and giving him orders to comply.

Ousterhout resisted the officer and attempted to get away, and Rasmussen said a struggle ensued in which the officer and the suspect both ended up down on the street.

During that struggle, Rasmussen said Gladstein happened upon the situation as he was driving on N. Forbes Street. Gladstein stopped and yelled out to the officer to see if he needed help and the officer advised him that he did.

Gladstein immediately came to the officer’s aid as a backup officer arrived at the same time. Rasmussen said a short time later another citizen stopped his vehicle and also ran to the aid of the officers.

With the assistance of Gladstein and the second citizen – who Rasmussen said hasn’t yet been identified – the two officers were able to control Ousterhaut and get him handcuffed and secured.

Due to the assistance of Gladstein and the second citizen who stopped to help, serious injuries to all involved were avoided, Rasmussen said.

“Although we do not normally encourage or ask citizens to assist officers, especially in dangerous situations, in this case, we are thankful that Mr. Gladstein did assist,” said Rasmussen.

He said Gladstein’s actions and assistance “are not common but rather exceptional and therefore should be commended and recognized.”

Rasmussen offered Gladstein thanks on behalf of the Lakeport Police Department and the city of Lakeport, recognizing “that you took these actions without regard for your personal safety but rather putting the safety of others before yourself. We are proud to have you as a citizen of our community.”

Mayor George Spurr offered Gladstein his appreciation.

In return, Gladstein, who joined the meeting by phone, thanked the council.

Chief reports on police operations for the first half of the year

Also during the Sept. 1 meeting, Rasmussen presented a report on his department’s operations for the first two quarters of 2020.

The report showed improved response times on calls in the second quarter when compared to the first, with fewer arrests compared to 2019.

Rasmussen said the department has had a number of changes due to COVID-19, which has impacted the training hours.

Still, he said they completed “a commendable amount of training” in areas like autism recognition and response, which they did in response to community requests. Rasmussen said the agency deals a lot with people with developmental disabilities.

They also conducted deescalation and crisis training the previous week at the community center and had two trainees in the police academy. All told, Rasmussen said the department had more than 2,000 hours of training in the year’s first half.

He noted that the training included 120 hours of focus on the agency’s 700-page policy manual. Rasmussen said officers are required to do policy training every single day of the year.

The council approved Rasmussen’s report and also voted to direct Mireya Turner, the council’s delegate to the League of California Cities’ annual conference, to support a resolution calling for an amendment of section 230 of the Communications Decency Act of 1996 to require social media companies to remove materials that promote criminal activities.

The council also approved a resolution authorizing the city manager to sign the statement of assurances and submit an application for State Community Development Block Grant Coronavirus Aid, Relief, and Economic Security Act to purchase kitchen equipment for the Silveira Community Center.

City efforts help defeat AB 6

City Attorney David Ruderman thanked City Manager Kevin Ingram for his work over the previous weekend to help defeat AB 6, which would have blocked local governments from suing companies responsible for the opioid crisis unless they already had filed by Aug. 24.

In June, the city filed its own lawsuit against the responsible drug manufacturers, as Lake County News has reported.

Ruderman said Lakeport was part of a huge coalition of counties and cities that fought the bill.

He said Ingram got on the phone late Sunday to express his opposition to legislators.

On the last day of the legislative session, Aug. 31, Ruderman said the bill didn’t make it.

“My pleasure,” Ingram said of his efforts.

“It was a potential power grab by the attorney general,” Ruderman said.

The bill would reportedly have expanded the state attorney general’s powers and staff size, and directed those agencies that hadn’t filed suit by the August deadline to join him in attempting to reach a global settlement with manufacturers.

Rasmussen also reported that several police reform bills he considered problematic didn’t move forward this year, while a number of others that he didn’t think were concerning did make it through.

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.

NORTHERN CALIFORNIA – California’s largest wildland fire incident is nearing the 500,000-acre mark as it continues to burn deep in the Mendocino National Forest.

The August Complex grew to 491,446 acres and 25-percent containment on Friday, the US Forest Service said.

It is now listed as the largest fire in California history.

The Great Basin Incident Management Team assumed command of the August Complex on Friday.

On the west side of the fire, firefighters continue to work with Cal Fire on containment lines. Structure protection continues in many areas across the complex, officials said.

The Forest Service said firefighters are working to create fireline in the Elk Creek drainage and Sanhedrin Wilderness west of Monkey Rock.

Crews also continue to assess areas following the strong wind and fire activity earlier this week.

Forest officials said in a Thursday night briefing that more than two dozen structures have been burned in the complex.

Two hundred thirty-three soldiers from the 14th Brigade Engineer Battalion based out of Joint Base Lewis-McChord, Washington are deployed in support of the August Complex. The firefighting soldiers are working in various areas of the complex, officials said.

Fire activity is expected to remain high with critically dry fuels and poor overnight moisture recovery. Shading from dense smoke may moderate fire behavior in some areas, the Forest Service reported.

Evacuation orders are in effect for multiple counties; in Lake County, evacuations remain in effect for Pillsbury Ranch and the entire Lake Pillsbury basin.

For specific cabin access related questions, call the forest at 530-934-3316 for the latest information.

LAKEPORT, Calif. – Lake County Library, along with every local library in California, is able to provide access to multiple K-12 educational resources for students, teachers and parents starting now – the beginning of the 2020–2021 school year.

ProQuest databases can be found on the library website from the main page by clicking Digital Content and then the ProQuest Research link.

The databases do require a temporary or physical Lake County library card. Online cards will need to upgrade to a physical card to be able to use ProQuest Research. To speak to a library employee about ProQuest or other library services, call 707-263-8817.

ProQuest Research includes six different databases. Through a single interface, the ProQuest Unified Search, students can search several databases.

CultureGrams presents concise and reliable cultural information on countries around the world.

SIRS Discoverer offers newspapers, magazines, and images for new researchers, especially elementary and middle school students and educators.

The SIRS Issues Researcher includes curriculum-aligned database of pro/con content organized by complex issues, ideally for middle and high school students and educators.

ELibrary is a general reference aggregation of periodical and digital media content with editorial guidance for new researchers.

Ebook Central provides authoritative, full-text e-books in a wide range of subject areas along with powerful tools to find, use, and manage the information.

The ProQuest Research Companion helps students learn how to research and evaluate information. The information literacy tools and tutorials help students develop critical thinking.

Online resources paid for by the State of California from Encyclopaedia Britannica, ProQuest and TeachingBooks are already available through multiple means – at school, at home, on laptops, on phones – to all K-12 educators, students, librarians, administrators and families in California.

Britannica and TeachingBooks have been available through local libraries since the 2018 school year. This is the first year for six ProQuest platforms to be available through library websites as well.

“It’s a simple idea: Help more California school kids succeed by being able to find more reliable information more easily where they’ll be going to school this fall – online,” said California State Librarian Greg Lucas.

Increasing opportunities for learning online prepares California students for a 21st Century information and innovation-driven economy.

These resources offered by the state include educational tutorials and guides to assist teachers and students, as well as millions of pieces of information from hundreds of newspapers, periodicals and scientific journals.

Many of the resources and search tools can address cultural sensitivity and diversity. Others support early childhood learning.

“Yet another reason every Californian should have a library card,” said Lucas.

The availability of these online resources for all public schools and libraries comes from an annual investment of $3 million through the California State Library that began in August 2018.

Since then, the websites have seen 123 million clicks, views and downloads.

There has been as much as a 590 percent increase in usage of some resources since March when schools closed.

Jan Cook is a library technician with the Lake County Library.

NORTHERN CALIFORNIA – At the site of the North Complex Fire in Oroville on Friday, Gov. Gavin Newsom signed AB 2147, a bill that eliminates barriers that prevent former inmate fire crew members from pursuing careers as firefighters once they have served their time.

Authored by Assemblymember Eloise Gomez Reyes, the bill allows nonviolent offenders who have fought fires as members of the California Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation’s fire camps to have their records expunged, paving the way for individuals leaving fire camps to seek meaningful employment and further training.

“This legislation rights a historic wrong and recognizes the sacrifice of thousands of incarcerated people who have helped battle wildfires in our state, and I would like to thank the Legislature for passing this bill,” said Gov. Newsom.

“Signing AB 2147 into law is about giving second chances. To correct is to right a wrong; to rehabilitate is to restore,” said Assemblymember Gomez Reyes. “Rehabilitation without strategies to ensure the formerly incarcerated have a career is a pathway to recidivism. We must get serious about providing pathways for those that show the determination to turn their lives around.”

Despite their experience and qualifications, many formerly incarcerated firefighters struggle to obtain licenses and employment due to their criminal records.

Under AB 2147, formerly incarcerated individuals can file a petition in county court to expunge their records and waive parole time, which will open career pathways in emergency response and a variety of other disciplines.

It's 5 o'clock somewhere – and while here on Earth, "happy hour" is commonly associated with winding down and the optional cold beverage, that's when things get going on Bennu, the destination asteroid of NASA’s OSIRIS-REx mission.

In a special collection of research papers published Sep. 9 in the Journal of Geophysical Research: Planets, the OSIRIS-REx science team reports detailed observations that reveal Bennu is shedding material on a regular basis.

The OSIRIS-REx spacecraft has provided planetary scientists with the opportunity to observe such activity at close range for the first time ever, and Bennu’s active surface underscores an emerging picture in which asteroids are quite dynamic worlds.

The publications provide the first in-depth look at the nature of Bennu's particle ejection events, detail the methods used to study these phenomena, and discuss the likely mechanisms at work that cause the asteroid to release pieces of itself into space.

The first observation of particles popping off the asteroid's surface was made in January 2019, mere days after the spacecraft arrived at Bennu. This event may have gone completely unnoticed were it not for the keen eye of the mission's lead astronomer and University of Arizona’s Lunar and Planetary Laboratory scientist, Carl Hergenrother, one of the lead authors of the collection.

Much like ocean-going explorers in centuries past, the space probe relies on stars to fix its position in space and remain on course during its years-long voyage across space. A specialized navigation camera onboard the spacecraft takes repeat images of background stars. By cross-referencing the constellations the spacecraft “sees” with programmed star charts, course corrections can be made as necessary.

Hergenrother was poring over these images that the spacecraft had beamed back to Earth when something caught his attention. The images showed the asteroid silhouetted against a black sky dotted with many stars – except there seemed to be too many.

"I was looking at the star patterns in these images and thought, 'huh, I don't remember that star cluster,'" Hergenrother said. "I only noticed it because there were 200 dots of light where there should be about 10 stars. Other than that, it looked to be just a dense part of the sky."

A closer inspection and an application of image-processing techniques unearthed the mystery: the "star cluster" was in fact a cloud of tiny particles that had been ejected from the asteroid's surface. Follow-up observations made by the spacecraft revealed the telltale streaks typical of objects moving across the frame, setting them apart from the background stars that appear stationary due to their enormous distances.

"We thought that Bennu’s boulder-covered surface was the wild card discovery at the asteroid, but these particle events definitely surprised us," said Dante Lauretta, OSIRIS-REx principal investigator and professor at LPL. "We’ve spent the last year investigating Bennu’s active surface, and it’s provided us with a remarkable opportunity to expand our knowledge of how active asteroids behave."

Since arriving at the asteroid, the team has observed and tracked more than 300 particle ejection events on Bennu. According to the authors, some particles escape into space, others briefly orbit the asteroid, and most fall back onto its surface after being launched. Ejections most often occur during Bennu’s local two-hour afternoon and evening timeframe.

The spacecraft is equipped with a sophisticated set of electronic eyes – the Touch-and-Go Camera Suite, or TAGCAMS. Although its primary purpose is to assist in spacecraft navigation, TAGCAMS has now been placed into active duty spotting any particles in the vicinity of the asteroid.

Using software algorithms developed at the Catalina Sky Survey, which specializes in discovering and tracking near-Earth asteroids by detecting their motion against background stars, the OSIRIS-REx team found the largest particles erupting from Bennu to be about 6 centimeters (2 inches) in diameter. Due to their small size and low velocities – this is like a shower of tiny pebbles in super-slo-mo – the mission team does not deem the particles a threat to the spacecraft.

"Space is so empty that even when the asteroid is throwing off hundreds of particles, as we have seen in some events, the chances of one of those hitting the spacecraft is extremely small," Hergenrother said, "and even if that were to happen, the vast majority of them are not fast or large enough to cause damage."

During a number of observation campaigns between January and September 2019 dedicated to detecting and tracking mass ejected from the asteroid, a total of 668 particles were studied, with the vast majority measuring between 0.5 and 1 centimeters (0.2-0.4 inches), and moving at about 20 centimeters (8 inches) per second, about as fast – or slow – as a beetle scurrying across the ground. In one instance, a speedy outlier was clocked at about 3 meters (9.8 feet) per second.

On average, the authors observed one to two particles kicked up per day, with much of the material falling back onto the asteroid. Add to that the small particle sizes, and the mass loss becomes minimal, Hergenrother explained.

"To give you an idea, all of those 200 particles we observed during the first event after arrival would fit on a 4-inch x 4-inch tile," he said. "The fact that we can even see them is a testament to the capabilities of our cameras."

The authors investigated various mechanisms that could cause these phenomena, including released water vapor, impacts by small space rocks known as meteoroids and rocks cracking from thermal stress. The two latter mechanisms were found to be the most likely driving forces, confirming predictions about Bennu's environment based on ground observations preceding the space mission.

As Bennu completes one rotation every 4.3 hours, boulders on its surface are exposed to a constant thermo-cycling as they heat during the day and cool during the night. Over time, the rocks crack and break down, and eventually particles may be thrown from the surface.

The fact that particle ejections were observed with greater frequency during late afternoon, when the rocks heat up, suggests thermal cracking is a major driver. The timing of the events is also consistent with the timing of meteoroid impacts, indicating that these small impacts could be throwing material from the surface.

Either, or both, of these processes could be driving the particle ejections, and because of the asteroid's microgravity environment, it doesn't take much energy to launch an object from Bennu's surface.

Of the particles the team observed, some had suborbital trajectories, keeping them aloft for a few hours before they settled back down, while others fly off the asteroid to go into their own orbits around the sun.

In one instance, the team tracked one particle as it circled the asteroid for almost a week. The spacecraft's cameras even witnessed a ricochet, according to Hergenrother.

"One particle came down, hit a boulder and went back into orbit," he said. "If Bennu has this kind of activity, then there is a good chance all asteroids do, and that is really exciting."

As Bennu continues to unveil itself, the OSIRIS-REx team continues to discover that this small world is glowingly complex. These findings could serve as a cornerstone for future planetary missions that seek to better characterize and understand how these small bodies behave and evolve.

NASA's Goddard Space Flight Center in Greenbelt, Maryland, provides overall mission management, systems engineering, and the safety and mission assurance for OSIRIS-REx. Dante Lauretta of the University of Arizona, Tucson, is the principal investigator, and the University of Arizona also leads the science team and the mission's science observation planning and data processing.

Lockheed Martin Space in Denver built the spacecraft and provides flight operations. Goddard and KinetX Aerospace are responsible for navigating the OSIRIS-REx spacecraft. OSIRIS-REx is the third mission in NASA's New Frontiers Program, which is managed by NASA's Marshall Space Flight Center in Huntsville, Alabama, for the agency's Science Mission Directorate in Washington.

For more information on the OSIRIS-REx mission, visit https://www.nasa.gov/osiris-rex and https://www.asteroidmission.org.