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A career dedicated to mollusks isn't always easy. Sometimes progress can occur at a snail's pace.

But a team of scientists are close to reaching a significant milestone in their efforts to bring white abalone – a species of sea snail – back from the brink of extinction.

During the week of Nov. 18, thousands of white abalone hatched in a marine lab will be planted in the ocean near Los Angeles and San Diego.

It will be the first time that scientists attempt to introduce captive-bred white abalone into the wild.

"It's thrilling to think that our hard work is going to pay off as far as putting juvenile white abalone in the wild and setting them free," said California Department of Fish and Wildlife co-lead researcher Dr. Laura Rogers-Bennett.

California's abalone population has been decimated by a combination of commercial overfishing, ocean warming and poor kelp growth. White abalone, sought by divers because of its tender meat, was hit especially hard.

The declines resulted in a 1997 ban on all recreational and commercial abalone fishing south of San Francisco, and in 2001 white abalone became the first marine invertebrate to be listed as an endangered species.

It's been almost two decades since Dr. Rogers-Bennett and her team have found a live juvenile white abalone in the wild.

"Captive breeding might be the only way this population can recover," she said.

From 1999 to 2004, a team of divers including Dr. Rogers-Bennett and co-lead researcher Ian Taniguchi collected 21 white abalone from the deep reefs in the Channel Islands. Those 21 abalone ultimately led to the production of thousands of offspring at the Bodega Marine Laboratory at University of California, Davis.

CDFW estimates there are only 2,400 wild white abalone living in the ocean off California's coast. They plan to plant more than 3,000 during the week of Nov. 18.

"It's a huge milestone, but it's also just the beginning," said Taniguchi. "We hope this will be the first of many successful outplants aimed at reestablishing a self-sustaining wild population."

CDFW is grateful to its many conservation partners for their collaboration on this project including the UC Davis Bodega Marine Lab, National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, The Bay Foundation and Aquarium of the Pacific.

This project would not have been possible without significant funding provided by NOAA through their Section 6 grant program.

Even by the wild standards of the outer solar system, the strange orbits that carry Neptune's two innermost moons are unprecedented, according to newly published research.

Orbital dynamics experts are calling it a "dance of avoidance" performed by the tiny moons Naiad and Thalassa. The two are true partners, orbiting only about 1,150 miles (1,850 kilometers) apart.

But they never get that close to each other; Naiad's orbit is tilted and perfectly timed. Every time it passes the slower-moving Thalassa, the two are about 2,200 miles (3,540 kilometers) apart.

In this perpetual choreography, Naiad swirls around the ice giant every seven hours, while Thalassa, on the outside track, takes seven and a half hours. An observer sitting on Thalassa would see Naiad in an orbit that varies wildly in a zigzag pattern, passing by twice from above and then twice from below. This up, up, down, down pattern repeats every time Naiad gains four laps on Thalassa.

Although the dance may appear odd, it keeps the orbits stable, researchers said.

"We refer to this repeating pattern as a resonance," said Marina Brozović, an expert in solar system dynamics at NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory in Pasadena, California, and the lead author of the new paper, which was published Nov. 13 in Icarus. "There are many different types of 'dances' that planets, moons and asteroids can follow, but this one has never been seen before."

Far from the pull of the Sun, the giant planets of the outer solar system are the dominant sources of gravity, and collectively, they boast dozens upon dozens of moons.

Some of those moons formed alongside their planets and never went anywhere; others were captured later, then locked into orbits dictated by their planets.

Some orbit in the opposite direction their planets rotate; others swap orbits with each other as if to avoid collision.

Neptune has 14 confirmed moons. Neso, the farthest-flung of them, orbits in a wildly elliptical loop that carries it nearly 46 million miles (74 million kilometers) away from the planet and takes 27 years to complete.

Naiad and Thalassa are small and shaped like Tic Tacs, spanning only about 60 miles (100 kilometers) in length. They are two of Neptune's seven inner moons, part of a closely packed system that is interwoven with faint rings.

So how did they end up together — but apart? It's thought that the original satellite system was disrupted when Neptune captured its giant moon, Triton, and that these inner moons and rings formed from the leftover debris.

"We suspect that Naiad was kicked into its tilted orbit by an earlier interaction with one of Neptune's other inner moons," Brozović said. "Only later, after its orbital tilt was established, could Naiad settle into this unusual resonance with Thalassa."

Brozović and her colleagues discovered the unusual orbital pattern using analysis of observations by NASA's Hubble Space Telescope. The work also provides the first hint about the internal composition of Neptune's inner moons. Researchers used the observations to compute their mass and, thus, their densities — which were close to that of water ice.

"We are always excited to find these co-dependencies between moons," said Mark Showalter, a planetary astronomer at the SETI Institute in Mountain View, California, and a co-author of the new paper. "Naiad and Thalassa have probably been locked together in this configuration for a very long time, because it makes their orbits more stable. They maintain the peace by never getting too close."

The research is available to read and download here: https://arxiv.org/abs/1910.13612.

The Hubble Space Telescope is a project of international cooperation between NASA and ESA (European Space Agency). NASA's Goddard Space Flight Center in Greenbelt, Maryland, manages the telescope. The Space Telescope Science Institute (STScI) in Baltimore, Maryland, conducts Hubble science operations. STScI is operated for NASA by the Association of Universities for Research in Astronomy in Washington.

More information about Neptune's moons can be found here: https://solarsystem.nasa.gov/moons/neptune-moons/in-depth/.

CLEARLAKE, Calif. – On Thursday night the Clearlake City Council appointed its newest planning commissioner from a field of three applicants.

The council voted unanimously to appoint Erin McCarrick to the vacancy that resulted when longtime commissioner Nathalie Antus resigned from the five-member commission last month.

McCarrick holds a Bachelor of Arts degree in political science from the University of Colorado.

After receiving her undergraduate degree, McCarrick worked in politics and in nonprofits for 10 years in North Dakota and South Dakota.

She then came to California, where she completed a Master’s of Business Administration degree from the University of San Francisco.

After receiving her graduate degree, McCarrick moved to Lake County to facilitate local hiring and outreach for the Valley and Clayton fires, according to her application.

She is a consultant and owner of two cannabis businesses: Clearlake Ventures, based in Clearlake, and Cara Farms, based Potter Valley.

The two other applicants who the council interviewed on Thursday evening were David Goolsbee, who has a background in architecture and design builds, and has been a designer, builder and contractor for 35 years, and Fawn Williams, who worked in the mortgage industry before opening her own business in which she makes custom western horse show clothing.

The three candidates were asked to leave the chambers and then were brought in one at a time to be questioned by the council.

In explaining her qualifications, McCarrick said she is a quick learner who realized how much there is to learn.

At the same time, she said she understands what it takes to go through the city’s planning department as well as the importance of codes and ordinances.

Asked about how she would view projects that might raise personal concerns, she said she thought it was important to be objective, to look at a project’s fit and impacts.

Councilwoman Joyce Overton thanked McCarrick for applying for the planning commission again – in January, she had sought the seat left vacant when Dirk Slooten was elected to the council last year – before asking her about her vision for the city.

McCarrick said she supported creating a community for families, and one with plenty of events, that is active, vibrant and safe.

She said Clearlake can be its own island in Lake County, with residents wanting to have places to shop and things to do there.

McCarrick also told the council that she had talked to current planning commissioners in order to understand what they do.

During public comment, cannabis business owner Chris Jennings spoke in support of McCarrick, telling the council that it was time to move forward and bring on people who can see outside the box.

Clearlake resident Sheryl Almon also offered her support for McCarrick, who she said has learning and energy, and a way of looking at the city in a better and different way.

The three commission candidates were again asked to leave the room while the council members ranked their choices on forms.

City Clerk Melissa Swanson then tabulated the results: McCarrick was the choice for council members Phil Harris, Joyce Overton and Dirk Slooten, while Mayor Russ Cremer had voted for Fawn Williams. Councilman Russell Perdock was absent from the meeting.

After Swanson read out the voting results, the candidates were welcomed back into the chambers so she could announce the results.

Slooten moved to appoint McCarrick, a motion Harris seconded and the council approved 4-0.

After the vote, McCarrick rose from her seat to shake hands with Goolsbee and Williams.

Cremer thanked all three for stepping up to apply for the commission seat. “I think you all have qualities that this city needs.”

He congratulated McCarrick and again thanked Goolsbee and Williams.

The Clearlake Planning Commission meets the first and third Tuesday of every month at 6 p.m. in the city council chambers at City Hall, 14050 Olympic Drive.

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. – A proposal by two health systems to create a joint operating company has been denied approval by the state of California.

In a letter dated Oct. 31, the California Department of Justice, located within the California Attorney General’s Office, denied the proposed partnership between Adventist Health System/West and St. Joseph Health System.

“Both Adventist Health and St. Joseph Health are very disappointed in the outcome of this decision. Our intent has always been to better serve our communities, increase access to services, and create a stronger safety net for families in Northern California,” according to a statement from both health systems issued to Lake County News.

Adventist Health and St. Joseph Health had announced their plans to form the new joint operating company in April 2018, as Lake County News has reported.

The new company was to be called ST Network LLC, with the “ST” standing for “Sacred Trust,” David Santos, president and chief executive officer of Adventist Health Clear Lake, told Lake County News in an interview last year.

ST Network LLC was to manage and have authority over each health system’s facilities in Humboldt, Lake, Mendocino, Napa, Solano and Sonoma counties, including Queen of the Valley Medical Center, Redwood Memorial Hospital, Santa Rosa Memorial Hospital, St. Joseph Hospital-Eureka, Petaluma Valley Hospital, Adventist Health Clear Lake Hospital, Adventist Health St. Helena, Adventist Health Ukiah Valley, Adventist Health Howard Memorial and St. Helena Hospital.

While the ST Network was to have operated the facilities, Santos said it was not the intention for the company to own them.

Santos said in the 2018 interview that there was a “natural connection” between the two health care companies, which have similar missions, and that it would not have been the largest network in California.

He said it also positioned the systems to be able to recruit providers and to be able to compete. “Health care is a business like everything else.”

Santos said the goal was to offer Lake County patients easier access to care, give providers better access to electronic medical records, increase standardization of care, offer more options for care through a larger network of doctors and better overall quality health care.

The California Department of Justice reported that is responsible for the general supervision of all charitable organizations in the state.

The two health systems had submitted notices to the California Department of Justice on June 7, 2018, that requested approval to form the new joint operating company.

The Department of Justice said the proposal “claimed that the merger of the two systems would help improve access to quality healthcare throughout the Northern California region, with an emphasis on vulnerable and underserved populations.”

After considering California law and regulations, as well as feedback from the public, The Department of Justice said it denied the transaction “due to concerns that it is not in the public interest, has the potential to increase health costs, and potentially limits access and availability of health care services.”

“The California Department of Justice is responsible for ensuring that any proposed sale or transfer of a non-profit health facility protects the health and safety interests of the surrounding community. After careful review we found this proposal falls short of protecting consumers,” said Chief Deputy to the Attorney General Sean McCluskie.

“At this time, our organizations will need to take a step back and determine implications of this decision,” Adventist Health and St. Joseph Health said in their joint statement. “The well-being
of our communities remains our top priority.”

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.

103119 Denial of proposed transaction between Adventist Health and St. Joseph Health by LakeCoNews on Scribd

LAKEPORT, Calif. – The Lakeport Police Department is investigating a fake jewelry scam that is reported to have had several local victims.

At 4:30 p.m. Thursday, Lakeport Police officers were dispatched to a theft call in the 400 block of Sixth Street, the department said.

The victim stated he was approached by a male appearing to be Middle Eastern, approximately 5 feet 8 inches tall, with a thin build and a short beard, police said.

Police said the victim stated the suspect told him he had been robbed of all his money and only had the pictured gold chain and ring. The suspect asked the victim for $500 and stated the jewelry was worth $3,000.

The victim stated he had approximately $128 in his hand. The suspect placed the jewelry in the victim’s hand and took his money, then left in a newer black Cadillac Escalade, according to police.

The police report said the victim took the jewelry to a local jeweler who advised him it was fake and had no monetary value.

Officers later followed up with the jeweler, who advised them that eight people in the last month have brought him the same jewelry that was bought from who police suspect to be the same individual, the department said.

Anyone who has information about this suspect, incident or who has been a victim of this same scam is asked to contact Officer Tyler Trouette by email at This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it., phone at 707-263-5491, Extension 118.

Additionally persons can contact the department by private message on Facebook or anonymously by texting the words TIP LAKEPORT to 888777.

CLEARLAKE, Calif. – Clearlake Animal Control has more new dogs this week waiting for loving families to adopt them.

The kennels also have many dogs that need to be reunited with their owners. To find the lost/found pet section, click here.

The following dogs are ready for adoption. They include mixes of American Staffordshire Terrier, husky and shepherd.

‘Bernard’

“Bernard” is a male Staffordshire Bull Terrier mixed possibly with boxer, with a short brindle and white coat.

He has already been neutered.

Shelter staff introduced him to the Clearlake City Council at its Thursday night meeting.

Bernard, named for Santa’s chief elf, likes other dogs, cats and chickens, and is energetic and friendly.

He is estimated to be about 3 years old.

Bernard is dog No. 280.

‘Blue’

“Blue” is a male Staffordshire Bull Terrier.

He has a short blue and white coat and has been neutered.

He is dog No. 2420.

‘Bones’

“Bones” is a male hound mix.

He is dog No. 3038.

‘Burke’

“Burke” is a male Labrador Retriever with a short black coat with white markings.

He has been neutered.

He is dog No. 2628.

‘Charlotte’

“Charlotte” is a female Akita mix.

She is dog No. 3040.

‘King’

“King” is a male Staffordshire Bull Terrier with a short brindle coat.

He has been neutered.

He is dog No. 3034.

‘Linus’

“Linus” is a male Staffordshire Bull Terrier mix with a short gray and white coat.

He is dog No. 3255.

‘Spice’

“Spice” is a female pug mix with a short tan and black coat.

She has been spayed.

She is dog No. 3033.

Clearlake Animal Control’s shelter is located at 6820 Old Highway 53, off Airport Road.

Hours of operation area noon to 4 p.m. Tuesday through Saturday. The shelter is closed Sundays, Mondays and major holidays; the shelter offers appointments on the days it’s closed to accommodate people.

Call the Clearlake Animal Control shelter at 707-273-9440, or email This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. to inquire about adoptions.

Visit Clearlake Animal Control on Facebook or at the city’s Web site.

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.