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What's up for March? Jupiter in the morning, the start of spring, and a visit to the Beehive.
Jupiter greets early risers all month long. Look low in the southeast an hour before sunrise. (And if you have an unobstructed view toward the horizon, you'll be able to spot Saturn and Venus as well, a bit lower in the sky.)
March marks the 40th anniversary of the Voyager 1 spacecraft's flyby of Jupiter, in 1979. Voyager gave us our first detailed, close-up look at the giant planet and its moons.
March also brings the beginning of spring in the Northern Hemisphere, starting on March 20, with the spring equinox.
Equinoxes occur twice a year, in spring and fall, on the dates when day and night are of equal length.
From here until the beginning of fall, in September, daytime will be longer than nighttime, as the sun travels a longer, higher arc across the sky each day, reaching a peak at the start of summer. It's just the opposite in the Southern Hemisphere, where March 20 marks the fall equinox.
The arrival of spring in the Northern Hemisphere brings fresh flowers and the buzzing of bees, which makes March a great time to try to spot the Beehive Cluster.
This grouping of young stars sits about 600 light years away and consists of several hundred stars that are only a few hundred million years old. That's compared to our sun's four-and-a-half billion years.
Although the Beehive can be seen as a small fuzzy patch with unaided eyes under dark skies, it's best viewed with binoculars.
To find the Beehive Cluster, look south and follow a line from brilliant Sirius – the brightest star in the sky – upward and slightly to the left, toward another of the sky's brightest stars, Procyon. Continue that path about the same distance upward and then a couple of finger widths to the left.
While the Beehive Cluster is visible in the first half of the night all month long, the best times to look for it are the first and last weeks of the month, as the moon shines brightly mid-month, making faint objects like this cluster more difficult see.
You can catch up on all of NASA's current and future missions at www.nasa.gov.
LAKE COUNTY, Calif. – The California Highway Patrol has released new details about the killing of a Santa Clarita man last month along Highway 20.
The CHP said that the death of 41-year-old Patrick Michael Weber has been determined to be a homicide.
CHP’s Northern Division Investigation Service Unit, Clear Lake CHP officers and Northern Division Multidisciplinary Accident Investigation Team, or MAIT, along with Department of Justice and Lake County Sheriff’s Major Crimes Investigation unit have uncovered new details during the investigation into Weber’s death.
Weber was found dead in his white 2014 sprinter van on the morning of Feb. 21 after a passing motorist reported seeing the crashed van, as Lake County News has reported.
The van, which had been traveling eastbound, was found off of Highway 20, about a mile west of Walker Ridge Road. It had gone off the south edge of the highway and into a ditch, crashing into a tree.
Red paint transfer marks were found on the driver’s side of Weber’s vehicle, officials said.
The CHP’s Clear Lake Area office said Thursday night that the results of an autopsy found that Weber had been shot, a fact that hadn’t been immediately apparent to investigators at the scene.
Investigators also found a large quantity of marijuana in the cargo area of Weber’s vehicle, the CHP said.
The investigators contacted the California Department of Cannabis Control and determined that Weber was not legally licensed to transport marijuana, according to the CHP’s report.
Weber’s wife had confirmed to Lake County News that her husband was involved in the cannabis industry. She said he had left home a few days before, and that she had last heard from him the night before his death, when they exchanged texts.
Authorities are still working to identify the motive of the suspect and are investigating the circumstances surrounding the incident, the CHP said.
Anyone with information regarding the incident is encouraged to contact the California Highway Patrol, Ukiah Communication Center at 707-467-4000, or during business hours contact the Clear Lake CHP Office at 707-279-0103.
Email Elizabeth Larson atThis email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. . Follow her on Twitter, @ERLarson, or Lake County News, @LakeCoNews.
The CHP said that the death of 41-year-old Patrick Michael Weber has been determined to be a homicide.
CHP’s Northern Division Investigation Service Unit, Clear Lake CHP officers and Northern Division Multidisciplinary Accident Investigation Team, or MAIT, along with Department of Justice and Lake County Sheriff’s Major Crimes Investigation unit have uncovered new details during the investigation into Weber’s death.
Weber was found dead in his white 2014 sprinter van on the morning of Feb. 21 after a passing motorist reported seeing the crashed van, as Lake County News has reported.
The van, which had been traveling eastbound, was found off of Highway 20, about a mile west of Walker Ridge Road. It had gone off the south edge of the highway and into a ditch, crashing into a tree.
Red paint transfer marks were found on the driver’s side of Weber’s vehicle, officials said.
The CHP’s Clear Lake Area office said Thursday night that the results of an autopsy found that Weber had been shot, a fact that hadn’t been immediately apparent to investigators at the scene.
Investigators also found a large quantity of marijuana in the cargo area of Weber’s vehicle, the CHP said.
The investigators contacted the California Department of Cannabis Control and determined that Weber was not legally licensed to transport marijuana, according to the CHP’s report.
Weber’s wife had confirmed to Lake County News that her husband was involved in the cannabis industry. She said he had left home a few days before, and that she had last heard from him the night before his death, when they exchanged texts.
Authorities are still working to identify the motive of the suspect and are investigating the circumstances surrounding the incident, the CHP said.
Anyone with information regarding the incident is encouraged to contact the California Highway Patrol, Ukiah Communication Center at 707-467-4000, or during business hours contact the Clear Lake CHP Office at 707-279-0103.
Email Elizabeth Larson at
LAKEPORT, Calif. – The preliminary hearing of the man accused of setting a series of wildland fires in 2015 and 2016 – the largest and last of them being the Clayton fire – continued briefly on Thursday morning before more evidence-based issues led to delay.
Based on the outcome of the preliminary hearing, Damin Anthony Pashilk, 43, could face trial on 23 charges for setting the Clayton fire in August 2016 and 15 other fires between July of 2015 and August of 2016, as well as an attempted start of a 17th that self-extinguished.
The proceedings so far have stretched across seven days over the course of several weeks due to scheduling challenges.
On Thursday, as on Wednesday, the proceedings were cut short when the defense raised an issue with having access to the information used by the prosecution in building its case.
Defense attorney Mitchell Hauptman said Cal Fire Battalion Chief Branden Smith, who had testified on Wednesday about his surveillance of Pashilk, had referenced the collection of information about license plates of vehicles seen on surveillance cameras placed near areas where a rash of fires had been set in 2015. Hauptman wanted to see that information.
Chief Deputy District Attorney Richard Hinchcliff, who said he had just found out about the issue, explained that after the first four fires, Smith and other investigators were reviewing camera data and logging license plate numbers, and putting them on an Excel spreadsheet.
In 2015 they were working at the Middletown fire station when the Valley fire broke out in September. They grabbed their computer equipment and left, and Smith believed the information was on the computer he had with him.
Judge Andrew Blum found Hauptman’s request for the information relevant and recessed while Hinchcliff and other members of the prosecution team went with Smith to the District Attorney’s Office to look for the information on the computer.
Hauptman later asked for Smith’s testimony to continue on Friday to give him time to review the materials.
Sheriff’s lieutenant discusses interview following arrest
Hinchcliff was able to call an alternate witness on short notice, Lt. Corey Paulich of the Lake County Sheriff’s Office.
Paulich testified to being part of the team that interviewed Pashilk at the Lake County Sheriff’s Office on August 15, 2016, the day he was arrested and two days after the Clayton fire began near Lower Lake.
Cal Fire had been tracking Pashilk for more than a year by that point, and wanted him for questioning. Earlier that day, Deputy Ben Moore conducted a vehicle stop on Pashilk and arrested him for driving on a suspended license.
Pashilk was in the interview room by himself, with Paulich and other investigators monitoring him on video, when Paulich said he saw Pashilk take something from his shoe and swallow it. Pashilk admitted that it was a “scraper bag” of meth, and that he hadn’t wanted to be caught possessing.
Paulich said he Mirandized Pashilk, who he interviewed along with Cal Fire investigator Jim Engel and sheriff’s Det. John Drewrey.
During the interview, Pashilk acknowledged to investigators that had had been in prison a couple of times for drugs. He also mentioned that he had fought fires during his second term in prison with a California Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation fire camp and admitted to still using drugs.
Paulich said Pashilk maintained throughout the interview that he hadn’t set any fires, despite Paulich telling him they had evidence he was responsible.
When asked why he was in the area of the Morgan fire on July 21, 2016, he said he had a friend who lived in the area. Paulich told him he had been followed so they knew his movements.
Paulich also spoke with Pashilk about using cigarettes to start fires, which Pashilk had told him he didn’t think could be done because of cigarettes having something in them to prevent them from igniting when people aren’t smoking them.
Pashilk also had told investigators that he wasn't aware of the many small fires occurring around the county.
Regarding the Morgan fire on July 21, 2016, Pashilk confirmed that he had been driving a Chrysler Sebring that was spotted in the fire area on surveillance video that day. He also had been in the area of the Sulphur fire on July 26, 2016, telling the detectives that he had a friend out there and he went out to smoke marijuana and look at the lake.
On Aug. 7, 2016, the date the Agua fire burned near Lower Lake, Pashilk said he had been in the area to change clothes and smoke a marijuana cigarette, which he threw out of the car – a common practice for him, according to what he told investigators – and drove away. Later in the day, he drove back by and saw burned grass.
Investigators had been tracking Pashilk and knew that account wasn’t accurate, Paulich said.
Pashilk said he didn’t know why there were fires everywhere he went, and when the investigators told him they thought he wasn’t telling the truth, Paulich said. Pashilk still maintained he didn’t set the fires.
While explaining to investigators about why he drove on some backroads, Pashilk said it was because he had a suspended driver’s license.
The investigators told him that a GPS tracker was on his vehicle, to which Pashilk replied, “OK,” Paulich told the court.
Paulich said Pashilk also told them he hadn’t driven around to look at fires with a female acquaintance, with whom he was photographed on Aug. 13, 2016, watching the Clayton fire.
At one point, Det. Drewrey entered the interview and told Pashilk that if he had to tell his boss about all of the evidence, how could he explain that Pashilk wasn’t responsible. Paulich said Pashilk made a comment to the effect of, “If it walks and quacks like a duck …”
Pashilk also denied throwing a matching or flaming napkin out of the vehicle window. “He said he wouldn't do that,” Paulich said.
Hauptman asked if a “be on the lookout” notice regarding Pashilk was issued to law enforcement on Aug. 15, 2016.
Paulich said law enforcement units had been told to be on the lookout for him and to contact him, but not arrest him, based on a meeting the sheriff’s office had the day before with Cal Fire investigators.
Testimony will resume at 9 a.m. Friday.
Email Elizabeth Larson atThis email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. . Follow her on Twitter, @ERLarson, or Lake County News, @LakeCoNews.
Based on the outcome of the preliminary hearing, Damin Anthony Pashilk, 43, could face trial on 23 charges for setting the Clayton fire in August 2016 and 15 other fires between July of 2015 and August of 2016, as well as an attempted start of a 17th that self-extinguished.
The proceedings so far have stretched across seven days over the course of several weeks due to scheduling challenges.
On Thursday, as on Wednesday, the proceedings were cut short when the defense raised an issue with having access to the information used by the prosecution in building its case.
Defense attorney Mitchell Hauptman said Cal Fire Battalion Chief Branden Smith, who had testified on Wednesday about his surveillance of Pashilk, had referenced the collection of information about license plates of vehicles seen on surveillance cameras placed near areas where a rash of fires had been set in 2015. Hauptman wanted to see that information.
Chief Deputy District Attorney Richard Hinchcliff, who said he had just found out about the issue, explained that after the first four fires, Smith and other investigators were reviewing camera data and logging license plate numbers, and putting them on an Excel spreadsheet.
In 2015 they were working at the Middletown fire station when the Valley fire broke out in September. They grabbed their computer equipment and left, and Smith believed the information was on the computer he had with him.
Judge Andrew Blum found Hauptman’s request for the information relevant and recessed while Hinchcliff and other members of the prosecution team went with Smith to the District Attorney’s Office to look for the information on the computer.
Hauptman later asked for Smith’s testimony to continue on Friday to give him time to review the materials.
Sheriff’s lieutenant discusses interview following arrest
Hinchcliff was able to call an alternate witness on short notice, Lt. Corey Paulich of the Lake County Sheriff’s Office.
Paulich testified to being part of the team that interviewed Pashilk at the Lake County Sheriff’s Office on August 15, 2016, the day he was arrested and two days after the Clayton fire began near Lower Lake.
Cal Fire had been tracking Pashilk for more than a year by that point, and wanted him for questioning. Earlier that day, Deputy Ben Moore conducted a vehicle stop on Pashilk and arrested him for driving on a suspended license.
Pashilk was in the interview room by himself, with Paulich and other investigators monitoring him on video, when Paulich said he saw Pashilk take something from his shoe and swallow it. Pashilk admitted that it was a “scraper bag” of meth, and that he hadn’t wanted to be caught possessing.
Paulich said he Mirandized Pashilk, who he interviewed along with Cal Fire investigator Jim Engel and sheriff’s Det. John Drewrey.
During the interview, Pashilk acknowledged to investigators that had had been in prison a couple of times for drugs. He also mentioned that he had fought fires during his second term in prison with a California Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation fire camp and admitted to still using drugs.
Paulich said Pashilk maintained throughout the interview that he hadn’t set any fires, despite Paulich telling him they had evidence he was responsible.
When asked why he was in the area of the Morgan fire on July 21, 2016, he said he had a friend who lived in the area. Paulich told him he had been followed so they knew his movements.
Paulich also spoke with Pashilk about using cigarettes to start fires, which Pashilk had told him he didn’t think could be done because of cigarettes having something in them to prevent them from igniting when people aren’t smoking them.
Pashilk also had told investigators that he wasn't aware of the many small fires occurring around the county.
Regarding the Morgan fire on July 21, 2016, Pashilk confirmed that he had been driving a Chrysler Sebring that was spotted in the fire area on surveillance video that day. He also had been in the area of the Sulphur fire on July 26, 2016, telling the detectives that he had a friend out there and he went out to smoke marijuana and look at the lake.
On Aug. 7, 2016, the date the Agua fire burned near Lower Lake, Pashilk said he had been in the area to change clothes and smoke a marijuana cigarette, which he threw out of the car – a common practice for him, according to what he told investigators – and drove away. Later in the day, he drove back by and saw burned grass.
Investigators had been tracking Pashilk and knew that account wasn’t accurate, Paulich said.
Pashilk said he didn’t know why there were fires everywhere he went, and when the investigators told him they thought he wasn’t telling the truth, Paulich said. Pashilk still maintained he didn’t set the fires.
While explaining to investigators about why he drove on some backroads, Pashilk said it was because he had a suspended driver’s license.
The investigators told him that a GPS tracker was on his vehicle, to which Pashilk replied, “OK,” Paulich told the court.
Paulich said Pashilk also told them he hadn’t driven around to look at fires with a female acquaintance, with whom he was photographed on Aug. 13, 2016, watching the Clayton fire.
At one point, Det. Drewrey entered the interview and told Pashilk that if he had to tell his boss about all of the evidence, how could he explain that Pashilk wasn’t responsible. Paulich said Pashilk made a comment to the effect of, “If it walks and quacks like a duck …”
Pashilk also denied throwing a matching or flaming napkin out of the vehicle window. “He said he wouldn't do that,” Paulich said.
Hauptman asked if a “be on the lookout” notice regarding Pashilk was issued to law enforcement on Aug. 15, 2016.
Paulich said law enforcement units had been told to be on the lookout for him and to contact him, but not arrest him, based on a meeting the sheriff’s office had the day before with Cal Fire investigators.
Testimony will resume at 9 a.m. Friday.
Email Elizabeth Larson at
KELSEYVILLE, Calif. – A Kelseyville man was arrested for driving under the influence following an early Thursday wreck that injured both him and another driver.
Joel S. Saldana, 26, was arrested on suspicion of felony DUI at the scene of the crash, which occurred on Highway 29 south of Cruickshank Road near Kelseyville, according to the California Highway Patrol’s Clear Lake Area office.
The other driver in the crash, Jamie Pannyasy-Watts, 35, of Clearlake Oaks, was seriously injured in the wreck, the CHP said.
The CHP said that at 12:57 a.m. Thursday Saldana was driving a 2001 Lexus IS300 northbound on Highway 29, south of Cruickshank Road, while Pannyasy-Watts was driving a 2003 Saturn ION southbound, approaching Saldana.
For reasons that the CHP said are still under investigation, Saldana crossed over the double yellow lines and traveled across the roadway before he hit a dirt embankment on the southbound shoulder.
Saldana’s vehicle overturned and then continued in a northerly direction within the southbound lane, traveling directly into the path of Pannyasy-Watts’ vehicle, resulting in a head-on crash, the CHP said.
The CHP said the two vehicles came to a rest in the southbound lane, with both drivers being trapped within them.
The Kelseyville Fire Protection District and CHP responded and extricated the two drivers, the CHP said.
Radio reports indicated that incident command attempted to secure an air ambulance but weather prevented a helicopter from responding.
Kelseyville Fire ground ambulance transported Pannyasy-Watts to Sutter Lakeside Hospital where she was treated for major injuries, the CHP said.
The CHP said Saldana was arrested and then transported to Sutter Lakeside Hospital by Kelseyville Fire for treatment of moderate injuries. He later was released from the hospital.
Both drivers were using their safety equipment, the CHP said.
Email Elizabeth Larson atThis email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. . Follow her on Twitter, @ERLarson, or Lake County News, @LakeCoNews.
Joel S. Saldana, 26, was arrested on suspicion of felony DUI at the scene of the crash, which occurred on Highway 29 south of Cruickshank Road near Kelseyville, according to the California Highway Patrol’s Clear Lake Area office.
The other driver in the crash, Jamie Pannyasy-Watts, 35, of Clearlake Oaks, was seriously injured in the wreck, the CHP said.
The CHP said that at 12:57 a.m. Thursday Saldana was driving a 2001 Lexus IS300 northbound on Highway 29, south of Cruickshank Road, while Pannyasy-Watts was driving a 2003 Saturn ION southbound, approaching Saldana.
For reasons that the CHP said are still under investigation, Saldana crossed over the double yellow lines and traveled across the roadway before he hit a dirt embankment on the southbound shoulder.
Saldana’s vehicle overturned and then continued in a northerly direction within the southbound lane, traveling directly into the path of Pannyasy-Watts’ vehicle, resulting in a head-on crash, the CHP said.
The CHP said the two vehicles came to a rest in the southbound lane, with both drivers being trapped within them.
The Kelseyville Fire Protection District and CHP responded and extricated the two drivers, the CHP said.
Radio reports indicated that incident command attempted to secure an air ambulance but weather prevented a helicopter from responding.
Kelseyville Fire ground ambulance transported Pannyasy-Watts to Sutter Lakeside Hospital where she was treated for major injuries, the CHP said.
The CHP said Saldana was arrested and then transported to Sutter Lakeside Hospital by Kelseyville Fire for treatment of moderate injuries. He later was released from the hospital.
Both drivers were using their safety equipment, the CHP said.
Email Elizabeth Larson at
LAKE COUNTY, Calif. – Congressman Mike Thompson (CA-05) announced plans to help Korean War veterans in Napa and Lake counties receive a medal for their service and encouraged those former service members to contact his office.
Thompson is again working with the Consulate General of the Republic of Korea to facilitate presentation of the Ambassador for Peace Medal, an honor given by the South Korean government to American veterans in recognition of their service.
“Far too often, our brave service members who answered the call during the Korean War have gone without recognition of their service. They traveled around the world and far from home to further the cause of peace and democracy across our globe. Too many were not honored for that service – indeed the Korean War is often called as the ‘Forgotten War,’” said Thompson. “But we will not forget. I am honored to be working with the Korean government to recognize our service members. I encourage our veterans to come forward and contact my office so that we can properly honor the sacrifice they made for our nation.”
Thompson is working to compile a list of eligible Korean War veterans who live in Napa and Lake Counties so they may receive the Ambassador for Peace Medal.
Veterans and their families should contact Thompson’s office atThis email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. by Friday, May 31.
Eligible veterans include those involved in either the hostilities or the following United Nations peacekeeping mission between June 25, 1950 and July 27, 1953 and UN peacekeeping operations until the end of 1955.
Enlisted support personnel who aided in these missions are also eligible (e.g. supporting positions including nurses who served on the territory of Korea).
The medal can be awarded posthumously.
These recognitions will be presented at a ceremony to be announced at a later date.
Thompson is again working with the Consulate General of the Republic of Korea to facilitate presentation of the Ambassador for Peace Medal, an honor given by the South Korean government to American veterans in recognition of their service.
“Far too often, our brave service members who answered the call during the Korean War have gone without recognition of their service. They traveled around the world and far from home to further the cause of peace and democracy across our globe. Too many were not honored for that service – indeed the Korean War is often called as the ‘Forgotten War,’” said Thompson. “But we will not forget. I am honored to be working with the Korean government to recognize our service members. I encourage our veterans to come forward and contact my office so that we can properly honor the sacrifice they made for our nation.”
Thompson is working to compile a list of eligible Korean War veterans who live in Napa and Lake Counties so they may receive the Ambassador for Peace Medal.
Veterans and their families should contact Thompson’s office at
Eligible veterans include those involved in either the hostilities or the following United Nations peacekeeping mission between June 25, 1950 and July 27, 1953 and UN peacekeeping operations until the end of 1955.
Enlisted support personnel who aided in these missions are also eligible (e.g. supporting positions including nurses who served on the territory of Korea).
The medal can be awarded posthumously.
These recognitions will be presented at a ceremony to be announced at a later date.
HIDDEN VALLEY LAKE, Calif. – A Wednesday evening fire destroyed a Hidden Valley Lake home.
The South Lake County Fire Protection District and Cal Fire were dispatched to the fire in the 16000 block of Eagle Rock Road at approximately 5:07 p.m., Cal Fire reported.
Neighbors returning from work reported the fire, officials said.
Cal Fire said the owner was not home when the fire started, and there were no injuries to first responders or the public.
South Lake County Fire Protection District was supported with engines and support resources from Lake County Fire Protection District, Kelseyville Fire Protection District, Northshore Fire Protection District and the Northshore Support Team.
Cooperating agencies who arrived and supported the operation are Hidden Valley Security and Hidden Valley Lake Community Services District, who ensured a constant water supply for the duration of the incident.
Cal Fire said the incident was terminated and all remaining units were released from the Incident around 1 a.m. Thursday.
Eighty percent of the home was damaged in the fire, with a loss estimate of $275,000, according to Cal Fire spokesman Will Powers.
Powers said the fire’s cause remains under investigation.
The South Lake County Fire Protection District and Cal Fire were dispatched to the fire in the 16000 block of Eagle Rock Road at approximately 5:07 p.m., Cal Fire reported.
Neighbors returning from work reported the fire, officials said.
Cal Fire said the owner was not home when the fire started, and there were no injuries to first responders or the public.
South Lake County Fire Protection District was supported with engines and support resources from Lake County Fire Protection District, Kelseyville Fire Protection District, Northshore Fire Protection District and the Northshore Support Team.
Cooperating agencies who arrived and supported the operation are Hidden Valley Security and Hidden Valley Lake Community Services District, who ensured a constant water supply for the duration of the incident.
Cal Fire said the incident was terminated and all remaining units were released from the Incident around 1 a.m. Thursday.
Eighty percent of the home was damaged in the fire, with a loss estimate of $275,000, according to Cal Fire spokesman Will Powers.
Powers said the fire’s cause remains under investigation.