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WASHINGTON, DC – Gun Violence Prevention Task Force Chairman Mike Thompson (CA-05) announced that H.R. 8, the Bipartisan Background Checks Act of 2019, will be considered for a vote next week.
This historic vote represents the first major action on gun violence in more than two decades.
“Next week, we take bipartisan action to prevent gun violence. We break the cycle of stagnation and finally hold a vote. We make history,” Thompson said.
“This is a deeply humbling moment, one for which I have been fighting for six years since the inception of the Gun Violence Prevention Task Force. It’s thanks to the leadership of Speaker Pelosi and Chairman Nadler, the dedication of my colleagues both Republican and Democratic, and the energy and enthusiasm of advocates across our nation that this is possible. I am so proud of our hard work together on this issue and stand ready to finally cast my vote to expand background checks and help prevent gun violence,” he said.
Congressman represents California’s Fifth Congressional District, which includes all or part of Contra Costa, Lake, Napa, Solano and Sonoma counties.
This historic vote represents the first major action on gun violence in more than two decades.
“Next week, we take bipartisan action to prevent gun violence. We break the cycle of stagnation and finally hold a vote. We make history,” Thompson said.
“This is a deeply humbling moment, one for which I have been fighting for six years since the inception of the Gun Violence Prevention Task Force. It’s thanks to the leadership of Speaker Pelosi and Chairman Nadler, the dedication of my colleagues both Republican and Democratic, and the energy and enthusiasm of advocates across our nation that this is possible. I am so proud of our hard work together on this issue and stand ready to finally cast my vote to expand background checks and help prevent gun violence,” he said.
Congressman represents California’s Fifth Congressional District, which includes all or part of Contra Costa, Lake, Napa, Solano and Sonoma counties.
A compilation of scientific results from The Stratospheric Observatory for Infrared Astronomy, SOFIA, reveal new clues to how stars form and galaxies evolve, and closer to understanding the environment of Europa and its subsurface ocean.
The airborne observatory carries a suite of instruments, each sensitive to different properties of infrared light, that gives astronomers insights into the flow of matter in galaxies.
“Much of the light in the universe is emitted as infrared light that does not reach Earth’s surface,” said Bill Reach, chief science advisor at the University Space Research Association’s SOFIA Science Center. “Infrared observations from SOFIA, which flies above most of the atmosphere, let us study what’s happening deep inside cosmic clouds, analyze celestial magnetic fields and investigate the chemical universe in ways that are not possible with visible light.”
Unlike space-based telescopes, SOFIA’s instruments can be exchanged, serviced or upgraded to harness new technologies. Its newest instrument, called the High-resolution Airborne Wideband Camera-Plus, or HAWC+, enables studies of celestial magnetic fields with ground-breaking precision.
“How magnetic fields affect the process of star formation has not been well understood, though it has long been suspected that they play an important role,” said David Chuss, professor of physics at Villanova University in Pennsylvania. “With SOFIA’s HAWC+ instrument, we can now begin to understand how these fields influence the dynamics of regions where gas and dust are collapsing to produce new stars."
Some observations highlighted in the Astrophysical Journal “Focus on Results from SOFIA” include:
– The magnetic fields in the Orion Nebula are preventing star-forming clouds from collapsing under gravity, thereby regulating the formation of new stars. This can help better explain the number of stars in our galaxy and those that may form in the future. If magnetic fields inhibit the gravitational collapse of celestial clouds in other regions of the galaxy, the number of new stars may be lower than current models predict.
– Magnetic fields are trapping material, keeping it close enough to be fed into the black hole in the Cygnus A Galaxy. These findings may mean that magnetic fields regulate black hole activity and explain why some are actively gobbling up material from their surroundings, while others, like the one in our own Milky Way Galaxy, are not.
– A map of the entire grand-design spiral galaxy M51 (also known as the Whirlpool Galaxy), including its small companion galaxy, reveals that the companion is not forming new stars at the same rate as the its larger neighbor. Understanding how stars are born in different celestial environments is key to learning how star birth evolved from the early universe to the present day.
– The region called Sagittarius B1 – near the black hole at the center of our Milky Way Galaxy – must be part of a large, young star-formation complex, but the stars were formed elsewhere and are remnants of a previous generation of star formation, which includes the Arches cluster. Observations like these are helping researchers develop a template to understand distant galaxies, which are often too far away for even the most powerful telescopes to see clearly, and ultimately learn how the universe works.
– Water plumes that may be erupting from Jupiter’s moon Europa, suggested by data from NASA’s Galileo and Hubble spacecraft, contain, at most, the amount of water in an Olympic-sized swimming pool. SOFIA’s observations in 2017 did not directly detect the plume, but established an upper limit on how much water could be in the plumes. This upper limit is crucial to ongoing studies that will analyze the contents of the plumes and investigate their origins, which will help reveal if Europa has the ingredients to support life.
SOFIA is a Boeing 747SP jetliner modified to carry a 106-inch diameter telescope. It is a joint project of NASA and the German Aerospace Center, DLR. NASA’s Ames Research Center in California’s Silicon Valley manages the SOFIA program, science and mission operations in cooperation with the Universities Space Research Association headquartered in Columbia, Maryland, and the German SOFIA Institute at the University of Stuttgart.
The aircraft is maintained and operated from NASA’s Armstrong Flight Research Center Hangar 703, in Palmdale, California.
LOWER LAKE, Calif. – Konocti Unified School Board trustees gathered on Wednesday afternoon to discuss the traits they are seeking in the district’s new superintendent as the recruitment process gets under way.
Superintendent Donna Becnel is retiring in June, at the end of the school year, after a 35-year education career, so the board is embarking on the search for her successor.
On Wednesday afternoon, ahead of its regular meeting, the five-member board met with the consulting firm it has hired to discuss the traits they want in their next superintendent as well as to go over the interview process.
Becnel was at the district office, preparing for the regular meeting that night, but didn’t take part in the workshop, telling board members that the recruitment is up to them and she is there to support them.
Last month the board hired Education Leadership Solutions to help them with the search. The firm’s two principals are retired Lake County Superintendent of Schools Wally Holbrook and Dr. C. Richard Smith, also a former school administrator who lives in Kelseyville.
Holbrook wanted to go over the nuts and bolts of the process and update the recruitment calendar. The calendar includes numerous meetings with district staff and community members to gather input on the search, as well as tentative deadlines for advertising the job announcement – expected to close at the end of March – and early April interviews.
The process of selecting a superintendent is one of the most important tasks a school board can take on.
In Konocti Unified’s case, it’s the largest district in the county, with a $40 million budget and one of the county’s largest workforces.
The superintendent has a variety of key responsibilities. As an example, in her seven years with the district Becnel has guided it through major bonds issues, renovations and building projects, the opening of new schools and an ongoing response to wildland fires, while overseeing school performance and adherence to complex educational standards.
Based on board member input on Wednesday, they are looking for a person who is prepared to lead, face unique challenges and recognize opportunities, and do it with compassion and a view toward what’s best for the community.
In finding that person, Konocti Unified’s board is approaching it with attention to detail and a desire to hear from all community groups and individuals.
The recruitment process includes numerous meetings with district staff and community members. After Wednesday’s workshop, Holbrook and Smith headed next to a community meeting at Burns Valley School to get more public input.
“We've gotten really good input – constructive, positive, interactive,” said Holbrook. He added, “There's a lot of committed people here.”
Smith said that, so far, they’ve heard no negative comments in the meetings they’ve held.
The district is seeking to assemble a 17-member community panel that will be one interview team, while the board will be the second interview team. Both teams will take turns interviewing candidates on April 6, with final candidates to be interviewed by the board alone on April 7.
Holbrook said that, as the district seeks to assemble the community panel, there have been concerns about people being available for that April interview weekend, as it’s close to spring break.
However, the board decided to hold firm on scheduling their interviews that first weekend, with a view to being able to complete the recruitment process by mid-April. Board member Bill Diener said that if they got pushed off schedule, they could find themselves too close to graduation.
Over the next several weeks, the process will begin to move quickly. The application packet will be available on March 1, the job announcement will begin on the Association of California School Administrators’ EdCal job board on March 4 and the application period will close on March 22.
Holbrook and Smith went over the interview process with the board, explaining that candidates will be asked about 20 questions, some of which already have been written. They also talked about how the teams would rank candidates.
They then had the board list for them their preferences and priorities for the next superintendent.
“We're looking at two types of evidence about the qualities of this candidate,” said Smith.
He said the preferences and priorities “will form the basis for the questions that you’re going to ask the candidates.”
Smith said they had created two categories: skills, which are learned in school or through experience, such as budgeting, technology and supervising, and dispositions, which include feelings, beliefs and character. “Disposition is what’s in the person’s head,” he said.
On the walls of the district office meeting room Holbrook and Smith had hung large pieces of paper with different headings. The sheets included skills such as learning, human resources, finance, climate - safety, communication, facilities, dispositions and “parking lot” – that final category being a catch-all.
They gave the board members yellow sticky notes and asked them to write their priorities and place them under the various headings.
Across the categories, the board listed a broad-ranging set of capabilities that they’re seeking: a good listener; a philosophy that all students can learn; experience with dealing compassionately with poverty – mentally and physically – along with low self-esteem and family issues; knowledge about the local control funding formula; how to work with a board; being firm but fair; honesty; openness to change; organization; patience; ability to work on a team; ability to work with unions; knowledge of dealing with personnel; understanding of the state budget; knowledge of common core and curriculum; someone who will honestly answer why they want to come to Lake County; the ability to handle discipline; solutions for stopping bullying; and kindness.
“I’m confident we’re on the right road. I feel good about the process,” Board President Sue Burton said as she and her fellow board members worked on outlining the traits.
Afterward, looking at the sheets of paper that were filled up with the yellow sticky notes, Holbrook said of the process, “This has been really fun to watch.”
Email Elizabeth Larson at
CLEARLAKE OAKS, Calif. – The California Highway Patrol is continuing to investigate a Thursday morning crash east of Clearlake Oaks that killed one person.
The crash was first reported just after 7 a.m. Thursday on Highway 20, about a mile west of Walker Ridge Road, according to the California Highway Patrol.
The CHP’s initial report said that a white van had gone into a ditch.
Over the course of the day, the CHP requested a response from the Multidisciplinary Accident Investigation Team, or MAIT, to assist, according to scene reports.
Officer Joel Skeen of the CHP’s Clear Lake Area office told Lake County News that they are still investigating.
“What we know is that it was a solo vehicle which was a white sprinter van traveling eastbound on State Route 20,” Skeen said.
“There was some suspicion that a second vehicle may have been involved which is why the MAIT team was called out,” Skeen explained. “As of now it appears the second vehicle was not involved but we will know more with some follow-up investigation.”
Skeen said a male occupant who was alone in the vehicle died.
The man will be identified pending next of kin notification, Skeen 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.
The crash was first reported just after 7 a.m. Thursday on Highway 20, about a mile west of Walker Ridge Road, according to the California Highway Patrol.
The CHP’s initial report said that a white van had gone into a ditch.
Over the course of the day, the CHP requested a response from the Multidisciplinary Accident Investigation Team, or MAIT, to assist, according to scene reports.
Officer Joel Skeen of the CHP’s Clear Lake Area office told Lake County News that they are still investigating.
“What we know is that it was a solo vehicle which was a white sprinter van traveling eastbound on State Route 20,” Skeen said.
“There was some suspicion that a second vehicle may have been involved which is why the MAIT team was called out,” Skeen explained. “As of now it appears the second vehicle was not involved but we will know more with some follow-up investigation.”
Skeen said a male occupant who was alone in the vehicle died.
The man will be identified pending next of kin notification, Skeen said.
Email Elizabeth Larson at
LAKEPORT, Calif. – The preliminary hearing of the man accused of setting the August 2016 Clayton fire and more than a dozen others during a year-long period continued on Thursday, with more members of the surveillance team who tracked the suspect taking the stand.
Damin Anthony Pashilk, 43, of Clearlake is facing 23 counts for what authorities say was a series of arson fires – 16 fires, counting the Clayton fire, plus the attempted start of a 17th that self-extinguished – between July of 2015 and August of 2016.
In testimony this week, the focus has continued on the men who were involved with keeping Pashilk under surveillance and investigating the fires they maintain that he set.
On Thursday, Chief Deputy District Attorney Richard Hinchcliff called to the stand Cal Fire employees Travis Needler, Jeremy Monroe, Dan White and Michael Thompson.
Travis Needler is a fire captain who has investigated 30 wildland, structure and vehicle fires, but Thursday was his first experience giving testimony in court about a fire’s cause and origin.
He investigated a fire on Aug. 8, 2015, on High Valley Road and Cerrito Road in Clearlake Oaks for which Pashilk is charged. Needler said he concluded – after interviewing two witnesses and reviewing the scene – that the roadside fire was intentionally set, having ruled out other potential causes.
During defense attorney Mitch Hauptman’s questioning, Needler acknowledged that when he originally completed the report, he had eliminated arson. But a year and a half later, when the report was sent to him for review, he modified it and changed the cause to arson.
Jeremy Monroe, Cal Fire’s deputy chief of law enforcement and fire intelligence, followed Needler to the stand.
He was on duty and assigned to conduct surveillance of Pashilk driving a gray Chrysler Sebring on July 23, 2016. On that evening, just after 7 p.m., the Western fire began on Western Mine Road near Middletown.
Testimony last week and on Thursday recounted how the surveillance team physically followed Pashilk and also used a GPS tracker that had been attached to the Chrysler.
Monroe followed Pashilk at a distance that evening. He had been positioned at Redbud Library when the operations chief requested he move to the Clearlake Safeway store’s parking lot in an effort to keep Pashilk under constant surveillance. From there, he followed Pashilk to the AutoZone shortly after 6 p.m. and then on to Twin Pine Casino in Middletown, where Pashilk parked and entered the building.
At 6:50 p.m., Monroe received a radio call from Damon Denman, a Cal Fire law enforcement officer who also was on the surveillance team, telling him that Pashilk’s vehicle was on the move.
Vehicles got between Monroe and Pashilk’s vehicles, and Monroe watched as Pashilk turned southbound onto Highway 29. Monroe said he could see in the distance a vehicle that appeared to be Pashilk’s, traveling about a mile ahead of him.
Both Monroe and Denman, traveling separately, followed the vehicle into Napa County, where they determined it wasn’t Pashilk’s car and headed back to the casino. When they arrived, Pashilk’s vehicle was back, parked near the loading and unloading area, where he had originally parked.
Monroe also tracked Pashilk on the afternoon and evening of July 26, 2016. At 6:48 p.m. that day, the Sulphur fire started on Sulphur Bank Road north of North Drive in Clearlake.
That day, Monroe said he trailed Pashilk from Clearlake to Twin Pine Casino, where he photographed him getting into his vehicle and leaving the casino parking lot while smoking a cigarette.
Dan White, who works for Cal Fire’s northern region law enforcement division, conducts complex fire investigations and arson surveillance, and also is a peace officer.
He was part of the Pashilk surveillance team, and was monitoring him on the evening of July 23, 2016, at the same time as Monroe. He recounted seeing Pashilk at the Clearlake AutoZone, with a woman in the front passenger seat who he said was the Chrysler’s registered owner, as well as another unknown female in the back seat.
White said he followed the Chrysler to Twin Pine Casino, where it was parked in the no parking area near the doors. He went inside and saw Pashilk sitting at a slot machine, watching one of the women he traveled with playing on another machine.
Pashilk then got up and left at about 6:45 p.m., getting in the Chrysler alone and heading south on Highway 29. White notified the other surveillance team members to let them know of Pashilk’s movements.
Like the others, he attempted to follow Pashilk south before turning around and returning to the casino, where he found the Chrysler parked once more. When White went into the casino, he saw Pashilk at the customer service counter just after 7 p.m.
Battalion Chief Michael Thompson, also a law enforcement officer for Cal Fire, gave most of the testimony on Thursday, explaining his efforts to investigate several of the fires Pashilk is accused of starting.
They include the Judge fire No. 1, which began just after 7:30 a.m. July 2, 2015, at Highway 20 at Judge Davis Trail east of Clearlake Oaks. Thompson excluded all possible causes but arson for that roadside fire.
He also helped investigate the Arrowhead fire on the afternoon of Aug. 25, 2015, on East Lake Drive in Clearlake; the Morgan fire on July 21, 2016, in the 18000 block of Morgan Valley Road near Staehle Lane in Lower Lake; the fire on Sulphur Bank Road, north of North Drive in Clearlake on the evening of July 26, 2016; the County fire on the evening of July 27, 2016, at Lakeshore and San Joaquin drive in Clearlake; the North Branch fire on the afternoon of July 29, 2016, on Ogulin Canyon Road, east of Highway 53 in Clearlake; the Agua fire on Aug. 7, 2016, on Highway 29 near mile post marker 16.29 near Lower Lake; and the Canyon fire at 5 p.m. Aug. 9, 2016, on Seigler Canyon Road in Lower Lake.
In the case of the Sulphur and Aqua fires, Thompson testified to finding depressions in the ground and vegetation in the area of origin, leading him to believe that was the location of an ignition source – possibly made of paper – that had been consumed by the fire.
The North Branch fire was located close to several businesses at an area known as “industrial court.” Thompson spoke to local business owners who helped him acquire surveillance video that showed a light-colored, two-door vehicle with a sunroof speeding away from the area, not stopping at the stop sign at Ogulin Canyon Road and Highway 53 before turning south onto the highway shortly before 2:45 p.m. He said he believed the individual driving the car was responsible for the fire.
When he investigated the Canyon fire on Aug. 9, 2016, he identified the origin area – less than 6 feet off the roadway edge – and said he found the remains of what appeared to be a twisted napkin that had been set on fire and had gotten into the dry vegetation. He said he could still see the twist in the paper product and it was starting to disintegrate. Thompson believed something similar could have been used to light the other fires.
Although it was completely burned – it was remnants of ash, still in form – he used an index card to collect the material and place it in a clear hard container with cotton balls. It disintegrated once he put it in the container, which was admitted into Cal Fire evidence.
All three witnesses were told that they are subject to recall. Testimony will continue on 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.
Damin Anthony Pashilk, 43, of Clearlake is facing 23 counts for what authorities say was a series of arson fires – 16 fires, counting the Clayton fire, plus the attempted start of a 17th that self-extinguished – between July of 2015 and August of 2016.
In testimony this week, the focus has continued on the men who were involved with keeping Pashilk under surveillance and investigating the fires they maintain that he set.
On Thursday, Chief Deputy District Attorney Richard Hinchcliff called to the stand Cal Fire employees Travis Needler, Jeremy Monroe, Dan White and Michael Thompson.
Travis Needler is a fire captain who has investigated 30 wildland, structure and vehicle fires, but Thursday was his first experience giving testimony in court about a fire’s cause and origin.
He investigated a fire on Aug. 8, 2015, on High Valley Road and Cerrito Road in Clearlake Oaks for which Pashilk is charged. Needler said he concluded – after interviewing two witnesses and reviewing the scene – that the roadside fire was intentionally set, having ruled out other potential causes.
During defense attorney Mitch Hauptman’s questioning, Needler acknowledged that when he originally completed the report, he had eliminated arson. But a year and a half later, when the report was sent to him for review, he modified it and changed the cause to arson.
Jeremy Monroe, Cal Fire’s deputy chief of law enforcement and fire intelligence, followed Needler to the stand.
He was on duty and assigned to conduct surveillance of Pashilk driving a gray Chrysler Sebring on July 23, 2016. On that evening, just after 7 p.m., the Western fire began on Western Mine Road near Middletown.
Testimony last week and on Thursday recounted how the surveillance team physically followed Pashilk and also used a GPS tracker that had been attached to the Chrysler.
Monroe followed Pashilk at a distance that evening. He had been positioned at Redbud Library when the operations chief requested he move to the Clearlake Safeway store’s parking lot in an effort to keep Pashilk under constant surveillance. From there, he followed Pashilk to the AutoZone shortly after 6 p.m. and then on to Twin Pine Casino in Middletown, where Pashilk parked and entered the building.
At 6:50 p.m., Monroe received a radio call from Damon Denman, a Cal Fire law enforcement officer who also was on the surveillance team, telling him that Pashilk’s vehicle was on the move.
Vehicles got between Monroe and Pashilk’s vehicles, and Monroe watched as Pashilk turned southbound onto Highway 29. Monroe said he could see in the distance a vehicle that appeared to be Pashilk’s, traveling about a mile ahead of him.
Both Monroe and Denman, traveling separately, followed the vehicle into Napa County, where they determined it wasn’t Pashilk’s car and headed back to the casino. When they arrived, Pashilk’s vehicle was back, parked near the loading and unloading area, where he had originally parked.
Monroe also tracked Pashilk on the afternoon and evening of July 26, 2016. At 6:48 p.m. that day, the Sulphur fire started on Sulphur Bank Road north of North Drive in Clearlake.
That day, Monroe said he trailed Pashilk from Clearlake to Twin Pine Casino, where he photographed him getting into his vehicle and leaving the casino parking lot while smoking a cigarette.
Dan White, who works for Cal Fire’s northern region law enforcement division, conducts complex fire investigations and arson surveillance, and also is a peace officer.
He was part of the Pashilk surveillance team, and was monitoring him on the evening of July 23, 2016, at the same time as Monroe. He recounted seeing Pashilk at the Clearlake AutoZone, with a woman in the front passenger seat who he said was the Chrysler’s registered owner, as well as another unknown female in the back seat.
White said he followed the Chrysler to Twin Pine Casino, where it was parked in the no parking area near the doors. He went inside and saw Pashilk sitting at a slot machine, watching one of the women he traveled with playing on another machine.
Pashilk then got up and left at about 6:45 p.m., getting in the Chrysler alone and heading south on Highway 29. White notified the other surveillance team members to let them know of Pashilk’s movements.
Like the others, he attempted to follow Pashilk south before turning around and returning to the casino, where he found the Chrysler parked once more. When White went into the casino, he saw Pashilk at the customer service counter just after 7 p.m.
Battalion Chief Michael Thompson, also a law enforcement officer for Cal Fire, gave most of the testimony on Thursday, explaining his efforts to investigate several of the fires Pashilk is accused of starting.
They include the Judge fire No. 1, which began just after 7:30 a.m. July 2, 2015, at Highway 20 at Judge Davis Trail east of Clearlake Oaks. Thompson excluded all possible causes but arson for that roadside fire.
He also helped investigate the Arrowhead fire on the afternoon of Aug. 25, 2015, on East Lake Drive in Clearlake; the Morgan fire on July 21, 2016, in the 18000 block of Morgan Valley Road near Staehle Lane in Lower Lake; the fire on Sulphur Bank Road, north of North Drive in Clearlake on the evening of July 26, 2016; the County fire on the evening of July 27, 2016, at Lakeshore and San Joaquin drive in Clearlake; the North Branch fire on the afternoon of July 29, 2016, on Ogulin Canyon Road, east of Highway 53 in Clearlake; the Agua fire on Aug. 7, 2016, on Highway 29 near mile post marker 16.29 near Lower Lake; and the Canyon fire at 5 p.m. Aug. 9, 2016, on Seigler Canyon Road in Lower Lake.
In the case of the Sulphur and Aqua fires, Thompson testified to finding depressions in the ground and vegetation in the area of origin, leading him to believe that was the location of an ignition source – possibly made of paper – that had been consumed by the fire.
The North Branch fire was located close to several businesses at an area known as “industrial court.” Thompson spoke to local business owners who helped him acquire surveillance video that showed a light-colored, two-door vehicle with a sunroof speeding away from the area, not stopping at the stop sign at Ogulin Canyon Road and Highway 53 before turning south onto the highway shortly before 2:45 p.m. He said he believed the individual driving the car was responsible for the fire.
When he investigated the Canyon fire on Aug. 9, 2016, he identified the origin area – less than 6 feet off the roadway edge – and said he found the remains of what appeared to be a twisted napkin that had been set on fire and had gotten into the dry vegetation. He said he could still see the twist in the paper product and it was starting to disintegrate. Thompson believed something similar could have been used to light the other fires.
Although it was completely burned – it was remnants of ash, still in form – he used an index card to collect the material and place it in a clear hard container with cotton balls. It disintegrated once he put it in the container, which was admitted into Cal Fire evidence.
All three witnesses were told that they are subject to recall. Testimony will continue on Friday.
Email Elizabeth Larson at
LAKEPORT, Calif. – In an effort to reduce the number of biting adult mosquitoes emerging this spring, the Lake County Vector Control District will be making an aerial treatment to the marshlands adjacent to the lake between Clear Lake State Park and Lakeport, parts of Anderson Marsh State Park, a small section east of the Clearlake Keys, and a small area near Bridge Arbor South in North Lakeport.
The treatment is expected to occur during daylight hours between Wednesday, Feb. 27, and Friday, March 8.
The specific date will be determined based on mosquito surveillance data, lake level and the weather.
The application date and any subsequent changes will be posted on the district’s Web site.
The application is being made because the district’s winter mosquito surveillance program has detected large numbers of mosquito larvae in the marshlands along the perimeter of the lake that flooded as the lake rose due to the abundant rains.
These mosquito larvae are an early-season floodwater species (Aedes increpitus) that hatch from eggs laid in the mud in previous years as the lake receded.
When winter rains flooded the eggs, the larvae hatched and began developing in the still, shallow water. As temperatures and day length increase in early spring, the Ae. increpitus mosquito larvae will pupate and then emerge as biting adults.
These mosquitoes are the aggressive biters experienced every spring by people living and recreating near this area.
The application will be made by a yellow, bi-winged crop duster flying at a low altitude over these marshy areas.
Some of the marshy areas are near homes, and people may experience a brief noise nuisance from the plane.
The product applied will be VectoBac G, a biological larvicide used to control mosquito larvae in aquatic habitats. VectoBac is manufactured by Valent BioSciences, and is based on the naturally occurring soil bacterium, Bacillus thuringiensis israelensis (Bti).
The district said it’s a highly effective and economical microbial insecticide is registered with the Environmental Protection Agency for the control of larval mosquitoes in nearly all aquatic habitats.
Bti is highly selective for the control of mosquito larvae in water and does not affect plants, animals, or beneficial insects that live in or drink the water. The formulation is a biodegradable solid corncob granule coated with Bti.
The Bti breaks down rapidly in nature so there is no persistence of the active ingredient. The use of a solid formulation reduces the possibility of drift onto adjacent property.
The Lake County Vector Control District said it makes every effort to use the safest product available to minimize any health concerns the public may have. The VectoBac G label and the Safety Data Sheet are available from the Lake County Vector Control District’s Web site at http://www.lcvcd.org/ or may be requested by calling 707-263-4770.
The treatment is expected to occur during daylight hours between Wednesday, Feb. 27, and Friday, March 8.
The specific date will be determined based on mosquito surveillance data, lake level and the weather.
The application date and any subsequent changes will be posted on the district’s Web site.
The application is being made because the district’s winter mosquito surveillance program has detected large numbers of mosquito larvae in the marshlands along the perimeter of the lake that flooded as the lake rose due to the abundant rains.
These mosquito larvae are an early-season floodwater species (Aedes increpitus) that hatch from eggs laid in the mud in previous years as the lake receded.
When winter rains flooded the eggs, the larvae hatched and began developing in the still, shallow water. As temperatures and day length increase in early spring, the Ae. increpitus mosquito larvae will pupate and then emerge as biting adults.
These mosquitoes are the aggressive biters experienced every spring by people living and recreating near this area.
The application will be made by a yellow, bi-winged crop duster flying at a low altitude over these marshy areas.
Some of the marshy areas are near homes, and people may experience a brief noise nuisance from the plane.
The product applied will be VectoBac G, a biological larvicide used to control mosquito larvae in aquatic habitats. VectoBac is manufactured by Valent BioSciences, and is based on the naturally occurring soil bacterium, Bacillus thuringiensis israelensis (Bti).
The district said it’s a highly effective and economical microbial insecticide is registered with the Environmental Protection Agency for the control of larval mosquitoes in nearly all aquatic habitats.
Bti is highly selective for the control of mosquito larvae in water and does not affect plants, animals, or beneficial insects that live in or drink the water. The formulation is a biodegradable solid corncob granule coated with Bti.
The Bti breaks down rapidly in nature so there is no persistence of the active ingredient. The use of a solid formulation reduces the possibility of drift onto adjacent property.
The Lake County Vector Control District said it makes every effort to use the safest product available to minimize any health concerns the public may have. The VectoBac G label and the Safety Data Sheet are available from the Lake County Vector Control District’s Web site at http://www.lcvcd.org/ or may be requested by calling 707-263-4770.