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Sandra Jean Patterson
Sept. 10, 1942 - April 21, 2017
LAKE COUNTY, Calif. – Heaven has a new angel.
Sandy leaves behind son, Michael Thomas (Savanah) Busby and granddaughter Bridgette Butterfly Busby; sisters, Kathy Nagel and Terri (Michael) Felton; niece, Breanna; great-niece, Jayla; nephew, Cole Felton; and many other nieces and nephews.
She will be dearly missed.
LAKE COUNTY, Calif. – The Lake County Air Quality Management District reported that the county’s annual burn ban will begin on Monday, May 1.
The burn restriction, which is intended to address concerns over both fire hazard and air quality, applies to all areas in Lake County.
All burn permits expire on Sunday, April 30.
An annual burn ban was first implemented in 1986 in response to weather conditions that often create extreme fire danger and poor air quality.
A managed approach incorporating fire and air agency concerns has been implemented and improved upon for many years, the district reported.
The ban allows a quick fire agency response to all fires observed from May 1 onward, as they are all assumed to be uncontrolled fires unless specifically authorized by an exemption permit.
The district said this successful program is one of the primary reasons Lake County has superior and healthful air quality.
The ban also helps prevent smoke impacts to the general public and large planned outdoor events from unrestricted vegetative waste burns.
The burn ban includes all open waste burning, though exceptions are possible for agricultural operations, essential control burns for fire hazard reduction projects, public safety burns and others.
To obtain an exemption permit for a necessary burn after May 1, first contact the Lake County Air Quality Management District at 707-263-7000 to determine need, then your local fire protection agency so that your burn site can be inspected and evaluated for fire safety.
Only after the fire agency has notified the Lake County Air Quality Management District that the proposed burn is fire safe, can you obtain a written exemption permit.
Anyone responsible for open burning during the ban without a valid written exemption permit may be subject to a citation, fines and the cost of the fire agency response to extinguish the fire. Burn restrictions will remain in effect until Cal Fire declares an end to fire season late this year.
The Lake County Air Quality Management District asks that the community help reduce the danger and losses caused by uncontrolled fires, and protect the county’s clean air resources by observing the ban.
The district said public cooperation is greatly appreciated and results in a safer and more healthful environment for everyone.
The California Department of Public Health announced the first confirmed illness in California due to West Nile virus.
The illness occurred in Kings County, officials said.
“West Nile virus activity in the state is increasing, so I urge Californians to take every possible precaution to protect against mosquito bites,” said CDPH Director and State Public Health Officer Dr. Karen Smith.
This year to date, West Nile virus activity has been detected in three dead birds, one each from San Mateo, Orange, and San Diego counties.
Heavy rains this winter in California have contributed to an increase in mosquito breeding sites. It is not known what impact the wet weather may have on the actual virus transmission risk in humans.
So far this season, West Nile activity is within expected levels, the state reported.
West Nile virus is influenced by many factors, including climate, the number and types of birds and mosquitoes in an area and the level of West Nile immunity in birds.
West Nile virus is transmitted to humans and animals by the bite of an infected mosquito. The risk of serious illness to most people is low. However, some individuals – less than 1 percent – can develop serious neurologic illnesses such as encephalitis or meningitis.
People 50 years of age and older, and individuals with diabetes or hypertension, have a higher chance of getting sick and are more likely to develop complications.
CDPH recommends that individuals protect against mosquito bites and WNV by practicing the “Three Ds”:
1. DEET – Apply insect repellent containing DEET, picaradin, oil of lemon eucalyptus or IR3535 according to label instructions. Repellents keep the mosquitoes from biting you. Insect repellents should not be used on children under two months of age.
2. DAWN AND DUSK – Mosquitoes usually bite in the early morning and evening so it is important to wear proper clothing and repellent if outside during these times. Make sure that your doors and windows have tight-fitting screens to keep out mosquitoes. Repair or replace screens that have tears or holes.
3. DRAIN – Mosquitoes lay their eggs on standing water. Eliminate all sources of standing water on your property, by emptying flower pots, old car tires, buckets and other containers. If you know of a swimming pool that is not being properly maintained, please contact your local mosquito and vector control agency.
California’s West Nile virus Web site includes the latest information on WNV activity in the state. Californians are encouraged to report dead birds on the website or by calling toll-free 1-877-WNV-BIRD (968-2473).
Title means ownership and control. How title is conveyed varies with the asset type.
With real property title involves the chain of title from the original owner to each subsequent owner.
Title is typically conveyed by either a quitclaim deed or a warranty deed signed by the grantor(s).
Title “vests” (transfers) in the name of the grantee(s) upon delivery to the grantee, or upon recordation with the county. In California, a grantee may take title in various ways.
If the grantee is married title should say that the grantee is married and whether or not the property is the grantee's separate property or community property.
For example consider, "John Doe, a Married Man, as his Sole and Separate Property," and, "John Doe and Jane Doe, husband and wife, as Community Property."
With a married person, title is not necessarily conclusive of whether the property is the sole and separate property of the spouse on title or is community property belonging equally to both spouses.
What rights each spouse has in the assets titled in either spouse’s name may depend on whether the property is being transferred due to the couple’s divorce or due to the death of either spouse.
Thus, for example, if a married person purchases real property in his or her own name alone, but uses community property (such as earnings while married) to make the purchase (and/or uses a loan secured by marital earnings), then even though title is recorded in one spouse's name alone the couple's community property estate may acquire an equity interest in the property.
If title to property is held in joint tenancy then when the first joint tenant dies, the surviving joint tenant(s) acquire title to the entire the property, including what was the deceased joint tenant's equal share, without probate.
If the last surviving joint tenant, however, still holds title to the property in his or her name (outside of any trust) then a probate may become necessary when the surviving joint tenant dies, depending on the gross value of the last joint tenant's probate estate and whether the real property goes to a surviving spouse.
Probate only applies when more than $150,000 in gross value is left to person(s) other than a surviving spouse (or registered domestic partner). Probate can be avoided by holding title in a trust or by recording a revoable transfer on death ("TOD") deed.
When title is held in a Revocable Living Trust, beneficial ownership remains with the settlor who established the trust. But, at the settlor's death probate is avoided because title transfers to the living successor trustee by means of an affidavit of successor trustee.
In a probate title to real property is conveyed pursuant to a deed signed by the court appointed personal representative.
If the deed is pursuant to a probate sale then the personal representative, if granted full independent powers of administration, may proceed without prior court authorization. Otherwise, a court order authorizing the sale or the distribution to a beneficiary is required.
Sometimes title to real property is transferred by just recording a court order alone. For example, a surviving spouse can petition the court to confirm the spouse's ownership of the deceased spouse's real property.
Title to financial accounts, like brokerages and bank accounts, is maintained by the financial institution based on documents signed by the account holder(s).
At the account holder’s death there are a number of possible ways that the account assets may be transferred.
Joint accounts pass to the surviving joint tenant(s). “Pay on death” and “transfer on death” accounts usually pass according to designation of death beneficiary forms. Accounts held in a trust go to the trust beneficiaries. Sometimes part or all of a financial account may still pass according to the deceased owner’s will or, if no will, to the surviving heirs.
Anyone with a legal question regarding the titling or transfer of an asset should consult an attorney.
Dennis A. Fordham, Attorney, is a State Bar-Certified Specialist in estate planning, probate and trust law. His office is at 870 S. Main St., Lakeport, Calif. He can be reached at
NASA's Cassini spacecraft is back in contact with Earth after its successful first-ever dive through the narrow gap between the planet Saturn and its rings on Wednesday.
The spacecraft is in the process of beaming back science and engineering data collected during its passage, via NASA's Deep Space Network Goldstone Complex in California's Mojave Desert.
The DSN acquired Cassini's signal at 11:56 p.m. PDT on April 26 and data began flowing at 12:01 a.m. PDT on April 27.
"In the grandest tradition of exploration, NASA's Cassini spacecraft has once again blazed a trail, showing us new wonders and demonstrating where our curiosity can take us if we dare," said Jim Green, director of the Planetary Science Division at NASA Headquarters in Washington.
As it dove through the gap, Cassini came within about 1,900 miles of Saturn's cloud tops (where the air pressure is 1 bar – comparable to the atmospheric pressure of Earth at sea level) and within about 200 miles of the innermost visible edge of the rings.
While mission managers were confident Cassini would pass through the gap successfully, they took extra precautions with this first dive, as the region had never been explored.
"No spacecraft has ever been this close to Saturn before. We could only rely on predictions, based on our experience with Saturn's other rings, of what we thought this gap between the rings and Saturn would be like," said Cassini Project Manager Earl Maize of NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory in Pasadena, California. "I am delighted to report that Cassini shot through the gap just as we planned and has come out the other side in excellent shape."
The gap between the rings and the top of Saturn's atmosphere is about 1,500 miles (2,000 kilometers) wide.
The best models for the region suggested that if there were ring particles in the area where Cassini crossed the ring plane, they would be tiny, on the scale of smoke particles.
The spacecraft zipped through this region at speeds of about 77,000 miles per hour relative to the planet, so small particles hitting a sensitive area could potentially have disabled the spacecraft.
As a protective measure, the spacecraft used its large, dish-shaped high-gain antenna (13 feet or 4 meters across) as a shield, orienting it in the direction of oncoming ring particles. This meant that the spacecraft was out of contact with Earth during the ring-plane crossing, which took place at 2 a.m. PDT on April 26. Cassini was programmed to collect science data while close to the planet and turn toward Earth to make contact about 20 hours after the crossing.
Cassini's next dive through the gap is scheduled for May 2.
Launched in 1997, Cassini arrived at Saturn in 2004. Following its last close flyby of the large moon Titan on April 21 PDT, Cassini began what mission planners are calling its "Grand Finale."
During this final chapter, Cassini loops Saturn approximately once per week, making a total of 22 dives between the rings and the planet.
Data from this first dive will help engineers understand if and how they will need to protect the spacecraft on its future ring-plane crossings.
The spacecraft is on a trajectory that will eventually plunge into Saturn's atmosphere – and end Cassini's mission – on Sept. 15.
More information about Cassini's Grand Finale, including images and video, is available at https://saturn.jpl.nasa.gov/grandfinale and https://saturn.jpl.nasa.gov/mission/grand-finale/why-cassini-matters/ .
NOTICE OF INTENT TO ADOPT A CATEGORICAL EXEMPTION
AND NOTICE OF PROPOSED MINOR USE PERMIT
BY THE LAKE COUNTY ZONING ADMINISTRATOR
NOTICE IS HEREBY GIVEN that the Lake County Zoning Administrator of the County of Lake, State of California, will consider approving Minor Use Permit 17-17 with no public hearing if no written request for a public hearing is submitted by 5:00 P.M., May 10, 2017 to the Community Development Department, Courthouse, 255 N. Forbes St., Lakeport, California. Should a timely request for hearing be filed, a public hearing will be held on May 17, 2017 at 2:30 p.m. in Conference Room C, 3rd Floor of the Courthouse.
Minor Use Permit 17-17. Owner: Joseph Sullivan. Project: In accordance with Lake County Code to allow a Hardship Guesthouse. Location: 20740 S. Highway 29, Middletown, APN 014-430-09. Project planner: Michalyn DelValle, (707) 263-2221 or
Copies of the application, environmental documents, all reference documents, and staff reports associated with each project are available for review through the Community Development Department, Planning Division; Telephone (707) 263-2221.
COMMUNITY DEVELOPMENT DEPARTMENT
Robert Massarelli, Director
By: ____________________________________
Michalyn DelValle, Principal Planner