How to resolve AdBlock issue? 
News
XXX: RETURN OF XANDER CAGE (Rated PG-13)
Vin Diesel has been in so many “Fast and Furious” films with car chase madness and violent action scenes that it is easy to forget that he first appeared as Xander Cage in the original “XXX” fifteen years.
Not much has changed in the intervening years since Diesel returns now to “XXX: Return of Xander Cage,” and his Xander is still the protégé of Samuel L. Jackson’s NSA Agent Gibbons when first recruited to be an unconventional spy so long ago.
Diesel’s Xander Cage is no ordinary mortal, as that becomes abundantly evident in some of the films more outrageously cartoonish moments. After all, Xander was enlisted to use his extreme athletic skills to combat ruthless enemies and he won’t disappoint now.
There was a second Triple X film about a dozen years ago, starring Ice Cube as Darius Stone, that has been largely forgotten. Yet, that didn’t stop the press notes from claiming that fans have been demanding the return of Xander for nearly a decade.
Sorry, but I failed to notice the public clamor, but maybe that’s because I have never been a faithful attendee of the San Diego Comic Con, an annual Woodstock for the geek squad from which emanates so much of modern pop culture.
Nevertheless, I think we can sum up this Vin Diesel exercise in mayhem in a few short words. Xander is back to flex his awesome muscles to fight a bunch of bad guys to recover a deadly weapon known as Pandora’s Box.
The weapon, able to launch satellites into attack mode, has been stolen, and nebulous government operative Jane Marke (Toni Collette) recruits Xander to retrieve the dangerous device from the wrong hands.
Enter Chinese villain Xiang (Donnie Yen), a bad-ass alpha warrior who is every bit as imposing and compelling as his nemesis Xander. Xiang’s crew includes the lethal Serena (Bollywood star Deepika Padukone) and the energetic bleached-blond Talon (Tony Jaa).
Xander puts together his own team, the most memorable of which is the deadly sniper Adele Wolff (Ruby Rose), but a lot can be said for the comic relief delivered by the slightly insane stunt driver Tennyson Torch (Rory McCann).
The essence of “XXX: Return of Xander Cage” is distilled by that which proves to be most titillating for action junkies: explosions, guns, action and girls in bikinis. The formula is simple but effective.
I don’t think much attention will be paid by the Diesel-fueled action fans to the nuance of shifting allegiances, betrayals and double-crosses. But then, I must admit, Ice Cube showing up in a vintage muscle car is part of the film’s cool factor.
TV Corner: 'MacGyver' on CBS network
The winter brings a new crop of mid-season television series which will soon hit the radar of this column as long as previews of the same come to our attention.
It’s no easy task trying to keep up with the wide range of choices on network and cable. In fact, it’s a fool’s errand to even try to be up to speed on everything.
Meanwhile, given the public appetite for remakes and reunions, let’s take a look at one of the year’s boldest, or perhaps foolhardy, attempts to revive a vintage series with a fresh coat of reinvention.
Well, I have no idea what Richard Dean Anderson is doing these days, but I do wonder what he might think of the CBS Network restoring his knack for using paper clips and chewing gum to fashion spy gadgetry to get out of a jam.
Indeed, I am talking about “MacGyver,” which now stars Lucas Till as Angus “Mac” MacGyver, a tousle-haired whiz kid with special skills as a government operative working out of a secretive organization run by Patricia Thornton (Sandrine Holt).
But Till’s MacGyver is not quite the lone wolf of his predecessor, though it appears that he could do quite well on his very own armed only with a Swiss Army knife and a satchel full of ordinary office supplies.
Now he’s got some muscle behind him with the macho Jack Dalton (George Eads), a former CIA agent familiar with packing some heat. Tough in her own right is Riley Davis (Tristin Mays), an expert hacker fresh out of prison to back up the MacGyver crew.
In late breaking news, it can now be revealed that Sandrine Holt is out of the show, replaced by Meredith Eaton as Matty Webber, the new head of the Phoenix Foundation.
It remains to be seen if a major cast change in mid-stream will be a boon or a bust for a show that’s biggest selling point might be as the lead-in to “Hawaii Five-O.”
Tim Riley writes film and television reviews for Lake County News.
CAFWA 12/2016 FINAL from RCRC on Vimeo.
An unprecedented, urban-rural coalition representing water interests, local government, the conservation community, agriculture, and the forestry sector has formed to advance proactive, science-based, and ecologically sound forest management practices.
The California Forest Watershed Alliance (CAFWA) supports policies and practices that promote healthy forests that are more resilient to drought, wildfire and climate change.
Knowing that 60 percent of California’s water supply originates in the Sierra Nevada, the alliance has coalesced around a set of proactive priorities to help protect California’s forested watersheds, and outlined them in the educational video above.
Five years of record drought have led to a year-round wildfire season in California, with wildfires increasing in both size and severity.
Megafires, like the Rim fire and King fire, degrade wildlife habitat, release tons of greenhouse gases into the atmosphere, threaten water supply, and put lives and communities at serious risk.
The more than 100 million dead trees from insects and disease in the Sierra Nevada have further degraded forest health, wildlife habitat, and carbon storage – a function of the drought and unhealthy, overcrowded forest conditions.
“California’s water supply depends upon healthy forests and healthy watersheds,” said Tim Quinn, Executive Director of the Association of California Water Agencies. “By proactively managing our forests, we can safeguard our water supply by reducing the risk of damaging megafires.”
“California’s wildfires are getting larger, hotter, and more destructive, posing a serious threat to wildlife habitat and natural values,” said David Edelson, Sierra Nevada project director for The Nature Conservancy. “That is why we are partnering with water utilities, rural counties, and the forestry sector to promote ecologically-based management of our forests and watersheds.”
“Our forests provide us with a multitude of benefits, including clean air, clean water, wildlife habitat, recreation and economic opportunities,” David Bischel, President of the California Forestry Association. “If we can proactively manage our forests, it will protect all of those environmental and economic values we rely on.”
Without a major change in forest management, vast swaths of forests will continue to be lost, impacting the natural resources that residents throughout the state rely upon,” said Paul Wenger, president of the California Farm Bureau Federation. “It’s time that we come together to solve the crisis in our forests, and having a diverse group of interests working to restore our forests to healthier conditions for the long term is an idea everyone should support.”
“Static management practices, coupled with drier, hotter conditions, have created unhealthy, highly flammable forests, resulting in large, destructive, and difficult to control megafires,” said Justin Caporusso, vice president of external affairs for the Rural County Representatives of California. “Fortunately, there are better ways to manage our forests to reverse this trend and restore them to health. CAFWA’s collaborative effort seeks to bring attention to forest management practices that will protect our water, energy, environment, and economy. ”
CAFWA’s policy platform includes increasing the pace and scale of ecologically-based forest management, increasing the funding for forest thinning and wildfire prevention efforts, increasing the geographic scope of forest management to address problems at a landscape scale, and making economic use of the byproducts of ecologically-based forest thinning through the use of biomass.
For more information visit www.caforestsandwatersheds.org .
LAKE COUNTY, Calif. – To some readers this question may come across as silly: When is the best time to put in your garden?
They may think it's May; isn’t that the universal put-in-your-garden month?
Well, it depends. If you are somebody whose idea of a vegetable garden is a few tomato plants, some zucchini, a patch of sweet corn and maybe a couple of peppers, then yes, you can purchase those plants in May, “put them in” and you’ll probably get some decent return on your investment, provided you keep the critters away from them and provide regular irrigation.
The same is true for an ornamental garden consisting mostly of blooming annuals.
Anyone who wants to grow a broader spectrum of plants or is not happy with just the standard varieties of tomatoes, squash or bedding plants offered at local nurseries, will soon find out, however, that there is hardly a month when it isn’t time to start from seed, transplant or otherwise propagate something.
Trees, for instance, especially bare root ones, are best planted anytime from late fall until at the latest January or February.
The same is true for all native perennials, which are crucial in providing habitat to beneficial insects.
Planting during the dormant season gives them time to establish a good root system, enhanced by mycorrhizae, so they can survive our often brutally hot and dry summers without requiring constant “emergency hand watering” in summer.
If you like to eat home-grown broccoli, cauliflower or cabbage, May or June are definitely the wrong time to put those in. They need to be started from seed either in mid to late January and transplanted out in late February to early March.
They also can be grown as a fall or winter crop here. In that case you would start them in the beginning of August for a harvest at around Thanksgiving and beyond.
Mid-February is the best time to seed your peppers and eggplants indoors for transplanting out in May, because they grow much slower than tomatoes and take longer to fruit.
Tomatoes can be seeded in March and be ready for transplanting outside in May.
This is also a good time to direct seed carrots and beets in loose, deeply cultivated growing medium.
The rocky clay soils typical for most areas of Lake County are ill-suited for growing those crops.
If you like the idea of eating homegrown veggies other than tomatoes and want to ensure optimal pollination, but think that this is all too complicated for you, let UC Master Gardeners help you get a head start on your garden this year.
Join them on Saturday, Feb. 11, at 10 a.m. for “Planting for Beneficial Insects” and at 12:30 p.m. for “Starting Seeds of Vegetables and Flowers.”
Both classes will be held at the Agricultural Center on 883 Lakeport Blvd., Lakeport.
Everyone attending the seed starting class will get to take home their seeded growing container.
The Master Gardeners will have their “Lake County Vegetable Garden Guide” hot off the press, as well as the just-published “Lake County Ornamental Garden Guide” for sale as well.
The class fee is $ 5 but will be waived, if you purchase a garden guide.
Please call 707-2636838 if you have questions and to RSVP.
On Friday, the White House announced it was ending outreach on enrolling in health insurance through www.HealthCare.gov .
Open enrollment lasts through Jan. 31, and has traditionally been a time when interest in coverage surges.
Congressman Mike Thompson (CA-05), whose district includes a portion of Lake County, condemned the action.
“It is irresponsible to try to keep Americans in the dark about enrolling in health insurance,” said Thompson. “Regardless of whether the president wants to repeal the Affordable Care Act, it remains in place. Americans have a right to know when open enrollment ends and how they can get coverage before the deadline. To pull the plug on outreach we have already paid for is both a waste of money and a callous disregard for men, women, and families in need of health care.”
In the three years since the marketplaces launched, the final day of enrollment has been the second-biggest day of enrollment – topped only by Dec. 31, the deadline for people seeking coverage effective Jan. 1.
The last week of January traditionally draws younger enrollees, who often wait until the last minute to sign up.
For this reason, United States Department of Health and Human Services had planned a major advertising campaign specifically aimed at younger adults – which is now being halted.
A drop in younger enrollees could result in the risk pools in the marketplaces being less healthy, driving up future premiums.
As of Dec. 24, more than 11.5 million people nationwide had signed up for 2017 federal marketplace plans, an increase from 2016, according to a report released earlier this month by the Department of Health and Human Services.
In California, outreach and marketing is coordinated through Covered California, and will continue as planned.
Since enrollment opened in November, 1.3 million people have renewed coverage in California, and more than 300,000 have signed up for the very first time, according to officials with Covered California.
California residents can still sign up for health insurance at http://www.coveredca.com/ .
LAKE COUNTY, Calif. – County officials are working with state and federal agencies to get extensions for Valley fire survivors who continue to rely on temporary housing units offered through the Federal Emergency Management Agency.
Lake County Supervisors Rob Brown and Moke Simon, both of whom have been very active in local disaster recovery efforts, were recently briefed by officials with the Governor's Office of Emergency Services, or CalOES, officials regarding the 35 FEMA manufactured housing units, or MHUs, currently in use by Valley fire survivors.
As the public was made aware at the time the MHUs were deployed, FEMA's initial program for the MHUs was set to end March 22, 2017, or 18 months from the date of the presidentially-declared disaster.
The county reported that there are 28 Valley fire homeowners – persons or families who owned a home lost in the disaster – living in MHUs. CalOES was able to secure an extension to allow those families to continue using the MHUs through Sept. 22, 2017.
During this time of extension, continued compliance with all FEMA requirements, including the payment of rent, is necessary.
However, no FEMA extension is possible for renters and March 22, 2017, is the date by which persons or families who lived in rented housing lost in the disaster must vacate MHUs.
Seven survivor households meet this criteria and have received ongoing notices from FEMA of this deadline since MHU occupancy began.
Renters will need to vacate or be subject to rent, penalty fees and, ultimately, eviction.
In anticipation of the March 22, deadline, county staff has reached out by telephone to each of the seven renter households.
The county said most of those households are reporting that they have made other housing arrangements.
Supervisor Brown intends to work on solutions for those who have been unable to make other housing arrangements.
For the few who have been unreachable by telephone thus far, he asks that they call him directly at 707-349-2628.
Supervisor Brown also encourages all Valley fire survivors to attend the upcoming community meeting on the state CalHOME grant, to be hosted by state Sen. Mike McGuire on Feb. 16 at Middletown High School Gym at 6:30 p.m.
The long-awaited CalHome program will provide loans to low income homeowners to rebuild homes lost in the Valley and Clayton fires, as well as to renters impacted by these disasters who may become first time homebuyers.
Special needs trusts (“SNTs”) preserve the beneficiary’s eligibility to receive needs-based government benefits, such as SSI and Medi-Cal.
These benefits are jeopardized when an individual receives a gift or inheritance because the individual then exceeds his or her maximum allowed resources (countable assets).
First party SNTs (unlike third party SNTs) are funded with assets belonging to the special needs beneficiary. Funding the SNT preserves eligibility.
Until Jan. 1, 2017, federal law required a first party SNT to be established by the beneficiary’s own parent, grandparent or guardian, and otherwise by court order.
Due to an oversight in the originally enacted law, the beneficiary could not establish the trust him or herself.
Effective Jan. 1, 2017, individuals under age 65 years themselves can establish their own first party SNT.
Now, provided a person is under age 65 and has the capacity to sign the first party SNT, a person can avoid the extra difficulties involved with a court proceeding when no parent or grandparent of the beneficiary is alive and able to establish the first party SNT.
Individuals who lack the capacity to sign their own first party SNT, however, must still rely on a third party or a court order to establish their first party SNT.
That said, however, there are many individuals receiving needs based government benefits who still have the mental capacity to sign a trust document.
Once established a first party SNT is then funded with assets belonging to the beneficiary that would otherwise disqualify them from SSI or Medi-Cal.
The trustee, someone other than the beneficiary, has full discretion over whether, when and how to use such assets for the benefit of the special needs beneficiary.
With a first party SNT – unlike with a third party SNT – any assets that remain after the SNT beneficiary dies is subject to required pay-back provisions for Medi-Cal Estate Recovery claims.
But with a third party SNT – one established and funded by someone other than the SNT beneficiary (usually the parent) – whatever assets remain are not subject to such recovery claims after the SNT beneficiary dies because these assets never belonged to the special needs beneficiary. These remaining assets usually go to other family members.
The purpose of any SNT is to use the SNTs assets to pay for goods and services that would otherwise go unmet – i.e., the comforts and extras of life – and yet preserve the beneficiary’s eligibility to receive needs based government benefits.
These needs-based government benefits pay for the necessities of life, including food, shelter and medical care.
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