News

California Department of Public Health (CDPH) State Public Health Officer Dr. Karen Smith reported that the state is experiencing widespread influenza activity that is more severe than last year.

CDPH also has received the first report of a death associated with influenza in a child younger than 18 years of age. The death occurred in Riverside County.

“This is a tragic reminder that the flu is a serious illness for people of all ages and kills thousands of Americans each year,” said Dr. Smith. “If you haven’t been immunized yet this season, getting flu shots for you and your family now can still help protect you this winter.”

CDPH disease monitoring indicates widespread flu activity across the state that is more severe than last year.

Since the beginning of the influenza season, CDPH has received reports of 14 influenza-associated deaths, including the child in Riverside.

This count represents a fraction of the total flu deaths statewide because only deaths in people younger than 65 are reported to the state and not all influenza-related deaths are easily attributable to influenza.

Hospitals statewide have been impacted by a surge in influenza patients, and hospitalizations for pneumonia and influenza at Kaiser Permanente hospitals in Northern California during the week ending Jan. 7 reached 10.2 percent, the highest level recorded in 10 years.

CDPH also has received reports of 83 influenza outbreaks, mostly in long-term care facilities, more than twice the reports received in recent years.

“We are closely monitoring the impact of influenza on health care facilities,” said Dr. Smith. “Some acute care hospitals in California are full and have diverted patients to other facilities.”

For anyone who has not yet received a flu shot this season, it is not too late. Influenza activity usually continues for several months, and it is still early in the season.

Because it takes about two weeks after vaccination for antibodies that protect against influenza, it is best to get vaccinated as soon as possible.

CDPH recommends all Californians aged six month and older, including pregnant women, should get the annual flu vaccine.

The flu virus circulating this season closely matches the vaccine, suggesting that the vaccine will provide protection against influenza and reduce the risk of severe disease.

The flu vaccine prevents disease due to the most serious wintertime virus, but other viruses are also circulating now.

Along with getting immunized, officials suggest taking these common-sense precautions against wintertime viruses:

· Stay home when you are sick.
· Cover your cough and sneezes with a tissue or your sleeve.
· Wash your hands often and thoroughly with soap and warm water or clean them with alcohol-based hand sanitizer.
· Avoid touching your eyes, nose and mouth.

For more information about influenza visit the CDPH influenza Web page. To learn where to receive flu vaccine at a location near you, visit the HealthMap Vaccine Finder.

Earth’s 2016 surface temperatures were the warmest since modern recordkeeping began in 1880, according to independent analyses by NASA and the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, or NOAA.

Globally-averaged temperatures in 2016 were 1.78 degrees Fahrenheit warmer than the mid-20th century mean. This makes 2016 the third year in a row to set a new record for global average surface temperatures.

The planet’s long-term warming trend is seen in this chart of every year’s annual temperature cycle from 1880 to the present, compared to the average temperature from 1880 to 2015. Record warm years are listed in the column on the right.

The 2016 temperatures continue a long-term warming trend, according to analyses by scientists at NASA’s Goddard Institute for Space Studies (GISS) in New York. NOAA scientists concur with the finding that 2016 was the warmest year on record based on separate, independent analyses of the data.

Because weather station locations and measurement practices change over time, there are uncertainties in the interpretation of specific year-to-year global mean temperature differences. However, even taking this into account, NASA estimates 2016 was the warmest year with greater than 95 percent certainty.

Said GISS Director Gavin Schmidt, “2016 is remarkably the third record year in a row in this series. We don’t expect record years every year, but the ongoing long-term warming trend is clear.”

The planet’s average surface temperature has risen about 2.0 degrees Fahrenheit (1.1 degrees Celsius) since the late 19th century, a change driven largely by increased carbon dioxide and other human-made emissions into the atmosphere.

Most of the warming occurred in the past 35 years, with 16 of the 17 warmest years on record occurring since 2001.

Not only was 2016 the warmest year on record, but eight of the 12 months that make up the year – from January through September, with the exception of June – were the warmest on record for those respective months.

October, November, and December of 2016 were the second warmest of those months on record – in all three cases, behind records set in 2015.

Phenomena such as El Niño or La Niña, which warm or cool the upper tropical Pacific Ocean and cause corresponding variations in global wind and weather patterns, contribute to short-term variations in global average temperature.

A warming El Niño event was in effect for most of 2015 and the first third of 2016. Researchers estimate the direct impact of the natural El Niño warming in the tropical Pacific increased the annual global temperature anomaly for 2016 by 0.2 degrees Fahrenheit (0.12 degrees Celsius). 

Weather dynamics often affect regional temperatures, so not every region on Earth experienced record average temperatures last year.

For example, both NASA and NOAA found the 2016 annual mean temperature for the contiguous 48 United States was the second warmest on record. In contrast, the Arctic experienced its warmest year ever, consistent with record low sea ice found in that region for most of the year.

NASA’s analyses incorporate surface temperature measurements from 6,300 weather stations, ship- and buoy-based observations of sea surface temperatures, and temperature measurements from Antarctic research stations.

These raw measurements are analyzed using an algorithm that considers the varied spacing of temperature stations around the globe and urban heating effects that could skew the conclusions. The result of these calculations is an estimate of the global average temperature difference from a baseline period of 1951 to 1980.

NOAA scientists used much of the same raw temperature data, but with a different baseline period, and different methods to analyze Earth’s polar regions and global temperatures.

GISS is a laboratory within the Earth Sciences Division of NASA’s Goddard Space Flight Center in Greenbelt, Maryland. The laboratory is affiliated with Columbia University’s Earth Institute and School of Engineering and Applied Science in New York.

NASA monitors Earth's vital signs from land, air and space with a fleet of satellites, as well as airborne and ground-based observation campaigns.

The agency develops new ways to observe and study Earth's interconnected natural systems with long-term data records and computer analysis tools to better see how our planet is changing.

NASA shares this unique knowledge with the global community and works with institutions in the United States and around the world that contribute to understanding and protecting our home planet.

KELSEYVILLE, Calif. – Pastor Claudia Listman will be the guest speaker for the 9 a.m. Sunday service at Kelseyville United Methodist Church on Jan. 22.

The worship service message from Proclaim is from the Lectionary Scripture Matthew 4: 12–23 titled “Next One Up.”

This Sunday the church will pray ecumenically for Algeria, Libya, Morocco, Tunisia, the United States and all who are separated from the love of God.

Pastor Listman retired as pastor of the Middletown Community United Methodist Church in June of 2016.

Kelseyville United Methodist is located at Main and First Streets in Kelseyville. For information and prayer phone Pastor Voris at 707-295-7174.

LAKEPORT, Calif. – The Lake County Lupoyoma Parlor No. 329 of the Native Daughters of the Golden West meet Thursday, Feb. 9, for a membership social and organizational meeting.

The group meets at 5:30 p.m. for social time and 6 p.m. for the business meeting at Round Table Pizza, 821 11th St. in Lakeport.

If you were born in California and are over 16 you are a Native Californian eligible for membership in the Native Daughters of the Golden West organization.

The Native Daughters is a fraternal and patriotic organization founded in 1886 on the principles of:

– Love of home;
– Devotion to the flag;
– Veneration of the pioneers;
– Faith in the existence of God.

All Native Daughters are welcome to attend.

For more information contact Parlor Worthy President Carla Dore, 831-524-5588, or V.P. Dee Cuney, 707-235-2902, or visit the Native Daughters of the Golden West, Lupoyoma Parlor No. 329 Facebook page.

For information about Lake County Konocti No. 159 Chapter of the Native Sons of the Golden West contact Tony Braito at 707-245-7663.

LAKEPORT, Calif. – The First 5 Lake Commission will meet on Wednesday, Jan. 25.

The commission meeting will begin at 2:30 p.m. at Legacy Court, 1950 Parallel Drive in Lakeport. 

Agenda items include the election of the 2017 officers, acknowledgement of the receipt of a new commissioner application and review for inclusion on February's meeting agenda, an update on the amendment to the tenant sublease agreements at Legacy Court, the KEDP Survey, and reports from the executive director and commissioners.

Commissioners include Chair Brock Falkenberg and Vice Chair Pam Klier, and members Laurie Daly, Susan Jen, Kathy Maes, Denise Pomeroy, Ana Santana and Jeff Smith.

For more information call the Lake County First 5 Lake Commission at 707-263-6169 or visit www.firstfivelake.org .

LIVE BY NIGHT (Rated R)

Films released in January are all too often the unfortunate equivalent of a box of melted chocolates and wilted flowers delivered a week after Valentine’s Day.

Where does that leave writer-director-star Ben Affleck, boasting the trifecta of cinematic endeavors, when his film “Live By Night” had a limited release in December only to be followed by a big splash in the dead zone of January?

The answer may depend on your appetite for a muscular crime drama set primarily in the Prohibition era of the 1920s when Ben Affleck’s Joe Coughlin, the son of a Boston police captain (Brendan Gleeson), takes the wrong path after returning from Army duty during World War I.

Engaged in criminal acts while carrying on a risky affair with a mobster’s girlfriend, the alluring Emma (Sienna Miller), Coughlin runs afoul of warring Irish mobsters and Italian mafia. 

Since Emma’s linked to Irish mob boss Albert White (Robert Glenister), Coughlin cuts a deal with Italian kingpin Maso Pescatore (Remo Girone) to set up shop in Florida to muscle in on White’s rum-running operation.

Relocating to Ybor City in the Sunshine State with his loyal pal Dion Bartolo (Chris Messina), Coughlin makes a pact with the local Cuban gang for supplies of rum, and then falls for pretty, slinky black Cuban immigrant Graciela Suarez (Zoe Zaldana).

Coughlin’s interracial romance draws the ire of a KKK goon who happens to be the brother-in-law of the local sheriff (Chris Cooper), an uptight lawman who nonetheless seems to look the other way on the illicit trafficking of alcohol.

With the return of legal alcohol, Coughlin cooks up a new plan for a casino in a palatial hotel resort setting, but snags occur with plans to enlist public support for a plebiscite to approve gambling.

Meanwhile, back in Boston, mob chieftain Pescatore grows weary of Coughlin’s scheme to promote the dicey proposition of gambling rather than focusing on more lucrative criminal enterprises.

The payoff of a climactic showdown between Coughlin’s crew and the Italians sent down from Boston is the kind of brutal shootout that fans of old-school gangster films are likely to enjoy.

What “Live By Night” has going for it besides the high-octane action is a stylish look of an elegant period piece capturing the essence of the roaring Twenties and the Depression era.

TV Corner: 'Sneaky Pete' on Amazon

Old habits die hard, but I am still clinging to the rapidly outmoded model of watching television shows on cable as well as, gasp, networks.

Yet, viewing habits of many are adjusting to the relatively new world of streaming programs that fit your schedule.

Amazon, which sells everything from auto parts to patio furniture, is in the business of streaming their own original television programs.

“Sneaky Pete” is just their newest thing to alight on the Internet or mobile device of your choosing.

With a production pedigree that could easily land the series on practically any network or premium cable outlet, “Sneaky Pete,” created by multi-talented Bryan Cranston among others, is a solid crime drama starring Giovanni Ribisi as the titular character.

As explored in flashbacks, Ribisi’s Marius is a petty con artist who’s often out of his league as he attempts dangerous confidence games with the kind of people that would kill their own mothers to get ahead.

About to be released from prison, Marius learns from his inept brother Eddie (Michael Drayer) that a mobster named Vince (Bryan Cranston) holds Marius responsible for a $100,000 debt that must be repaid, otherwise Eddie could start losing some fingers to a bolt-cutter.

Marius swipes the identity of a cellmate named Pete, a talkative sort who recounts an idyllic life in rural Connecticut with his grandparents.  Sliding into the life of his fellow prisoner, the fake Pete heads to the country for a new life away from the pitfalls of New York City.

Currying favor with the grandparents Otto (Peter Gerety) and Audrey (Margo Martindale), the fake Pete figures that his absence for 20 years makes it possible to adapt to new surroundings with what he learned from the real Pete. 

It turns out that the family business is in bail bonds, the sort of dubious enterprise where clients on the run might actually be well-connected mobsters or dangerous petty criminals that could easily put the fake Pete into a compromising position.

“Sneaky Pete” involves a delicate balancing act for the fake Pete to juggle the demands of his new family and to keep in contact with his parole officer back in the big city while also trying to stay a few steps ahead of the unforgiving Vince and his deadly goons.

The series is replete with interesting characters on the fringes of the law.  Giovanni Ribisi does a great job in moving back and forth in his identities of Marius and fake Pete.

Though his scenes may be brief, Bryan Cranston shines as the volatile, perilous gangster fervently anxious to exact retribution.

“Sneaky Pete” may hold up well for its 10-episode run. 

Tim Riley writes film and television reviews for Lake County News.