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LAKE COUNTY, Calif. – Lake County Animal Care and Control has a big, diverse group of dogs needing homes this week.
This week's available dogs include mixes of Alaskan Malamute, border collie, boxer, Corgi, dachshund, German Shepherd, Great Dane, Great Pyrenees, Labrador Retriever, McNab, pit bull, pointer and terrier.
Dogs that are adopted from Lake County Animal Care and Control are either neutered or spayed, microchipped and, if old enough, given a rabies shot and county license before being released to their new owner. License fees do not apply to residents of the cities of Lakeport or Clearlake.
If you're looking for a new companion, visit the shelter. There are many great pets hoping you'll choose them.
The following dogs at the Lake County Animal Care and Control shelter have been cleared for adoption (additional dogs on the animal control Web site not listed are still “on hold”).
Great Pyrenees mix
This male Great Pyrenees mix has a long white coat.
He is in kennel No. 3, ID No. 5263.
'Princess'
“Princess” is a pit bull terrier mix.
She has a brindle coat with white markings, and already has been spayed.
Princess is in kennel No. 4, ID No. 5361.
'Penelope'
“Penelope” is a female shepherd mix with a short tricolor coat.
She's in kennel No. 5, ID No. 5280.
'Kush'
“Kush” is a female adult pit bull terrier mix.
She has a short tan coat and already is spayed.
She's in kennel No. 6, ID No. 5249.
Dachshund-terrier mix
This male dachshund-terrier mix has a short white coat with tan markings.
He's in kennel No. 7a, ID No. 5323.
Pointer mix
This male pointer mix has a short white coat with black markings.
Shelter staff said he may be deaf.
He's in kennel No. 9, ID No. 5310.
'Brandy'
“Brandy” is a female Alaskan Malamute-retriever mix.
She's got a short tan coat with black markings. She already is spayed.
She's in kennel No. 11, ID No. 5245.
Labrador Retriever-pit bull terrier
This female Labrador Retriever-pit bull terrier puppy has a short brindle coat.
She already has been spayed.
She's in kennel No. 12, ID No. 5116.
Shepherd mix
This male shepherd mix has a short tan and brown coat with white markings.
He already is neutered.
He's in kennel No. 13, ID No. 5299.
Chihuahua mix
This older male Chihuahua mix has a short white coat.
He's in kennel No. 14, ID No. 5300.
McNab-border collie mix
This female McNab-border collie mix has a short black and white coat.
She's in kennel No. 16, ID No. 5211.
German Shepherd
This male German Shepherd has a tan coat with black markings.
He's in kennel No. 17, ID No. 5248.
'Badger'
“Badger” is an adult male border collie mix.
He has a short black and white coat.
He's in kennel No. 18, ID No. 5075.
Labrador Retriever mix
This young male Labrador Retriever mix has a short golden-colored coat.
He's in kennel No. 23, ID No. 5165.
Boxer-pit bull terrier mix
This older female boxer-pit bull terrier mix has a short brown coat.
She's in kennel No. 25, ID No. 5322.
Great Dane-Labrador Retriever mix
This male Great Dane-Labrador Retriever mix has a short black coat with white markings.
He's in kennel No. 26, ID No. 5104.
Pit bull terrier mix
This male pit bull terrier mix is in urgent need of a new home. He's been available for adoption since May 11.
He has a short brown coat.
Shelter staff said he does not jump and is very friendly, walking well on a leash, showing no food aggression, and allowing handling of his mouth, ears, paws and tail with no problems. He also enjoys a good tummy rub.
He would do great in a home with no cats.
He's in kennel No. 28, ID No. 4850.
'Sammy'
'Sammy' is a female pit bull terrier mix.
She has a short brown coat with white markings.
She's in kennel No. 30, ID No. 5214.
Labrador Retriever mix
This male Labrador Retriever mix has a short all-black coat.
He's in kennel No. 32, ID No. 5158.
'George'
“George” is a male Corgi-shepherd mix has a short tan coat with white and black markings.
He's currently in foster, ID No. 5166.
To fill out an adoption application online visit http://www.co.lake.ca.us/Government/Directory/Animal_Care_And_Control/Adopt/Dog___Cat_Adoption_Application.htm .
Lake County Animal Care and Control is located at 4949 Helbush in Lakeport, next to the Hill Road Correctional Facility.
Office hours are Monday through Friday, 11 a.m. to 5 p.m., and 11 a.m. to 3 p.m., Saturday. The shelter is open from 11 a.m. to 4 p.m. Monday through Friday and on Saturday from 11 a.m. to 3 p.m.
Visit the shelter online at http://www.co.lake.ca.us/Government/Directory/Animal_Care_And_Control.htm .
For more information call Lake County Animal Care and Control at 707-263-0278.
Email Elizabeth Larson at
If you thought Luke Skywalker's home planet, Tatooine, was a strange world with its two suns in the sky, imagine this: a planet with either constant daylight or triple sunrises and sunsets each day depending on the seasons (which last longer than human lifetimes).
Such a world has been discovered by a team of astronomers led by the University of Arizona using direct imaging.
The planet, HD 131399Ab, is unlike any other known world – one with, by far, the widest known orbit within a multi-star system.
The discovery was published in an early online edition of the journal Science on July 7.
Located about 340 light years from Earth in the constellation Centaurus, HD 131399Ab is believed to be about 16 million years old, making it one of the youngest exoplanets discovered to date.
With a temperature of 850 kelvins (about 1,070 F or 580 C) and weighing in at an estimated four Jupiter masses, it is also one of the coldest and least massive directly-imaged exoplanets.
“HD 131399Ab is one of the few exoplanets that have been directly imaged, and it's the first one in such an interesting dynamical configuration,” said Daniel Apai, an assistant professor of Astronomy and Planetary Sciences at the University of Arizona. He is the principal investigator of one of NASA’s teams in the Nexus for Exoplanet System Science (NexSS), which is an interdisciplinary network dedicated to the search for life on planets outside our solar system.
“For about half of the planet’s orbit, which lasts 550 Earth-years, three stars are visible in the sky, the fainter two always much closer together, and changing in apparent separation from the brightest star throughout the year,” said Kevin Wagner, a doctoral student in Apai's research group and the paper's first author, who discovered HD 131399Ab.
“For much of the planet’s year the stars appear close together, giving it a familiar night-side and day-side with a unique triple-sunset and sunrise each day,” Wagner said. “As the planet orbits and the stars grow farther apart each day, they reach a point where the setting of one coincides with the rising of the other – at which point the planet is in near-constant daytime for about one-quarter of its orbit, or roughly 140 Earth-years.”
The planet marks the first discovery of an exoplanet made with SPHERE, which stands for the Spectro-Polarimetric High-Contrast Exoplanet Research Instrument. It is installed on the Very Large Telescope operated by the European Southern Observatory on Cerro Paranal in the Atacama Desert of northern Chile, and dedicated to finding planets around other stars.
SPHERE is sensitive to infrared light, making it capable of detecting the heat signatures of young planets, along with sophisticated features correcting for atmospheric disturbances and blocking out the otherwise blinding light of their host stars.
Although repeated and long-term observations will be needed to precisely determine the planet's trajectory among its host stars, observations and simulations seem to suggest the following scenario: At the center of the system lies a star estimated to be 80 percent more massive than the sun and dubbed HD 131399A, which itself is orbited by the two remaining stars, B and C, at about 300 AU (one AU, or astronomical unit, equals the average distance between Earth and the sun).
All the while, B and C twirl around each other like a spinning dumbbell, separated by a distance roughly equal to that between our sun and Saturn.
In this scenario, planet HD 131399Ab travels around the central star, A, in an orbit about twice as large as Pluto’s if compared to our solar system, and brings the planet to about one-third of the separation of the stars themselves.
The authors point out that a range of orbital scenarios is possible, and the verdict on long-term stability of the system will have to wait for planned follow-up observations that will better constrain the planet's orbit.
“If the planet was further away from the most massive star in the system, it would be kicked out of the system,” Apai explained. “Our computer simulations showed that this type of orbit can be stable, but if you change things around just a little bit, it can become unstable very quickly.”
Planets in multi-star systems are of special interest to astronomers and planetary scientists because they provide an example of how planet formation functions in these extreme scenarios.
While multi-star systems seem exotic to us in our orbit around our solitary star – multi-star systems are in fact just as common as single stars.
“It is not clear how this planet ended up on its wide orbit in this extreme system, and we can't say yet what this means for our broader understanding of the types of planetary systems out there, but it shows there is more variety out there than many would have deemed possible,” Wagner said. “What we do know is that planets in multi-star systems are much less explored, and potentially just as numerous as planets in single-star systems.”
“This is the kind of discovery that helps us place our own solar system in the context of the diversity of worlds beyond it, by finding systems that are much different from our own,” said Mary Voytek, senior scientist for astrobiology and program manager of the NexSS network at NASA Headquarters in Washington. “By combining these results with research on the formation of habitable worlds, we will have a better understanding of the systems in which habitable worlds might form. NexSS will ensure such connections are made, within and beyond our NexSS teams.”
NexSS is a NASA-led research coordination network dedicated to the study of planetary habitability by bringing together researchers from different fields.
NexSS aims to build an international community of interdisciplinary researchers, including those supported by other agencies, dedicated to exoplanet research through NASA investments.
This network will explore the diversity of exoplanets and to learn how their history, geology and climate interact to create the conditions for life. NexSS investigators also strive to put planets into an architectural context – as solar systems built over the eons through dynamical processes and sculpted by stars.
Based on our understanding of our own solar system and habitable planet Earth, researchers in the network aim to identify where habitable niches are most likely to occur, which planets are most likely to be habitable.
NexSS will accelerate the discovery and characterization of other potentially life-bearing worlds in the galaxy.
The co-authors on the paper are Markus Kasper and Melissa McClure of the European Southern Observatory in Garching, Germany; Kaitlin Kratter at the UA's Steward Observatory; Massimo Roberto at the Space Telescope Science Institute in Baltimore; and Jean-Luc Beuzit with the University of Grenoble Alpes and the National Center of Scientific Research, both in Grenoble, France.
CLEARLAKE, Calif. – St. Helena Hospital Clear Lake’s 12th annual Charity Golf Tournament & Silent Auction, held on May 26, grossed more than $69,000 for More Than Wheels, a fundraising campaign to enhance patient transportation in Lake County.
The event at Hidden Valley Golf Course raised funds to purchase additional patient vans and to establish an “After Hours Fund” to ensure that patients have a ride home upon discharge, day or night.
“If patients cannot access vital wellness and disease prevention services, our highly-trained specialty physicians and advanced technology can’t work to move the wellness dial in our community,” explained Rebecca Southwick, Development Officer for St. Helena Hospital Clear Lake. “Through the generosity of the sponsors, players and silent auction donors, we are focusing on addressing the need for patient transportation services.”
While community members without reliable transportation were the real winners, two teams had exceptional days on the course.
The winning team of the A flight were Tony Aherich, Geof Ergo, Ted Hollen and Jeff Komar. Winning the B flight were Jack McManus, Judy McManus, Allen Thomas and Donna Thomas.
The Golf Tournament & Silent Auction brought the More Than Wheels Campaign closer to its $135,000 fundraising goal.
Two generous Eagle Sponsors, Affiliated Pathologists Medical Group Inc. and Kim and Scott Welker, MD, contributed to the tournament.
Birdie Sponsors included Lake Pharmacy, St. Helena Hospital Napa Valley, Falck/VeriHealth, Acute Medical Providers and Chic Le Chef.
Gold Sponsors were Paramount Anesthesia Inc.; David and Denise Santos; Audrey and Bruce Anderson, MD; California Medical Group; John Clarke; Feather River Hospital; Jones, Lang, LaSalle Americas; Pacific Union College; REACH Air Medical Services; Redbud Health Care District; Coastal Mountain Electric; Sodexo; and Ukiah Valley Medical Center.
Silver Sponsors were CMRE Financial Services Inc.; Healthcare Revenue Management Group; and Helmer & Sons.
Tee Sign sponsors included Credit Bureau of Ukiah; Carlton Jacobson Family; Southern Smiles Dental Practice; Dr. Marc Shapiro, MD; Mendo-Lake Home Respiratory Services, Inc.; Jeon Sik Park, MD; and Twin Pine Casino & Hotel. Additional generous companies and individuals gave cash gifts and donated to the Silent Auction.
To learn more or give to the campaign, contact Development Officer Rebecca Southwick at 707-995-5677 or visit www.sthelenahospitalclearlake.org .
LOWER LAKE, Calif. – On Tuesday, July 12, the Lake County Democratic Club will have as its guest speaker Larry Allen, a retired Lake County teacher and former member of the California Teachers Association Board of Directors.
He will address the club on charter schools and related issues.
A short business meeting will begin at 6:30 p.m. followed by the speaker at approximately 7 p.m.
Democratic Club meetings are held in the social hall of the Lower Lake Community United Methodist Church, 16255 Second St., on the second Tuesday of every month.
All meetings are open to the public. Membership is open to registered Democrats.
The Lake County Democratic Club is an officially chartered club of the Democratic Party of Lake County.
Visit www.lakecountydemocraticclub.org or contact the club at
LUCERNE, Calif. – Recently, tuition for students attending Marymount California University’s Lakeside Campus in Lucerne was reduced substantially for residents of Lake, Mendocino, Sonoma and surrounding counties.
In the University’s efforts to increase access to achieving a bachelor’s degree, the reduced tuition will allow local students to complete their degrees while working, raising families and without relocating.
Prospective students and members of the community are encouraged to visit the campus, also known as the “Castle,” during one of the weekly open house events being held throughout the summer.
Every Wednesday, from 4 to 6 p.m., anyone interested in a tour, information on MCU Lakeside bachelor’s degree programs or general use of the facility is encouraged to drop in. Reservations are not necessary. People are invited to bring friends who are also curious about the programs and the facility.
Upcoming open house events are scheduled for July 13, 20 and 27, and Aug. 3, 10 and 17.
Prospective students are particularly encouraged to stop by to tour and learn more about the degree programs and educational opportunities available.
The campus is located at 3700 Country Club Drive in Lucerne.
For more information, call Enrollment Coordinator Kathy Windrem at 310-303-7699.
Visit the university online at www.marymountcalifornia.edu .
THE LEGEND OF TARZAN (Rated PG-13)
There have been so many films and television shows about the legendary character of Tarzan created by Edgar Rice Burroughs that it might be a fool’s errand to catalog them all with a degree of certitude.
“The Legend of Tarzan,” though it begs the question of why this reincarnation should be necessary, is certainly much better than other recent creations. Aside from the palpable erotic charms of a young Bo Derek, “Tarzan, the Ape Man,” directed by John Derek, was just silly.
Did Travis Fimmel become a household name after remaking the titular role in the 2003 version of “Tarzan,” where he was loose in the urban jungle of New York City and Jane was an NYPD detective inexorably drawn in a primal passion to the dangerous Tarzan?
Alexander Skarsgard, now in the part of the man once known as Tarzan, is not likely to suffer the same fate as Fimmel.
The story begins with Tarzan having left the jungles of Africa behind for a gentrified life as John Clayton III, Fifth Earl of Greystoke, and a member of the House of Lords.
Skarsgard’s Lord Greystoke, as they call him in the rarefied circles of London society, is summoned to Number 10 Downing Street (an address in the news recently as the result of the political fallout of the “Brexit” vote in the United Kingdom).
The late 19th century version of the prime minister of England looks nothing like David Cameron, or any number of Tory members of Parliament likely soon to take his place. Instead, the British leader and his cabinet look like central casting’s idea of “Downton Abbey.”
The British government convinces Lord Greystoke to return to his homeland at the invitation of King Leopold II of Belgium to witness all the good and charitable works the king has ostensibly undertaken in the Congo.
In fact, the grand gesture is a ruse and, effectively, a trap. Tarzan is being lured back by the king’s treacherous envoy, Captain Leon Rom (Christoph Waltz, an evil schemer picking up, at least thematically, where he left off as the Bond villain in “Spectre”).
Rom’s nefarious plan is to capture Tarzan and deliver him to an old enemy in exchange for a fortune in diamonds found in the Opar region. The vengeful Mbonga (Djimon Hounsou) holds a grudge for something terrible that happened in the past.
Making a deal with Leon Rom to lure Tarzan back to Africa, the African tribal chief Mbonga is blinded by revenge and doesn’t realize he’s making a deal with the devil.
But Lord Greystoke, now married to the beautiful Jane (Margot Robbie) who also was raised in Africa by her missionary parents, is not so eager to return to the Dark Continent.
An American envoy of President Benjamin Harrison, Civil War veteran George Washington Williams (Samuel L. Jackson) entreats Lord Greystoke to accept King Leopold’s invitation, but his motive is entirely different than Rom’s.
Williams, who fought in the war to abolish slavery, suspects that the Belgian king is colonizing the Congo for more reasons than merely exploiting its natural resources. He wants proof that the Africans are being enslaved and used to generate wealth for the royal coffers.
Meanwhile, Jane proves to be a strong-willed, independent woman who has no intention of being left behind in England while her husband returns to the homeland. That she’s no damsel in distress becomes evident soon enough when Rom holds her hostage in order to get to Tarzan.
A backstory seems essential to establish the adult Lord Greystoke’s credentials as the once feral child and legend of the jungle, a man whose physique is not only impressive but the necessary product of being raised by gorillas.
To great effect, flashbacks are deliberately sprinkled through the story to show how Tarzan survived his time in the African jungle and came to know and love the strong-willed Jane after saving her life.
At first, the return to Africa is a thing of beauty, as Tarzan and Jane, joined by Williams on the journey, enjoy the panorama of mist-covered mountains and landscapes, and then reunite with their extended family, the Kuba tribe, who welcome their return in joy and song.
What unfolds in the story is something less than joyous when Tarzan is nearly killed and Jane abducted by Rom and held prisoner on steamboat headed to the coast.
Boiled down to the essentials, the story of this new “Tarzan” turns on a rescue mission and the climactic assault upon the Belgian army’s encampment on the African coast, where the King’s reinforcements must be stopped.
Looking fit for the role, Skarsgard’s Tarzan, full of primal passion, swings wildly on the jungle vines to great visual effect, before gathering his friends, including stampeding wildlife, to stop the coastal invasion.
This may not be a ringing endorsement, but “The Legend of Tarzan,” lifted by some good special effects, is smarter and more sophisticated than some recent superhero films. For that, we can thank a good cast and a decent story, even when it gets a little muddled.
Tim Riley writes film and television reviews for Lake County News.