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More than 18,300 people applied to join NASA’s 2017 astronaut class, almost three times the number of applications received in 2012 for the most recent astronaut class, and far surpassing the previous record of 8,000 in 1978.
“It’s not at all surprising to me that so many Americans from diverse backgrounds want to personally contribute to blazing the trail on our journey to Mars,” said NASA Administrator Charlie Bolden, himself a former astronaut. “A few exceptionally talented men and women will become the astronauts chosen in this group who will once again launch to space from U.S. soil on American-made spacecraft.”
Applications opened Dec. 14, and closed Thursday, but that is just the beginning of an 18-month process that will end with the selection of 8-14 individuals for the opportunity to become astronaut candidates. NASA expects to announce its selections in mid-2017.
Between now and then, NASA’s Astronaut Selection Board will review the applications, assessing each candidate’s qualifications.
The board then will invite the most highly qualified candidates to the agency’s Johnson Space Center in Houston for interviews before the final selection is made and the new astronaut candidates report to Johnson for training.
“We have our work cut out for us with this many applications,” said Brian Kelly, director of Flight Operations at Johnson. “But it’s heartening to know so many people recognize what a great opportunity this is to be part of NASA’s exciting mission. I look forward to meeting the men and women talented enough to rise to the top of what is always a pool of incredible applicants.”
After reporting at Johnson, the astronaut candidates will go through about two years of initial training on spacecraft systems, spacewalking skills and teamwork, Russian language and other requisite skills.
Those who complete the training will be given technical duties within the Astronaut Office at Johnson before being assigned on any of four different spacecraft: the International Space Station, NASA’s Orion spacecraft for deep space exploration, or one of two American-made commercial crew spacecraft currently in development – Boeing’s CST-100 Starliner or the SpaceX Crew Dragon.
The commercial crew spacecraft will carry four astronauts to the space station, expanding the orbiting laboratory’s crew from six to seven and effectively doubling the amount of crew time available to conduct the important research and technology demonstrations that are advancing our knowledge for the journey to Mars, while also returning benefits to Earth.
For more information about NASA astronauts, visit http://www.nasa.gov/astronauts . For information about other NASA job opportunities, visit: http://www.nasa.gov/about/career .
LAKEPORT, Calif. – With an increased need for building skills arising in Lake County after the recent wildland fires, Mendocino College later this month will begin offering a construction class at its Lake Center in Lakeport.
Mendocino College's Sustainable Technology Program will hold its first Construction Fundamentals Class (SST 180) at the Lake Center beginning on Feb. 27. All members of the community are welcome to register for the class.
The class, an introduction to construction skills and methods, covers a range of topics from safe tool use and construction practices to fundamental building skills and an overview of construction topics.
Steve Hixenbaugh, interim dean of the Lake Center and the college's career and technical education program, has high hopes for the class, and is looking at it as part of the college's contribution to the Valley fire recovery effort.
Sustainable Technology Program Coordinator Jen Riddell said the college wants to get courses in the building- and energy-related fields going in Lake County, and expanding the knowledge in those fields is especially relevant in the wake of the fire.
“I think it's going to be a really great class if we can fill it,” she said.
Riddell said the Sustainable Technology Program at Mendocino College began offering classes in 2011.
The program offers three certificates in construction, renewable energy, and residential performance and efficiency, she said.
All certificates provide hands-on experience in the topics, as well as theoretical coverage of the building and energy trades.
“We've been offering these classes on the Ukiah campus for the last five years, successfully,” said Riddell.
She said they have students who commute to Ukiah from Lake County to take the coursework, and they believe local students would appreciate having the ability to take classes nearer their homes.
“Our hope is that the classes will provide Lake County residents with the skills they need to work on their own homes or find jobs in the rebuilding efforts,” Riddell said.
The Mendocino College Foundation has given the program a grant to buy tools and a trailer in order to have a mobile lab in Lake County. “So we're getting started and getting set up for that,” Riddell said.
Riddell said class members do not need any previous experience and there are no prerequisites, although having math skills will be helpful.
Students will be taught the basic skills of construction, and will move from small projects to more complex work, she said.
During the last part of the semester, the goal is to have students get hands-on experience in a real project. Riddell said it's not yet settled what that hands-on project might be.
Lake County contractor Glenn Mueller will teach the class. Mueller has a background in both general construction and electrical contracting. He's been working in this field for the past nine years and also has previous construction background working as a project manager for large commercial buildings.
This three-unit class will run for 12 weeks. Classes will meet for a lecture from 6 to 8:30 p.m. Thursdays and 8:30 a.m. to 2:50 p.m. Saturdays for a hands-on lab, Riddell said.
The lecture time will cover construction methods and green construction techniques, and the labs will focus on hands-on skills, and practical applications through actual construction projects.
Riddell said the class will be very helpful for those people who plan to do their own rebuilding.
“I have a lot of hope for this,” she said.
To register go to http://www.mendocino.edu/ or for assistance visit the Lake Center at 2565 Parallel Drive in Lakeport, telephone 707-263-4944.
More information on the Sustainable Technology Program can be found at http://www.mendocino.edu/department/sustainable-technology-program or by contacting Riddell at 707-468-3080,
Email Elizabeth Larson at
CLEARLAKE, Calif. – Authorities have taken into custody a Grass Valley man who engaged in an hours-long standoff with law enforcement that included threats to kill himself and others, and necessitated evacuating some nearby homes.
Michael Jacob, 27, was transported to St. Helena Hospital Clear Lake for treatment and examination due to him possibly swallowing glass during the standoff, which began on Wednesday night, according to acting Clearlake Police chief, Lt. Tim Celli.
At approximately 9:16 p.m. Wednesday Clearlake Police Dispatch received a 911 call from a male subject who claimed that he was “Lucifer” and “God,” that it was time to go and that he was going to take people with him, Celli said.
Dispatch believed that the subject was on some sort of narcotic. Sgt. Travis Lenz, along with officers Leonardo Flores, Trevor Franklin and Jared Nixon responded to the man's residence, which Celli said was located in the 3800 block of Manchester Street, to conduct a welfare check on the subject.
When officers arrived at the location, Jacob made claims that he had “guns.” He also made statements that he was going to kill his neighbors and himself, and Celli said Jacob refused to obey officers' requests while making these terrorist threats.
Jacob, who at the time was only identified by the first name of Michael, was in a locked fenced yard. He was delusional and made threats to kill the police officers, the neighbors and then himself. Celli said the officers developed the opinion that he was under the influence of a controlled substance.
Celli said officers attempted to negotiate with Jacob to come out of the fenced and locked yard, however he remained uncooperative and continued to make threats, and then started toward the house. He was ordered to stop by police, but refused.
Sgt. Lenz attempted to stop Jacob from entering the house and possibly arming himself by deploying a Taser at him. The Taser had little effect on Jacob, who ran inside the residence, Celli said.
Jacob used a baseball bat to break out the front windows of the residence while saying he had “guns” and claimed there were other occupants inside the residence. However, Celli said no guns were seen at that point and no other voices or subjects could be heard in the residence.
Celli said Jacob continued threatening police officers and at one point started a chain saw inside the residence. He could be heard yelling and screaming inside the house.
Officers continued to attempt to negotiate with Jacob, who then started throwing large rocks and a baseball bat at the officers out of the front window. Celli said officers continued to try and talk with him to negotiate his surrender but were unsuccessful.
At one point Jacob was observed by officers carrying what appeared to be a rifle. Celli said Jacob placed the rifle in a tactical position near the broken-out front window of the residence and then retreated out of sight.
At that point, once the firearm was seen, officers contacted the Lake County Sheriff’s Office and requested a SWAT response, which Celli said was necessary due to the threats made and the observation of a rifle.
Officers maintained tactical positions and continued to attempt to negotiate with Jacob, who Celli said failed to comply with numerous orders. He could be seen on occasion walking and sitting near the rifle but made no further threats.
As a precautionary measure several adjacent residences were evacuated while officers awaited the sheriff’s office response, Celli said.
Several sheriff’s deputies along with additional officers from Clearlake Police Department arrived on scene and set up a perimeter around the residence, Celli said.
After several hours and continued efforts by law enforcement pleading with him to surrender peacefully, Jacob finally came to the front window. At that point he picked up glass from the broken window and placed shards of glass in his mouth, Celli said.
Celli said Jacob then climbed out the window, where he was met by awaiting police officers and sheriff's deputies.
The rifle Jacob brandished was discovered to be a loaded, high-powered pellet rifle which Celli said was a realistic-looking firearm.
A safety and security sweep of the residence revealed no other occupants inside nor was any other firearms located, Celli said.
As of early Thursday morning, Celli said Jacob remained under observation at the hospital pending his medical clearance for incarceration.
After Jacob's release Celli said it's anticipated that he will be booked into the Lake County Jail.
Celli said charges are being submitted to the Lake County District Attorney’s Office for several felony charges against Jacob including assault with a deadly weapon on a peace officer, brandishing a replica firearm in the presence of law enforcement, resisting law enforcement officers and threatening law enforcement in the performance of their duties.
The Clearlake Police Department expressed its deep gratitude to the Lake County Sheriff’s Department for its response and assistance in bringing this matter to a safe resolve.
NORTHERN CALIFORNIA – A Lake County man who has been exonerated after spending nearly 18 years in prison for crimes he did not commit is now a free man.
Shortly after 4 p.m. Wednesday, 71-year-old Luther Ed Jones Jr. departed from the California Health Care Facility in Stockton, according to Luis Patino, a spokesman for the California Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation.
Patino said Jones was headed to a Northern California town where he will reside with family.
Jones had been sentenced to 27 years in prison in 1998 after being convicted at his second trial of sexually molesting his ex-girlfriend's 10-year-old daughter. His first trial, which had commenced earlier that year, had resulted in a hung jury, as Lake County News has reported.
On Feb. 9, the 30-year-old woman who had been the alleged child victim contacted the Lake County District Attorney's Office to say her mother, Jones' ex-girlfriend and the mother of one of his children, had told her to lie and accuse Jones of the crimes as part of her mother's plan to prevent him from taking custody of the child they shared.
The young woman also told authorities that she had been molested but by another man – her mother's then-boyfriend.
On Tuesday, just a week after that information came to light, District Attorney Don Anderson and Angela Carter, an attorney who administers the county's public defense contract, presented a writ of habeas corpus seeking Jones' release to Judge Andrew Blum.
Blum shortly afterward ordered Jones released from prison without further hearings.
Carter told Lake County News that she is now acting as Jones' attorney and offering him assistance in the process of settling into his new life.
The District Attorney's Office has indicated it is exploring the possibility of prosecuting both the woman who coached her daughter to wrongly accuse Jones and the man who actually molested the woman's daughter, although both cases will be difficult due to the length of time that has passed and the availability of evidence, Anderson said.
A complete report on the background of the case can be found at www.bit.ly/1PQhVk5 .
Email Elizabeth Larson at
LAKEPORT, Calif. – Come meet ballet’s best-loved princess and princes in an enchanted evening of classical favorites as Brigham Young University’s Theatre Ballet brings childhood dreams to life in its unique show, “Fairy Tales and Fantasy,” to be presented in Lakeport on Thursday, Feb. 25.
The special performance will begin at 7 p.m. at the Soper Reese Theatre, 275 S. Main St.
Theater Ballet also cordially invites all to attend their pre-show prince and princess party where the young and young-at-heart can dress as princes and princesses, meet the ballet company, and take pictures right before this family-friendly performance.
The dancers will delight the audience with favorite scenes from Cinderella, Sleeping Beauty, Snow White and Alice in Wonderland.
BYU's critically acclaimed ballet company brings these stories to life, stepping onto the stage as if right out of the storybook.
“Fairy Tales and Fantasy” is filled with both classic and original choreography from one of the largest, most successful dance programs in the country.
As the curtains finally close on a perfect storybook ending, audiences will wish the performance could go on happily ever after.
All seats are $15 each.
For tickets call Tom Engstrom at 707-262-0652.
LAKEPORT, Calif. – On Tuesday morning a Lake County judge took swift action to set in motion the release of a man who has spent 18 years in state prison for a crime he did not commit.
After meeting both in chambers and in open court with District Attorney Don Anderson and attorney Angela Carter – who heads up the county's public defense contract – Judge Andrew Blum signed a writ of habeas corpus to free Luther Ed Jones Jr. from state prison.
Jones, 71, was sentenced to 27 years in prison after being convicted in 1998 of the sexual molestation of his ex-girlfriend's 10-year-old daughter.
That young girl, now a 30-year-old woman, contacted the Lake County District Attorney's Office Victim-Witness Division on Feb. 9 to admit that her mother had told her to lie in retaliation for Jones winning custody of a 2-year-old daughter he and his ex-girlfriend had together.
Anderson moved quickly to begin the process of seeking Jones' release in recent days, and partnered with Carter to bring the matter forward.
He filed the writ of habeas corpus on Tuesday, and both he and Carter said later that they had expected the process to include the setting of a hearing within 15 days, Jones' transport to the county and a local hearing before a release by the California Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation was finalized – which Carter estimated could have taken about a month and a half.
However, after speaking with Anderson, Senior Deputy District Attorney Ed Borg and Carter at length, going over the material, thoroughly questioning Anderson and asking him if he thought Jones was innocent, Blum surprised them by granting the writ, saying he wanted Jones released “immediately,” according to Anderson.
“He didn't want the guy to spend another day in jail that he didn't have to,” Anderson said.
There had been some question about whether Blum could hear the case, as he had worked in the District's Attorney's Office in the mid-1990s. However, Carter and Anderson said Blum addressed that issue, explaining that he had left for a job in Micronesia by the time the case was filed.
An elated Carter said Blum's action took guts.
“He cut through bureaucratic tape in about an hour,” she said.
While innocent people do go to prison, Carter said the county's elected district attorney and elected judge acted in the fastest way possible to address the matter. “It was handled exactly right.”
In her more than 20 years of practicing law in Lake County, Carter said, “I've never seen this happen before. ”
Anderson, too, noted of the exoneration, “It is so rare I've never seen one before,” adding that his office isn't usually involved in working for prisoner release actions.
Linda Starr, legal director of the Northern California Innocence Project at Santa Clara University School of Law, called Judge Blum's actions “really remarkable.”
She said it usually takes a much longer time frame for a writ of habeas corpus action, “but it's often contested as well.”
Starr also lauded Anderson for doing “the right thing” by investigating the matter and moving quickly.
“We all hope that that's the way it would work,” Starr said.
By Tuesday afternoon, the California Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation had received the writ approved by Blum ordering Jones' release, according to spokesman Luis Patino.
At that point, Anderson didn't believe Jones had been told of the developments. “They'll break the news to him,” he said of prison officials.
Background of the case
As the matter has moved forward, it has revealed not just the injustice done to Jones, but the suffering of the young girl on whose testimony the case depended.
Anderson's writ of habeas corpus filing seeking Jones' release explained that the falsified case against Jones, which began in 1996, had its roots in his turbulent and violent relationship with the mother of his then 2-year-old daughter.
He had spent six months in jail for a domestic violence case against the woman, and after his release filed a paternity action to get custody of his young child, which was successful. On Aug. 26, 1996, the court entered a judgment giving him the child, who he took custody of two days later with the assistance of the Clearlake Police Department.
On Aug. 30, his ex-girlfriend's 10-year-old daughter reported to the principal at Lower Lake Elementary School that she had been the victim of sexual abuse.
That set in motion a Clearlake Police investigation that led to a criminal filing against Jones on Oct. 3, 1997, and his arrest 17 days later.
He went to trial in February 1998, resulting in a hung jury, with jurors deadlocking 7-5 for conviction.
At the end of March 1998, Jones' second trial – which lasted four days – began.
The young girl who he was accused of victimizing testified, as did a medical expert regarding a physical exam the girl had undergone.
Jones also testified, saying he was never home alone with the girl and that he believed she was being coached by her mother because of the case over his young daughter.
A woman named Yolanda Davis also testified for the defense regarding a conversation she had with Jones' ex-girlfriend, who said she would never let him get custody of their daughter, and that she would put him in jail to keep him from getting custody.
On April 8, 1998, the jury returned with guilty verdicts on counts of lewd and lascivious acts on a child under the age of 14, oral copulation with a minor child, harmful matter sent to seduce a minor child, forcible sexual penetration, dissuading a witness or victim, and assault and battery, according to Anderson's case history.
Jones sought a new trial, but his motion was denied and on June 12, 1998, he was sentenced to 27 years in prison.
He subsequently appealed his conviction to the First District Court of Appeals, raising issues of inadmissible evidence, abuse of discretion and insufficient evidence to sustain a conviction. The appellate court upheld the conviction.
He sought the California Supreme Court's review of the case based on ineffective assistance of counsel, a request the court denied in June 1999.
The truth revealed
Earlier this month, the young woman who had been at the center of the case when she was a child contacted authorities and said that Jones did not in fact molest her – that she had been coached to accuse him by her mother and that her mother's then-boyfriend had been the culprit for her sexual molestation, according to Anderson's report.
On Feb. 11, Borg and District Attorney Investigator Denise Hinchcliff traveled out of county to talk to the young woman, who they found credible, Anderson said.
She told them she was tired of having a “heavy heart” about Jones, who she recalled as being abusive to her mother.
After she told the school principal about the alleged molestation, she remembered being picked up by Child Protective Services and, from that point forward, spending time in numerous foster homes both in and outside of Lake County.
The young woman told District Attorney's Office staff that her mother was heavily into drugs, had six children by five fathers, and moved constantly from house to house with her children in order to live with other drug users.
On Feb. 4, she said she told her grandmother “about how she was having a hard time living with this lie,” which she had told some other family members about but was afraid to bring up to her mother. Her grandmother told her she should come forward and tell the truth, which is why she ultimately contacted the Victim-Witness Office.
The young woman said she contacted Jones' son, telling him she was afraid of his father. Jones' son supported her coming forward.
Now clean, sober and with a new baby of her own, the young woman told authorities that she felt she was ready to talk about the case. She said she has had no contact with Jones since the trial, and no one from her family or his had ever threatened her to come forward.
“She said it was just the right thing to do in her life right now,” Hinchcliff wrote in her interview report, adding that the young woman “said she feels really bad about taking 20 years of Luther's life from him and his family, and she hopes he can get out and be able to spend time with his family.”
“This woman is very brave for coming forward,” said Starr. “It's still a hard thing to come forward with that information. Good for her for doing that.”
Starr added, “She will have a better life because of it.”
Still at issue is what legal action may be taken against the man who actually molested the woman when she was a child, as well as the mother who made her lie.
Anderson said he hasn't yet looked at the question of prosecuting the alleged molester, but he cited potential concerns about the statute of limitations, the length of time since the crimes were committed and the fact that the woman has admitted to lying in court, which would make it difficult to convince a jury beyond a reasonable doubt that she wasn't lying again.
He said there's no physical evidence to go on, but said his office will consider pursuing the matter. “It would be difficult but possible,” he said.
As for the young woman's mother, who Anderson said no longer lives in Lake County, “We know which city she's in but we haven't contacted her yet.”
He said his staff will try to interview her as well as recontact some of the case's other original witnesses to evaluate the potential for charging her.
That also will be a difficult case due to the length of time that has passed. “We've got a lot more work to do before we can make a decision,” Anderson said.
State process under way
While the California Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation had the signed writ of habeas corpus in hand within hours of Judge Blum's decision, it was not clear when Jones would be released.
“We, by law, can have up to five days to process the release,” said Patino.
In that five-day period the agency will go through records to make sure there are no other warrants or detainers, he said.
With regard to Jones, although he did have a criminal history before his wrongful molestation conviction, warrants or detainers aren't likely to be an issue due to the length of time he's been in prison.
“We also make sure that if they have any medical conditions that they will have a continuum of care,” said Patino.
That is likely to be the most significant concern, as Jones has stated in court records that he has a variety of serious health conditions, among them diabetes, kidney problems and hepatitis C.
Anderson said that at a medical parole release hearing for Jones held in October, Jones was reported to be bedridden.
Patino said Jones is currently being housed at the California Health Care Facility in Stockton.
Noting that Jones' release due to exoneration is different than a regular parole, Patino said, “Everything will be done to help him reintegrate into society,” with the hope that he can be placed with his family.
The National Registry of Exonerations, a project of the University of Michigan Law School, tracks all known exonerations of convictions based on new evidence of innocence in the United States since 1989.
According to the registry, since that time there have been 1,740 exonerations of convictions nationwide, and in California, exonerations as of Tuesday – not counting Jones' case – totaled 158.
Of those California cases, the crime breakdown is as follows: murder/manslaughter, 70; sex crimes, 44; other, 24; robbery, 13; and drugs, seven. Sixty-one of the defendants exonerated were Caucasian, 49 were black, 43 were Hispanic and the ethnicity of the remaining five was classified as “other.”
The average number of years lost for those convicted was 8.57, with a total of 1,354 years lost in serving prison sentences, the registry showed.
While rare and remarkable, Jones' exoneration is not the only one to occur in Lake County since the National Registry of Exonerations began.
In May 1997, University of California at Berkeley students Brendan Loftus and Arvind Balu – ages 23 and 21, respectively, at the time – were charged with raping a 14-year-old girl at Konocti Harbor Resort and Spa.
The case became known as the “Vampire Rape Case” because the alleged victim said one of the men had cut her legs with a knife and licked the blood.
According to the registry's details on the case, both men were convicted in October 1997, with Loftus sentenced to five years in prison and Balu found legally incompetent and put in a state mental facility.
In July 1999, the California Court of Appeals set aside the convictions and ordered a hearing regarding evidence that had not been admitted, with a local judge upholding the convictions.
The appellate court vacated Loftus' convictions and Balu's rapid conviction in July 2000. Three months later, the Lake County District Attorney's Office dropped the charges against Loftus, and in 2006 Balu's convictions were set aside and, ultimately, the charges were dismissed.
Email Elizabeth Larson at