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We all make new year’s resolutions. The start of the new year is a natural time to reflect about all that is important to us and our plans for the future.
One area worth reflection is whether your affairs are in order as we come into 2014. Let us consider some issues worth examining.
Do you have an estate plan that protects you and your family should you became incapacitated and, ultimately, when you die?
If not, then you clearly have serious thinking to do.
Who will step in should you become incapacitated to control your financial, property and health care decisions?
If you have minor children, who will care for them if you are gone? How will your estate be settled when you die?
Will your heirs have to deal with probate because you have assets that are collectively worth more than $150,000?
Does your existing estate planning reflect your current needs? Life events such as divorce, deaths and births are among the most common changes to the family picture. The longer it has been since your estate planning documents were prepared, the more likely it is that they need to be reviewed and revised.
Out of date documents may have adverse consequences to you and your family when actually needed. Fixing the situation now – when you are still able to do so without any compulsion – is much less worrisome and costly in the bigger scheme. Some things cannot even be fixed later.
Do your existing estate planning documents reflect the current state of the law?
For example, does your existing living trust still require a two trust division at the death of the first spouse, even though the estate tax exemption amount is now $5,250,000? If so, then unnecessary extra legal work, expense and complications may arise.
Even without changes affecting you and your family, is your existing estate plan as drafted sufficient to your needs?
If you are not comfortable that your documents are sufficiently flexible to address both foreseen and even some unforeseen possibilities that are not unrealistic, then you may wish to revisit your estate plan.
Generally, one should review estate planning documents at least once every five years, sooner if there are compelling changes relating to you, your family and relevant laws.
Procrastination and apprehension over one’s mortality are common reasons why people indefinitely postpone getting their affairs in order.
Don’t delay. It is far easier to get your affairs in order when you have no compulsion to do so and when times are easy, as opposed to in an emergency when others may have to go to court on your behalf.
Start 2014 by getting your affairs in order; this provides immediate peace of mind for you and greatly reduces stress on your loved ones in the future.
Dennis A. Fordham, attorney (LL.M. tax studies), is a State Bar Certified Specialist in Estate Planning, Probate and Trust Law. His office is at 870 S. Main St., Lakeport, California. Fordham can be reached by e-mail at
Weather forecasters on exoplanet GJ 1214b would have an easy job. Today's forecast: cloudy. Tomorrow: overcast. Extended outlook: more clouds.
A team of scientists led by researchers in the Department of Astronomy and Astrophysics at the University of Chicago report they have definitively characterized the atmosphere of a super-Earth class planet orbiting another star for the first time.
The scrutinized planet, which is known as GJ1214b, is classified as a super-Earth type planet because its mass is intermediate between those of Earth and Neptune.
Recent searches for planets around other stars (”exoplanets”) have shown that super-Earths like GJ 1214b are among the most common type of planets in the Milky Way galaxy.
Because no such planets exist in our Solar System, the physical nature of super-Earths is largely unknown.
Previous studies of GJ 1214b yielded two possible interpretations of the planet's atmosphere. Its atmosphere could consist entirely of water vapor or some other type of heavy molecule, or it could contain high-altitude clouds that prevent the observation of what lies underneath.
But now a team of astronomers led by Uchicago's Laura Kreidberg and Jacob Bean have detected clear evidence of clouds in the atmosphere of GJ 1214b from data collected with the Hubble Space Telescope.
The Hubble observations used 96 hours of telescope time spread over 11 months. This was the largest Hubble program ever devoted to studying a single exoplanet.
The researchers describe their work as an important milestone on the road to identifying potentially habitable, Earth-like planets beyond our Solar System. The results appear in the Jan. 2 issue of the journal Nature.
“We really pushed the limits of what is possible with Hubble to make this measurement,” said Kreidberg, a third-year graduate student and first author of the new paper. “This advance lays the foundation for characterizing other Earths with similar techniques.”
“I think it's very exciting that we can use a telescope like Hubble that was never designed with this in mind, do these kinds of observations with such exquisite precision, and really nail down some property of a small planet orbiting a distant star,” explained Bean, an assistant professor and the project's principal investigator.
GJ 1214b is located just 40 light-years from Earth, in the direction of the constellation Ophiuchus.
Because of its proximity to our solar system and the small size of its host star, GJ 1214b is the most easily observed super-Earth.
It transits, or passes in front of its parent star, every 38 hours, giving scientists an opportunity to study its atmosphere as starlight filters through it.
Kreidberg, Bean and their colleagues used Hubble to precisely measure the spectrum of GJ 1214b in near-infrared light, finding what they consider definitive evidence of high clouds blanketing the planet. These clouds hide any information about the composition and behavior of the lower atmosphere and surface.
The planet was discovered in 2009 by the Mearth Project, which monitors two thousand red dwarf stars for transiting planets.
The planet was next targeted for followup observations to characterize its atmosphere. The first spectra, which were obtained by Bean in 2010 using a ground-based telescope, suggested that the planet's atmosphere either was predominantly water vapor or hydrogen-dominated with high-altitude clouds.
More precise Hubble observations made in 2012 and 2013 allowed the team to distinguish between these two scenarios.
The news is about what they didn't find. The Hubble spectra revealed no chemical fingerprints whatsoever in the planet's atmosphere. This allowed the astronomers to rule out cloud-free atmospheres made of water vapor, methane, nitrogen, carbon monoxide, or carbon dioxide.
The best explanation for the new data is that there are high-altitude clouds in the atmosphere of the planet, though their composition is unknown. Models of super-Earth atmospheres predict clouds could be made out of potassium chloride or zinc sulfide at the scorching temperatures of 450 degrees Fahrenheit found on GJ 1214b.
“You would expect very different kinds of clouds to form than you would expect, say, on Earth,” Kreidberg said.
The launch of NASA's next major space telescope, the 6.5m James Webb Space Telescope (JWST), later this decade should reveal more about such worlds, Kreidberg said.
“Looking forward, JWST will be transformative,” she said. “The new capabilities of this telescope will allow us to peer through the clouds on planets like GJ 1214b. But more than that, it may open the door to studies of Earth-like planets around nearby stars.”
LAKEPORT, Calif. – The district attorney has identified the burglary suspect who led law enforcement on a high speed chase early Friday morning and rammed a police officer's vehicle before he was shot by a sheriff's deputy.
District Attorney Don Anderson said James Ellis Smith of Santa Rosa was the suspect in the incident.
Additional details about Smith, including his age and background, were not immediately available.
Smith remained in the hospital Friday evening following surgery for gunshot wounds he received after a sheriff's deputy shot him, officials reported.
Anderson, whose agency is leading the investigation, said Smith is expected to survive.
A Lake County Sheriff's Office report issued earlier in the day explained that a Lakeport Police officer responded to Hillside Honda, located at 460 S. Main St., at approximately 4:17 a.m. on an alarm call.
At that point, according to the investigation, the officer discovered Smith in the process of burglarizing the business.
Anderson said Smith had cut the power to the building and was attempting to hook a chain or tow cable to the business' doors in an apparent attempt to rip them off when the officer's arrival interrupted him.
Smith fled in a gold pickup, with the Lakeport Police officer in pursuit and joined a short time later by sheriff's deputies, according to Anderson and the sheriff's office report.
The pursuit traveled westbound on Lakeport Boulevard and onto northbound Highway 29, reaching speeds of approximately 100 miles per hour before Smith took the 11th Street exit and turned left onto Scotts Valley Road, where he was driving approximately 70 miles per hour, the sheriff's office said.
When Smith turned onto Riggs Road, “He didn't navigate a corner correctly so he went off the road into a corral,” and got trapped there, said Anderson.
Anderson said Smith put the pickup in reverse and backed up at high speed, hitting the Lakeport Police officer's vehicle.
Smith then pulled forward and the officer got out of his patrol car, Anderson said.
When Smith prepared to back up again – this time with the officer outside of his vehicle and in the pickup's path – an arriving deputy sheriff shot Smith, Anderson said.
Anderson said it isn't yet clear if Smith was shot two or three times.
Smith was struck in the elbow, in the body and also had a grazing wound to the head. Anderson said they're still trying to determine if the bullet that hit Smith's elbow and went through it also was the bullet that struck his body, or if those were two separate shots.
Following the shooting, Smith was flown to an out-of-county hospital, officials said.
The deputy who shot Smith hasn't yet been identified, Anderson said. “That's something we won't do until the end of the investigation.”
The Lakeport Police officer who was involved – and who had minor complaints of pain following the incident, according to Lakeport Police Chief Brad Rasmussen – also hasn't yet been identified.
The District Attorney's Office is leading the investigation under the auspices of the county's critical incident protocol, Anderson said.
“The sheriff's office is assisting and doing the internal affairs portion of the investigation,” he explained.
The California Highway Patrol and Lakeport Police Department also are offering help, he added.
Earlier in the day, Rasmussen said his agency was investigating the burglary at Hillside Honda.
John Jensen contributed to this report.
Email Elizabeth Larson at
This story has been updated with information about the shooting aspect of the incident.
LAKEPORT, Calif. – On Friday law enforcement officials with several agencies were investigating an early morning burglary, vehicle pursuit and shooting that left the suspect wounded.
The incident began as a burglary at Hillside Honda in Lakeport at around 4:30 a.m., according to Lakeport Police Chief Brad Rasmussen.
When police arrived, the male suspect fled in a pickup. Rasmussen said a police officer pursued the suspect and there was a vehicle collision in the area of Scotts Valley and Scotts Creek roads.
The Lake County Sheriff's Office said a deputy who had joined the pursuit shot and wounded the suspect, who was flown to an out-of-county trauma center.
Read the full story here: www.bit.ly/1auxE3F .
Video by John Jensen.
Email Elizabeth Larson at
This story has been updated with information about the shooting aspect of the incident.
LAKEPORT, Calif. – Authorities are investigating an early Friday morning burglary of a Lakeport business that led to a vehicle pursuit and the shooting of the suspect by a peace officer.
“There's multiple investigations going on,” Lakeport Police Chief Brad Rasmussen told Lake County News.
The names of the male suspect, who was transported out of county via air ambulance early Friday, and the officer involved have not yet been released, according to Rasmussen.
At around 4:30 a.m. Friday Lakeport Police officers were dispatched to an alarm call at Hillside Honda, located at 460 S. Main St., Rasmussen said.
“They arrived on scene and located what appeared to be a burglary in progress,” Rasmussen said.
Almost immediately after police arrived the suspect vehicle – a pickup – fled the business, according to Rasmussen.
“It fled the scene and my officer attempted to stop it,” said Rasmussen.
The pursuit led out to the area of Riggs Road and Scotts Valley Road, where some kind of collision occurred, Rasmussen said.
“We believe the suspect's vehicle rammed my police unit,” according to Rasmussen.
A statement released by the Lake County Sheriff's Office said a deputy sheriff who had joined the pursuit was responsible for shooting the suspect.
Shortly before 4:30 a.m., Lakeport Fire units were dispatched to the Riggs Road and Scotts Valley Road area to stage for a report of a vehicle crash following a pursuit with shots fired.
Radio traffic indicated that the suspect had been shot multiple times, and had been struck in the head.
The male suspect was extricated from the pickup and transported by Lakeport Fire personnel to Lampson Field, where a REACH air ambulance picked him up for out-of-county transport, according to radio traffic.
In addition to the injured burglary suspect, Rasmussen said his officer was being checked out at the hospital due to minor complaints of pain.
While Lakeport Police investigators are working on the Hillside Honda burglary, the Lake County Sheriff's Office and District Attorney's Office are in charge of the scene at Riggs Road and Scotts Valley Road, and are conducting an investigation of what occurred at the end of the pursuit, Rasmussen said.
“Our officer is a victim of a crime at that location,” Rasmussen said.
District Attorney Don Anderson did not immediately return a call seeking comment.
On Friday morning the scene was cordoned off with crime scene tape.
The Lake County Public Works Department said Riggs Road would be closed at the intersection of Scotts Valley and Scotts Creek roads until further notice while the crime scene investigation took place.
Sheriff's units were parked near a barn, next to the suspect's gold pickup.
Additional information will be posted as it becomes available.
John Jensen contributed to this report.
Email Elizabeth Larson at
LAKE COUNTY, Calif. – Most people start off a new year with big personal goals, but one local teenager has a challenging new project going into 2014 meant to benefit others.
Fourteen-year-old Erica Illg of Kelseyville has launched her “Backpacks for Foster Kids” project.
The teen has been a member of 4-H for seven years, and currently belongs to the Cole Creek 4-H Club.
For her Emerald Star project – which also is a project under the “Revolution of Responsibility” program – she has decided to raise funds in order to provide backpacks to children when they're placed in foster care.
She and her younger sister, 13-year-old Kimberly, came up with the idea after seeing, firsthand, the challenges that foster children face.
Over the past year, the Illgs – a farming family that raises Nigerian dwarf diary goats and Boer goats in Kelseyville – has fostered several children.
Since last February, the family has cared for five children, including a 3-year-old boy, a 4-year-old girl and, currently, a 12-month-old baby boy, she said.
“It's just been really cool for us,” Erica explained.
Along the way, Erica observed that children placed in foster care often are scared and bring with them few, if any, personal belongings.
“I experienced this firsthand in my own home becoming a foster family this year,” Erica said. “We have had on more than one occasion children brought here with nothing but the clothes they had on and we had to run to the store for pajamas, socks, clothes etc.”
That lack of few personal belongings, coupled with the fact that they're being taken to homes they've never been before, can create a stressful and fearful experience. The first night is usually the hardest for such children, Erica observed.
She also saw how that giving such children something they could call their own was very important to them.
As a result, Erica concluded that if children could be given a backpack containing essentials like a toothbrush, toothpaste, hair brush, socks, pajamas, a blanket and a stuffed animal when they are placed in a foster home, it would help them get settled in for their first night and also serve as a transition item that can stay with them when they leave.
Adding to her personal knowledge of what foster children face, Erica also has has done some research, speaking with social workers and foster care agencies.
She learned that many people donate items for babies and children up to age 5 as well as for teenagers and high school-age children. One group in Hidden Valley Lake put together duffel bags for teens.
However, she's discovered a gap for children ranging in age from 6 to 12 years.
“This is when I started thinking that I could help my community with this problem by supplying backpacks to foster kids in this age group,” she said.
The need, she's finding, is great. “This is a lot larger undertaking than I thought it would be.”
“Backpacks for Foster Kids” is also a service learning project, “So we have to involve more kids,” Erica said.
As a result, she has formed a 12-member team of Cole Creek 4-Hers to help spread the word and working on the project.
“I think I'll really start putting them to work when we buy the backpacks,” she said.
To help fund the effort, Erica is asking for community support. She also applied for and received a $1,000 Revolution of Responsibility 4-H grant, and is seeking a Violet Richardson grant through the local Soroptimist chapter.
So far, she noted, “It's been a lot of paperwork.”
She's also planning to visit local Kiwanis and Rotary clubs to ask for support.
She wants to raise $1,600, but has a narrow time frame to accomplish that goal.
Her deadline to have the money in hand is March 1, after which the backpacks will be purchased and filled. She said 4-H will require her final report on the project by March or April.
If she's able to raise more than $1,600, Erica said she will expand the project, either by purchasing more backpacks or expanding it across other counties.
If you would like to donate items or money to this project, contact Erica Illg at
Donations also can be made through the Lake County 4-H Office, 883 Lakeport Blvd., Lakeport, telephone 707-263-6838.
Email Elizabeth Larson at
