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LAKE COUNTY, Calif. – Five cats are waiting for new homes this Christmas week at Lake County Animal Care and Control.
The cats range in age from 8 months to 10 years, and include tabbies, calicoes and a Siamese mix.
Through Dec. 23, Animal Care and Control is offering discounted adoption rates on animals, with altering, vaccinations, licensing and microchipping included. Males are $76, females are $86.
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 there, hoping you'll choose them.
The following cats at the Lake County Animal Care and Control shelter have been cleared for adoption (other cats pictured on the animal control Web site that are not listed here are still “on hold”).
Gray male tabby
This gray male tabby is 3 years old.
He has a short coat and gold eyes. Shelter staff did not report if he has been altered.
He's in cat room kennel No. 3, ID No. 38612.
Siamese mix
This female Siamese mix cat is 10 years old.
She has blue eyes and a short coat, and is spayed.
Find her in cat room kennel No. 5, ID No. 38699.
Tortie point
This calico with tortie point markings is 8 months old.
She has a short coat and has not yet been spayed.
Find her in cat room kennel No. 84a, ID No. 38527.
Tortie point
This calico with tortie point markings is 8 months old.
She has a long coat and has not yet been spayed.
Find her in cat room kennel No. 85a, ID No. 38526.
Domestic short hair mix
This domestic short hair mix with dilute calico markings is 5 years old.
She has a short coat, weighs 7 pounds and has been spayed.
She's in cat room kennel No. 87, ID No. 38751.
Adoptable cats also can be seen at http://www.co.lake.ca.us/Government/Directory/Animal_Care_And_Control/Adopt/Cats_and_Kittens.htm or at www.petfinder.com .
Please note: Cats listed at the shelter's Web page that are said to be “on hold” are not yet cleared for adoption.
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, 8 a.m. to 5 p.m., and 1 p.m. to 3 p.m., Saturday. The shelter is open from 10:30 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. Monday through Friday and on Saturday from 1 p.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
LAKE COUNTY, Calif. – As Californians ready for their holiday travels, the California Highway Patrol is set to begin its annual Christmas Maximum Enforcement Period (MEP).
The two-day holiday enforcement effort is designed to help ensure the safety of the motoring public during a time when celebrations are in full swing.
The MEP begins at 6 p.m. on Tuesday, Dec. 24, and continues through 11:59 p.m. on Wednesday, Dec. 25.
The effort coincides with the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration’s ongoing Drive Sober or Get Pulled Over anti-driving under the influence (DUI) campaign, which began on Dec. 13. and continues through Jan. 1.
In addition to assisting motorists, CHP officers are on heightened alert for unsafe drivers who speed, or fail to buckle-up themselves or their passengers, and impaired drivers.
“Christmas is a time for family and friends to get together, and we want to make sure everyone arrives safely at their destinations,” said CHP Commissioner Joe Farrow. “Drivers are reminded to make wise decisions ahead of time for their own safety and the safety of others sharing the roadways with them.”
During last year’s Christmas MEP, which was 4 and a quarter days in length, 39 people were killed in collisions in California.
Among those who died within CHP jurisdiction, more than half were not wearing a seat belt.
In addition, CHP officers made more than 1,170 DUI arrests throughout the 102-hour traffic safety effort.
The public is encouraged to call 9-1-1 if they suspect another driver of being under the influence.
“We plan on spending the holiday keeping Californians safe on our roadways,” added Commissioner Farrow. “In return, we hope the motoring public will do their part by designating a nondrinking driver, wearing a seat belt, and driving at a safe, legal speed.”
LOWER LAKE, Calif. – Hundreds of children had a chance to receive Christmas gifts and say hello to Santa Claus during the annual “Toys for Kids” gift giveaway on Saturday.
Congressman Mike Thompson, who launched the annual effort nearly two decades ago, was on hand for the gift distribution, which was held at Lower Lake High School Saturday afternoon.
Thompson and the Toys for Kids Board of Directors work together each year to make sure that the community's underprivileged children have gifts at Christmas.
Toys and money are donated, as is time from volunteers who prepare the gifts and organize the giveaway event.
The group reported Saturday that approximately 407 children received gifts during the giveaway.
The children also got a chance to visit with Santa Claus and were treated to cookies made by Chef Robert Cabreros, who teaches in the Yuba College Culinary Arts program.
In the video above, learn more about the event and the people who made it happen this year.
Video by John Jensen.
LAKE COUNTY, Calif. – As Christmas week begins Lake County Animal Care and Control has several dogs waiting for homes.
From small terriers to a hefty bulldog, the dogs range in age from 1 to 4 years of age.
Through Dec. 23, Animal Care and Control is offering discounted adoption rates on animals, with altering, vaccinations, licensing and microchipping included.
The adoption cost for male dogs is $121, while it costs $131 for females under 60 pounds and $146 for female dogs over 60 pounds (the price is higher due to increased costs of spaying larger dogs).
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.
In addition to the animals featured here, all adoptable animals in Lake County can be seen here: http://bit.ly/Z6xHMb .
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”).
Male Chihuahua mix
This male Chihuahua mix is 4 years old.
He's got a short black coat, weighs 9 pounds and hasn't been neutered.
According to shelter staff, this shy little guy is timid but not aggressive. He's a very sweet boy, loves to cuddle and is good with other dogs, male or female.
He's in kennel No. 6, ID No. 38542.
Male shepherd mix
This male shepherd mix is 3 years old.
He weighs 101 pounds, and has a short black and tan coat. He has been neutered.
Shelter staff said he needs tender love and care because he is a little shy and needs someone to work on socializing him. He is good with other dogs, male or female.
Find him in kennel No. 9, ID No. 38666.
Male terrier mix
This male terrier mix is 1 year old.
He has a long white coat, weighs 14 pounds and has been neutered.
Find him in kennel No. 12a, ID No. 38742.
Male Chihuahua mix
This male Chihuahua mix is 1 year old.
He has a short white coat, weighs 8 pounds and has been neutered.
He's in kennel No. 12b, ID No. 38743.
Female boxer mix
This female boxer mix is 1 year old.
She has a short tan and white coat, weighs 56 pounds and has been spayed.
Find her in kennel No. 13, ID No. 38704.
'Chesty'
“Chesty” is a 4-year-old English Bulldog mix.
He has a short tan and white coat, weighs 69 pounds and has been neutered.
He's in kennel No. 30, ID No. 38750.
Pit bull terrier-boxer mix
This male pit bull terrier-boxer mix is 1 year old.
He has a short brown and white coat, and has not yet been neutered.
He's in kennel No. 31a, ID No. ID: 38686.
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, 8 a.m. to 5 p.m., and 1 p.m. to 3 p.m., Saturday. The shelter is open from 10:30 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. Monday through Friday and on Saturday from 1 p.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
Massive stars – those at least eight times the mass of our Sun – present an intriguing mystery: how do they grow so large when the vast majority of stars in the Milky Way are considerably smaller?
To find the answer, astronomers used the Atacama Large Millimeter/submillimeter Array (ALMA) telescope to survey the cores of some of the darkest, coldest, and densest clouds in our Galaxy to search for the telltale signs of star formation.
These objects, known as Infrared Dark Clouds, were observed approximately 10,000 light-years away in the direction of the constellations of Aquila and Scutum.
Since these cloud cores are so massive and dense, gravity should have already overwhelmed their supporting gas pressure, allowing them to collapse to form new, Sun-mass stars. If a star had not yet begun to shine, that would be a hint that something extra was supporting the cloud.
“A starless core would indicate that some force was balancing out the pull of gravity, regulating star formation, and allowing vast amounts of material to accumulate in a scaled-up version of the way our own Sun formed,” remarked Jonathan Tan, an astrophysicist at the University of Florida, Gainesville, and lead author of a paper published today in the Astrophysical Journal.
“This suggests that massive stars and Sun-like stars follow a universal mechanism for star formation. The only difference is the size of their parent clouds,” Tan added.
Average stars like our Sun begin life as dense, but relatively low-mass concentrations of hydrogen, helium, and other trace elements inside large molecular clouds.
After the initial kernel emerges from the surrounding gas, material collapses under gravity into the central region in a relatively ordered fashion via a swirling accretion disk, where eventually planets can form. After enough mass accumulates, nuclear fusion begins at the core and a star is born.
While this model of star formation can account for the vast majority of stars in our Milky Way, something extra is needed to explain the formation of more massive stars.
“Some additional force is needed to balance out the normal process of collapse, otherwise our Galaxy would have a fairly uniform stellar population,” said Tan. “Alternatively, there has been speculation that two separate models of star formation are needed: one for Sun-like stars and one for these massive stars.”
The key to teasing out the answer is to find examples of massive starless cores – to witness the very beginnings of massive star birth.
The team of astronomers from the United States, the United Kingdom, and Italy used ALMA to look inside these cores for a unique chemical signature involving the isotope deuterium to essentially take the temperatures of these clouds to see if stars had formed.
Deuterium is important because it tends to bond with certain molecules in cold conditions. Once stars turn on and heat the surrounding gas, the deuterium is quickly lost and replaced with the more common isotope of hydrogen.
The ALMA observations detected copious amounts of deuterium, suggesting that the cloud is cold and starless.
This would indicate that some counter force is forestalling core collapse and buying enough time to form a massive star.
The researchers speculate that strong magnetic fields may be propping up the cloud, preventing it from collapsing quickly.
“These new ALMA observations reveal objects that are quite similar to the nurseries of Sun-like stars, but simply scaled-up by tens or a hundred times. This may mean that nature is more important than nurture when it comes to determining a star's size,” concluded Tan.
These observations were conducted during ALMA's early science campaign. Future studies with ALMA's full array of 66 antennas will uncover even more details about these star-forming regions.
ALMA, an international astronomy facility, is a partnership of Europe, North America and East Asia in cooperation with the Republic of Chile. ALMA construction and operations are led on behalf of Europe by ESO, on behalf of North America by the National Radio Astronomy Observatory (NRAO), and on behalf of East Asia by the National Astronomical Observatory of Japan (NAOJ). The Joint ALMA Observatory (JAO) provides the unified leadership and management of the construction, commissioning and operation of ALMA.
The National Radio Astronomy Observatory is a facility of the National Science Foundation, operated under cooperative agreement by Associated Universities Inc.
GLENHAVEN, Calif. – Traffic was stopped for more than an hour along Highway 20 Saturday afternoon after a big oak tree crashed to earth, blocking both lanes of the road.
The California Highway Patrol put out the call for assistance to local firefighters in clearing the tree, located on Highway 20 at Lakeview Drive, shortly after 3:30 p.m., according to radio reports.
The tree had two trunks, one of which was reported to be 3 feet in diameter, according to the CHP and firefighters at the scene.
Traffic was backed up for miles – stretching all the way back to Clearlake Oaks on one side – as Northshore Fire, Cal Fire and Caltrans worked to clear the roadway. Larger chainsaws had to be brought in to cut up the tree.
Officials said no motorists were injured by the falling tree.
Video by John Jensen, who also contributed to this story.
Email Elizabeth Larson at