News

Researchers at the California Department of Fish and Wildlife are studying a deer hair-loss syndrome across the state.

Wildlife experts are calling the issue “hair loss” but the real problem appears to be from the infestation of non-native lice and in some cases, a heavy infestation of internal parasites.

Symptoms range from a scruffy looking hair coat to near complete baldness. Hair-loss syndrome is also associated with poor nutritional condition, making it difficult for fawns to survive to replace the normal mortality in mature deer.

“Some of us speculate that the louse-infested deer spend so much time grooming they become easy targets of predation by coyotes or mountain lions,” said CDFW senior wildlife biologist, Greg Gerstenberg. “While this theory is still under investigation, what we do know is that the louse has impacted migratory populations of California deer which now have a low fawn survival rate, making it difficult to replenish the herd.”

The goal of the research is to understand why the lice infestations are appearing as well as to understand the full impacts of the non-native louse species and hair loss.

Information is also being shared with other western states that have similar issues in order to identify trends and potential treatments.

“It has been speculated that this condition may be attributed to an environmental deficiency of copper or selenium or some other underlying environmental factor such as a difficult to detect disease agent,” said CDFW state veterinarian, Pam Swift. “Regardless, we are conducting a comprehensive coordinated effort that will hopefully shed some light on this perplexing syndrome and minimize its effect on California’s precious deer population.”

To date, researchers have successfully captured and collected hair and blood samples from more than 600 deer and elk across California.

Counting and identifying lice on each deer, applying radio collars to track the deer, and treating some deer for lice will hopefully give researchers some quantifiable information they need to identify trends and find a solution.

For the past eight years, NASA astronomers have been monitoring the Moon for signs of explosions caused by meteoroids hitting the lunar surface.

“Lunar meteor showers” have turned out to be more common than anyone expected, with hundreds of detectable impacts occurring every year.

They’ve just seen the biggest explosion in the history of the program.

“On March 17, 2013, an object about the size of a small boulder hit the lunar surface in Mare Imbrium,” said Bill Cooke of NASA’s Meteoroid Environment Office. “It exploded in a flash nearly 10 times as bright as anything we’ve ever seen before.”

Anyone looking at the Moon at the moment of impact could have seen the explosion – no telescope required. For about one second, the impact site was glowing like a four magnitude star.

Ron Suggs, an analyst at the Marshall Space Flight Center, was the first to notice the impact in a digital video recorded by one of the monitoring program’s 14-inch telescopes.

“It jumped right out at me, it was so bright,” he recalled.

The 40 kg meteoroid measuring 0.3 to 0.4 meters wide hit the Moon traveling 56,000 mph. The resulting explosion1 packed as much punch as 5 tons of TNT.

Cooke believes the lunar impact might have been part of a much larger event.

“On the night of March 17, NASA and University of Western Ontario all-sky cameras picked up an unusual number of deep-penetrating meteors right here on Earth,” he said. “These fireballs were traveling along nearly identical orbits between Earth and the asteroid belt.”

This means Earth and the Moon were pelted by meteoroids at about the same time.

“My working hypothesis is that the two events are related, and that this constitutes a short duration cluster of material encountered by the Earth-Moon system,” said Cooke.

One of the goals of the lunar monitoring program is to identify new streams of space debris that pose a potential threat to the Earth-Moon system. The March 17 event seems to be a good candidate.

Controllers of NASA’s Lunar Reconnaissance Orbiter have been notified of the strike. The crater could be as wide as 20 meters, which would make it an easy target for LRO the next time the spacecraft passes over the impact site.

Comparing the size of the crater to the brightness of the flash would give researchers a valuable “ground truth” measurement to validate lunar impact models.

Unlike Earth, which has an atmosphere to protect it, the Moon is airless and exposed.

“Lunar meteors” crash into the ground with fair frequency. Since the monitoring program began in 2005, NASA’s lunar impact team has detected more than 300 strikes, most orders of magnitude fainter than the March 17 event.

Statistically speaking, more than half of all lunar meteors come from known meteoroid streams such as the Perseids and Leonids.

The rest are sporadic meteors – random bits of comet and asteroid debris of unknown parentage.

U.S. Space Exploration Policy eventually calls for extended astronaut stays on the lunar surface. Identifying the sources of lunar meteors and measuring their impact rates gives future lunar explorers an idea of what to expect.

Is it safe to go on a moonwalk, or not? The middle of March might be a good time to stay inside.

“We’ll be keeping an eye out for signs of a repeat performance next year when the Earth-Moon system passes through the same region of space,” said Cooke. “Meanwhile, our analysis of the March 17th event continues.”

Dr. Tony Phillips works for the National Aeronautics and Space Administration.

LAKE COUNTY, Calif. – A new Web site to honor the life of Mikaela Lynch has been established by her family and friends.

The memorial Web site, titled “Mikaela’s Village,” can be found at www.mlvillage.org .

The site states, “We are a community of Mikaela’s family and close friends that are dedicated to the life and love of Mikaela Lynch. This wonderful girl has touched so many lives around the globe. It is our intent to continue to spread the love that Mikaela shared liberally. We hope to have your help in our mission.”

The 9-year-old San Francisco girl, who had autism, wandered from her family’s vacation home on Mother’s Day.

Mikaela became the focus of a massive three-day search, which ended on Wednesday with the discovery of her body in Cache Creek, not far from the family’s home.

Described as beautiful, determined, fearless and proud, Mikaela was a “girl with meaningful intentions, she let the world know what was really worthwhile,” according to the site.

It added, “Her village is invested in continuing the preservation of Mikaela’s memory, intentions and way of life.”

The site includes a donation link. One of the child’s teachers, Alyssa Winn, reported that Mikaela’s family currently is choosing a foundation – likely one benefiting children with autism – in order to make a donation in her name.

Candlelight vigils for Mikaela will be held at 8 p.m. Saturday at Redbud Park, 14655 Lakeshore Drive in Clearlake, and at 6 p.m. Monday at the Legacy School, 1950 Parallel Dr. in Lakeport.

Email Elizabeth Larson at This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. . Follow her on Twitter, @ERLarson, or Lake County News, @LakeCoNews.

NORTH COAST, Calif. – A Crescent City man who attempted to rob two women at knifepoint in Ukiah five days before last Christmas has been sentenced to state prison for a cumulative 98 years to life.

The heavily tattooed, 50-year-old Robert Lee White – also known as Robert Lee Stanley, Tracy Lee Mark and “Gypsy” – appeared Friday afternoon to listen as Mendocino County Superior Court Judge John Behnke rendered his judgment and imposed final sentencing.

White has been represented by Deputy Public Defender Dan Haehl.   

At the conclusion of a trial held on April 3, Judge Behnke entered guilty verdicts against White on two counts of attempted robbery and one count of threatening the husband of one of the victims.

The court also found as true that White used a knife in each of the three crimes and that he had previously been convicted of four prior “strike” convictions.  

According to the background investigation conducted by the Mendocino County Probation Office, White began his first prison commitment in 1982 at the age of 18 years for first degree burglary and false imprisonment. He was paroled on those convictions in 1985.  

White was then convicted of misdemeanor drug use in 1994 and 1996. However, later in 1996 White was sent back to state prison by the Del Norte County Superior Court for criminal threats. He was paroled on that conviction in 1997.  

In 1999, White was returned to state prison for two new and separate robberies – one he committed in Alameda County and another in Humboldt County. He was paroled on those cases in 2012. White was on state parole supervision when he was arrested on the current crimes by the Ukiah Police Department.

Mendocino County District Attorney David Eyster personally handled the local prosecution of White from the beginning.

“Some individuals are too dangerous to be allowed to live amongst us,” said Eyster.  “My goal in prosecuting Mr. White was to achieve a final result that promises the community that Mr. White will never again be given the freedom to pull a knife on, threaten, and victimize people in Mendocino County. In light of the sentence imposed by the court today, that goal has been achieved.”

It is noted by courthouse historians that White’s sentence of 98 years to life is the second longest Three Strikes sentence imposed on any defendant in Mendocino County since voters approved Proposition 184 (the original Three Strikes law) in 1994.

The longest Three Strikes sentence earned by a defendant in Mendocino County – 105 years to life – was imposed on William Newport in 1996 by then-Superior Court Judge James King.  

Newport was the so-called Mendocino arsonist who terrorized the village of Mendocino by setting fire to multiple buildings and other property.

Eyster, a Deputy District Attorney at the time, also successfully prosecuted Newport, a case in which the defense attempted an unsuccessful insanity defense.

A listing of all defendants from Mendocino County currently serving life sentences can be accessed through the District Attorney’s Web site at www.co.mendocino.ca.us/da/liferInventory.htm .

NORTH COAST, Calif. – Caltrans District 1 is announced that Brad Mettam has been named the new deputy district director of Planning and Local Assistance.

District 1, which is headquartered in Eureka, includes Lake, Del Norte, Humboldt and Mendocino counties and 2,400 lane miles of state highway.

“Brad Mettam will bring a strong sense of leadership to his new role in District 1,” said District 1 Director Charlie Fielder. “With his highly developed abilities in local partnerships and innovation, I am confident Brad will help District 1 move forward in building a safe and secure transportation future for the north coast.”

Mettam recently served Inyo and Mono counties in District 9, where he held the position of deputy district director, Planning and Modal Programs for the past eight years.

He has extensive experience and knowledge in the development and implementation of multi-modal transportation planning.  

While serving District 9, Mettam strengthened working relationships with the local community, state and local agencies, as well as with tribes.

He has 14 years of Caltrans experience in regional planning and project management. He also has served as assistant director, Legislative Affairs in Sacramento, where he gained useful insight and understanding into the organization and functions of California state government.  

Fielder also thanked Cheryl Willis, Mettam’s predecessor, upon her retirement. “Cheryl served District 1 with professionalism and brought an innovative approach to her 30 years of service for the State,” he said.

NORTH COAST, Calif. – The Mendocino County Sheriff’s Office is investigating the discovery this week near Willits of what appear to be charred human remains.

Lt. Greg Van Patten said the sheriff’s office was notified shortly before 12:30 p.m. Thursday of a suspicious circumstance in a secluded area adjacent to Highway 162 near the 1.04 mile post marker.

Van Patten said the reporting person stated they were in the area when they noticed the remnants of burnt ground. Upon closer inspection the reporting person observed what appeared to be bones amongst the burnt ground.

Based upon the information, sheriff's detectives responded to the location and initiated an investigation, according to Van Patten.

Upon arrival the detectives located several badly charred bones, which investigators believe to be of human origin at this time, Van Patten said.

He said detectives will be enlisting the assistance of a forensic odontologist and forensic anthropologist in attempting to identify if the bones are human.

Anyone that has information that could assist with this investigation is urged to contact the Mendocino County Sheriff's Office Tip-Line by calling 707-234-2100.