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Adam Steltzner doesn’t sound much like an ordinary engineer.
For instance, when we asked him if he would talk about Curiosity – and explain why the Mars rover matters to ordinary people – the former rock-n-roller responded, “I’m totally down with that.”
He really is down with it.
Steltzner is the NASA engineer who helped take the country’s cool new Curiosity rover to the surface of Mars with moves – and flair – even Evel Knievel would envy.
“I’m so thankful to Clara Ma for suggesting the name ‘Curiosity.’ It embodies a fundamental attribute that defines us as humans,” he said.
“Why do we explore? It’s our nature,” he said. “Human curiosity is why you and I can talk across the country by phone. It’s why I’m sitting 60 feet above the ground in a building made of alloys and other high-tech composite materials. We dominate this planet because we wonder what’s around the next corner.”
When people ask Steltzner “Is the new rover worth $2.5 billion?” he has a compelling answer:
“It’s not $2.5 billion we stuffed in a trunk and blew into space. It’s thousands of high tech jobs spread over 37 states. It’s honing and developing our skills in science, engineering and math.”
He notes that the U.S. has slipped to 14th in science education and 18th in math – in a world where we’re competing for economic prosperity with nations one through 13.
“This mission is an investment in high tech jobs, in inspiring the youth of our country, in stepping up rung by rung toward 1st place,” he said. “It’s the best stimulus you could imagine!”
OK, curiosity matters – but does it matter more than rock-n-roll? Steltzner played guitar in a rock band for years, so he has the chops to answer this question, too.
“In some sense, exploration and music are both art forms,” he said. “They’re both expressions of our humanity. But exploration can surprise us more – or at least differently – than music can. Music can surprise us only about what we find in ourselves. Exploration surprises us with what we learn of ourselves and of the universe.”
Steltzner said music led him to exploration. During high school he played in a rock band. One night driving home from a gig he noticed that the constellation Orion was in a different place than it had been before.
But why? “I hadn’t paid attention during high school classes at all. So I didn’t know.”
His curiosity made him decide to take an astronomy class. First, though, astronomy had prerequisites such as elementary algebra and conceptual physics. He took them all. “I basically redid my high school education at the community college.”
The rest – which includes a bachelor’s degree from UC Davis, a master’s degree from Caltech, a job at JPL, and a daredevil landing on Mars – is history.
After the glory of the Curiosity landing fades, what will this explorer do next?
“Our solar system offers us grand challenges,” said Steltzner. “I’d like to see a Mars sample return. I’d like to land on the surface of Europa – the most likely place in the solar system for life. And third, I’d like to float a boat on the methane lakes of Titan.”
“The solar system is calling out to us,” he says. “The wind’s at our back. It’s time to explore!”
Daun Coulter works for the National Aeronautics and Space Administration.
LOS ANGELES – California Attorney General Kamala Harris and Mexico Attorney General Marisela Morales Ibáñez on Friday signed an accord to expand prosecutions and secure convictions of criminals who engage in the trafficking of human beings.
The accord will increase coordination of law enforcement resources targeting transnational gangs that engage in the sale and trafficking of human beings across the California-Mexico border.
The accord calls for closer integration on human trafficking investigations between the two offices and the sharing of best practices for law enforcement to recognize instances of human trafficking and provide support and services to victims.
Prosecutors from the two offices today held the second of a series of meetings to implement the initiative.
“California and Mexico are together taking steps to disrupt and dismantle the criminal networks that traffic human beings into our state as if they were just another commodity,” said Attorney General Harris. “Trageting transnational gangs is a vital component of our efforts to protect public safety in California.”
Human trafficking is estimated to be a $32 billion global industry and the world’s third most profitable criminal enterprise behind drugs and arms trafficking.
The United States Department of State estimates that between 14,000 and 17,500 individuals are trafficked into the country each year.
The National Human Trafficking Hotline and Resource Center received more than 54,000 calls between 2007 and 2011, with more than 15 percent originating from California.
“Criminal trafficking organizations are among the most dangerous threats that we confront and they are drawn to the trafficking of human beings by the high profit and low risk,” said Attorney General Harris. “If we aim to be smart on crime, we have to change that calculus. Our goal is to disrupt trafficking networks, increase convictions and force these international traffickers away from our borders.”
Earlier this month, Attorney General Harris announced the arraignment on drug trafficking charges of six individuals with suspected links to the La Familia and Sinaloa cartels.
Together, these two busts resulted in the seizure of more than 43 pounds of methamphetamine with an estimated street value of nearly $2 million.
Attorney General Harris has made the fight against human trafficking a career priority.
The Justice Department is preparing an update to California’s Human Trafficking Report, which, in part, will examine the human trafficking activities of transnational gangs in California.
This report is an update of a 2007 report mandated by the California Human Trafficking Victims Protection Act of 2005, which was sponsored by then-District Attorney Harris and first made human trafficking a felony in California.
In June, Attorney General Harris partnered with Yahoo! and the Polaris Project to direct users to the national human trafficking hotline whenever certain terms related to human trafficking are searched through Yahoo!
The goal of the initiative is to identify more victims of human trafficking by connecting survivors and community members to resources and support.
In addition, two bills sponsored by Attorney General Harris have been sent to Governor Edmund G. Brown for his signature. Assembly Bill 2466 (Assemblymember Bob Blumenfield) ensures that criminal defendants involved in human trafficking will not dispose of assets that would otherwise be provided as restitution to victims, and Senate Bill 1133 (Senator Mark Leno) expands the list of assets that a human trafficker must forfeit and provides a formula for using those resources to help victims of human trafficking.
For more information on human trafficking, visit www.oag.ca.gov/human-trafficking .
LAKEPORT, Calif. – An early Friday morning fire in a historic downtown Lakeport building burned up the contents of a store and began to enter the building's second story before firefighters knocked it down.
The fire was located in the Lunas building at 306 N. Main St., at the corner of Main and Third streets in downtown Lakeport.
Lakeport Fire Chief Ken Wells said the fire broke out some time between 5:30 a.m. and 6 a.m.
Lakeport Police Chief Brad Rasmussen said his officers and firefighters arrived at around 6 a.m. after receiving a call about the fire.
Wells, who responded to the scene, said, “We had flames coming out of the bottom story upon our arrival.”
The fire destroyed the Penny Lane Emporium on the first floor before it spread lightly into the second story, where the Feeney and Lunas law offices are located, according to Wells.
Rasmussen said they closed Main Street between Second and Fourth streets, as well as Third Street between Park and Main streets with the help of Lakeport Public Works employees, who put up barricades to cordon off the fire area while firefighters worked.
Wells said he and two Lakeport engines and a ladder truck responded, with Northshore Fire sending an engine and Kelseyville responding with an engine and chief. Lakeport Police controlled the crowd and traffic with help from sheriff's deputies.
By about 9:30 a.m. most of the resources had been released, with Wells, an engine and ladder truck remaining on scene. At that point Wells was waiting for fire investigators to arrive.
“We're going to go in there and try to determine cause and origin,” Wells said, adding that the insurance company already had been on scene.
Wells had no estimate of damage. “The whole downstairs is completely destroyed. There is nothing salvageable in the shop downstairs,” he said.
Attorney and judicial candidate Michael Lunas' office is located upstairs. It was not destroyed although Rasmussen said the upstairs area appeared to have had heat and smoke damage.
Rasmussen said he had a detective standing by to assist with the investigation.
He said there was nobody in the building at the time of the fire.
“There were witnesses in the area at the time that we talked to and the fire department also has talked to,” Rasmussen said.
Main and Third streets had been reopened to traffic at 9 a.m., Rasmussen said.
Controlled traffic is in effect at the intersection of Third and Main streets, and Park Street is closed from the alley behind Lakeport City Hall to Main Street, according to Rasmussen.
He said the parking lanes in front of the Lunas building and the sidewalk were closed in the interest of safety until the fire investigation is complete, which should last several hours.
The 1870s-era Lunas building recently was the site of a Lake County Quilt Trail installation. Owned by Darlene Lunas, Michael Lunas’ mother, the building has seen disasters before, having survived the 1906 earthquake.
Email Elizabeth Larson at
LAKEPORT, Calif. – Firefighters were able to contain two small wildland fires before they reached homes on Thursday evening.
The fires were first reported after 6 p.m. along Mission Rancheria Road.
Lakeport Fire Chief Ken Wells said the main fire, which burned about seven acres, was on the west side of Mission Rancheria Road on Big Valley Rancheria in a heavily wooded area with a lot of grass and cattails, betwee
n some nearby homes and Konocti Vista Casino.
The second blaze, which he said was a spot fire from the main fire, was on the east side of Mission Rancheria Road. He said it burned about a quarter of an acre.
In addition to Lakeport and Kelseyville Fire personnel, Wells said Northshore Fire and Cal Fire also responded. The California Highway Patrol was called for traffic control on Soda Bay Road.
Wells said the fire had the potential for spreading and reaching structures on Sod
a Bay Road. “We didn’t know what we were going to have there for awhile.”
Reports from the scene had indicated that the main fire was contained at 7 p.m. and the spot fire was controlled.
Wells said firefighters cleared the scene at about 9 p.m.
The fires remain under investigation.
“We’ve had a couple fires in there already this year,” he said,noting the area is well traveled and a popular place to hang out for tribal members.
Email Elizabeth Larson at
SPORTS: Quickness prevails in the early season; Cardinals and Cougars should win in close encounters
LAKE COUNTY, Calif. – In the collision sport of football, size has always mattered. But for Lake County teams this season, the benefits of bulk have been overshadowed by the qualities of quick.
The Middletown Mustangs (2-1), the county’s best team, is also the county’s quickest.
“We’re small, so we’d better be quick,” coach Bill Foltmer said before the season started.
This week, as his team prepared for Friday night’s league opener at home against heftier Lower Lake (0-3), the Mustangs’ coach seemed to be downplaying the speed factor when he said, “Quickness is what you talk about when you don’t have any size.”
But you get the feeling that Foltmer wouldn’t trade in this new sports car of a team he’s driving this season – imagine a BMW Z4 convertible – for one of those nice Buicks or Lincolns he’s coached in past years.
In fact, the Delaware wing-T offense he runs requires quick linemen to get outside to lead the sweep or to dart left or right to “trap” a defense lineman.
Sleek and swift – maybe this will turn into Foltmer’s dream team. Especially if it can out-quick the allegedly mercurial St. Helena Saints (3-0) in the game that will probably decide the NCL championship on Oct. 12.
It’s difficult to downplay the Mustangs’ team speed, which gave powerful (in a quick kind of way) Salesian a scare before falling 7-3, and then, in a classic matchup of speed vs. size, dominated Upper Lake, 28-8.
At least two other NCL I teams are relying on quickness to be competitive this season, partly because their size probably won’t win them any games.
Kelseyville is small and Clear Lake is even smaller. Both take 2-1 records into their openers Friday night against beefier opponents, the Knights visiting Willits and the Cards traveling to Fort Bragg.
Kelseyville rolled to its second straight victory last week, 38-0 over Esparto, which should have been an indication that the Knights, who have talent and speed at the skill positions, might be a factor in the NCL I title chase.
But that optimism and momentum faded quickly with the news that quarterback John Mark Reagan – team leader, running threat, passing threat, solid defensive back – will be out six to eight weeks with a broken collar bone.
Also injured in the Esparto game was running back Dasan Vasquez, who’s expected to miss one to three games with a high ankle sprain.
If there’s a surprise team in the county, it’s the undersized Clear Lake Cardinals, whose most impressive outing may have been the season-opening loss to Durham.
They’ve dominated inferior opponents Stellar Prep and South Fork in subsequent victories, all the while demonstrating impressive balance on offense and intelligence on defense.
While the county’s flyweight teams have enjoyed a measure of success, the two biggest teams have struggled. Lower Lake’s problem has been a ridiculously tough schedule, which doesn’t get any easier this week in its NCL I opener at Middletown.
Upper Lake (1-2), along with some lapses in intensity, has had some scheduling issues, having to play two games in five days (against strong teams from Middletown and Portola).
But the Cougars can get back on track with a victory in their NCL II-Bay football opener at California School for the Deaf (Fremont), before getting on with what should be an interesting battle with Tomales and St. Vincent for the league title.
Here the previews and predictions for this week:
Clear Lake (2-1) at Fort Bragg (2-1), Friday, 7:30 p.m. This could be the best of the season-openers. For a team lacking in manpower, the Cards have a lot of different weapons, including QB quarterback Ken Henninger, RBs Andre Buendia, Luke Punzalan and Vince Rave, and receivers Zuhuri Manley and David Mansell. CL has also shined on defense and special teams. If the Cardinals can avoid the turnovers they’ve been known to make, they’ll prevail in what should be a close game. Prediction: Clear Lake 21, Fort Bragg 13.
St. Helena (3-0) at Cloverdale (0-3), Friday, 7:30 p.m. The Eagles, who’ve played some decent teams close, might get a win or two in league, but the Saints, with the best QB in the league and excellent team speed, are on a roll. Prediction: St. Helena 34, Cloverdale 7.
Kelseyville (2-1) at Willits (2-1), Friday, 7:30 p.m. Any chance the Knights had of upsetting the Wolverines probably evaporated when QB John Mark Reagan was injured in last week’s win over Esparto. Willits’ defense is tested-tough. Prediction: Willits 27, Kelseyville 8.
Upper Lake (1-2) at CSD (3-0), Friday, 7 p.m. The Cougars, who lost two games in 5 days, should be ready to mount an NCL II/Bay Football title drive. Prediction: Upper Lake 33, CSD 27.
Lower Lake (0-3) at Middletown (2-1), Friday, 7:30 p.m.: Middletown has a star on the rise in junior running back Arthur Benson. Senior QB Ben Pike’s ability to scramble away from pressure has helped the Mustang passing game (along with Pike’s rushing totals). Tyler Drew, injured in the Upper Lake game, will resume his kicking duties this week, and also should get some carries at RB. … For Lower Lake, tall and athletic Thomas Cross has been QB Richard Tucker’s favorite target, and look for the Trojans to try isolate him up against one of Middletown’s smaller DBs. Prediction: Middletown 40, Lower Lake 7.
Prediction record: Last week: 7-0. Season: 16-2.
Email Rich Mellott at
LAKE COUNTY, Calif. – The Lake County Sheriff’s Office reported on Thursday that members of its force will be working with the federal government on drug-related investigations.
Sgt. Steve Brooks said that effective Oct. 1 two of the agency’s narcotic detectives will be cross-deputized as Drug Enforcement Administration Task Force officers.
Their assignment will be to investigate narcotics-related offenses on a federal level, according to Brooks.
Brooks said the cross-deputized detectives will seek federal prosecution of major drug offenses occurring within Lake County and the surrounding region.
The DEA was among several regional, state and federal agencies that assisted the Lake County Sheriff’s Narcotics Task Force in serving seven search warrants in Middletown and Upper Lake earlier this week.