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Europe’s Rosetta spacecraft is en route to intercept a comet – and to make history.
In 2014, Rosetta will enter orbit around comet 67P/Churyumov-Gerasimenko and land a probe on it, two firsts.
Rosetta’s goal is to learn the primordial story a comet tells as it gloriously falls to pieces.
Comets are primitive leftovers from our solar system's 'construction' about 4.5 billion years ago.
Because they spend much of their time in the deep freeze of the outer solar system, comets are well preserved – a gold mine for astronomers who want to know what conditions were like back “in the beginning.”
As their elongated orbits swing them closer to the sun, comets transform into the most breathtaking bodies in the night sky.
A European Space Agency mission launched in 2004 with U.S. instruments on board, Rosetta will have a front-row seat for the metamorphosis.
What we know of comets so far comes from a handful of flyby missions.
"In some ways, a flyby is just a tantalizing glimpse of a comet at one stage in its evolution," said Claudia Alexander, project scientist for the U.S. Rosetta Project at JPL. "Rosetta is different. It will orbit 67P for 17 months. We'll see this comet evolve right before our eyes as we accompany it toward the sun and back out again."
Fierce solar heat will have a profound effect on Rosetta’s target. "We'll watch the comet start as just a little nugget in space and then become something poetic and beautiful, trailing a vast tail."
At the moment, Rosetta is "resting up" for the challenges ahead. It's hibernating, engaged in its high-speed chase while fast asleep.
Reveille is on or around New Year's Day 2014, when the spacecraft begins a months-long program of self-checkups.
If all goes well, in August of the same year, Rosetta will enter orbit around 67P's nucleus and begin scanning its surface for a landing site.
Once a site is chosen, the spacecraft will descend as low as 1 kilometer to deploy the lander.
The lander’s name is “Philae” after an island in the Nile, the site of an obelisk that helped decipher – you guessed it – the Rosetta Stone.
Touchdown is scheduled for November 2014, when Philae will make the first ever controlled landing on a comet's nucleus.
"When we land, the comet could already be active!" said Alexander.
Because a comet has little gravity, the lander will anchor itself with harpoons. “The feet may drill into something crunchy like permafrost, or maybe into something rock solid,” she speculated.
Once it is fastened, the lander will commence an unprecedented first-hand study of a comet’s nucleus.
Among other things, it will gather samples for examination by automatic onboard microscopes and take panoramic images of the comet’s terrain from ground level.
Meanwhile, orbiting overhead, the Rosetta spacecraft will be busy, too.
Onboard sensors will map the comet’s surface and magnetic field, monitor the comet’s erupting jets and geysers, measure outflow rates, and much more.
Together, the orbiter and lander will build up the first 3D picture of the layers and pockets under the surface of a comet.
The results should tell quite a story indeed.
Dauna Coulter works for the National Aeronautics and Space Administration.
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MENDOCINO COUNTY, Calif. – The Department of Fish and Game (DFG) will begin planting rainbow trout in Lake Mendocino for the first time this February.
Approximately 15,000 pounds of trout will be put into the lake throughout the winter and early spring, giving anglers an opportunity to enjoy one of the state’s most popular activities.
“There are very few trout fishing opportunities in Mendocino County,” said DFG Environmental Scientist Scott Harris. “We are pleased that we can add Lake Mendocino to the annual allotment list as a winter trout fishery.”
This is the first time that Lake Mendocino has been stocked by DFG. Historically, only the Mill Creek ponds east of Talmage have been stocked during winter and early winter months in Mendocino County.
The triploids will be put in the lake several times during the winter and early spring, the agency said.
To ensure there is a constant supply of fish in the upper East Branch Russian River area, fish will be planted in the East Branch Russian River in Potter Valley from late April to October.
The planted fish are between a half and three-quarter pounds each and are raised at the Darrah Springs Hatchery in Paynes Creek.
Other popular fish species inhabiting the lake include large and smallmouth bass, striped bass, channel catfish and black crappie.
DFG sells approximately 1 million fishing licenses a year. Anyone over the age of 16 must have a valid fishing license in their possession while fishing.
To buy a California fishing license, visit www.dfg.ca.gov/licensing/ols/.
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A cardinal rule of trust administration is that the intentions of the settlor(s) – the person(s) who created the trust – are to be given effect. A second cardinal rule is that a trust must be strictly administered according to its stated terms.
What happens, then, when the stated terms of an executed trust no longer give the same effect as a settlor’s intention at the time of signing the trust instrument? All is not necessarily lost.
Let us examine some possible scenarios and how the situation may be salvaged.
In the easiest situation, when the settlor is still alive and competent, the settlor can always amend his/her revocable trust to correct any inadequacy or drafting error.
What, however, if the settlor is not competent, or, if the trust is an irrevocable trust (e.g., a special needs trust) or it became irrevocable upon the settlor’s own death?
If the settlor is incapacitated – as that term is defined in the trust instrument or as adjudicated by a court – then we must see whether the trust grants someone else power to amend the trust that are sufficient to correct the error.
Perhaps the trust allows the incapacitated person’s agent acting under a durable power of attorney, or a trust protector, the authority to amend the trust.
If so, we must further examine whether the powers of amendment granted are sufficient to fix the problem.
For example, an agent who can amend the trust to change who becomes successor trustee might not also be authorized to amend the distribution of trust assets, and if the latter is the problem the agent cannot correct it.
In that case, another solution would be to amend the incapacitated settlor’s revocable trust by means of a court order using a petition for substituted judgment. Such a petition can only be brought by the conservator of the settlor’s estate. A temporary conservatorship could suffice and be terminated after the court order is obtained.
A substituted judgment proceeding, amongst other things, allows the conservator to petition the court to exercise the incapacitated settlor’s own reserved authority to amend the trust.
The conservator must first convince the court that what is proposed is justified under the circumstances and the law. Moreover, substituted judgment petitions can be contested and result in trials.
If the settlor is deceased and their living trust is now irrevocable, or if the trust was irrevocable at the outset, then a court proceeding either to reform or to modify the trust or for instructions to the trustee are all options.
Reformation and modification of a trust are completely different approaches.
In a reformation action, an aggrieved party petitions the court to rewrite the terms of a trust to correct an inaccuracy due to a mistake or fraud. Evidence outside of the trust may be allowed to show its inaccuracy. Once reformed, it is as if the trust were written as reformed from the start.
In a modification action, on the other hand, a beneficiary, trustee or settlor petitions the court to modify the trust on a go forward basis in order to address a problem involving an ambiguity or changed circumstances, i.e., circumstances that did not exist at the time the trust was established.
When the settlor is deceased and an ambiguity is involved, all beneficiaries must consent to the modification.
Lastly, instructions to the trustee may solve problems where interpretation of existing language is at issue.
It is very important to a successful outcome that the correct approach be taken. It is also important to consider the implications of any no contest clause before proceeding with any action.
Obviously, court proceedings should be undertaken with the assistance of a qualified attorney.
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 55 First St., Lakeport, California. Dennis can be reached by e-mail at
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LOWER LAKE, Calif. – Needing to cut millions of dollars in order to have a balanced 2012-13 fiscal year budget, the Konocti Unified School District Board on Wednesday night took up a new approach to budgeting.
District Superintendent Dr. Bill MacDougall took to the board a proposed zero based budget model, accompanied by an updated list of proposals for basic services and losses that he and district management staff compiled.
The zero based process, according to MacDougall, will allow the district to begin with the vision of services it wants for its students.
From there, he said they must determine what the minimal program requirements and positions are to achieve that vision, noting they’re planning for continued success.
He suggested that the mantra needed to be how to do business differently in the face of the deep cuts Gov. Jerry Brown is projecting.
Board members went into the Wednesday night meeting knowing that they would have to begin the process of some serious considerations for the district's future, with $2.8 million – more than 10 percent of the district's budget – needing to be cut back.
“It's a tough night for all of us, whether you're sitting out there or sitting up here,” said Board Chair Anita Gordon.
The board plans an all-day budgeting workshop on Saturday, Feb. 11, but Wednesday was a chance for the management team to present its proposals to the trustees and get their initial input.
MacDougall said the document is still a draft.
He noted that in the first three years of his four-year tenure as superintendent, the district sustained $3.6 million in budget cuts. Now, in addition, it's looking at another $2.8 million.
“We want your input. It's crucial. As a community we can make this work,” he told the board and staff.
Later in the evening, as the zero based model came up for discussion, MacDougall compared the district's budget to the board game “Jenga,” in which building blocks are pulled out one at a time until the structure finally collapses.
“We have been pulling blocks out of the foundation of the Konocti Unified School District for over four years,” he said.
With $2.8 million needing to be pulled out of the district budget, “at that point the district crumbles,” he said, noting that the district is the largest organization of its kind in the county and must be fiscally responsible.
Rather than taking the approach of cutting, MacDougall proposed starting with zero and building upward. “We rebuild from a base, and that base is the bare, bare, bare minimum of operations.”
In the past four years the district has made many wise moves, including preparing for midyear cuts when other districts didn't, MacDougall said.
While the governor is proposing to put on the ballot later this year a bill to give funds to education and other state agencies, MacDougall warned it won’t be a panacea.
He said the district has to be prepared, otherwise it will be devastated. To help staff prepare, MacDougall said he will visit the district’s schools in the days ahead to discuss the budget with staff.
Understanding the new model
Among the recommended actions, the district will go from 181 days down to 177, two above the state minimum. MacDougall said it will have staff development days, which will allow them to pay staff. He said staff has made many sacrifices, and called the plan “a win-win.”
Board member Mary Silva was trying to keep track of how the various proposals would save the district money, but MacDougall said he didn't want to talk about what they were cutting, but what they were keeping.
“I have to see where it all comes from,” said Silva.
MacDougall said he wanted to discuss how to build up from zero.
Gordon said the zero based process has been described to her using a pizza comparison: the district is starting out with a thin crust pizza with sauce and cheese, and it has to decide later on the toppings.
Staff went through the proposals with the board, going over everything from federal mandates for special education services in transportation to needs for appropriate numbers of licensed vocational nurses, food services and the importance of keeping the technology director position, which helps guide the district's technology policies.
As the night wore on, MacDougall said the board was doing well with the new budget concept, noting it was a little uncomfortable at first.
“It's just a new concept,” said Silva, adding that in the 14 years she's been on the board she's never budgeted that way.
MacDougall said the board needs to be really comfortable with the method by the time the Feb. 11 budget workshop arrives.
If there was a bright spot it was that the revised document presented Wednesday was not as dire as originally proposed.
“I really had to gulp over the original one and I think this is a really good compromise,” said Gordon.
At one point, while discussing the bare minimums in food service, Board member Hank Montgomery said they needed to focus on what was needed to keep the doors open, pointing out that what they were doing had nothing to do with peoples' worth, otherwise they would have had a very different discussion.
The Wednesday evening discussion had focused mostly on the management team's proposals to the board. The next steps will be for the discussion to be opened up to everyone, MacDougall said.
“We're preparing for the worst. We will hope for the best,” he said.
Montgomery thanked the management team for its efforts.
“I think you've provided us with a thoughtful approach to a horrible situation,” he said.
He added that “it's always been kids first,” and the proposals reflected that, showing what the district values in the face of what he called “a tragic situation.”
Gordon added that the hardest thing for the board members is knowing that they didn't cause the problem.
E-mail Elizabeth Larson at
LAKEPORT, Calif. – The Lakeport Fire District Joint Volunteer Firefighter Academy will honor 10 graduates at a Friday graduation ceremony.
The 10 recruits – five from Lakeport Fire, four from Northshore Fire and one from Kelseyville – completed their academy training last Sunday, according to Andrew Bergem, the academy’s coordinator and a firefighter/EMT for the Lakeport Fire Protection District.
“We made the academy very difficult and demanding of recruits,” said Bergem. “We wanted them to understand and be able to apply everything we expected.”
Graduating volunteers are Josh Armstrong, Kelseyville Fire; Beau Bastian, Lakeport Fire; Tom Beall, Lakeport Fire; Nick Elam, Northshore Fire; Gregory Fricker, Lakeport Fire; Shavona Graham, Northshore Fire; Robert Hopkins, Northshore Fire; Jordan Mills, Lakeport Fire; Miles Monte, Northshore Fire; Sean Thomas, Lakeport Fire.
At the Friday ceremony they will receive certificates of completion. Additional awards for top performance also will be given.
Bergem said the academy was designed to train new volunteer candidates to the firefighter level so they could respond and operate with a basic knowledge and safety on emergency response calls.
He said the academy physically challenged the recruits, requiring them to participate in morning physical fitness exercises that pushed them further mentally and physically than many had ever experienced before – much as they would be challenged on a fire scene.
Recruits had 10 hour days of physically and mentally intense training on the drill ground where they learned everything from building construction to how to throw ladders and apply streams to compartmentalized fires, Bergem said.
The recruits also learned how to operate on a company level, meaning on a fire engine or truck, and a a team member, working together to accomplish an objective, he said.
In addition, the academy included station cleaning duties, academic requirements, hands-on drill ground exercises and core values and their importance in the fire service.
Bergem said he is very proud of all of the recruits.
“We held them to a high standard and each one stepped it up to impress me each and every day,” he said.
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CLEARLAKE, Calif. – A Thursday night fire in Clearlake burned a trailer and nearby vegetation.
The fire was reported just after 11:30 p.m. on Third Avenue near Wilkinson Avenue, according to radio reports.
A caller from Third Avenue had reported seeing flames and a lot of smoke near two structures.
A short time later, a second caller told dispatchers that abandoned trailers and brush were on fire.
Lake County Fire Protection District firefighters initially had difficulty accessing the scene, but when they arrived they reported finding a single structure that already was well involved, as well as a small amount of wildland with a slow rate of spread, radio reports indicated.
The fire was reported contained just before midnight.
A battalion chief on scene reported that the damaged structure was an abandoned singlewide mobile home.
Also on Thursday evening, a brush fire near a residence was reported on Highway 29 near Twin Pine Casino in Middletown just before 5 p.m. No further details were immediately available.
E-mail Elizabeth Larson at