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The fire was reported at 9790 Highway 175 at approximately 8:18 p.m., according to radio reports.
The home’s occupants were able to safely get out, and reported to a dispatcher that they could see flames, radio traffic indicated.
Reports from the scene indicated an electrical issue may have been the cause.
South Lake County firefighters responded to the home, where the fire was reported to be out about 20 minute after the initial report. Two fire units remained on scene to handle the mop up.
Additional details were not available Friday evening.
E-mail Elizabeth Larson at
In a potentially significant finding in the search for life beyond Earth, scientists studying data from NASA's Galileo probe have discovered what appears to be a body of liquid water the volume of the North American Great Lakes locked inside the icy shell of Jupiter’s moon Europa.
The water could represent a potential habitat for life, and many more such lakes might exist throughout the shallow regions of Europa’s shell, say researchers writing in the journal Nature.
“The data opens up some compelling possibilities,” said Mary Voytek, director of NASA's Astrobiology Program at agency headquarters in Washington. “However, scientists worldwide will want to take a close look at this analysis and review the data before we can fully appreciate the implication of these results.”
The Galileo spacecraft, launched by the space shuttle Atlantis in 1989, provided scientists decades of data to analyze before the probe plunged into Jupiter's atmosphere in 2003.
One of the most significant discoveries was the inference of a global salt water ocean below the surface of Europa.
This ocean is deep enough to cover the whole surface of Europa and contains more liquid water than all of Earth's oceans combined.
However, being far from the sun, the ocean surface is completely frozen. Most scientists think this ice crust is tens of miles thick.
“One opinion in the scientific community has been if the ice shell is thick, that's bad for biology. That might mean the surface isn't communicating with the underlying ocean,” said Britney Schmidt, lead author of the Nature paper and postdoctoral fellow at the Institute for Geophysics, University of Texas at Austin. “Now, we see evidence that it's a thick ice shell that can mix vigorously and new evidence for giant shallow lakes. That could make Europa and its ocean more habitable.”
Schmidt and her team focused on Galileo images of two roughly circular, bumpy features on Europa's surface called chaos terrains.
Based on similar processes seen on Earth – on ice shelves and under glaciers overlaying volcanoes – they developed a four-step model to explain how the features form (diagram). The model resolves several conflicting observations. Some seemed to suggest the ice shell is thick. Others suggest it is thin.
The recent analysis suggests chaos features on Europa's surface are formed by mechanisms that involve significant exchange between the icy shell and the underlying lake.
This kind of “chaos” may provide a pathway for transferring nutrients and energy between the surface and the vast global ocean already thought to exist below the thick ice shell. Researchers believe this would increase the potential for life there.
"This new understanding of processes on Europa would not have been possible without the foundation of the last 20 years of observations over Earth's ice sheets and floating ice shelves,” said Don Blankenship, a co-author and senior research scientist at the Institute for Geophysics, where he leads airborne radar studies of Earth’s ice sheets.
The authors have good reason to believe their model is correct. Still, because the inferred lakes are several miles below the surface, the only true confirmation of their presence would come from a future spacecraft mission designed to probe the ice shell.
Such a mission was rated as the second highest priority flagship mission by the National Research Council's recent Planetary Science Decadal Survey and is being studied by NASA.
Galileo was the first spacecraft to directly measure Jupiter's atmosphere with a probe and conduct long-term observations of the Jovian system. The probe was the first to fly by an asteroid and discover the moon of an asteroid.
NASA extended the mission three times to take advantage of Galileo's unique science capabilities, and it was put on a collision course into Jupiter's atmosphere in September 2003 to eliminate any chance of impacting Europa.
The Galileo mission was managed by NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory in Pasadena, Calif., for the agency's Science Mission Directorate.
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Let us examine the rules, first, and then consider a scenario.
Retirement plans are “income tax shelters.” Except for Roth IRAs, retirement plans are funded with pre-tax earned income by way of an income tax deduction for the contributions. Income earned inside the retirement plan accumulates tax free until distributed out either to the participant or to his death beneficiary.
Distributions are then taxed as ordinary income in the year received.
Tax deferral may not continue indefinitely. The plan must be distributed gradually once a participant reaches 70 ½ through annual “required minimum distributions” (RMDs) over the participant's life expectancy, or, with a married couple, over their joint life expectancy.
A beneficiary who inherits a deceased participant's retirement plan may also use his own life expectancy to compute his or her RMDs, but must commence RMDs the year after the death; unless the beneficiary is married to the decedent, in which case he or she can wait till age 70 ½.
A participant's own retirement plans do not count against the resource (asset) limitation for Medi-Cal eligibility provided that the plan makes sufficient annual distributions, similar to RMDs.
But the income does count towards the Medi-Cal share of cost. After the participant dies, the plan is also exempt from subsequent Medi-Cal estate recovery. This is remarkable; assets that are exempt for Medi-Cal eligibility purposes are normally subject to estate recovery.
But for SSI eligibility purposes an IRA is not an exempt asset. It counts both towards SSI resource and income limitations, and is subject to estate recovery.
So how can someone on SSI who inherits a retirement plan maintain SSI eligibility, and SSI-linked Medi-Cal eligibility, and the favorable income tax deferral discussed above?
I recently assisted a client with this problem. He received SSI/Medi-Cal and was named as a beneficiary on his deceased mother's IRA.
If he received his IRA directly as beneficiary he would lose these benefits. He would have to withdraw all of his inherited IRA at once and spend it down in order to regain his SSI and Medi-Cal eligibility. That would have triggered immediate income taxation of all IRA distributions in the year received.
Instead, we helped the beneficiary's father to establish a “special needs trust” ("SNT") and the beneficiary to assign his inherited IRA to the SNT, with court approval. The order was necessary to confirm the assignment and satisfy the IRA plan administrator.
An inherited IRA account was then established in the name of the trustee of the SNT and the problem was solved.
Now, the SNT receives the beneficiary's RMDs and the beneficiary retains his SSI and Medi-Cal eligibility.
The SNT pays income tax each year on the RMDs which are reported by and taxed to the beneficiary.
The trustee uses the IRA to supplement the government benefits by purchasing the comforts of life that are otherwise not met by his government benefits.
The foregoing approach worked because the beneficiary's father was able and willing to participate and because the beneficiary had the capacity to assign his retirement plan.
Not every person who receives SSI and/or Medi-Cal is in that same situation. Different approaches may, therefore, be required depending on the circumstances.
It may, for example, be necessary to utilize a conservatorship in order to establish the special needs trust and to assign the inherited IRA over to the trust. That would be a more involved affair and whether it is worthwhile proceeding would also require consideration of the various costs and benefits.
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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LAKE COUNTY, Calif. – The latest report on poverty from the US Census shows the toll the recession has had on residents around the nation, with new approaches to Census data showing millions more people are finding their income has fallen below the poverty line.
The US Census Bureau released its official poverty measure report in September, but followed up earlier this month with a supplemental report drawing on additional research, assistance with the Bureau of Labor Statistics, and findings from other agencies and experts taking part in an interagency technical working group.
The new research is meant to complement, not replace, the official measure – in use since 1969 – and “is intended to better reflect contemporary social and economic realities and government policy effects and thus provide a further understanding of economic conditions and trends,” the US Census Bureau reported.
The September report put the 2010 official poverty rate for the United States at 15.1 percent, or 46.2 million people in poverty, up from 14.3 percent in 2009. That increase of 0.8 percent amounted to 2.6 million additional people in poverty in 2010.
The November supplemental report, however, put the 2010 poverty rate higher, at 16 percent, or 49.1 million people.
The official report showed that black Americans were the group with the highest overall poverty rate, 27.5 percent, followed by Hispanics, 26.7 percent; Asians, 12.1 percent; and whites who are not Hispanic, 10.1 percent.
However, the supplemental measure had Hispanics as the group with the greatest number in poverty, 28.2 percent, followed by blacks, 25.4 percent; Asians, 16.7 percent; and white, 11.1 percent.
The supplemental Census poverty report did not break out specific numbers for states or communities.
However, a Lake County News review of Lake County's poverty numbers for 1997 through 2009 showed a growth rate in the number of those people of all ages living in poverty.
For 2009, the peak year, 22.1 percent or 14,185 Lake County residents were listed as living in poverty, above the national average of 14.3 percent for that same year, according to Census data. Numbers for 2010 were not yet available.
Gloria Flaherty, executive director of Lake Family Resource Center, called local poverty rates “horrific.”
Even so, she believes that the actual numbers may be higher. “There's a lot of people who aren't counted,” she said, just as many people aren't reflected in unemployment numbers.
“The need is so great and these communities have been hit so hard by the economic downturn,” said Patty Bruder, director of community action for North Coast Opportunities, which is taking over community action agency responsibilities in Lake County.
More people are falling into poverty as a result of the struggling economy, said Bruder.
Wes Winter, North Coast Opportunities' executive director, added, “We’re seeing that everywhere that we’re working.”
Flaherty said Lake Family Resource Center has waiting lists to help families in need.
While younger families struggle to make ends meet and cover child care expenses, seniors are challenged by the growing cost of health care and living expenses, Flaherty said. Many people are moving in together in order to pool their resources and make it through the tough times.
Flaherty said Lake Family Resource Center has seen “dramatically” increased need as a result of the economic downturn.
While some programs can only serve a limited number of people and so they don't have waiting lists, “In other programs we're paddling as fast as we can” because funding is decreasing, she said.
“Because of state budget cuts we lost quite a bit of funding,” she said, noting the organization is trying to serve more families with less.
Flaherty said families also are seeking services that Lake Family Resource Center hasn't provided historically, including food pantries and help during times of homelessness.
Such services, Flaherty added, are sparse in Lake County, although she credited Lake County Hunger Task Force for its efforts to meet the need.
Flaherty said they are seeing families that are in desperate need of food and pantry staples – “just the basics of life that we're missing.”
As part of its increased presence in Lake County, North Coast Opportunities said it will offer a food pantry and is working as part of an area food hub in order to meet the need, Bruder said.
E-mail Elizabeth Larson at
LAKE COUNTY, Calif. – A planning meeting for the county’s new Mt. Konocti Park has been postponed until early next year, along with work on the park as winter weather arrives.
Lake County Public Services Director Caroline Chavez said this week that the public meeting on the park’s planning status, originally scheduled for Wednesday, Nov. 30, has been postponed for the winter.
Chavez said the next meeting is tentatively scheduled for February 2012.
The last planning meeting was held Tuesday, Nov. 2, and meeting participants were brought up to date on the current status of the Mt. Konocti Park development, according to Chavez.
Additional park improvements are on hold through the winter months, said Chavez, and so there are no new developments to report.
Chavez reported that participants also were asked to submit their preferences for priorities and questions on the planned development which will be reviewed by county staff and the newly-formed Konocti Regional Trails Team.
The Konocti Regional Trails Team has had some initial meetings to begin reviewing the community input and developing priorities for Mt, Konocti and other regional trail systems including a communications plan to keep people informed of plans and progress, according to Chavez.
Mt. Konocti is currently open only to hikers while plans are developed and the special order vault restrooms are built, delivered and installed, officials said.
For more information, visit the Konocti Regional Trails Web site at www.konoctitrails.com.
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Of that amount, $309,685,106.50 was collected in criminal actions and $37,297,893.80 was collected in civil actions, Haag’s office reported.
Additionally, the office collected $14,203,025 in criminal and civil forfeitures.
These collections came from, among others, the following two cases:
- USA v. TomorrowNow Inc. (case # CR 11-0642 PJH), in which $20,004,800 was collected. This case related to the defendant TomorrowNow Inc.’s unauthorized access to the computer systems of Oracle Corp. to unlawfully download software and related documentation pertaining to certain Oracle product lines. In addition to admitting its guilt with respect to unauthorized computer access charges, TomorrowNow also pleaded guilty to a criminal copyright charge alleging that it infringed the copyrights of Oracle software applications by installing numerous illegal copies of those software applications on TomorrowNow’s computer systems.
- USA v. Kie-Con, Inc. (case # CR 10-0934 NC) in which $5,000,125 was collected. This environmental case related to the defendant Kie-Con Inc.’s unlawful discharge of process water from its manufacturing process of pre-stressed and pre-fabricated concrete products directly to the San Joaquin river. In a plea agreement, Kie-Con admitted that, starting at a time unknown to the government, but no later than January 2004, and continuing to April 2007, employees routinely discharged the process water by using a hose that pumped the process water from sedimentation basins to a nearby storm water drain.
A portion of this amount, $1.3 billion, was collected in shared cases in which one or more U.S. Attorneys’ offices or department litigating divisions were also involved.
The $6.5 billion represents more than three times the appropriated budget of the combined 94 offices for fiscal year 2011.
“During this time of economic recovery, these collections are more important than ever,” U.S. Attorney Haag said. “The hard work of the attorneys and staff has helped return millions of dollars to the U.S. treasury and victims of crimes, while ensuring that the criminals who wrongfully took the funds were put behind bars.”
The U.S. Attorneys’ Offices, along with the department’s litigating divisions, are responsible for enforcing and collecting civil and criminal debts owed to the U.S. and criminal debts owed to federal crime victims.
Statistics indicate that the total amount collected in criminal actions totaled $2.66 billion in restitution, criminal fines, and felony assessments.
The law requires defendants to pay restitution to victims of certain federal crimes who have suffered a physical injury or financial loss.
While restitution is paid directly to the victim, criminal fines and felony assessments are paid to the department’s Crime Victims’ Fund, which distributes the funds to state victim compensation and victim assistance programs.
The statistics also indicate that $3.83 billion was collected by the U.S. Attorneys’ offices in individually and jointly handled civil actions.
The largest civil collections were from affirmative civil enforcement cases, in which the United States recovered government money lost to fraud or other misconduct or collected fines imposed on individuals and/or corporations for violations of federal health, safety, civil rights or environmental laws.
In addition, civil debts were collected on behalf of several federal agencies, including the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development, Health and Human Services, Internal Revenue Service, and Small Business Administration.
Additionally, the U.S. Attorneys’ offices, working with partner agencies and divisions, collected $1.68 billion in asset forfeiture actions in FY 2011.
Forfeited assets are deposited into the Department of Justice Assets Forfeiture Fund and Department of Treasury Forfeiture Fund and are used to restore funds to crime victims and for a variety of law enforcement purposes.
The nationwide collection totals for the U.S. Attorneys’ offices for fiscal year 2010 and fiscal year 2011 combined is $13.18 billion, which represents nearly a 52 percent increase over the fiscal year 2008 and fiscal year 2009 combined total of $8.55 billion.
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