How to resolve AdBlock issue? 
News
- Details
- Written by: LAKE COUNTY NEWS REPORTS
As outlined in the agreement announced by the governor and legislative leaders, the legislation balances the budget in both 2024-25 and 2025-26.
It also preserves budget resilience by maintaining $22.2 billion in total reserves at the end of the 2024-25 fiscal year.
The state has taken several measures to manage revenue volatility in recent budget cycles, including setting aside a record amount of reserves, focusing most of the surplus on one-time and near-term spending instead of potentially unsustainable long-term and ongoing obligations, and paying tens of billions of dollars toward the state's long-term debt.
“This is a responsible budget that prepares for the future while investing in foundational programs that benefit millions of Californians every day,” said Newsom. “Thanks to careful stewardship of the budget over the past few years, we’re able to meet this moment while protecting our progress on housing, homelessness, education, health care and other priorities that matter deeply to Californians. I thank the Legislature for their partnership in delivering this sound and balanced plan.”
The budget addresses a $46.8 billion shortfall through a balanced package of solutions, including spending reductions of $16 billion.
It avoids deep program cuts, maintaining service levels for several priority issues including Proposition 98 funding for education and investments in Medi-Cal expansion, encampment resolution grants, nonprofit security grants, summer food assistance, updated foster care rates and more. Additional details on the 2024 state budget can be found in this fact sheet.
California remains the 5th largest economy in the world and for the first time in years, the state’s population is increasing and tourism spending recently experienced a record high. California is #1 in the nation for new business starts, #1 for access to venture capital funding, and the #1 state for manufacturing, high-tech, and agriculture.
The governor on Saturday announced signing the following bills:
AB 160 by the Committee on Budget – Medi-Cal managed care organization provider tax.
AB 2927 by Assemblymember Kevin McCarty (D-Sacramento) – Pupil instruction: high school graduation requirements: personal finance.
SB 108 by Senator Scott Wiener (D-San Francisco) – Budget Act of 2024.
SB 109 by Senator Scott Wiener (D-San Francisco) – Budget Act of 2023.
SB 153 by the Committee on Budget and Fiscal Review – Education finance: education omnibus budget trailer bill.
SB 159 by the Committee on Budget and Fiscal Review – Health.
SB 164 by the Committee on Budget and Fiscal Review – State government.
SB 175 by the Committee on Budget and Fiscal Review – Taxation.
SB 1524 by Senator Bill Dodd (D-Napa) – Consumers Legal Remedies Act: advertisements: restaurant, bar, and other food services.
For full text of today’s bills, visit http://leginfo.legislature.ca.gov.
- Details
- Written by: NATIONAL AERONAUTICS AND SPACE ADMINISTRATION
The 23-year-old orbiter is taking images that offer horizon-wide views of the Red Planet similar to what astronauts aboard the International Space Station see over Earth.
NASA’s longest-lived Mars robot is about to mark a new milestone on June 30: 100,000 trips around the Red Planet since launching 23 years ago.
During that time, the 2001 Mars Odyssey orbiter has been mapping minerals and ice across the Martian surface, identifying landing sites for future missions, and relaying data to Earth from NASA’s rovers and landers.
Scientists recently used the orbiter’s camera to take a stunning new image of Olympus Mons, the tallest volcano in the solar system. The image is part of a continuing effort by the Odyssey team to provide high-altitude views of the planet’s horizon. (The first of these views was published in late 2023.) Similar to the perspective of Earth astronauts get aboard the International Space Station, the view enables scientists to learn more about clouds and airborne dust at Mars.
Taken on March 11, the most recent horizon image captures Olympus Mons in all its glory. With a base that sprawls across 373 miles (600 kilometers), the shield volcano rises to a height of 17 miles (27 kilometers).
“Normally we see Olympus Mons in narrow strips from above, but by turning the spacecraft toward the horizon we can see in a single image how large it looms over the landscape,” said Odyssey’s project scientist, Jeffrey Plaut of NASA’s Jet Propulsion Laboratory in Southern California, which manages the mission. “Not only is the image spectacular, it also provides us with unique science data.”
In addition to offering a freeze frame of clouds and dust, such images, when taken across many seasons, can give scientists a more detailed understanding of the Martian atmosphere.
This infographic highlights just how much data and how many images NASA’s 2001 Mars Odyssey orbiter has collected in its 23 years of operation around the Red Planet.
A bluish-white band at the bottom of the atmosphere hints at how much dust was present at this location during early fall, a period when dust storms typically start kicking up. The purplish layer above that was likely due to a mixture of the planet’s red dust with some bluish water-ice clouds. Finally, toward the top of the image, a blue-green layer can be seen where water-ice clouds reach up about 31 miles (50 kilometers) into the sky.
How they took the picture
Named after Arthur C. Clarke’s classic science-fiction novel “2001: A Space Odyssey,” the orbiter captured the scene with a heat-sensitive camera called the Thermal Emission Imaging System, or THEMIS, which Arizona State University in Tempe built and operates. But because the camera is meant to look down at the surface, getting a horizon shot takes extra planning.
By firing thrusters located around the spacecraft, Odyssey can point THEMIS at different parts of the surface or even slowly roll over to view Mars’ tiny moons, Phobos and Deimos.
The recent horizon imaging was conceived as an experiment many years ago during the landings of NASA’s Phoenix mission in 2008 and Curiosity rover in 2012. As with other Mars landings before and after those missions touched down, Odyssey played an important role relaying data as the spacecraft barreled toward the surface.
To relay their vital engineering data to Earth, Odyssey’s antenna had to be aimed toward the newly arriving spacecraft and their landing ellipses. Scientists were intrigued when they noticed that positioning Odyssey’s antenna for the task meant that THEMIS would be pointed at the planet’s horizon.
“We just decided to turn the camera on and see how it looked,” said Odyssey’s mission operations spacecraft engineer, Steve Sanders of Lockheed Martin Space in Denver. Lockheed Martin built Odyssey and helps conduct day-to-day operations alongside the mission leads at JPL. “Based on those experiments, we designed a sequence that keeps THEMIS’ field-of-view centered on the horizon as we go around the planet.”
The secret to a long space odyssey
What’s Odyssey secret to being the longest continually active mission in orbit around a planet other than Earth?
“Physics does a lot of the hard work for us,” Sanders said. “But it’s the subtleties we have to manage again and again.”
These variables include fuel, solar power, and temperature. To ensure Odyssey uses its fuel (hydrazine gas) sparingly, engineers have to calculate how much is left since the spacecraft doesn’t have a fuel gauge. Odyssey relies on solar power to operate its instruments and electronics. This power varies when the spacecraft disappears behind Mars for about 15 minutes per orbit. And temperatures need to stay balanced for all of Odyssey’s instruments to work properly.
“It takes careful monitoring to keep a mission going this long while maintaining a historical timeline of scientific planning and execution — and innovative engineering practices,” said Odyssey’s project manager, Joseph Hunt of JPL. “We’re looking forward to collecting more great science in the years ahead.”
More about Odyssey can be found at https://science.nasa.gov/mission/odyssey/.
- Details
- Written by: Elizabeth Larson
AccuWeather said the surge of intense summer heat will impact seven western states — California, Arizona, New Mexico, Utah, Nevada, Oregon and Idaho — and bring the potential for record-breaking temperatures.
The high temperatures will be the result of a heat dome, forecasters reported.
The most extreme temperatures will be in the Central Valley and parts of the Bay Area, according to both AccuWeather and the National Weather Service.
Those areas will be under an excessive heat warning issued by the National Weather Service from July 2 to 6.
Lake County is so far not expected to be under a heat warning at that time, although temperatures will be nearing the century mark in the coming week.
However, the extended forecast is suggesting that extremely high temperatures could arrive in Lake County by next Saturday.
With intense heat expected to arrive at the same time as Independence Day festivities, AccuWeather Senior Meteorologist Brett Anderson encourages people to stay hydrated, wear sunscreen, and to take breaks in shaded areas or air-conditioned buildings to lower the risk of heat-related illnesses.
“Extreme caution should be taken to protect yourself from the heat and blazing sun next week if you have to be outside for an extended period of time, especially during the afternoon and early evening hours,” said Anderson.
At the same time, AccuWeather expert meteorologists encourage people to use caution with fireworks in areas with drought conditions and dried-out vegetation, in addition to following routine safety guidelines during Independence Day week and the weekend.
“All you need is a trigger mechanism to spark a fire, whether it’s man-made or the wind,” said AccuWeather Lead Long-Range Forecaster Paul Pastelok. “We are not expecting a ferocious wildfire season, but we do feel there’s going to be more action in comparison to last year. We are expecting more fires and more acreage burned in California, Oregon and parts of Nevada.”
More than 2.3 million acres of land have burned across the United States so far this year, according to the National Interagency Fire Center.
Wildfire activity has been trending higher this year compared to last year; less than one million acres of land had burned in the U.S. at this point last year, AccuWeather reported.
Email Elizabeth Larson at
- Details
- Written by: Lake County News reports
Rep. Mike Thompson (CA-04) applauded the agency’s plans for the new program.
“Winegrapes are essential to California’s economy. Yet growers in our state have been struggling to recover after smoke exposure damages their winegrapes,” said Thompson. “I’ve long advocated for strengthening crop insurance for winegrowers to better capture the risks associated with growing in smoke- and wildfire-prone regions. RMA’s announcement is an essential step toward that goal.”
"As wildfires continue to pose a significant threat to our industry and communities, we are incredibly grateful for the Risk Management Agency's work in crafting and introducing a new crop insurance endorsement to better protect California winegrape growers against the devastating impacts of wildfire smoke. The California Association of Winegrape Growers applauds the support of Congressman Thompson and Senator Padilla for their advocacy in calling for a solution to address this critical need. This new policy is a significant step forward in protecting the livelihoods of growers and the industry as a whole," said Natalie Collins, president of California Association of Winegrape Growers.
Rex Stults, vice president of industry relations for the Napa Valley Vintners, called the announcement “a huge win for the Napa Valley wine Industry.”
Stults added, “After the devastating wildfires suffered by our region, this became a top federal priority for NVV, and we are so grateful to the USDA and Congressman Thompson for hearing our concerns and putting in place the tools for folks in the wine community to adapt to these risks.”
Winegrapes exposed to smoke from wildfires can introduce compounds into the winemaking process that cause smoky, ash-like flavors and result in wines unfit for commercial sale. These off-aromas and flavors become more pronounced over time as wine ages.
In 2020 alone, industry sources estimate between 165,000 and 325,000 tons of California winegrapes were lost due to actual or perceived smoke damage, and financial estimates place losses at over $600 million.
Last June, Reps. Thompson and Dan Newhouse (WA-04) and Sens. Alex Padilla (D-CA) and Patty Murray (D-WA) introduced bipartisan, bicameral legislation for winegrape crop loss coverage.
The bill requires the Federal Crop Insurance Corporation to carry out research and implement a crop insurance product that covers losses due to smoke exposure.
RMA’s Fire Insurance Protection – Smoke Index, or FIP-SI, program is an index-based endorsement to the Actual Production History, or APH, Grape policy that provides additional protection against smoke damage and covers the liability between the APH policy’s coverage level and 95 percent of the crop price.
The program will launch for the 2025 crop year.
Thompson represents California’s Fourth Congressional District, which includes all or part of Lake, Napa, Solano, Sonoma and Yolo counties.