On Tuesday, Gov. Gavin Newsom and First Partner Jennifer Siebel Newsom welcomed Their Royal Highnesses the Crown Princess Victoria and Prince Daniel of Sweden as they continue their four-day state visit to California.
During the visit, California and Sweden signed a letter of cooperation, or LOC, renewing a climate partnership between the two economies established in 2017.
California and Sweden are both taking aggressive climate action to achieve carbon neutrality by 2045.
The LOC outlines five years of cooperation between California and Sweden on zero-emissions transportation and infrastructure, local climate action, clean energy and climate-smart agriculture.
Governor Newsom and Sweden’s Minister for International Development Cooperation and Foreign Trade Johan Forssell signed the historic LOC at the Stanford Mansion in Sacramento.
“California and Sweden have led the world in taking ambitious climate action, and now we’re partnering to do even more,” said Newsom. “From advancing zero-emissions technology to collaborating on our clean energy transition, our work together will benefit communities from Stockton to Stockholm.”
“As world-leaders in innovation, Sweden and California share a strong belief that innovation and international collaboration is the key to solve the challenges of the future. Today we take a clear step towards deepening our partnership,” Minister Forssell said.
California’s world-leading climate policies have led the state to exceed its 2020 climate target six years ahead of schedule, and created partnerships across the U.S. and around the world.
Last year, Gov. Newsom led a California delegation to China, where California signed five MOUs — with China’s National Development and Reform Commission, the provinces of Guangdong and Jiangsu, and the municipalities of Beijing, and Shanghai.
The trip also resulted in a first-of-its-kind declaration by China and California to cooperate on subnational climate action, including aggressively cutting greenhouse gas emissions, transitioning away from fossil fuels, and developing clean energy technology.
Also in 2023, California signed a MOU with the Chinese province of Hainan, as well as with Australia.
In 2022 alone, California signed memorandums of cooperation with Canada, New Zealand and Japan, as well as memorandums of understanding with China and the Netherlands, to tackle the climate crisis.
The governor also joined with Washington, Oregon and British Columbia to recommit the region to climate action.
Curious Kids is a series for children of all ages. If you have a question you’d like an expert to answer, send it to This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it..
Why does a leap year have 366 days? Does the Earth move slower every four years? – Aarush, age 8, Milpitas, California
You may be used to hearing that it takes the Earth 365 days to make a full lap, but that journey actually lasts about 365 and a quarter days. Leap years help to keep the 12-month calendar matched up with Earth’s movement around the Sun.
After four years, those leftover hours add up to a whole day. In a leap year, we add this extra day to the month of February, making it 29 days long instead of the usual 28.
The idea of an annual catch-up dates back to ancient Rome, where people had a calendar with 355 days instead of 365 because it was based on cycles and phases of the Moon. They noticed that their calendar was getting out of sync with the seasons, so they began adding an extra month, which they called Mercedonius, every two years to catch up with the missing days.
In the year 45 B.C.E., Roman emperor Julius Caesar introduced a solar calendar, based on one developed in Egypt. Every four years, February received an extra day to keep the calendar in line with the Earth’s journey around the Sun. In honor of Caesar, this system is still known as the Julian calendar.
But that wasn’t the last tweak. As time went on, people realized that the Earth’s journey wasn’t exactly 365.25 days – it actually took 365.24219 days, which is about 11 minutes less. So adding a whole day every four years was actually a little more correction than was needed.
In 1582, Pope Gregory XIII signed an order that made a small adjustment. There would still be a leap year every four years, except in “century” years – years divisible by 100, like 1700 or 2100 – unless they were also divisible by 400. It might sound a bit like a puzzle, but this adjustment made the calendar even more accurate – and from that point on, it was known as the Gregorian calendar.
What if we didn’t have leap years?
If the calendar didn’t make that small correction every four years, it would gradually fall out of alignment with the seasons. Over centuries, this could lead to the solstices and equinoxes occurring at different times than expected. Winter weather might develop in what the calendar showed as summer, and farmers could become confused about when to plant their seeds.
Other calendars around the world have their own ways of keeping time. The Jewish calendar, which is regulated by both the Moon and the Sun, is like a big puzzle with a 19-year cycle. Every now and then, it adds a leap month to make sure that special celebrations happen at just the right time.
The Islamic calendar is even more unique. It follows the phases of the Moon and doesn’t add extra days. Since a lunar year is only about 355 days long, key dates on the Islamic calendar move 10 to 11 days earlier each year on the solar calendar.
For example, Ramadan, the Islamic month of fasting, falls in the ninth month of the Islamic calendar. In 2024, it will run from March 11 to April 9; in 2025, it will occur from March 1-29; and in 2026, it will be celebrated from Feb. 18 to March 19.
Learning from the planets
Astronomy originated as a way to make sense of our daily lives, linking the events around us to celestial phenomena. The concept of leap years exemplifies how, from early ages, humans found order in conditions that seemed chaotic.
Simple, unsophisticated but effective tools, born from creative ideas of ancient astronomers and visionaries, provided the first glimpses into understanding the nature that envelops us. Some ancient methods, such as astrometry and lists of astronomical objects, persist even today, revealing the timeless essence of our quest to understand nature.
People who do research in physics and astronomy, the field that I study, are inherently curious about the workings of the universe and our origins. This work is exciting, and also extremely humbling; it constantly shows that in the grand scheme, our lives occupy a mere second in the vast expanse of space and time – even in leap years when we add that extra day.
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And since curiosity has no age limit – adults, let us know what you’re wondering, too. We won’t be able to answer every question, but we will do our best.
Sen. Bill Dodd, D-Napa, has introduced legislation — his proposed Wildfire Mitigation Planning Act — to help prevent and contain wildfire by coordinating efforts between state, federal and private entities, increasing overall wildfire safety effectiveness while maximizing California’s wildfire response investment.
“Wildfires strike without regard to county lines or utility service areas, so we need a coordinated and comprehensive approach to keeping California safe,” Sen. Dodd said. “We’ve made a lot of progress in recent years, but climate change continues to compound challenges and underscores the need for us to be thoughtful about how we do the most good, as quickly as possible, with our investments.”
Catastrophic wildfires impose enormous costs on California and its residents. In the aftermath of the Camp Fire, Sen. Dodd coauthored AB 1054, which created a framework for electric utilities to evaluate their wildfire risk and plan for wildfire mitigation investments and activities, overseen by the Office of Electric Infrastructure Safety within the California Natural Resources Agency.
More recently, the California Wildfire and Forest Resilience Task Force, a multi-agency effort to identify needs and develop strategies to better manage wildfire risk, has produced plans to better manage wildfire risk.
Current spending on utility wildfire mitigation exceeds $10 billion per year while state budget wildfire expenditures have grown to $2.7 billion over several years.
Meanwhile, the U.S. Forest Service announced major wildfire mitigation investments in California and other western states wildfire mitigation activities that will total $930 million. No framework exists to evaluate how these multiple activities will interact and might be coordinated to maximize their effectiveness and cost-effectiveness.
Sen. Dodd’s proposed Wildfire Mitigation Planning Act would require the Office of Electric Infrastructure Safety to prepare a report every three years to quantify the potential benefits of actions taken by state and private actors to reduce wildfire risk.
The bill also would require the office to prepare a wildfire risk baseline, forecasting wildfire risk and risk mitigation potential over the next one to 10 years. It would also mandate another report on annual wildfire mitigation scenarios, quantifying actual risk reduction from all entities and investments within California.
Finally, Sen. Dodd’s measure would empower the Office of Electric Infrastructure Safety to coordinate utility spending with the new planning framework in order to maximize the effectiveness of all investments related to wildfires in California.
“Preventing catastrophic wildfire requires strong coordination between all of our investments,” said Michael Wara, director of the Climate and Energy Policy Program at Stanford University. “Building on current efforts, this bill would create a planning structure to maximize the effectiveness of California's work to reduce the impacts of wildfire. As California spends more to prevent catastrophic wildfire, we should also make sure that these investments go as far as possible in keeping residents safe. This bill creates a planning structure that does just that and ensures that all our efforts are well coordinated.”
The act, also known as Senate Bill 1014, is expected to receive its first committee hearing and vote next month.
Any costs of the bill would be covered by private funding, not taxpayer dollars.
Dodd represents the Third Senate District, which includes all or portions of Napa, Solano, Yolo, Sonoma, Contra Costa and Sacramento counties.
LAKE COUNTY, Calif. — In celebration of National Children's Dental Health Month, the Lake County Office of Education announced its ongoing commitment to promoting good oral health habits through the Children's Oral Health Project.
February is National Children's Dental Health Month.
This year’s theme is "Healthy Habits for Healthy Smiles." This is a month-long observance that unites dental professionals, healthcare providers, oral health champions, and advocates in a collective effort to underscore the importance of good oral health and prevention for children and adults alike.
The Oral Health Project initiative is part of the Healthy Start program, which has been dedicated to the well-being of Lake County students for 18 years.
This initiative encompasses dental screenings, oral health education for students and their parents, referrals for dental treatment, as well as support in transportation and obtaining dental insurance.
During the 2022-2023 school year, the Healthy Start program reached 22 Lake County schools, conducting 2,764 dental screenings for Preschool-12th grade students. This underscores the program's dedication to proactively addressing the oral health needs of the community's youth.
“The future health and education of our families depend significantly on instilling and reinforcing positive dental habits early in life,” said Brock Falkenberg, Lake County Superintendent of Schools.
The LCOE Healthy Start program collaborates with esteemed partners, including Lakeview Health Clinic, Adventist Clearlake, Lake County Health Services, and Glowing Smiles Dental Hygiene practice, to implement the Children's Oral Health Project.
“Oral health is the gateway to overall health. A healthy smile is key to a happy and healthy life. I love what Healthy Start is doing to boost the well-being and confidence of our county's young people,” Lake County Board of Education President Melissa Kinsel said.
For more information about the Children's Oral Health Project and the LCOE Healthy Start program, visit www.lakecoe.org/HealthyStart.
Gov. Gavin Newsom announced actions the state is taking as another potentially dangerous winter storm is set to impact much of California through Wednesday.
The storm is anticipated to be brief but intense.
Lake County is under a flood watch and high wind warning through Tuesday morning.
Gov. Newsom has activated the State Operations Center in Mather to help coordinate state, local and federal response to the storm.
"Already this year, severe storms have proven to be deadly up and down California,” Newsom said. “Our state is taking this next storm seriously, and we ask all Californians to take steps now to prepare."
The governor also directed the California Governor's Office of Emergency Services, or Cal OES, to strategically preposition swift water rescue crews and other rescue personnel and equipment in multiple counties to be able to respond if needed.
According to the National Weather Service, this storm could bring significant rainfall and snow throughout much of the state, as well as potential for thunderstorms, debris flows and mudslides.
LAKE COUNTY, Calif. — Lake County Adult School has announced the success of its in-person learning program with skilled instructors, offering flexible and adaptable instruction.
“When I walk across that stage, I’ll show everyone who told me that I couldn’t, that I could,” said Faydra Perkett, a Lake County Adult School student.
The Lake County Adult School opened in September at the Lake County Campus of Woodland Community College.
This is a free, in-person, high school diploma completion program for adults ages 18 and up.
“Everyone can learn and succeed, but not always on the same day in the same way. The Lake County Adult School offers an opportunity for all Lake County residents to earn their High School Diploma,” said Lake County Superintendent of Schools Brock Falkenberg.
The Lake County Adult School has a 130-credit graduation requirement, ensuring a comprehensive and well-rounded educational experience.
This school provides a dynamic learning environment with flexible instruction methods to cater to diverse student needs.
Students at the Lake County Adult School have the unique opportunity for co-enrollment with Woodland Community College, enhancing their educational experience.
At the end of December, there were 33 students enrolled in the school and 19 more students who were in the enrollment process.
Four students have already graduated since the opening of the school.
The student body spans throughout Lake County, with attendees from as far south as Middletown to as far north as Lucerne, reflecting the school's regional impact.
Student success stories:
• Faydra and Allan Perkett: Faydra and Allan Perkett have been married for 28 years. Inspired by an 80-year-old diploma recipient, they decided to returned to school. With 30 credits remaining, they dedicate themselves to bi-weekly assignments, determined to prove it's never too late to pursue education.
• Derric Blakesley: The first Lake County Adult School high school graduate, Derric Blakesley, plans to continue his education at Woodland Community College, focusing on Fire Science.
• Christine Celeri: Christine Celeri achieved her diploma at Lake County Adult School to become a paraeducator. She now serves as a paraeducator at Lower Lake Elementary School, where her students attend school, contributing to their education.
Lake County Adult School remains committed to empowering its students with education that is both accessible and transformative, celebrating the success stories of individuals overcoming challenges to achieve their academic goals.
LAKE COUNTY, Calif. — Lake County and much of California will face more rain through the course of this week thanks to the latest in a continuing series of storms.
“While this storm is not expected to be as fierce as the ones earlier in the month, the latest in the train of storms will be dangerous, posing several risks to people and property — including a renewed flood risk and gusty winds for some along the West Coast, and for central and northern California, it can bring severe thunderstorms and even an isolated tornado across parts of Northern and Central California on Monday and even across parts of Southern California on Tuesday. The storm has the potential to once again slow travel and activities, including business activities, in the state,” said AccuWeather Chief Meteorologist Jonathan Porter.
Accuweather said that, comparing the impacts expected over the upcoming days to the storms that barreled into California from Feb. 3 to 5, forecasters are not expecting the risks to be as widespread due to one main factor: this storm will be losing energy as it approaches rather than strengthening.
Rainfall totals in inches for the 72-hour period ending at 2 a.m. Tuesday:
— Hidden Valley Lake: 4.61 — Indian Valley Reservoir: 2.77. — Kelseyville: 5.20. — Lake Pillsbury: 3.96. — Lower Lake: 4.43. — Lyons Valley: 3.31. — Whispering Pines: 5.80.
The National Weather Service’s forecast for the week shows chances of rain through Monday.
Along with the rain, more high winds are in the forecast, causing concerns for more falling trees and power lines.
Due to concerns statewide about the strength of these latest storms, Gov. Newsom preemptively activated the State Operations Center in Mather to help coordinate state, local and federal response.
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.
LAKEPORT, Calif. — The Lakeport City Council will get updates on several projects when it meets this week.
The council will meet in a closed session at 5 p.m. before the regular meeting begins at 6 p.m. Tuesday, Feb. 20, in the council chambers at Lakeport City Hall, 225 Park St.
The council chambers will be open to the public for the meeting. Masks are highly encouraged where 6-foot distancing cannot be maintained.
If you cannot attend in person, and would like to speak on an agenda item, you can access the Zoom meeting remotely at this link or join by phone by calling toll-free 669-900-9128 or 346-248-7799.
The webinar ID is 973 6820 1787, access code is 477973; the audio pin will be shown after joining the webinar. Those phoning in without using the web link will be in “listen mode” only and will not be able to participate or comment.
Comments can be submitted by email to This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.. To give the city clerk adequate time to print out comments for consideration at the meeting, please submit written comments before 3:30 p.m. on Tuesday, Feb. 20.
On the agenda is a traffic safety update from City Manager Kevin Ingram and an update on the 2023 communications team activity from Administrative Services Director Kelly Buendia.a
Public Works Director Ron Ladd will share with the council the latest on the Hartley Culvert and Forbes Creek Headwall Project, which resulted from storm damage in 2019.
On the consent agenda — items considered noncontroversial and usually accepted as a slate on one vote — are ordinances; minutes of the regular meeting on Feb. 6 and the special meeting on Feb. 13; approval of application 2024-008, with staff recommendations, for reserved parking on Forbes Street for the March 5 election; adoption of an ordinance of the City Council of the city of Lakeport amending Section 2.10.110 of Chapter 2.10 of Title 2 of the Lakeport Municipal Code to authorize city manager to sign written contracts and conveyances and have design approval authority.
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.
LAKE COUNTY, Calif. — Lake County Special Olympics will hold its annual Polar Plunge and Costume Party on Saturday, March 2, at the Buckingham Homeowners’ Club House in Kelseyville.
The event so far has 12 athletes and four teams registered, diligently working to make this fundraiser and event a success.
They include athlete Halena who has received a generous donation of $2,000 from the Lakeshore Lions Club to kick off the fundraising.
They hope to see their usual schools, law enforcement and community clubs and supporters again join athletes for this fun event.
The Kelseyville Lions Club will once again provide lunch for all registered participants, including guests who would like to make a $10 donation to Lake County Special Olympics.
They also are looking for a sponsor for coffee and donuts prior to the start of the event.
This event and fundraiser provides funding for equipment, uniforms and transportation so that athletes in our community have the opportunity to train and compete in year-round sports — basketball, track and field, bocce, softball, golf and soccer.
Please visit 2024 Lake County Polar Plunge to register as an individual or to start a team. Listed on the website are the incentives for fundraising milestones and there will once again be awards for teams and individuals raising the most funds, as well as multiple awards for best costume.
Event check in begins at 10 a.m., pictures and costume contest at 11 a.m., plunge at 11:45 a.m. with lunch to follow in the clubhouse.
Come out and join them as a participant or spectator; it is going to be a great time.
For more information you may call Mary Lahti at 530-448 4720 or Cathy Saderlund at 707-245-6116.
LAKE COUNTY, Calif. — This month’s storms have pushed Clear Lake into the “full” range.
The lake is considered full at 7.56 feet Rumsey, the special measure for Clear Lake.
It topped that measure just after 10 p.m. Monday, according to the United States Geological Survey’s gauge on Clear Lake at Lakeport.
The USGS measurements show the lake rose to 7.90 feet Rumsey shortly after 2 a.m. Tuesday.
The lake reaches the “action” stage at 8 feet Rumsey and flood stage at 9 feet Rumsey, the USGS reported.
Last year, it took the lake until March 14 to reach the full level, and from there it topped out at 8.38 feet Rumsey on March 21 before receding.
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.
Camille Stevens-Rumann, Colorado State University and Jude Bayham, Colorado State University
A wet winter and spring followed by a hot, dry summer can be a dangerous combination in the Western U.S. The rain fuels bountiful vegetation growth, and when summer heat dries out that vegetation, it can leave grasses and shrubs ready to burn.
In years like this, controlled burns and prescribed fire treatments are crucial to help protect communities against wildfires. Well-staffed fire crews ready to respond to blazes are essential, too.
These are some of the reasons why an announcement from U.S. Forest Service Chief Randy Moore on Feb. 8, 2024, is raising concerns. Moore told agency employees to expect budget cuts from Congress in 2024. His letter was thin on details. However, taken at face value, budget cuts could be interpreted as a reduction in the firefighting workforce, compounding recruitment and retention challenges that the Forest Service is already facing.
So what does this mean for the coming fire season? We study wildfire policy and fire ecology, and one of us, Camille Stevens-Rumann, has worked as a wildland firefighter. Here are a few important things to know.
The fire funding fix
While Moore’s letter raises concerns, the financial reality for fighting fires this year is likely less dire than it might otherwise be for one key reason.
The 2018 Consolidated Appropriations Act included what is known as the “fire funding fix.” It introduced a new budget structure, creating a separate disaster fund accessible during costly wildfire seasons. The fire funding fix allows federal firefighting agencies to access up to US$2.25 billion in additional disaster funding a year starting in 2020 and increasing to $2.95 billion in 2027.
Prior to the fire funding fix, fighting fires – suppression expenditures – consumed nearly 50% of the U.S. Forest Service budget. As bad fire years worsened, that left less funding for the agency’s other services, including conducting fuel treatments, such as prescribed burns, to reduce the risk of wildfires spreading.
The fix protects agency budgets, ensuring that a high-cost fire season will not completely consume the budget, and that allows more funding for preventive efforts and all the other programs of the Forest Service.
In 2022, it released a Wildfire Crisis Strategy and Implementation Plan that included ramping up fuel treatments to reduce the potential for large uncontrollable fires, as the West had seen in previous years. It called for treating up to an additional 50 million acres over 10 years.
That work won’t be completed before the 2024 fire season, but fuel treatments will be underway. They include prescribed burning to remove dry grasses, twigs, logs and other fuels in a controlled way and the use of heavy equipment to thin dense forest areas and create fire breaks by removing trees and vegetation.
Prescribed burning must be done when conditions are safe to limit the potential for the fire to get out of control, usually in the spring and early summer. However, climate change is expected to shorten the prescribed burning window in the western U.S.
Staffing is still a concern
Doing this work requires staff, and the Forest Service’s challenges in recruiting and retaining qualified firefighters may hinder its ability to accomplish all of its objectives.
In 2023, over 18,000 people were employed as federal wildland firefighters. While the Forest Service and Department of the Interior have not specified precise staffing targets, Moore has mentioned that “some crews have roughly half the staff they need.”
A recent Government Accountability Office report found that low wages and poor work-life balance, among other challenges, were barriers commonly cited by federal firefighting employees. The government boosted firefighters’ pay in 2021, but that increase is set to expire unless Congress votes to make it permanent. So far, firefighters have kept the same level of pay each time Congress pushed back acting on the 2024 budget, but it’s a precarious position.
The agency has started many initiatives to recruit and retain permanent employees, but it is too early to assess the results. A recent study involving one of us, Jude Bayham, found that highly qualified firefighters were more likely to remain with the agency after active seasons, during which they earn more money.
Everyone has a role in fire protection
Even with optimal funding and staffing, the firefighting agencies cannot protect every area from wildfire. Some of the defensive work will have to be done by residents in high-risk areas.
These include keeping flammable vegetation away from buildings and reducing other fire hazards such as wood shingles, flammable debris in yards and pine needles in gutters. People should also pay attention to burn bans and avoid risky activities, such as leaving campfires unattended, setting off fireworks and using equipment that can spark fires on hot, dry, windy days.
Recent disastrous wildfire seasons have shown how important it is to manage the fire risk. Consistent funding is crucial, and homeowners can help by taking defensive action to reduce wildfire risk on their property.
CLEARLAKE, Calif. — The Lake County Campus of Woodland Community College invites the community to join them in their celebration in honor of Black History Month, entitled “Hands on History.”
This event will be held Thursday, Feb. 22, from 11:30 a.m. to 1 p.m. in rooms 209 to 211.
Author, motivational speaker and substance abuse counselor Randall Cole will host and moderate the celebration.
Jazz music will be provided by Lake County’s own Victor Hall and friends.
Aqeela Markowski, host of KPFZ’s “Women's Voices,” and District 2 Supervisor Bruno Sabatier are featured speakers for the event.
A panel of students will also share their thoughts about Black History Month.
A soul food buffet will be available for purchase at Aromas Café from 11:30 a.m. to 1 p.m.
For more information contact Mary Wilson at 707-995-7913 or This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it..