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Van Streefkerk back to court Odin Rasco Staff writer The Cameron Park man accused of assaulting his infant daughter and causing injuries that led to her death will return to court for his pretrial hearing Nov. 17. Following his 5-week-old daughter’s June 17 admission into a local hospital for Kevin multiple injuries that Van Streefkerk appeared to be caused by physical assault, Kevin Van Streefkerk, 37, was arrested by El Dorado County sheriff ’s deputies June 20. The baby girl ultimately died as a result of her injuries. A member of the hospital staff is said to have made a call to sheriff ’s officials, according to EDSO Sgt. Alexander Sorey. The pretrial will determine if there is sufficient evidence against Van Streefkerk to allow for a trial. Van Streefkerk will be given the choice n See Van Streefkerk, page A6
Photo courtesy of UC Davis
An integrated system of technologies could be used to detect fires before they get to a smoking point.
UCD: Drones can help spot wildfires earlier Jessica Health UC Davis News
Martin do Nascimento/CalMatters photo
A driver charges his car at an electric-vehicle charging station in Burlingame.
State scales back electric-car rebates Alejandro Lazo CalMatters
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California is eliminating its popular electric car rebate program — which often runs out of money and has long waiting lists — to focus on providing subsidies only to lowerincome car buyers. The Clean Vehicle Rebate Project, in
existence since 2010, will end when it runs out of money this year. In its place, the state will expand a program next year that provides subsidies only to low-tomiddle income residents — those who have more trouble affording electric cars. The income limits will be much more restrictive. Californians who earn more than 300% of the federal poverty level will no longer qualify for a state subsidy when they purchase an electric car, according to the California Air Resources Board. Currently, that level is $43,740 for an individual and $90,000 for a family of four, with sliding scales for household size. By comparison, under the existing program that is being eliminated, individuals earning up to $135,000 and joint n See rebate, page A7
Typically the primary indicator of a burgeoning wildfire in California is a plume of hazy, gray smoke wafting through the air, seen by satellites or cameras. Cal Fire is alerted and mitigation and containment efforts ensue. But Zhaodan Kong, a professor in the department of mechanical and aerospace engineering at the University of California, Davis, thinks that living by the idea “where there’s smoke, there’s fire,” gets firefighters to the problem too late, after it has already spread and is difficult to contain. “Right now, the way that it works is you see a fire and then you respond,” Kong said. “It’s very passive, very reactive.” Instead, Kong, whose research in artificial intelligence and autonomy includes unmanned aerial vehicles, or UAVs, believes an integrated system of technologies to detect fires before they get to a smoking point could be game changing, potentially preventing widespread wildfire damage.
Photo courtesy of UC Davis
Researcher Zhaodan Kong and his team are developing a hybrid aircraft that can land and take off vertically like a rotorcraft, but also has qualities of a fixed-wing aircraft that can cruise at high altitudes for hours.
Sensors and sensibility The detection would start on the ground with internetconnected sensors placed in strategic locations where wildfire events have occurred or are likely to occur (determined by Cal Fire). These palm-sized sensors, developed by Anthony Wexler, distinguished professor in the department of mechanical and aerospace engineering and director of the UCD Air Quality Research Center, measure temperature, humidity and wind speed to determine which areas could be at higher risk of a wildfire event.
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A wind sensor prototype in Alaska gathers data. “The things that cause a high wildfire risk situation are high temperature, low humidity and high wind speed,” said Wexler, who has been working on these sensors for nearly a decade. “Temperature and humidity are relatively uniform over large geographical areas, but wind speed changes dramatically
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