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The Merced County Fire Department and the National Weather service hosted a training course on Wednesday aimed at teaching the public how to identify and report life-threatening weather.

The course could have accommodated up to 45 people, but Sun-Star photographer Marci Stenberg told me today that only two showed up. She attended to photograph the event.

Known as SKYWARN, the training program was launched by the National Weather Service in the 1970s. Trained SKYWARN weather spotters, along with improved technology, help the National Weather Service issue more timely and accurate warnings for tornadoes, severe thunderstorms and flash floods.

I've been following the sad decline of the Chinook salmon in oceans and the Merced River and found out about a recent bill under consideration that could assist the situation.

The California Senate approved Senate Bill 562 last week to designate about $5.3 million in urgent funding for coastal salmon and steelhead fisheries restoration projects. While Merced County isn't on the coast, the fish that come through the Merced River here spend time at sea -- so what happens on the coast affects local fish, too.

UPDATE 5:30 p.m. -- So the workday's over and two people have stepped up as possible challengers to state Sen. Jeff Denham: Atwater Mayor Pro Tem Lesa Rasmussen and Monterey County Supervisor Simon Salinas.

It's not too late for others to enter, though it seems unlikely that anyone will pull and file paperwork by 5 p.m. Saturday, especially because many of the offices have reducted hours since staffers must work a weekend.