LAKEPORT, Calif. – The Green Party of Lake County will hold its next meeting on Sunday, Feb. 16.

The meeting will take place for 4 to 6 p.m. at Round Table Pizza, 821 11th St. in Lakeport.

The Green Party has invited two candidates for the Board of Supervisors' District 3 seat to present their platforms and answer questions.

The primary election is in June so voters need to be informed of their choices in all the elections. Herb Gura and Mark Currier will be the club's guests on Sunday so come by and inform yourselves. You don't have to be a Green Party member to attend.

The group will have the petition for the California Cannabis Hemp Initiative 2014, which proposes to decriminalize cannabis and hemp statewide. The initiative's Web site is www.CCHI2014.com .

There also will be voter registration forms for new voters, those who have moved or changed their names.

The Green Party can be reached at 707-263-3391 or This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. .

The club's Web sits is www.lakecountygreenparty.bravesites.com and also can be reached through the www.cagreens.org Web site.

NORTH COAST, Calif. – KZYX's “Women's Voices” on Monday, Feb. 3, will host singer Holly Near.

The show can be heard beginning at 7 p.m. on 90.7 FM or 91.5 FM in Mendocino County, and online at www.kzyx.org .

Near will talk about Pete Seeger and her upcoming event in Ukiah.

Hear Allison Hoyman-Browe tell all about the Women's History Gala, an annual event that celebrates women of courage, character and conviction.

Carol Heady will talk about MCAA's big exhibit coming to the Grace  Hudson Museum and featuring local artists.

HIDDEN VALLEY LAKE, Calif. – The Lake County Republican Women group will have its first meeting of 2014 on Wednesday, Feb. 12.

The meeting will begin at 11:30 a.m. at the Greenview Restaurant, 19210 Hartmann Road in Hidden Valley Lake.

The speaker will be Heather Gass, whose topic will be “The dark side of sustainability: How unelected regional boards, bodies and commissions are dictating how and where we will live.”

Gass is a wife, mother, Realtor and tireless activist for private property rights and liberty.

Prior to becoming a property rights activist Gass was a network engineer for more than 17 years. She is the author of three technical books and dozens of IT training videos, which have been translated into more than seven different languages and are used by colleges and IT professionals worldwide.

During her high tech career she specialized in protocol analysis and IP routing. After Gass had her son she retired from the IT industry and became a Realtor.

She also is a member of a nonpartisan group called Citizens Town Hall, which holds town hall meetings about the One Bay Area Plan among other topics. Citizens Town Hall has helped inform residents all over the Bay Area about the dark side of sustainability.

Lunch is $23 with choice of beef Stroganoff or vegetable lasagna, with tossed salad and garlic bread. The dessert will be a cookie tray, with coffee or tea.

To attend and hear the speaker only costs $5.

For reservations and choice of entrée call 707-994-3543 and leave a message by Feb. 9.

LAKEPORT, Calif. – The Lakeport Yacht Club is holding a two-day crab dinner fundraiser for the club and sharing proceeds with the Northshore Fire Dive Team, which the club has adopted as a recipient for proceeds of its events.

The fundraiser will take place from 2 to 5 p.m. Saturday, Feb. 15, and Sunday, Feb. 16, at the yacht club building at the Fifth Street launch ramp in Lakeport.  

The menu includes Dungeness crab, pasta and red sauce with sourdough bread, salad and dessert.  

Tickets are $35 per person or $240 for a table of eight. Water and soft drinks are available for purchase at the club.

Seating is limited to 50 persons per day, and tickets are available at the Main Street Gallery in Lakeport, 325 North Main St., 707-263-6658, and at Mt. Konocti U-Haul and truck and auto repair,  3510 Merrit Road in Kelseyville, 707-279-1974, or from Jerry Hansen, 707-279-9100.

CLEARLAKE, Calif. – The regular meeting of the Clearlake Planning Commission scheduled for Tuesday, Feb. 4, has been canceled.

The commission is next scheduled to meet at 6 p.m. Tuesday, Feb. 18, in the council chambers at Clearlake City Hall, 14050 Olympic Drive.

LAKE COUNTY, Calif. – Is your child developing on time?

For several years now, First 5 Lake County and Easter Seals have been working together locally through a First 5 funded grant called the “Childfind Project” to increase awareness about early detection and intervention services to support child development during the first five years of a child’s life.

Parents or service providers serving young children can find out about these services by calling the Easter Seals Healthline at 1-877-263-3994.

We know that children develop skills, or “milestones” at their own pace during these early years, and recent recommendations by the American Academy of Pediatricians (AAP) suggest that developmental screenings are an important part of monitoring a child’s growth and overall development.

Parents should be regularly monitoring their child’s progress and address anything that might set them back before they start kindergarten.

To see if a child’s development is on schedule, an Ages & Stages Questionnaires, 3rd Ed. (ASQ-3) – a free developmental screening survey/questionnaire is available through the Easter Seals/ First 5 funded project.

The ASQ-3 invites parents and caregivers to answer age-specific questions. The results will help the parent see if their child's developmental progress is on track and alert them to any concerns that they can discuss with their health care provider.

In addition to screenings, Easter Seals offers activities and developmental strategies through consultation with a developmental specialist, including parent guidance, in-home observation and assistance with completing the survey/questionnaire and referral assistance to parents or other service providers working with a family.

Other services available through the First 5 funded project include parent training in Infant Massage to support nurturing touch, communication and infant development.

In addition, Easter Seals coordinates with local service providers to provide a travel assistance fund through a First 5 mini-grant and local donations to support access to out-of-county medical services for children with special medical needs.

Receive feedback about your child's development by taking the developmental milestone screening survey free online at the Easter Seals’ Web site, www.MaketheFirstFiveCount.com , or call your local Easter Seals Childfind Project at 707- 263-3949 and speak directly with an early intervention specialist who can work with you to complete your developmental screening today.

This is one in a series of articles marking the 15th anniversary of First 5 Lake County.