LOWER LAKE, Calif. – The Lake Community Pride Foundation will hold its annual meeting next month.

The foundation will meet beginning at 5:30 p.m. Tuesday, Aug. 20.

The meeting will take place at the Konocti Unified School District Office at 9430 Lake St. in Lower Lake.

SACRAMENTO – The Rural County Representatives of California (RCRC) announced this week their continued opposition to the state imposed State Responsibility Area (SRA) fees as the second round of bills are slated to hit rural homeowners’ mailboxes.

The SRA fees, also known as fire prevention fees, are imposed by the state, and aim to backfill a void created in the Cal Fire budget in 2011.

“RCRC remains opposed to this fee. It is bad public policy, and unfair to rural homeowners,” said Kevin Cann, RCRC board chair and Mariposa County supervisor. “We will continue our efforts to repeal this fee, and relieve rural homeowners of this duplicative tax.”

The SRA fee is the result of budget bill AB 29X, approved by Gov. Jerry Brown in 2011. This legislation was passed into law with little opportunity for public input, and was vehemently opposed by counties, fire districts, and associations representing firefighters.

The first round of bills were mailed to rural homeowners in 2012, following a costly, and inefficient implementation period, where the state spent an estimated $15 million in up-front costs to launch the program.

RCRC has ongoing concerns with several aspects of the fee.

First, according to Cal Fire’s own data, their most expensive activities are for fire suppression in highly urbanized areas, not rural areas.

Second, most landowners in the SRA have already agreed to a fire protection and prevention tax at the local level, making the SRA fee duplicative.

Finally, SRA fees weaken the state’s mutual aid system, and by taking a greater role, place the state in a position of long-term liability over local firefighting and prevention efforts, leaving them vulnerable to legitimate litigation claims.

Bills for the 2012-13 fiscal year will begin hitting rural homeowners’ mailboxes this week, mailed in alphabetical order by county.

A detailed schedule is available on the BOE Web site at http://www.boe.ca.gov/sptaxprog/fire_prev_fee.htm .

KELSEYVILLE, Calif. – The Time Bank of Thrive Lake County will hold an orientation meet up brunch on Saturday, Aug. 10, from 10 a.m. to noon.

The gathering will take place at the Kelseyville Methodist/Unitarian Universalist Church on 3810 Main St. in Kelseyville (across the street from the Saw Shop).

This fun and education event is open to members and potential members of the time bank. The agenda includes an introduction to the concept of time banking, a time for questions and answers, and activities designed to get participants started in time banking.

All ages are welcome. Admission is free, and you can earn hours from the Time Bank from this event in the following ways: One hour will be provided for anybody who brings a breakfast or brunch food item to share with eight other people; one hour will be provided for anybody who brings a friend to the event; oOne hour will be provided to anyone who stays for the entire event and completes the orientation.

The Time Bank of Thrive Lake County helps Lake County residents get necessary services through allowing the exchange of time instead of cash.

To find out more about the Time Bank of Thrive Lake County or for more information about this event, visit the Thrive Lake County Web site at http://thrivelakecounty.org/time-bank.html , send an email to This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. or telephone 707-413-0220.

KELSEYVILLE, Calif. – On Thursday, July 18, at the monthly meeting of the Konocti Lioness Club held at the Riviera Hills Restaurant in the Clear Lake Riviera, Noah Lyndall was the guest speaker.  

Lyndall is a Kelseyville High School student who was a freshman at the time he attended the National Youth Leadership Forum on Medicine in San Francisco, held this past June.

At age15, he was the youngest participant.  

He once again thanked the Konocti Lioness for their donation which helped him attend this educational program.

With an interest in sports medicine, his career goal is to become an orthopedic surgeon.

WASHINGTON, D.C. – U.S. Reps. Mike Thompson (D-CA) and Jim Gerlach (R-PA) on Tuesday announced that they will introduce the bipartisan Conservation Easement Incentive Act of 2013.

The legislation provides a permanent tax incentive to family farmers, ranchers, and other landowners who chose not develop their land and instead preserve their property for conservation.

By providing tax benefits to landowners who choose conservation, the bill helps preserve our nation’s farm lands and open spaces for future generations.

The bill has received broad bipartisan support in the House of Representatives, with more than 125 original co-sponsors.

“Conservation easements work. They’ve already encouraged landowners to conserve millions of acres of farm lands and scenic open spaces, but there’s more we can do” said Thompson. “By making this important conservation tool permanent, our bill will give landowners the certainty they need to preserve and protect even more land and natural resources for future generations.”

“Whether you are a farmer looking to preserve land that's been in your family for generations or a local land trust forging community partnerships to protect natural resources, this legislation gives you greater freedom to make critical choices about future land use,” Gerlach said.

“Our effort to make the conservation easement tax incentive permanent has generated bipartisan support because it makes sense,” Gerlach added. “I look forward to continue working with Congressman Thompson and my colleagues in the House to provide certainty and ensure that conservation easements remain an option for all property owners in the future.”

Under Thompson and Gerlach’s bill, landowners who donate their property’s development rights would maintain ownership and management of the land, but forgo their rights to develop the land in the future.

The Conservation Easement Incentive Act would make permanent an enhanced tax incentive for donating development rights that will otherwise expire at the end of 2013.

The incentive’s current uncertainty discourages conservation because it takes an average of three years to set up a conservation easement.

Landowners who want to donate their development rights for conservation may not know if incentive’s tax benefits will be available to them by the time their conservation easement is established.

Eliminating this ever-changing deadline will give more farmers, ranchers, and forest owners the assurance they need to choose land conservation over development.

In addition, the Conservation Easement Incentive Act would also help moderate-income landowners choose conservation by:

Raising the maximum deduction a donor can take for donating a conservation easement from 30 percent of their adjusted gross income (AGI) in any year to 50 percent;
Allowing qualified farmers and ranchers to deduct up to 100 percent of their AGI; and
Increasing the number of years over which a donor can take this deduction from five to 15 years.

The Conservation Easement Incentive Act has been endorsed by the Land Trust Alliance, Ducks Unlimited, National Wildlife Federation, National Cattleman’s Beef Association, American Forest Foundation, Congressional Sportsmen’s Foundation, and more than fifty other groups.

The bill will be referred to the House Committee on Ways and Means for further consideration, on which Congressmen Thompson and Gerlach both serve.

Thompson represents California’s Fifth Congressional District, which includes all or part of Contra Costa, Lake, Napa, Solano and Sonoma counties.

MIDDLETOWN, Calif. – The Middletown Lioness sixth annual Christmas Boutique will be held Dec. 6-7.

Vendors are selected by first-come, first-chosen basis for this juried show.

For information and an application email Teri Beagan at This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. or call her at 707-295-0535.