CLEARLAKE, Calif. – Rotary Club of Clearlake held a strategic planning session for the 2014-15 year.  

The meeting, led by incoming Rotary President Dana Moore, was held at the original Perini Ranch in Lower Lake, courtesy of the Perini family.  

Attending were incoming and outgoing board members and club members.  

Plans were outlined for new projects and ongoing projects were reviewed.  

One of the club's ongoing projects is the Community Christmas Dinner, an annual free dinner held in Clearlake complete with Santa photos and gifts for the children who attend.  

More than 900 people attend annually and the meal also is delivered via Meals on Wheels.  

Scholarships are awarded annually with more than $250,000 awarded to date.   

The Dr. Gene Magoon Visual and Creative Arts Scholarship has been added to honor Gene Magoon, a founding member of the club.    

LAKE COUNTY, Calif. – The Redwood Empire Food Bank – the region’s leader in hunger relief – welcomed Assemblymember Mariko Yamada to one of its Commodities Supplemental Food Program distributions for seniors on Tuesday.

Yamada volunteered at the site, helping to ensure that each senior in need receives a 30 pound box of staple food items and a bag of fresh produce.

“Our elders worked hard to lay the foundation for younger generations,” said Assemblymember Yamada, Chair of the Assembly Committee on Aging and Long Term Care. “Today, through no fault of their own, seniors face food security challenges exacerbated by fixed-incomes that do not keep pace with the higher costs-of-living in rural residential areas. Add to that the price tag for staying cool in scorching temperatures and food prices skyrocketing because of three-years of drought.”

According to California Food Policy Advocates, only 64 percent of Lake County residents eligible for the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program, the federal nutrition assistance program known in California as CalFRESH, participate.

Lake County ranks 30 out of 58 in program participation by eligible individuals.

The Commodities Supplemental Food Program Program is a monthly food distribution supported by the USDA and serves seniors under 120 percent of the federal poverty level.

The distribution helps provide seniors, who are often living on tight fixed incomes, shelf stable food and fresh produce for the month.

The Redwood Empire Food Bank has 46 distribution sites throughout Northern California and a growing caseload of qualifying seniors.

The state of California will be holding three public workshops in August to discuss a proposed scope of work for the fourth California Climate Assessment.  

The fourth California Climate Assessment will develop original, regionally-relevant climate research to support California’s continued leadership on actions to address climate change and safeguard our state’s people, economy and resources.

Dates, times and locations for the workshops are as follows:

• Friday, Aug. 8, 10 a.m. to noon, California Energy Commission - Hearing Room A, 1516 9th St. Sacramento;
• Tuesday, Aug. 12, 10 a.m. to noon, Junipero Serra Office Building – Carmel Room, 320 West Fourth St., Los Angeles;
• Wednesday, Aug. 13, 11 a.m. to 1 p.m., Milton Marks Conference Center, 455 Golden Gate Ave., San Francisco.

The public workshop in Sacramento will be Webcast for those unable to attend in person.  

A copy of the proposed scope of work, directions on how to submit comments, and Webcast information will be posted in advance of the workshops on the California Natural Resources Agency Web page, http://resources.ca.gov/climate/fourth.html/ .

Further information about the fourth California Climate Assessment is also available at the link above.

Any questions may be directed to JR DeLaRosa, special assistant for climate, at  This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. or 916-653-6333.  

If you require special accommodation for any of the workshops or need this document in an alternate format (e.g. Braille, large print) or another language, please contact JR DeLaRosa as soon as possible, but no later than four business days before the scheduled meeting.

CLEARLAKE, Calif. – A caregiver support group for families dealing with memory loss or other cognitive impairments will meet on Wednesday, July 9.

The group meets at St. John’s Lutheran Church, 14310 Memory Lane in Clearlake from 9:30 to 11 a.m.

Social worker Jenny Johnson is the facilitator.

The groups are sponsored by Redwood Caregiver Resource Center (1-800-834-1636) and the Social Day Programs in Lake County.

For more information call Jenny Johnson at 707-350-3030 or Caroline Denny at 707-263-9481.

Respite is provided by the centers at no charge.

MIDDLETOWN, Calif. – The Middletown Area Town Hall (MATH) group will meet at 7 p.m. Thursday, July 10.

The meeting will take place in the activity room at the Middletown Community Center, 21256 Washington St.

The public is invited to attend.

Terri Persons will provide an update on the area plans and Giselle Stahl of the county of Lake will discuss efforts to provide more trails throughout the area.

Also on the agenda is a discussion on nonprofit status for MATH and cannabis dispensaries in Middletown.

There also will be discussion on plans for Middletown Days and use of the Middletown Square Park, and a letter to the Board of Supervisors regarding a ban on plastic bags in Lake County.

MATH meetings are subject to videotaping. Meeting proceedings may be available for viewing on public access television and/or the Internet.

MATH – established by resolution of the Lake County Board of Supervisors on Dec. 12, 2006 – is a municipal advisory council serving the residents of Anderson Springs, Cobb, Coyote Valley (including Hidden Valley Lake), Long Valley and Middletown.

The group’s current board of directors include Chairman Fletcher Thornton, Vice Chair Claude Brown, Secretary Ken Gonzales, and members Tom Darms and Laura Helton.

LAKEPORT, Calif. – Through July Lakeport Library’s summer teen program “Paws to Read” is sponsoring a donation can for Animal Care and Control in the library where the public can donate items for the animals in the shelter.

Usable donations include clean old blankets, towels, sheets and newspapers for bedding, animal toys, food bowls, pet carriers and unopened cat and dog food.

Amy Patton, the teen program coordinator reminds tweens and teens entering seventh through twelfth grades that there is still time to sign up for the program and to participate in other activities including craft projects, a field trip and a writing workshop.

Lakeport Library, located at 1425 N. High St., is open Tuesday, Thursday, Friday and Saturday, 10 a.m. to 5 p.m., and Wednesday, 10 a.m. to 7 p.m. The phone number is 707-263-8817.