LAKE COUNTY, Calif. – The Saw Shop Gallery and Bistro in Kelseyville has become the first local business to sign on as a sponsor for the 2016 Lake County Wine Auction, with a $2,000 purchase at the Cab Franc level.

Every year, the auction offers three sponsorship opportunities at $5,000, $3,000 and $2,000.

Saw Shop owner and Wine Auction Board member Marie Beery said, “The sponsorship money pays for all the costs of the auction so that so that all the proceeds from ticket sales and the auction can go to the beneficiaries.”

This year is expected to be very challenging for the Wine Auction.

“There are lots of groups that are finding it hard to raise money after the big influx of giving after the Valley fire, so it's important to start early; hopefully we will grow big,” said Beery.

Last year, the Lake County Wine Alliance was forced to cancel its annual auction because of the Valley fire.

Even so, they were still able to donate $88,700 to a broad group of local charities and organizations.

This was made possible, in large part, because of sponsors and ticket-holders who left their money with the Wine Alliance despite cancellation of the auction.

In 2016, sponsors contributed $51,000 towards the total disbursement.

The sponsors include, Cal Pine, Sutter Lakeside Hospital, Beckstoffer Vineyards, Six Sigma Winery, St. Helena Hospital, Sysco Foods, John Clarke, Mendo Lake Credit Union, Umpqua Bank, Cache Creek Vineyard & Winery, Boatique Vineyard & Winery, Kelseyville Pharmacy, Brassfield Estate Winery, Shannon Ridge Vineyard & Winery, C-Line Trucking, Savings Bank of Mendocino and P.G. & E.

The balance the 2016 distribution was made up with a generous grant from the Lake County Rising Fire Relief Fund, in support of beneficiaries who were on the front lines of fire relief.

This year's Lake County Wine Auction will take place on Saturday, Sept. 17, at Cache Creek Vineyard and Winery on New Long Valley Road in Clearlake Oaks, with owners Don and Margie VanPelt serving as honorary chairs.

It promises to be a fun-filled event under the stars in support of some of Lake County's most worthwhile organizations.

It also will be a celebration of the efforts Lake County is making to recover from last year's devastating fires.

The Lake County Wine Auction is now accepting applications from prospective beneficiaries for the proceeds from this year's auction.

Copies of the application may be obtained at the group's Web site www.winealliance.org and need to submitted by May 1.

LAKEPORT, Calif. – The Clear Lake High School Latino Club is holding its annual taco feed on Wednesday, April 13.

The feed will take place from 5 to 7 p.m. at the Terrace Middle School cafeteria, 250 Lange St. in Lakeport.

For $7, you get two tacos, beans, rice and a drink. There will also be dessert items for sale.

After the meal, stay for the Clear Lake High School Spring concert, next door at the MAC activity center.

Funds from the taco feed are used to fund club activities and provide scholarships for Latino Club members.

LAKEPORT, Calif. – The Lakeport Planning Commission's regular meeting on Wednesday, March 9, has been canceled.

The commission is next scheduled to meet at 5 p.m. Wednesday, April 13.

The California Department of Fish and Wildlife (CDFW) is seeking public comment on a proposal to list the tricolored blackbird as a threatened or endangered species.
 
The tricolored blackbird (Agelaius tricolor) is native to California, occurring mainly in the lowlands of California west of the Sierra Nevada.

Small populations can also be found to the south into Baja California and to the north in southernmost Oregon and the Modoc Plateau of northeastern California.

Most tricolored blackbirds breed in California's Central Valley, and nest in a variety of habitats including wetlands, blackberries and nettles.

In recent years, some of the largest colonies have occurred in grain fields in the San Joaquin Valley, often associated with dairies or feedlots.
 
Loss of habitat, destruction of breeding colonies and predation have been identified as factors negatively impacting the tricolored blackbird; however, climate change, contaminants, shooting mortality, extreme weather events and other factors may also negatively affect its populations.
 
In August 2015, the Center for Biological Diversity submitted a petition to the California Fish and Game Commission to formally list the tricolored blackbird as a threatened or endangered species.

The commission published findings of its decision to advance the species to candidacy on Dec. 29, 2015, triggering a 12-month period during which CDFW will conduct a status review to inform the commission's decision on whether to list the species.
 
As part of the status review process, CDFW is soliciting public comment regarding the species' ecology, biology, life history, distribution, abundance, threats and habitat that may be essential for the species, as well as recommendations for management of the species.

Comments, data and other information can be submitted by email to This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. .

If submitting comments by email, please include "Tricolored Blackbird" in the subject heading.
 
Comments may also be submitted by regular mail to:
 
California Department of Fish and Wildlife
Nongame Wildlife Program
Attn: Neil Clipperton
1812 Ninth St.
Sacramento, CA 95811
 
All comments received by June 1, 2016, will be evaluated prior to submission of the CDFW report to the commission.

Receipt of the report will be placed on the agenda for the next available meeting of the commission after delivery and the report will be made available to the public at that time.

Following the receipt of the CDFW report, the commission will allow a 30-day public comment period prior to taking any action on the petition.
 
CDFW's petition evaluation report for tricolored blackbird can be found at www.dfg.ca.gov/wildlife/nongame/publications/ .

CLEARLAKE OAKS, Calif. – Congressman John Garamendi (D-CA-3) is hosting a senior center conversation in Lake County focused on the concerns of seniors on Thursday, March 10.

The roundtable will take place from 2 to 3:30 p.m. at the Live Oak Senior Center, 12502 Foothill Blvd. in Clearlake Oaks.

During the senior service roundtable, residents will have an opportunity to:

· Learn about senior services and support available in our region;

· Discuss the issues most important to our community and particularly for seniors;

· Watch the KVIE PBS documentary “Fading Away,” which features the Congressman’s work fighting for additional Alzheimer’s research funding; and

· Senior citizen/group recognition.

Light refreshments will be provided, and the congressman’s office will also have caseworkers on site ready to get the process started for constituents who are having issues with a federal agency like Social Security, Medicare or the Veterans Administration.

If constituents have questions, they should call the congressman’s Fairfield office at 707-438-1822.

People can also RSVP to any of the events on Facebook – https://www.facebook.com/repgaramendi/events – to make sure they receive any updates about the event.

UPPER LAKE, Calif. – The Centennial of World War I – The Great War – began in August 2014 and will run until November 2018.

More than 10 million soldiers and seven million civilians died, and another 20 million were wounded during the conflict.

To commemorate the centennial of World War I, the Lake County History Roundtable will be meeting on Monday March 7, at the historic Tallman Hotel in downtown Upper Lake. The presentations begin at 6:15 p.m.

This month's presenters will be Phil Smoley and Zane Jensen, both local amateur historians.

They will analyze the domino effect of how one isolated event in Bosnia quickly triggered one of the greatest slaughters in human history.

Could it have been stopped? Who was primarily to blame? These are the questions to be considered by the group.

The Lake County History Roundtable is open to everyone and is free. Presentations are geared to be informative to the novice and expert.

For more information, contact Zane Jensen at 707-349-6390 or Phil Smoley at 707-349-1008.