KELSEYVILLE, Calif. – Lake County residents are being alerted to planned roadwork near Kelseyville that will cause delays.

The Lake County Department of Public Works reported that beginning Wednesday, March 28, and running through Friday, March 30, county road crews will be working on Bell Hill Road, replacing culverts, between Renfro Drive and Plunkett Lane.

Hours of operation are from 7:30 a.m. to 4 p.m.

During this time there will be traffic control with 20- to 30-minute maximum delays.

The Department of Public Works asks the community to drive with caution in the area, and thanks the public in advance for its patience and understanding.

LAKEPORT, Calif. – The inaugural Rhythm & Brews produced by the Lake County Chamber of Commerce on Saturday, March 17, brought music, fun, laughter, microbrews and delicious Irish stew tastings to Lewis Hall a the Lake County Fairgrounds in Lakeport.

This new community event was supported by Irish stew cook-off participants Biggs 155 Diner in Lakeport, Featherbed Railroad B&B in Nice and Mary Southard/Delta Iota Tau from Lakeport.

All cooks ran out of stew due to the overwhelming crowd demands. People’s Choice Irish stew was won by Southard and the best decorated booth recipient was Featherbed, also chosen by People’s Choice.

The winners of the inaugural St. Patrick’s Day Costume & Kazoo Parade were Kailani Malley of Lakeport, first place; Mark McCombs of Kelseyville, second place; and June Clarkin, third place.

The inaugural Home Made Instrument Contest was won by Wendell Wells, Kelseyville.

The Pot O’ Gold winners were: $250, Jim Magliulo, Lakeport; $250 Ken Baker, Kelseyville; $500 Austin Ison of Kelseyville.

Great Bluegrass music was provided during the entire event by Andi Skelton and The Clan, The Cobb Stompers Band and Bound to Ride with Pat Ickes of Upper Lake. There also was a variety of accompaniment from the home made instrument contestants for Orange Blossom Special. Given the amount of applause all during the day, the music was enjoyed by everyone.

Games for the young were provided in the Leprechaun’s Corner by Boy Scout Troop 142 from 1 p.m. to 4 p.m., making that a very popular corner of Lewis Hall.

Major sponsors this year were Calpine Corp. of Middletown and Eagle Distributing of Ukiah.  

Additional sponsors were The Ice Water Co., Lake Builders Supply, Lakeport Kiwanis and North Bay Merchant Services.  

Microbrews were donated by Eagle Distributing, Lagunitas Brewing, Bear Republic Brewing, Mendocino Brewing, Lost Coast Brewing and Sierra Nevada.  

Thanks to the Lake County Home Wine Makers Association and the Lake County Home Brew Club, visitors to Rhythm & Brews got tips and information on how to make their own wine and beer at home.

More than 40 chamber volunteers worked to bring this new event about, spearheaded by Chamber Director and Events Chair Jeanette Bartley of Bob Bartley Pump Inc.  

Tony Barthel, chamber director and owner (with wife Peggy) of the Featherbed Railroad B&B, acted as emcee throughout the event and initiated the Home Made Instrument Contest.  

Barthel also created the event Web site www.rhythm-and-brews.com and he was posting photos to Facebook all during the event.  

Mark your calendars for March 16, 2013 for the second annual Rhythm & Brews.

For additional information contact the Chamber office at 707-263-5092 or visit www.lakecochamber.com .

UKIAH, Calif. – A memorial in honor of North Coast musician Marc Hansen will be held on Sunday, March 25.

The event will begin at 1:30 p.m. at the Saturday Afternoon Club, 107 Oak St. in Ukiah.

Hansen, 59, died in a car crash in Oregon on Feb. 14.

NORTH COAST – Caltrans reports that the following road projects will be taking place around Lake County during the coming week.

Included are Mendocino County projects that may impact Lake County commuters.

LAKE COUNTY

Highway 20

– Construction of a roundabout at the Route 20/Nice Lucerne Cutoff Road intersection will begin Monday, March 26. Work hours are 8 a.m. to 3 p.m., weekdays. One-way traffic control will be in effect. Motorists should anticipate five-minute delays. Contractor – Granite Construction Inc. of Ukiah.

– Caltrans will perform routine maintenance from Mary Street to Pingree Road on Tuesday, March 27, and Wednesday, March 28. Work hours are 8 a.m. to 3 p.m. One-way traffic control will be in effect.
Motorists should anticipate five-minute delays.

– Clearlake Oaks Water District has been issued a Caltrans Encroachment permit for utility repairs near Spring Road. Work hours are 7 a.m. to 4 p.m., weekdays. One-way traffic control will be in effect.
Motorists should anticipate five-minute delays.

MENDOCINO COUNTY

Highway 1

– Anchor Bay Campground of Gualala has been issued a Caltrans Encroachment permit for tree trimming from Ocean View Drive to 0.2 mile north of Sunset Street beginning Monday, March 26. Work hours are 8 a.m. to 4 p.m., weekdays. One-way traffic control will be in effect. Motorists should anticipate five-minute delays.

– Replacement of the Greenwood Creek Bridge will continue. Work hours are 7 a.m. to 4 p.m., weekdays. One-way traffic control will be in effect. Motorists should anticipate 10-minute delays.
Contractor – Golden Gate Bridge Inc. of Martinez.

– Caltrans will perform routine maintenance at the South Fork Eel River Bridge on Tuesday, March 27. Work hours are 8:30 a.m. to 3 p.m. One-way traffic control will be in effect. Motorists should anticipate
five-minute delays.

Highway 101

– Caltrans will perform routine maintenance at the Bridges Creek Bridge on Monday, March 26. Work hours are 8 a.m. to 3 p.m. One-way traffic control will be in effect. Motorists should anticipate five-minute delays.

Highway 271

– Caltrans will perform routine maintenance at the South Fork Eel River Bridge on Wednesday, March 28. Work hours are 8:30 a.m. to 3 p.m. One-way traffic control will be in effect. Motorists should
anticipate five-minute delays.

Work on all these projects is weather permitting and subject to change. Caltrans advises motorists to drive with caution when approaching work areas and to be prepared to stop at traffic control stations.

The Caltrans Traffic Operations Office has reviewed each project and determined that individual project delays are expected to be less than the statewide policy maximum of 30 minutes, unless noted otherwise above.

For information pertaining to emergency roadwork or for updates to scheduled roadwork, please contact the California Highway Information Network (CHIN) at 1-800-GAS-ROAD (1-800-427-7623).

LAKEPORT, Calif. – The Lake County First 5 Commission will meet on Wednesday, March 28.

The meeting will begin at 2:30 p.m. at the Lake One-Stop's E.D.D. Conference Room, located at 55 First St. in Lakeport.

Agenda items include a public hearing on First 5 California’s 2010-11 Annual Report; First 5 Lake’s 2010-11 Annual Evaluation Report; and the Kindergarten Entry Developmental Profile Overview.

Also on the agenda is the executive director's report and reports from commissioners.

For more information call 707-263-6169.

Visit the commission online at www.firstfivelake.org .

In an era of technology-driven communication, Cal Fire is using the latest tools and social media sites to help keep the public informed during major emergencies.

Californians looking for incident information can receive updates through sites like Facebook and Twitter, videos through YouTube, and even text messages sent right to their cell phones.

“When Cal Fire is at the scene of a wildfire, keeping the public and media updated is a top priority for us,” said Janet Upton, Cal Fire's deputy director of communications. “Using the latest technologies allows us to keep the public up to date on what’s happening and give us more ways to provide valuable information on how to prepare their homes and families well in advance of a fire.”

While the Internet has led to an increase in available information, it’s important to ensure the sites distributing information are official.

There are numerous social media accounts that use the Cal Fire name or who present themselves as official sources, but they are often run by individuals not associated with Cal Fire or a fire department.

Below are Cal Fire's official social media accounts.

Twitter

Official Account – @CAL_FIRE
Department Information Officer Daniel Berlant – @CALFIRE_PIO
CAL FIRE Director Ken Pimlott – @CALFIRE_Chief
Riverside Unit/Riverside County Fire – @CALFIRERRU
San Diego Unit – @CALFIRESANDIEGO
Fresno-Kings Unit / Fresno County Fire – @FresnoCoFire
San Luis Obispo Unit / SLO County Fire – @CALFIRE_SLO
San Bernardino Unit - @CALFIREBDU
San Benito / Monterrey Unit - @CALFIREBEU

Facebook

Search for CAL FIRE

Youtube

www.YouTube.com/CALFIRETV

SMS text messages

To subscribe text: “follow @CAL_FIRE” to 40404. The alerts are free, but standard text messaging rates do apply.

While the number of users on social media sites has increased, the public can still receive information from the CAL FIRE Web site, www.fire.ca.gov .

In February the department launched a mobile Web page version allowing easy access to incident information on smartphones.