LOWER LAKE – A wine venue fundraiser for county superintendent of schools candidate Dr. Judy Luchsinger will be held at the Six Sigma Ranch and Winery on Saturday, May 1.

The May Day event, which goes from 1 p.m. to 4 p.m., will feature the pre-release pouring of Six Sigma’s 2009 Sauvignon Blanc.

A picnic lunch will be served and barrel tasting of an assortment of wines will be offered along with horse and cart rides.

A minimum donation of $25 is suggested with all funds going to support the efforts of the Committee to Elect Judy Luchsinger.

Luchsinger served as Lake County superintendent of schools from 1979 to 1995. She is seeking the office again this year and has promised to reestablish fiscal accountability and transparency to the office, reinstate meaningful services to districts and teachers, and revitalize education by providing leadership and resources from the county schools office to local classrooms.

“Many of us are very concerned about the explosive cost of running the county office and the diminishing services provided to the districts,” Luchsinger observed. “Teachers are working harder than ever to provide quality education for our students but their support has been compromised. That must change.”

Luchsinger has pledged to put the emphasis on quality and driving resources back into the classroom for the direct benefit of students. Drawing on her previous experience as county superintendent and her most recent 14 years of experience as a quality systems management consultant in the private sector, Luchsinger says that the county office of education can be a helpful partner to local districts.

“I believe that the superintendent's role should be to deemphasize the building of the office bureaucracy and, instead, concentrate on maximizing the flow of money and resources to the classroom,” Luchsinger said. “The amount of money that flows into the superintendent's office is, for the most part, fixed, and the manner in which many of the funds are ultimately used are predetermined by law, both state and federal. But there are discretionary funds available to the Superintendent, and it is here where the office can make the greatest contribution to the success of local districts.

“As your superintendent, I will take a leadership role in getting all of the school districts to focus on students first by collaborating on priority issues, such as student success, shared budgeting, avoidance of duplication and, where it makes sense, consolidation of services. We shouldn't make things more complicated than they have to be; we need to be guided by common sense.”

Luchsinger will expand on these and other ideas that she has regarding the schools office at the Six Sigma fund raiser.

Six Sigma Ranch and Winery are located at 13372 Spruce Grove Road in Lower Lake. Spruce Grove Road is located just south of Lower Lake off Highway 29, with the winery entrance approximately 5.6 miles from the Highway 29 turnoff.

For more information, go to www.vote4judy.com or contact Luchsinger directly at 707-263-3280 or Jan Parkinson at 707-349-2919.

UPPER LAKE – Upper Lake High School will host a forum for Lake County superintendent of schools candidates Wally Holbrook and Judy Luchsinger on Tuesday, May 4.

The forum will take place from 7:30 p.m. to 8:30 p.m. in the Upper Lake High School Multipurpose Room on Clover Valley Road.

The event, which is open to the public, will give the candidates an opportunity to speak a bit about themselves and allow the community to ask questions of the candidates.

If you have any questions that you would like to submit for the forum please direct them to This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it..

The meeting is from 2 p.m. to 4 p.m.

Attendees will enjoy a discussion of Blue Lakes and Upper Lake history by Sylvia DeSantis, manager of the Lodge at Blue Lakes.

Following that presentation, Richard Vargas and Laurie Ann Martin will show us how they have restored and photographed several large paintings that are currently displayed in the Special Events Center of the Lodge.

Vargas will reveal the process of preserving vintage paintings with an actual set up, including paints, while Martin demonstrates her photographic techniques.

As always, refreshments will be served and donated cookies or other treats will be greatly appreciated.

For more information, call Randy Ridgel at 707-279-4062 or Michael Anderson at 707-277-2075.

The Lodge at Blue Lakes is located at 5135 West Highway 20, west of Upper Lake on the shore of Blue Lakes.

NEWPORT BEACH – National Women’s Political Caucus of California (www.nwpcca.org) President Teray Stephens of Newport Beach and Vice President of Education Val Muchowski of Philo, Mendocino County, will represent the state at the Women’s Appointment Project training in Cambridge, Mass., on May 21 and 22.

The goal is to get gubernatorial candidates across the country to pledge to appoint women to 50 percent of high-level state government positions and to appoint a high-level liaison from their administrations to work with the Women’s Appointments Project on an ongoing basis after the election.

“With the upcoming reapportionment of elected seats, California’s governor, elected Nov. 2, will make over 3,000 appointments,” said NWPC-CA President Teray Stephens. “Fifty percent of those appointments should go to qualified women.”

“NWPC-CA will partner with organizations representing political, business, professional, academic, government and non-profit groups,” said Val Muchowski, vice president of education. “We will communicate with group members, many of whom are highly qualified women who can begin to think about applying for positions and submitting their resumes to the Women’s Appointments Project.”

Women’s Appointment Project is funded by the Political Parity Project of the Hunt Alternatives Fund at the behest of former Massachusetts Lt. Gov. Kerry Healey. Lt. Gov. Healey worked closely with the successful Women’s Appointment Project (MassGAP) conducted in Massachusetts in 2002 and 2006

Lt. Gov. Healey recognized the project’s value in increasing the number of women in high-level appointed positions in state government and shared her experience with Ambassador Swanee Hunt whose foundation is covering the expansion to ten states during the 2010 election cycle.

NWPC-CA President Stephens is committed to women and progressive causes. She sits on the national and state board of the National Women’s Political Caucus, and previously chaired Southern California Women for Kerry, was a founding member of the SoCal Grassroots organization where she chaired the women’s group, and was a board member, fundraiser, and organizer for the Young Women’s Leadership Conference.

She also provided financial and outreach support for numerous campaigns including those for Hillary Clinton, Debra Bowen, Julia Brownley and other leading progressive female leaders.

NWPC-CA Vice President Muchowski has been involved in politics since 1980 and is dedicated to seeing women serve in public office regardless of political party.

She is NWPC Mendocino chapter president and state education and training vice president. She previously served as Northern California regional director and political action vice president.

Muchowski conducts Women’s Leadership and Low-Budget Campaign trainings and works to elect Mendocino County women to local positions including board of supervisors, district attorney and treasurer-tax collector.

NWPC-CA is a multi-partisan grassroots organization dedicated to increasing women’s participation in the political process and creating a political power base designed to achieve equality for all women.

For more information, see www.nwpcca.org. Following NWPC-CA on Facebook at http://www.facebook.com/susanne.lafaver?ref=profile#!/group.php?gid=30681682507&ref=ts and on Twitter at http://twitter.com/nwpcca.

LAKEPORT – Meet Lake County's Democratic candidates and help get out the vote for the June primary election at a special event planned for Saturday, May 15.

The Lake County Democratic Central Committee will host the event, which will take place from 1 p.m. to 4 p.m. at the Lakeport Yacht Club, 15 Fifth St.

There will be speakers, a silent auction and Asian cuisine.

Sponsors include Congressman Mike Thompson, state Sen. Patricia Wiggins and Assemblyman Wes Chesbro.

The cost is $15 per person.

For information call Carol at 707-274-2765 or for reservations call Wanda at 707-274-8392.

Visit the Lake County Democratic Central Committee's Web site at www.lakecountydemocrats.org.

LAKEPORT – The American Cancer Society's Relay for Life team, Find A Penny, will hold a fundraiser at Quail Run in Lakeport on Saturday, May 8.

The fundraiser will be held from 10 a.m. to 6 p.m.

Activities will include a barbecue and bake sale, face painting and raffle prizes, and full massage therapy services.

An all-day swim pass for children or a general admission pass for adults both will cost $5.

The general admission passes include full membership privileges for the day – full gym membership; basketball, wallyball and racquetball tournaments, Zumba and cardio classes, and swim activities for children.

The team asks community members to bring their lucky pennies; those who do will receive an extra raffle ticket.

Quail Run Fitness Center is located at 1279 Craig Ave. in Lakeport, Calif.