KELSEYVILLE, Calif. – Clear Lake Trowel & Trellis Garden Club members recently met at the Ely Stage Stop in Kelseyville and planned 200 daffodil bulbs.

Ely Stage Stop is one of the club's beautification projects, along with the planting and upkeep of the Hartley Cemetery Chapel; flower beds at the Lake County Library and Library Park; and the Blue Star Memorial Garden honoring past, present and future U.S. military personal at the Lake County Courthouse in Lakeport.

LOWER LAKE, Calif. – The Lake County Democratic Club will hold its regular meeting at 11 a.m. on Saturday, Dec. 14.

The group will meet in the Russell Rustici Park Club House at Lower Lake Community Park, corner of Mill and Second streets, Lower Lake.

The club will celebrate its annual Christmas party. Pot luck dishes and sandwiches will be offered.

Come and meet your fellow Democrats and exchange good cheer and hopes for the New Year.

A brief club meeting will be held to vote to elect the new club officers for 2014.

Lake County Democratic Club meetings are held on the second Saturday of the month. The public is always welcome and membership is open to all registered Democrats.

Contact the Democratic Party of Lake County at 707-533-4885, by email at
This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. or visit http://lakecountydemocrats.org/ .

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

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

LAKE COUNTY

Highway 53

– Highway widening and rehabilitation from 40th Avenue to the junction of Routes 20/53 will continue. Work hours are 6 a.m. to 5 p.m., weekdays. Beginning Monday, Dec. 9, work hours are 7 a.m. to 5 p.m., weekdays. One-way traffic control will be in effect. Motorists should anticipate 10-minute delays. Contractor – Teichert Construction of Davis.

MENDOCINO COUNTY

Highway 1

– Replacement of the Greenwood Creek Bridge will continue. One-way traffic control with a temporary signal will be in effect 24 hours per day, seven days per week. Motorists should anticipate five-minute delays. Contractor – Golden State Bridge Inc. of Martinez.

– Guardrail repairs at the Wages Creek Bridge will continue on Tuesday, Dec. 10. Work hours are 7 a.m. to 5 p.m., weekdays. One-way traffic control will be in effect. Motorists should anticipate five-minute delays. Contractor ‐ Coral Construction of Wilsonville.

– PG&E of Eureka has been issued a Caltrans Encroachment permit for tree trimming from 0.6 mile south of the Cottoneva Creek Bridge to the South Fork Eel River Bridge beginning Monday, Dec. 9. 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.

– Replacement of a culvert with a bridge at Dunn Creek will continue. One-way traffic control with a temporary signal will be in effect 24 hours per day, seven days per week. Motorists should anticipate five-minute delays. Contractor – Shasta Construction of Redding.

Highway 101

– Caltrans will perform slide repairs near the Korean War Veterans Memorial Bridge (near Frog Woman Rock). Northbound traffic will be restricted to one lane 24 hours per day, seven days per week. Motorists may experience minor traffic slowdowns.

– Highway construction from 1.0 mile south of the Haehl Overhead Bridge to the Haehl Overhead Bridge will continue Monday, Dec. 9. Work hours are 7 a.m. to 3 p.m., weekdays. A moving closure for striping will be in effect. Motorists may experience minor traffic slowdowns. Contractor – DeSilva Gates Construction of Dublin.

– Highway construction from 1.2 miles south of the North Willits Railroad Crossing to the North Willits Railroad Crossing will continue Monday, Dec. 9. Work hours are 7 a.m. to 3 p.m., weekdays. A moving closure for striping will be in effect. Motorists may experience minor traffic slowdowns. Contractor – DeSilva Gates Construction of Dublin.

Highway 128

– PG&E of Eureka has been issued a Caltrans Encroachment permit for tree trimming from 0.6 mile west of Philo Greenwood Road to 0.6 mile west of Philo on Friday, Dec. 6. 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 175

– PG&E of Eureka has been issued a Caltrans Encroachment permit for tree trimming from Buckman Drive to 1.5 miles east of Buckman Drive through Friday, Dec. 6. 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.

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 Lakeport Economic Development Advisory Committee will hear a presentation on the 2013 Konocti Challenge during its next regular meeting on Wednesday, Dec. 11.

The committee will meet from 7:30 a.m. to 9 a.m. in the council chambers at Lakeport City Hall, 225 Park St.

The meeting is open to the public.

Jennifer Strong of the Lakeport Rotary will present information about the 2013 Konocti Challenge bike ride, held in October.

Jill Ruzicka is the scheduled presenter for the meeting on Wednesday, Jan. 8. She will discuss the Lake County Marketing Program’s plans for 2014.

The committee advocates for a strong and positive Lakeport business community and acts as a conduit between the city and the community for communicating the goals, activities and progress of Lakeport’s economic and business programs.

Committee members include Carol Cole-Lewis, Bill Eaton, Melissa Fulton, Barbara Johnson, George Linn, Nina Marino, Wilda Shock, Taira St. John and Mireya Turner, with ex-officio members includes Lakeport City Manager Margaret Silveira and Planning Services Manager Andrew Britton.

LAKEPORT, Calif. – Michael Horner has organized a community meeting to stop the proposed ordinance banning cannabis cultivation in Lake County.

The meeting will be held beginning at 6 p.m. Thursday, Dec. 12, in Fritch Hall at the Lake County Fairgrounds, 401 Martin St. in Lakeport.

A panel has been assembled that includes Dan Rush, UFCW director of Cannabis Workers Rising; Kristen Nevedal, Emerald Growers Association; Ron Green, California NORML attorney; James Anthony, land use attorney; Craig Litwin, campaign consultant; and Jerry Gully, Americans for Safe Access Lake County.

The members of this panel encourage all concerned to attend the Board of Supervisors meeting on Tuesday, Dec. 10 – also in Fritch Hall – beginning at 5:30 p.m., to express their concerns about the ordinance.

SACRAMENTO – Assembly Speaker John A. Pérez has appointed Assembly Mariko Yamada (D-Davis), former chair of the Yolo County Housing Authority (now known as Yolo County Housing), to serve on the Assembly Committee on Housing and Community Development.

While Yamada will be stepping down from her role as a member of the Assembly Veterans Committee, an assignment she has held for five years, she said she will continue working on veterans issues in her other committee assignments and through her own policymaking.

“My interest in addressing the issues of housing and homelessness now faced by many veterans – especially those from our most recent conflicts – intersects with this new assignment as well as my current role on the Assembly Select Committee on Homelessness,” Yamada said. “I welcome the opportunity to work with Chairman Ed Chau and committee members on providing increased access to affordable, accessible and supportive housing for these veterans in addition to finding solutions to the housing needs of other underserved populations.”

The Housing and Community Development Committee’s jurisdiction includes building standards, common interest developments, homelessness programs, housing discrimination, housing finance, natural disaster assistance and preparedness, redevelopment, and land use planning.

Speaker Pérez also appointed Yamada to serve on the newly-established Committee on Local Emergency Preparedness, which will focus on coordination of local emergency resources.

Before her election to the Assembly, Yamada represented the Yolo County Board of Supervisors on the Sierra Sacramento Valley Emergency Medical Services Agency (SSV-EMS). She was elected SSV-EMS Board chair in 2005 and served in that capacity for two years.

Assemblymember Yamada will continue as chair of the Assembly Committee on Aging and Long-Term Care; the Select Committee on State Hospital and Developmental Center Safety; and the Select Committee on Sustainable and Organic Agriculture, and as a member of the Assembly Committee on Agriculture; Committee on Water, Parks and Wildlife; the Select Committee on Homelessness and the Select Committee on Wine.

Yamada represents California’s Fourth Assembly District, including all or parts of Colusa, Lake, Napa, Solano, Sonoma and Yolo counties.