LAKEPORT, Calif. – The board of the Public, Education and Government – or PEG – cable access television station will meet at Wednesday, Feb. 12.

The meeting will take place beginning at 6 p.m. in Conference Room B at the Lake County Courthouse, 255 N. Forbes St., Lakeport.

Under business, the board will approve the minutes from the meetings on Dec. 11 and Jan. 8, and also approve a letter of appreciation to Jo Bennett for her years of service on the PEG Board.

Board members also will discuss appointing an individual to fill Bennett's seat.

Other items on the agenda include consideration of the fiscal year 2014-15 budget for PEG TV, a presentation from Joyce Overton regarding collaboration with the Clearlake Youth Center, consideration of a policy and pilot program for enhanced underwriting, a staff report and consideration of revisions to the members manual.

Board members include Chair Ed Robey, Vice Chair Martin Scheel, Denise Loustalot and Vince Metzger.

LAKEPORT, Calif. – The Lakeport Economic Development Advisory Committee, LEDAC, will meet on Wednesday, Feb. 12.

The meeting will take place from 7:30 a.m. to 9 a.m. at Workforce Lake, 55 First St.

The meeting is open to the public.

Lakeport Mayor Kenny Parlet will give a presentation on the sign ordinance and assistance to local businesses and Mireya Turner will offer an update on the Unified Wine and Grape Symposium.

Lakeport City Manager Margaret Silveira will give an update on regional economic development and the Carnegie Library feasibility study.

There also will be committee member reports and updates on business outreach efforts.

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, Christine Hutt, George Linn, Paula Pepper-Duggan, Wilda Shock, Taira St. John and Mireya Turner, with ex-officio members includes Lakeport City Manager Margaret Silveira and Planning Services Manager Andrew Britton.

CLEARLAKE, Calif. – The next HazMobile event will be held Friday, Feb. 21, and Saturday, Feb. 22, at Highlands Senior Center/Community Center, 3245, Bowers Ave. in Clearlake.

Hours will be from 9 a.m. until 1 p.m.

Households can bring up to 15 gallons of toxic items free of charge.

Fees will be charged for amounts over 15 gallons.

Items that are accepted include paint, solvents, fuels, five-gallon propane tanks, pool chemicals, pesticides, herbicides, batteries, fluorescent light tubes (up to 60 linear feet), and other toxic materials that cannot be put in the trash.

Items that cannot be accepted include televisions, computer monitors, ammunition, explosives, radioactive materials or infectious wastes.

To learn how and where to properly dispose these items, please visit www.recycling.co.lake.ca.us or contact the Recycling Hotline at 707-263-1980.

HazMobile services are provided to residential households by the Integrated Waste Management Division of the Lake County Public Services Department and the Department of Resources Recycling and Recovery (CalRecycle).

Businesses also are welcome to use this convenient service to properly dispose of hazardous waste and protect our environment, however, businesses must pay for this taxpayer-funded service and first make an appointment.

Business appointments can be made by calling the Mendocino County Solid Waste Authority, the contracted agency that provides this service in Lake County at 707-468-9786.

Free recycling options for residents and businesses:

Recycled paint is available to both residents and businesses at Lake County Waste Solutions on first-come, first-served basis in five gallon containers. Colors include tan, brown, gray and pink.

Used cooking oil can be dropped-off by businesses and residents, which will be recycled into BioDiesel by Yokayo BioFuels. Drop-off at Lake County Waste Solutions, South Lake Refuse & Recycling Center, and the Northshore Fire Protection District station at 6257 Seventh Ave. in Lucerne.

Used motor oil can be dropped-off by residents for recycling year round at a number of sites in the county. Visit www.recycling.co.lake.ca.us for locations.

Electronics (E-waste) can be dropped-off at Lake County Waste Solutions, South Lake Refuse & Recycling Center, and monthly at the Goodwill E-Waste collection held in Lakeport.

Lake County Waste Solutions
230 Soda Bay Road, Lakeport
888-718-4888 or 707-234-6400
Monday – Saturday, 7:30 a.m.-4 p.m.
www.candswaste.com

South Lake Refuse & Recycling Center
16015 Davis Street, Clearlake
Open daily 7:30 a.m.-3 p.m.
707-994-8614
www.southlakerefuse.com

The HazMobile program is subsidized by the Lake County Public Services Department, Integrated Waste Management Division and CalRecycle as a public service to Lake County residents.

For more information about recycling, reusing, and reducing, please visit www.recycling.co.lake.ca.us or call the Recycling Hotline at 707-263-1980.

NORTHERN CALIFORNIA – With Valentine’s Day festivities taking place next week, many customers will celebrate with helium-filled metallic balloons.

Pacific Gas and Electric Co. urges customers to securely tie a weight to all metallic balloons containing helium to prevent them from floating away.

Metallic balloons that contact overhead power lines can disrupt electric service to an entire neighborhood, cause significant property damage and potentially result in serious injuries.
 
Last year, metallic balloons that drifted into PG&E power lines caused more than 300 outages, affecting electric service to nearly 165,000 homes and businesses throughout Northern and Central California.

Sometimes these outages interrupt electric service to important facilities such as hospitals, schools and traffic lights.
 
“There's always plenty of electricity in the air on Valentine’s Day, but we need your help to secure metallic balloons to make sure they stay close to your loved ones and away from power lines,” said Jason Regan PG&E’s director of Emergency Management and Response. “Mylar balloons can cause energized wires to fall to the ground posing a serious safety risk, so with Valentine’s Day and other celebrations it is important to take precautions if you are including them as part of your festivities.”
 
The number of power outages caused by metallic balloons in PG&E’s service area has more than doubled over the past decade. In order to significantly reduce this number and to help ensure that everyone can safely enjoy their Valentine’s Day, PG&E reminds customers to follow these important safety tips for metallic balloons:

“Look Up and Live!” Use caution and avoid celebrating with metallic balloons near overhead electric lines.

Make sure helium-filled metallic balloons are securely tied to a weight that is heavy enough to prevent them from floating away. Never remove the weight.

When possible, keep metallic balloons indoors. Never permit metallic balloons to be released outside, for everyone’s safety.

Do not bundle metallic balloons together.

Never attempt to retrieve any type of balloon, kite or toy that becomes caught in a power line. Leave it alone, and immediately call PG&E at 1-800-743-5000 to report the problem.

Never go near a power line that has fallen to the ground or is dangling in the air. Always assume downed electric lines are energized and extremely dangerous. Stay far away, keep others away and immediately call 911 to alert the police and fire departments.

NORTH COAST, Calif. – Janie Rezner's guest on “Women's Voices” on Monday, Feb. 17, will be women's rights advocate Joan Kuriansky.

The show will begin at 7 p.m. at 90.7 FM Philo, 88.1 FM Fort Bragg, 91.5 FM Willits and streaming online at www.kzyx.org . There will be time for call-ins.

Kuriansky has been an advocate on behalf of women’s rights throughout her career and has worked in the field of violence against women since 1978.

She has led several national and local non-government organizations and has consulted on an international level in Russia, the NIS, the European Union and Southeast Asia.

Kuriansky was the first president of My Sister’s Place in Washington DC, and served as the executive director of Women Against Abuse (WAA) in Philadelphia between 1981 and 1987.

Under her leadership, WAA successfully advocated for the first specialized civil and criminal courts in the country, created the first program for battered women in prison as well as directed a comprehensive service program including a legal center, emergency shelter, transitional housing program,  program for women charged with violence against their abusers and a multi-million public education and prevention campaign.

In 1995, she directed the first technical assistance office established by the US Justice Dept. to implement the landmark Violence Against Women Act in all 50 states and the territories.

Today, Kuriansky serves on various local, national and international boards including the Alliance for Girls, the Center on Women’s Policy Studies, the Caring Economy, Move the Mountain, the International Council of the New Israel Fund, the Center for National Securities Studies and the Income Security Committee of the National Academy of Social Insurance (NASI), where she serves as a fellow.

She has received a number of awards for her work, including a Gloria Steinem award, named “A Woman of Vision” by the Ms. Foundation.

CLEARLAKE, Calif. – Soroptimist International of Clear Lake will sponsor the annual “Spring Fling” on Saturday, March 1.  

The event will be held at the Clearlake Senior Center, 3245 Bowers Av. in Clearlake.

Doors open at 11:30 a.m. with the event beginning at noon.

Guest speaker is Dr. Kay Taylor, an Oakland Soroptimist member who founded “PINCC” – “Prevention International: No Cervical Cancer” – in 2005.

Dr. Taylor, a gynecologist on a medical mission to Honduras, saw more cases of women dying of cervical cancer in that one trip than in her entire career.  

PINCC is a nonprofit volunteer medical service organization whose mission is to create sustainable programs that prevent cervical cancer by educating and treating women, training medical personnel and equipping facilities in developing countries.

Tickets are $35 per person and include lunch by Chic Le Chef, beverage and the famous Soroptimist dessert bar.  There will be a silent auction, live auction and raffles.

Soroptimist International of Clear Lake meets twice monthly – on the second and fourth Thursdays – at noon at Howard's Grotto in Clearlake. The next meeting is Feb. 27.

To reserve Spring Fling tickets and to find out more about the group contact President Wanda Harris at 707-987-9027 or This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. .