UPPER LAKE, Calif. – Gene Paleno has written many science fiction novels, but his love of history moved him to examine the travesty of justice that stemmed from Union General Fitz John Porter's being railroaded after the Northern defeat at Second Manassas in 1862.

Paleno's book, “Stolen Honor: The Porter Conspiracy” is due out later this spring, but he will be giving a preview of it at the next Redwood Empire Civil War Roundtable on Monday, March 4, starting at 6:15 p.m., at the Tallman Hotel in historic Upper Lake.

Porter was made the scapegoat for the defeat by his fellow officers.

“Mr. Paleno has meticulously researched the Second Battle of Manassas, how General Porter actually performed, and how a cabal of fellow officers conspired to put the blame of the debacle entirely on Porter, destroying his career,” said roundtable co-founder Phil Smoley. “He also plans to share some very interesting anecdotes he learned while researching the battle.”

In addition to the discussion by Paleno, the group will hear a presentation by local amateur historian Janis Traub, whose topic will be, “A soldiers life: What it was like to live and fight in the Civil War.”

A short question and answer period will follow each presentation.

The Civil War Roundtable attempts to commemorate the sesquicentennial of the Civil War by reviewing events of the war month by month.

Admission is free, all are welcome, from quiet spectator to active participant, from novice to expert.

For more information, contact Phil Smoley, 707-264 4905, or Zane Jensen, 707-349-6390.

LAKEPORT, Calif. – The Soper-Reese Community Theatre’s Classic Movie Series will feature “To Catch A Thief” on Tuesday, March 12.

The early show doors open at 12:30 p.m. with the film starting at 1 p.m.

The late show doors open at 5:30 p.m. with the film starting at 6 p.m.

“To Catch a Thief” is a 1955 romantic thriller starring Cary Grant and Grace Kelly, directed by Alfred Hitchcock.

The film will be shown at the Soper-Reese Community Theatre, 275 St. Main St. in Lakeport. Donations are gratefully accepted.

Through the generosity of the Lakeport Rotary, the theater was able to acquire a 20-foot diagonal drop down screen and a quality projector to go along with its state-of-the-art sound system. Popcorn, candy, soda, water and coffee will be available for purchase.

The Classic Movie Series runs on the second Tuesday of every month. The Soper-Reese Community Theatre is a restored, historic, performing arts venue established in 1949 and seating 300 patrons.

Check the theater's Web site, www.soperreesetheatre.com , or call 707-263-0577 to see what other classics are coming up.

CLEARLAKE, Calif. – Soroptimist International Clear Lake will host its annual Spring Fling on Saturday, March 2.

Doors open at 11:30 a.m. followed by the meal at noon at the Clearlake Senior Center, 3245 Bowers Ave.

Attendees will dine on a delicious meal by Rosie Cooks followed by SI Clear Lake's famous dessert bar.

The luncheon will feature keynote speaker Christine Pelosi, who will discuss “Human Trafficking: How it affects Women and Girls.”

That topic is a key concern of Soroptimist International because 79 percent of human trafficking is sex trafficking and nearly all victims are women and girls.

Pelosi is an attorney, author, and activist with a lifetime of, grassroots organizing and public policy experience. As a prosecutor she has dealt with human traffickers. Her trainings with candidates, volunteers, and NGO leaders span 30 states and three countries.

She appears regularly on national television and radio. Her blog postings at Huffington Post and Politico's Arena focus on current events as well as the role of social media networks, technology in politics, technology in politics and the unique leadership challenges of women candidates.

The event's silent and live auctions are always a hit and have some surprising and fantastic items donated by local and beyond merchants.

Seating is limited and tickets are going fast deadline to make reservations is Monday, Feb. 25.

Contact Wanda Harris at This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. to make a reservation and receive a flier with meal choice.

Soroptimist is a cause related philanthropic federation of clubs working to improve the lives of women and girls locally, nationally and internationally and is open to all women.

SACRAMENTO – Assemblymember Mariko Yamada (D–Davis), chair of the Assembly Committee on Aging & Long-Term Care and Bob Blumenfield (D-San Fernando Valley), chair of the Assembly Budget Committee, announced legislation on Monday that would make the Community Based Adult Services (CBAS) program permanent.

The CBAS program, which replaced California’s Adult Day Health Care program (ADHC), offers seniors and persons with disabilities a cost-effective alternative to nursing homes by providing medical and support services in community-based settings.

“With a rapidly aging population, and California's most turbulent budget decisions behind us, it is time to start re-building a network of home and community-based options for the elderly and persons with disabilities,” Yamada said.

CBAS was established to settle a lawsuit brought against the state on behalf of disabled individuals whose independence was jeopardized by the elimination of California’s long-standing Adult Day Health Care (ADHC) program. The settlement agreement expires in June of 2014, leaving the future of the program uncertain.

“Thousands of patients and their families don’t know what their future holds when the settlement period expires,” said Blumenfield, author of legislation vetoed in 2011 that closely resembles the CBAS program. “Uncertainty is a nightmare that these families have endured over many years about access to vital care for their loved ones. This bill helps end that.”

The legislation, AB 518, is intended to provide stability for CBAS by removing it from the uncertainties of the courts and establishing it as a permanent program in state law.

The Legislature agreed to eliminate ADHC during the height of the state’s budget crisis in 2011 based on an understanding that a similar, though smaller program would replace it.

Lawmakers were dismayed when that alternate program was vetoed by Gov. Brown, leaving seniors and persons with disabilities stranded without an affordable alternative to institutionalization.

“Making CBAS permanent fulfills the intent of those legislators, including me, who voted to eliminate ADHC, with the commitment to fight for community-based programs,” Yamada said. “A community-based alternative to institutionalization saves money and preserves independence."

Assemblymember Yamada represents the Fourth Assembly District, which includes all or parts of Colusa, Lake, Napa, Solano, Sonoma and Yolo counties.

WASHINGTON, D.C. – Reps. Mike Thompson (CA-5) and Paul Gosar (AZ-4) have introduced H.R. 750, a bipartisan measure to honor Former Secretary of the Interior Stewart L. Udall with the Congressional Gold Medal for his years of public service.

Secretary Udall was a champion for the environment and conservation, a civil rights activist, an advocate for Native American rights, and a supporter for the arts.

“This bill will ensure Secretary Udall receives the recognition he earned,” said Thompson. “He made our country a better place by protecting our lands, enriching our lives with more access to fine arts, fighting to desegregate our schools and communities, and advocating for our Native Americans. He deserves the Congressional Gold Medal.”

“Stewart Udall served Arizona and our nation admirably in the military, in Congress, and finally as Secretary of the Interior for over twenty years,” said Gosar. “Today his legacy lives on and he deserves this important recognition.”

The Congressional Gold Medal is the highest civilian award Congress can confer upon an individual.

Stewart Udall dedicated his life of public service. He joined the U.S. Army Air Corps in 1942 and was a B24 waist gunner in Italy during World War II. During that time, he flew more than 50 missions, earning him the Air Medal with three Oak Leaf Clusters.

After returning home and obtaining a law degree from the University of Arizona, Mr. Udall served four terms in the U.S. House of Representatives. In 1960, President Kennedy appointed him as Secretary of the Interior, a position he held for eight years.

During his cabinet career, Secretary Udall helped guide numerous landmark conservation and ecological protection measures through Congress. Secretary Udall’s worked influenced every state in the nation and continues to improve our natural resources to this day.

Secretary Stewart Udall helped create some of our nation’s most beautiful parks, monuments, and historic places. Some of these majestic landscapes include:

• Point Reyes National Seashore;
• Whiskeytown-Shasta-Trinity National Recreation Area;
• John Muir National Historic Site, Canyonlands National Park;
• San Juan Island National Historic Park;
• Guadalupe Mountains National Park;
• Marble Canyon National Monument (now a part of the Grand Canyon National park);
• Redwood National Park.

Secretary Udall’s foresight in selecting these important landscapes has created landmarks that millions of visitors continue to visit today.

During his cabinet career, Secretary Stewart Udall also fought against segregation. He successfully broke down barriers when he threatened to refuse the all-white Washington Redskins access to a new D.C. stadium, of which he was the Federal landlord. This was the first time in history when the federal government attempted to desegregate a professional sports team.

After his cabinet career, Mr. Udall continued helping the American people by advocating for victims of radiation exposure, particularly Native Americans, resulting from the government’s Cold War nuclear programs. As a private attorney in the 1970s and '80s, he won a 30-year battle to get Navajo uranium miners compensated for lung cancer incurred on the job. He also helped pass the Radiation Exposure Compensation Act in 1990.

Secretary Udall died in 2010. Stewart Udall is the father of Senator Tom Udall (D-NM) and the uncle of Senator Mark Udall (D-CO).

The legislation was referred to the House Committee on Financial Services.

Thompson represents California’s Fifth Congressional District, which includes all or part of Contra Costa, Lake, Napa, Solano and Sonoma counties.

UPPER LAKE, Calif. – Lake County Wine Studio is hosting a wine release party and artist show event with Obsidian Ridge Vineyards and Molnar Family Wines and painter, Ruth Morgan, on Friday, March 1, and Saturday, March 2.

The event takes place from 5 p.m. to 8 p.m. Friday and 4 p.m. to 7 p.m. Saturday at the wine studio, located 9505 Main St. in Upper Lake.

March will mark the first month of 2013 that the Saturday event will include an optional progressive three-course winemaker dinner series at the Tallman Hotel following the appetizer course at the studio.   

Winegrape grower Peter Molnar and founding winemaker Michael Terrien will be at the studio and Tallman Hotel for the Saturday event.

Featuring releases from the Tricycle Wine Company trio of vineyards: Obsidian Ridge (Red Hills, Lake County), Molnar Family and the Kazmer & Blaise vineyards (Carneros, Napa County) the $12.50 ($10/ per person for studio club members) wine sampler presented at the studio will showcase the 2010 Cabernet Sauvignon and 2009 Cabernet Sauvignon, and will include the 2010 vintages of Molnar Family Chardonnay and Pinot Noir with paired appetizers.

The wines and menu prepared by guest chef Mark Linback at the Tallman Hotel on March 2 will showcase the Kazmer & Blaise 2009 Chardonnay (Boon Fly’s Hill Vineyard) and starter of blue crab ravioli with a creamy herb Beurre Blanc, 2009 Obsidian Ridge Half Mile blend and entrée of pepper crusted roast filet mignon with Pt. Reyes Blue Cheese and roast shallot confit, potato gratin and mushroom spinach sauté, followed by dessert course pairing Kazmer & Blaise 2009 Pinot Noir (Primo’s Hill Vineyard) with plum and berry filled doughnuts with berry coulis.   

The all-inclusive price (with appetizer course at the wine studio) for the Saturday four-course progressive event is $75 plus tax. Special hotel rates will be available for those traveling some distance.  For more information and reservations visit www.tallmanhotel.com/winemaker-dinner or call 707-275-2244.

Obsidian Ridge Vineyard is planted at 2,640’ atop the Mayacamas range in the Red Hills appellation of Lake County.  

This is one of the newest American Viticultural Areas with distinctive volcanic soils that define the appellation. The vineyard’s red soils are shot through with obsidian rock. The unrestricted drainage and meager soil fertility produce wines with great tannic structure.   

Poseidon’s Vineyard is a seaside vineyard in Carneros, Napa. Within the 86-acre vineyard lies Primo’s Hill, a 7-acre block. The Carneros vineyards were developed by Molnar’s father Nicholas 40 years ago and are the source vineyards for the Molnar Family and Kazmer & Blaise wines. The barrels used for aging the wines are made exclusively of Hungarian oak from the forests of Tokaj.

The artist for March is Ruth Morgan. Morgan was born and raised in Detroit, Mich., and earned her bachelor of fine arts degree from Eastern Michigan University. She moved to the Bay Area in 1975.  

“When I married and had children a sense of humor became especially important for me in dealing with life in general,” she said. “This is when the funny cat paintings started, and the narrative paintings.  When I paint a painting I like to be entertained by it … I like it to tell a story. Painting supplies a type of richness and satisfaction in my life. It is a ballast.”

Morgan’s predominant painting style is Gouache on heavy watercolor paper.  Gouache is an opaque watercolor that has a permanent, rich color.  The paint consists of a pigment and a binding agent (usually gum Arabic). Also included in Morgan’s artistic repertoire are acrylics on canvas, fanciful hand sewn cats, vases, ornaments and whimsical 3 dimensional mixed media dioramas and sculptures.

Morgan lives on five acres in Jerusalem Valley with her family, an abundant garden, and an assortment of wild and tame creatures.

Lake County Wine Studio is a gallery for display of arts and a tasting room, wine bar and retail shop for the fine wines of Lake County. Artist’s shows are held on a monthly basis with art and wine receptions held the first Friday and subsequent Saturday of each month.

The gallery is open Mondays, 11 a.m. to 6:30 p.m., and Thursdays, Saturdays and Sundays, 1 p.m. to 7 p.m., and Fridays, 1 p.m. to 8 p.m. The Morgan art show will be on display for the full month of March.  

For more information call Lake County Wine Studio at 707-275-8030 or 707-293-8752.