The headquarters is currently operating for the month of July on Wednesdays, Fridays and occasional Saturdays from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. at 6260 No. B Highway 20, at the corner of 13th Avenue and Highway 20 in Lucerne. Contact the headquarters at 274-8862 for information.

Campaign materials, literature, yard signs, buttons, bumper stickers for all of the Democratic candidates are available to the public for a small donation.

These donations will be used to keep the headquarters open through the election season.

Volunteers are welcome to contact the headquarters about opportunities to register voters, work with the Democratic clubs and get involved with the coordinated campaigns of all Democratic candidates from the presidential to local races.

Volunteers who wish to work on specific campaigns for any of the Democratic candidates can come by or call the headquarters to sign up.

Democratic volunteers are also being sought to staff the headquarters.

Hours will be expanded as more volunteers sign up to help and as the campaigns move into the official election season after Labor Day.

Generous donations from Democratic legislators and candidates who represent, or hope to represent, Lake County in Washington, D.C. and Sacramento were received to assist the Lake County Democrats in opening the campaign office in Lake County.

Democratic County Committee member Patricia Voulgaris donated the space for the headquarters.

Congressman Mike Thompson, Assemblywoman Patty Berg, state Senator Pat Wiggins and Assembly District 1 candidate Wes Chesbro all contributed critical resources to the effort. Their continued participation in assisting Democratic volunteers in Lake County is invaluable.

All of the county's grassroots Democratic clubs and members of the Democratic County Committee donated materials, held yard sales and invested many hours of volunteer time to get the office ready for business.

Contact the Lake County Democrats at 707.274.8862 or via email at This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. for more information.

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On June 21, shareholders re-elected Herman Knevelbaard to his second term.

In addition, Jacqueline Armstrong and Irenia Quitiquit were seated in the remaining two vacant seats.

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North Coast Sen. Patricia Wiggins (D-Santa Rosa) is one of AJR 62’s co-authors. In presenting the measure for last Wednesday’s vote, Wiggins told her colleagues that “AJR 62 urges the National Marine Fisheries Service to delay issuing new permits for long-line fishing, until pending endangered species act studies on the decline of sea turtle populations are completed.

“Long-line fishing for swordfish results in a ‘by-catch’ rate of nearly 50% of other fish and marine animals, such as the threatened and endangered sea turtle,” Wiggins added.

“That is why the Department of Fish and Game and the Coastal Commission have been opposed to a new swordfish fishery, until the Endangered Species Act status and critical habitats of these magnificent sea turtles are established,” Wiggins said. “Unfortunately, the Fisheries Service is poised to move forward with issuing new permits any day now. The endangered leatherback sea turtle has survived for over 100 million years; certainly the Fisheries Service can wait a bit longer for more complete scientific information.”

The Assembly approved AJR 62 on June 9. In his testimony, Assemblyman Leno noted that “these turtles eat jellyfish along the California coast after a 6,000-mile swim from their nesting beaches in Indonesia. Populations of the Pacific Leatherback – a 100-million-year-old species that outlived the dinosaurs – have declined by approximately 95 percent in the last 25 years. Populations of Pacific Loggerheads have declined by more than 80 percent during the same period.

“Long-line fishing for swordfish involves the setting of fishing lines with thousands of hooks, across miles of ocean, and at depths where sea turtles swim,” Leno added. “The catch using this method brings in by weight approximately 50 percent swordfish, and 50 percent other fish, sharks, sea birds, seals, dolphins, other marine mammals, and sea turtles – including the endangered leatherback sea turtle.

“Injury and drowning from interactions with long-line fishing gear targeting swordfish is a direct contributor to these sea turtles’ rapid decline and potential extinction,” Leno said.

AJR 62 urges the National Marine Fisheries Service to delay approval of these new federal swordfish permits until:

• The Pacific Leatherback’s critical habitat is established;

• The Endangered Species Act status of the North Pacific Loggerhead is determined;

• Critical habitat is designated for the loggerhead, should it be up-listed to “endangered” status.

“The Pacific leatherback could become extinct within 10-20 years if existing fishery by-catch rates of these sea turtles are not reduced,” Leno said. “Waiting approximately 18 months until the endangered status and critical habitat are established is simply the prudent thing to do.”

Wiggins represents California’s 2nd Senate District, which includes Humboldt, Lake, Mendocino, Napa, Solano and Sonoma counties. Visit her Web site at http://dist02.casen.govoffice.com/.

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On Tuesday, July 8, the MATH Board will hold a meeting at 7 p.m., at the Loconoma Valley High School on Washington Street. The MATH By-law amendments will be the meeting's topic. The public is invited to attend the meeting.

A general meeting will be held on Thursday, July 10.

The meeting begins at 7 p.m., also at the Loconoma Valley High School. The public also is invited to attend.

Agenda items include approval of the June 12 meeting minutes and public input, and approval of the May 8 meeting minutes and MATH By-law amendments under unfinished business.

In new business, the group will discuss the Middletown Street Light Project .

MATH Board Acting Secretary Mike Tabacchi will present a report on the MATH Mission Statement.

The group is a municipal advisory council serving the residents of Anderson Springs, Cobb, Coyote Valley (includes HVL), Long Valley and Middletown.

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Vector Control (previously mosquito abatement) tested for the little critters, and discovered that the traps caught the largest number of inland floodwater mosquitoes that they had seen in a long time.

This particular mosquito larva is laid in flood ponds, but can hibernate in the dry pond soil For up the three years, then hatches the next time the pond is filled with water. They love to bite humans, and can fly up to five miles to find a victim.

Spring Valley is the only area in Lake County with this problem, so Vector Control began spraying along the roadways very early in the morning (like at 2 a.m.) to try to control the situation.

Their first spraying on June 13 reduced the number in the traps by 50 percent. They may have to spray through August.

The residents are very happy to have some relief from the swarms of mosquitoes that they were dealing with whenever they went outside.

Win Cary lives in Spring Valley.

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