LUCERNE, Calif. – The Lake County Democratic Club will hold its monthly meeting on Saturday, Aug. 11.

The meeting will take place at noon in the Rose Room at the Lucerne Alpine Senior Center, 3985 Country Club Drive, at the corner of 10th and Country Club Drive.

Rachel A. Robison, M.A., M.F.T. intern, will be guest speaker and her topic is “50 percent but not equal: Gender biases as roadblocks in both HIV prevention and care for women.”

Robison is the outreach coordinator for Community Care's HIV/AIDS Program. She works in Lake County doing education, outreach and harm reduction in regards to HIV/AIDS.

Professionally, she has a specialty in gender and gender variance in relationship to mental health and has presented at international conferences, graduate programs and professional organizations.  

She will share with the group facts about women and HIV. Robison said women make up 50 percent of worldwide HIV infections but do not share that same percentage in being able to access treatment and care.

This will be a presentation on how gender biases affect HIV prevention efforts and infected individuals' access to medical resources and care.
 
On the business agenda will be discussion of the annual harvest festival fundraiser and the voter registration opportunities at local farmer's markets and the Lake County Fair the end of August, as well as reports from the Lake County Democratic Central Committee.

All meetings are open to the general public and everyone is invited to attend. Membership in the Club is open to all registered Democrats. Attendees are invited to come early and support the senior center by enjoying their $6 full breakfast.
 
Lake County Democratic Club meetings are held on the second Saturday of the month at noon in the Rose Room of the Lucerne Alpine Senior Center.
 
Contact Wanda Harris, chair of the Democratic Club of Lake County, by email at This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. or 707-987-9027.

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

LAKE COUNTY, Calif. – In June, United Way of the Wine Country held a children’s book drive in Mendocino and Lake counties to benefit local children who don’t have ready access to the library, or books at home.

The book drive exceeded expectations by collecting more than 850 books between the two counties.

FIRST 5 Mendocino County and Lake Family Resource Center will be distributing the books to local children who participate in their early reading programs during the summer.

Reading is one of the most important skills a child learns, and is an indicator of future success. Low-income students who do not have access to books at home during the summer will lose the equivalent of two months of reading instruction compared to their middle and upper-income peers.

Over time, this summer learning-loss contributes to a widening achievement gap.

One area United Way is focusing on is increasing the high school graduation rates by working with partners on early school readiness, especially as 65 percent of third graders living in Lake County are reading below proficiency levels, which increases to 73 percent of third graders in Mendocino County.

The book drive was sponsored by MendoLake Credit Union, Savings Bank of Mendocino County, JDSU, and Exchange Bank. Book drop-off locations included the sponsors as well as Umpqua Bank (Kelseyville and Lakeport); Redwood Health Club (Ukiah), Redwood Credit Union (Point Arena); and at the United Way office in Ukiah (co-located at ARC / the Boys and Girls Club).

“The enthusiasm and generosity demonstrated by our communities during the book drives show a great degree of support for children, especially those in need. While providing a book for a child may seem like a small act, the knowledge and inspiration a book provides can open a child’s life to endless possibilities,” said Mari Rodin, United Way regional manager, Mendocino and Lake counties.

Ensuring a child has books at home to practice their reading skills is just one way United Way is focusing on issues in education and providing support to children and families throughout the year.

United Way of the Wine Country is currently working with the Lakeport Unified School District and the Lake County Office of Education to launch School of Hope at Lakeport Elementary School.

Schools of Hope is an early grade reading initiative that places trained volunteers in the schools to work one-on-one with kindergarten through third graders.

Anyone interested in becoming a Schools of Hope tutor, is urged to contact Cheryl Trammel-George at 707-262-3009 or This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. for more information.

For more information about United Way of the Wine Country, visit www.unitedwaywinecountry.org .

CLEARLAKE, Calif. – Clearlake Youth Center and Glory Days Flag Football League-Youth Division are hosting a fundraising car/boat wash on Saturday, Aug. 4.

The event will take place at the Clearlake Youth Center, 4750 Golf Ave., beginning at 10 a.m.

All proceeds will be used to help develop the flag football league’s youth division and support the Clearlake Youth Center Restoration Project.

This particular type of fundraiser is very labor intensive. Any volunteer help will be greatly appreciated.

Please contact Bob Hopkins, 707-350-1411; Vince Lamb, 707-295-0223; or Joyce Overton, 707-350-2898, for more information.

LOCH LOMOND, Calif. – The Loch Lomond Roadhouse will hold its fourth annual “Light for the Night Luau” on Saturday, Aug. 18.

The event is a benefit for the Leukemia and Lymphoma Society.

For tickets call 707-928-5512.

LAKE COUNTY, Calif. – Each year, the third week of July is designated as California’s “Invasive Weed Awareness Week.”

On Tuesday, July 10, the Board of Supervisors proclaimed July 16-22 “Invasive Weeds Awareness Week in Lake County.”  

The primary mission during this week is to raise public awareness about the impacts that invasive weed species have on our local environment and natural resources.  

A display was set up at the Agricultural Center showcasing numerous invasive weeds and a weed tour was hosted by the Lake County Weed Management Area (WMA).  

The WMA is a group of agencies and individuals dedicated to detecting and eradicating invasive weed species in Lake County.

This year marked the WMA’s ninth annual weed tour.

This was a five-hour event where the public was invited to caravan to various locations to see first-hand what these invasive species look like and to learn about their impacts on the environment.  

This year’s weed tour was held for the first time in the southern part of the county and highlighted Perennial Pepperweed, Himalayan Blackberry, Medusahead, Arundo, Spanish broom, Tree of Heaven, Barb Goatgrass and an aquatic weed discussion that included samples.

The event was made possible by the following WMA members: Greg Dills (East Lake and West Lake Resource Conservation District), Paul Aigner (UCD McLaughlin Reserve), Carolyn Ruttan (Lake County Department of Water Resources), and Katherine Blyleven (Lake County Department of Agriculture).  

A special thank you to Jim Dempsey (California Department of Parks), John Harper (U.C. Cooperative Extension), Henry Bornstein, and Gae Henry (Anderson Marsh Interpretative Association).

The WMA members would like to thank all those who participated in making this year’s tour a success.

HIDDEN VALLEY LAKE, Calif. – Early-day Lower Lake and School House Museum are the topics of Lake County museum curator Linda Lake’s presentation for the Stone House Historical Society Tuesday, Aug. 7, at 10 a.m.

The meeting will be held in Hidden Valley Lake’s activity room adjacent to Stone House Museum, 18174 Hidden Valley Road in Hidden Valley Lake.  

All are welcome to attend and refreshments will be served.

Docents host public tours of Stone House Museum, a California State Historical Monument, the second Saturday of each month 11 a.m. to 2 p.m.

Visitors must enter HVL’s gated community via Hartmann Road.

For details, see http://www.lakecountystonehouse.com .