LAKEPORT, Calif – The Lake County First 5 Lake Commission will hold a regular meeting on Wednesday, March 19.

The meeting will begin at 2:30 p.m. at the Child Welfare Services conference room, 16170 Main St. in Lakeport.

Agenda items include final revision of vision and mission statements, acceptance of the First 5 California 2012-13 Annual Report, presentation of Kindergarten Entry Data Survey results and the Hero Project/PEI Grant, and review of the strategic plan in conjunction with small county augmentation.

The commission also will approve the mid-year 2013-14 budget revision, discuss state and federal updates on Preschool for All, and receive commissioner and executive director reports.

For more information call the Lake County First 5 Lake Commission at 707-263-6169 or visit www.firstfivelake.org .

Make this St. Patrick’s Day more about St. Paddy and less about the paddy wagon. If you’ve been drinking on St. Patrick’s Day, AAA Northern California will take you and your car home for free.

AAA’s Tipsy Tow program is open to everyone. You do not need to be a AAA member to take advantage of this service to the community.

AAA will offer the service to drinking drivers from 6 p.m. on St. Patrick’s Day, March 17, to 6 a.m. March 18 in Northern California, Nevada and Utah.

Drivers, potential passengers, party hosts, bartenders, and restaurant managers can call 800-222-4357 (AAA-HELP) for a free tow home of up to 10 miles.

Just tell the AAA operator, “I need a Tipsy Tow,” and a truck will be on its way.

The service will provide a one-way ride for the driver and vehicle to the driver’s home. If there are additional passengers who need a ride, they will be taken to the driver’s home as long as there is sufficient room for them to be transported safely in the tow truck. You cannot make a  reservation.          

According to 2008 statistics from the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration, drunk-driving crashes account for about 36 percent of highway deaths of young people age 16 to 24. As little as one drink can impair vision, steering, braking, judgment, and reaction time.

AAA estimates that a first time DUI conviction in California can cost up to $12,000 in fines, penalties, restitution, legal fees, and added insurance expenses. You can’t put a price tag on a crash that causes an injury or death.

According to the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) 32,885 people died in traffic crashes in 2010 in the United States (latest figures available), including an estimated 10,228 people who died in drunk driving crashes, accounting for 31 percent of all traffic deaths  that year. As little as one drink can impair vision, steering, braking, judgment and reaction time.

“Many people enjoy getting into the spirit of St. Patrick’s Day, which tends to involve plenty of celebrating,” said Cynthia Harris, spokesperson for AAA Northern California. “If you’ve been drinking alcohol, don’t get behind the wheel. Give AAA a call and we’ll make sure you get home safely.”

AAA Northern California offers a wide array of automotive, travel, insurance, DMV, financial services and consumer discounts to more than 4.1 million members. AAA has been a leader and advocate for the safety and security of all travelers since it was founded more than 114 years ago.

NORTH COAST, Calif. – A young Marine headed home following the end of his enlistment has lost an important piece of luggage, and is asking for the community's help in locating it.

Joseph Copeland, an Arkansas resident, drove from Sacramento to Potter Valley on Thursday morning to stay with a fellow Marine.

Along the way, his black roller suitcase fell out of the back of the pickup. Copeland believes the bag may have fallen out between Williams and Potter Valley.

Both the California Highway Patrol and Caltrans have been notified.

If anyone has seen or picked up the bag, Copeland asks them to call him at 870-718-0742 so he can reclaim it.

HIDDEN VALLEY LAKE, Calif. – The Hidden Valley Lake Community Services District Board will hold a regular meeting on Tuesday, March 18.

The board will meet at 7 p.m. at the Hidden Valley Lake CSD Administration Office boardroom, 19400 Hartmann Road.

Items for discussion and possible action include board committee reports and board member attendance at other meetings, and staff reports.

The board also will hold a public hearing to consider placement of default balance liens on real property pursuant to Government Code Section 61115, adoption of Resolution 2014-04 confirming default balances and directing staff to file liens on real property, approval of the 2012-13 audit report, approval of revised district employee job descriptions and salary schedule, and protocols for board officer succession.

Board packets are posted at www.hiddenvalleylakecsd.com . Click on the “Board Packet” link on the Agenda tab.

In compliance to the Americans with Disabilities Act, if you need special accommodations to participate in or attend the meeting please contact the District Office at 987-9201 at least 48 hours prior to the scheduled meeting.

On Thursday, the California State Assembly passed House Resolution (HR) 30 establishing March as Social Work Month in California with the theme, “All People Matter.”

HR 30 was introduced by the two social workers currently serving in the California State Legislature, Assemblymember Mariko Yamada (D-Davis) and Assemblymember Susan Talamantes-Eggman (D-Stockton).

“Since the first social work course offered at Columbia University in 1898, to today’s online graduate programs open to students around the world, social work’s mission to confront poverty, inequality, and injustice, and to seek individual and community change has endured,” said  Yamada. “Speaking up for those most vulnerable, and more importantly, empowering others to find their own voices, remain the defining features of the social work profession.”

Social Work Month acknowledges the important role of social workers in improving our communities’ well-being, particularly the most vulnerable citizens, families and communities in our society.  Social workers are everywhere – in schools, hospitals, homeless shelters, protective services for children and adults, senior centers, the military, prisons, in private practice, and serving in political office.

According to the U.S. Census Bureau there are over 640,000 professional social workers in the United States, with 48,000 serving in California.

HR 30 seeks to acknowledge the education and training required to become a professional Social Worker, and to say thank you to those who have chosen this pathway in public service.

“My background as a social worker provides me inspiration, guidance and energy. I think of this month as a time for us to reflect on our work, our responsibilities to the community and our commitment to achieving positive social change,” Eggman said. “Thank a social worker, if you can, but trust that we’ll be doing our best either way.”

More information about Social Work Month may be found at the National Association of Social Workers- California Chapter Web site, www.naswca.org .

LOWER LAKE, Calif. – The next Sierra Club Lake Group community meeting will take place at 7 p.m. Wednesday, March 19, at the Lower Lake Methodist Church Community Room, 16255 Second St. in Lower Lake.

Sonoma State professor emeritus Jonah Raskin will take a long look at the “wilderness,” a distinctly American landscape that has shaped our national character and our national literature.

Focusing on three writers – Roger Williams, Meriwether Lewis and Mary Austin – from three different centuries, the 17th, 19th and the 20th, he will discuss the ways that Americans have viewed the wilderness and written about it in fiction, non-fiction and poetry.

Raskin's talk illustrates the multiplicity of wilderness perspectives and suggests that if it has defined us we have also defined it – and can redefine it, too.

Raskin is the author of 14 books, some about farming and food, some about writers and their work, some about families and friends.

A longtime resident of Sonoma County, he taught literature and law at Sonoma State University for thirty years. These days he writes and travels, and walks and swims.

The meeting is free and open to the public as always.

For more information contact Lake Group Chair Ed Robey at 707-994-8304 or This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. .