MIDDLETOWN, Calif. – The Middletown Area Town Hall (MATH) group will meet at 7 p.m. Thursday, March 13.

The meeting will take place in the activity room at the Middletown Community Center, 21256 Washington St.

The public is invited to attend.

MATH will get updates on the 24 Hour Store's above-ground diesel storage tank, hold a discussion on a plastic bag ban in Lake County, discuss movies in the park and a water district proposal, and get the latest on the dog park.

MATH meetings are subject to videotaping. Meeting proceedings may be available for viewing on public access television and/or the Internet.

MATH – established by resolution of the Lake County Board of Supervisors on Dec. 12, 2006 – is a municipal advisory council serving the residents of Anderson Springs, Cobb, Coyote Valley (including Hidden Valley Lake), Long Valley and Middletown.

The group’s current board of directors include Chairman Fletcher Thornton, Vice Chair Claude Brown, Secretary Ken Gonzales, and members Tom Darms and Laura Helton.

LAKE COUNTY, Calif. – Hospice Services of Lake County has established donation drop-off dates in several local communities.

Residents in the communities of Clear Lake Riviera, Kelseyville and Hidden Valley Lake can donate gently used clothing, household items, sports equipment, appliances in good working condition, furniture and miscellaneous items on the following days from 10 a.m. to 3 p.m. in the parking lots at these locations:

• March 8, 2014 – Clear Lake Riviera Community Association, 9689 Soda Bay Road, Kelseyville (across from Riviera Foods);
• April 5, 2014 – Kelseyville Lumber, 3505 Merritt Road, Kelseyville;
• April 26, 2014 – Positive Living Center, 17568 Spruce Grove Exit, Hidden Valley (parallel to Highway 29 across from the Hidden Valley member only gate).

Hospice Services of Lake County will be present in the parking lot at each location to accept donations.

All donations are tax-deductible and receipts will be provided.  

Proceeds from the sales of donated items help pay for uninsured and underinsured patient care and community bereavement programs.

For more information call 707-263-6223.

UPPER LAKE, Calif. – Herb Gura, who is seeking the seat for District 3 on the Lake County Board of Supervisors, will hold a campaign kickoff event and fundraiser on Saturday, March 1.

The event will take place beginning at 7 p.m. at the Upper Lake Odd Fellows Hall, 9480 Main St.

Roy Zimmerman and EarReverance will perform.

Tickets are $20 and can be purchased at Catfish Coffee in Clearlake or Watershed Books in Lakeport.

For more information visit Gura's campaign Facebook page at https://www.facebook.com/herbforsupervisor or call him at 707-350-1150.

NORTH COAST, Calif. – Sen. Noreen Evans (D-Santa Rosa) has released her 2014 legislative package.

The package includes the following bills:

Senate Bill 199, Imitation Firearms. SB 199 aims to prevent the misidentification of imitation guns as lethal weapons to protect California’s residents. This legislation would require imitation firearms to have their entire exterior surface painted a bright color.

Senate Bill 1017, Oil Extraction Tax. SB 1017 is a renewed attempt of last year’s SB 241 to impose a severance tax of 9.5 percent on oil companies for the extraction of oil or gas from the earth or water within California's jurisdiction. The industry tax could generate self-sustaining and long-term revenues of approximately $154 billion or $2 billion dollars a year. Revenues would be distributed into an endowment for higher education (50%), parks (25%) and health and human service programs (25%) largely refunding cuts made to these programs during deficit years and creating thousands of new, good paying, middle-class jobs.

Senate Bill 996, Foster Youth Financial Literacy. SB 996 defines financial literacy as a component to be covered with foster youth participating in the Independent Living Plan. The intent of the bill is to ensure that youth across the state are receiving uniform information about financial literacy before they exit California’s foster care system.

Senate Bill 1003, Satellite Wagering/Horse Racing. SB 1003 proposes to increase the number of domestic races a fair or racing association can broadcast each day from 50 to 55.

Senate Bill 1193, Marijuana Storage & Destruction. SB 1193 conforms state law with federal law to allow large quantities of marijuana being held as evidence to be destroyed after samples are taken in order to save storage space in law enforcement facilities and protect the health of employees.

Senate Bill 1206, CalHR Clean Up. SB 1206 is a technical “clean-up” bill for the California Department of Human Resources following the Governor’s Reorganization of 2012.

Senate Bill 1428, Sonoma Developmental Center (SDC) Land Use. SB 1428 would require the Department of General Services, prior to making any decisions on what to do with the land of the Sonoma Developmental Center, confer and cooperate with a list of local and state entities including but not limited to local government representatives, organizations representing the residents of the Center, and various environmental groups. The intent of this bill is to ensure that the residents and families of SDC, Sonoma County local government, and environmental groups are involved in the decision making process of SDC’s future land use.

Senate Bill 1344, Sonoma Developmental Center (SDC) Framework. SB 1344 will serve as a vehicle for potential legislative mandates addressing the restructuring of the SDC following the Health and Human Services Agency Taskforce on the Future of Developmental Centers final report recommendations in conjunction with Agency, the SDC community and local government.

Senate Bill 1381, Genetically Modified Organism (GMO) Food Labeling. SB 1381 would require all food for human consumption that includes GMO’s to be labeled as including such.

Senate Bill 1445, Regional Center Tele-Health. SB 1445 will promote the use of tele-health services and support for persons with developmental disabilities that may be in the Individual Program Plan or the Individual Family Support Plan as specified in the Welfare & Institution Code 4512.

Senate Bill 1457, MediCal: Electronic TARS. SB 1457 would require all MediCal providers to submit Treatment Authorization Requests (TARS) and Service Authorization Requests electronically to the Department of Health Care Services.

Senate Resolution 17, Bicycle and Pedestrian Safety. SR 17 will encourage the State of California to promote bicycle and pedestrian safety instruction in schools and at home.

Senate Concurrent Resolution 88, MS Awareness Week. SCR 88 would declare March 3-9, 2014 as Multiple Sclerosis Awareness Week in California.

Evans represents the Second Senatorial District, including all or portions of the counties of Humboldt, Lake, Mendocino, Marin (caretaker), Napa, Solano and Sonoma.

LAKE COUNTY, Calif. – A rental scam that has been going on in different areas for years has come to Lake County, according to local Realtors.

Prospective tenants are at risk of being victimized by this scam and are being advised to take great care to confirm that they are dealing with the actual landlord or legitimate rental agency prior to paying any money.

“We have heard of this being a common scam in other areas, but recently there has been a rash of these happening here in Lake County,” according to Phil Smoley, broker of Country Air Property Management. “Prospective tenants need to familiarize themselves with the scam so they can avoid being one of its unwitting victims.”

The scam goes like this: A scammer finds a property, pretends to be the owner, lists it online, then communicates with the would-be renter and takes a cash for the deposit and first month’s rent.

The renter is left with nothing or ends up squatting on someone else's vacant property while paying "rent" to a fraudster, all unbeknownst to the property's real owner.

There are some common “red flags” to look for when negotiating a rental:

– They tell you to wire money or will take cash only. There’s never a good reason to wire money to pay a security deposit or first month’s rent, or vacation rental fee. That’s true even if they send you a contract first. Wiring money is the same as sending cash – once you send it, you have no way to get it back.

– They require a deposit or first month’s rent before you’ve signed a lease or even met. It’s never a good idea to send money to someone you’ve never met in person for a rental you haven’t seen. If you can’t visit the rental yourself, ask someone you trust to go and confirm that it’s for rent, and that it is what was advertised. In addition to setting up a meeting, do a search on the owner and listing. If you find the same ad listed under a different name, that’s a clue it may be a scam.

– They claim they’re out of the country. But they have a plan to get the keys into your hands. It might involve a lawyer or an “agent” working on their behalf. Some scammers even create fake keys. Don’t send money to them overseas. If you can’t meet in person, see the rental, or sign a lease before you pay, move on.

Scammers will often entice tenant prospects with great terms, low rent, or easy qualifying. But that could be another red flag, according to Smoley. “If it sounds too good to be true, it may not be true.”

An assessor record search can determine who the owner of record is. This can be done by calling the county assessor, or most any real estate office can look it up. If the names don't match, it could be a scam.

Once you conclude you are dealing with a scammer, to keep others from falling victim to them you should take additional action. Report it to your local law enforcement agency and to the FTC. Contact the Web site where the ad was posted, too.

NORTH COAST, Calif. – Caltrans reports that the following road projects will be taking place around the North Coast during the coming week.

Included are Mendocino County projects that may impact Lake County commuters.

LAKE COUNTY

There is no major roadwork scheduled for Lake County from Friday, February 28, through Thursday, March 6.

MENDOCINO COUNTY

Highway 1

– AT&T of Fort Bragg has been issued a Caltrans Encroachment permit for utility repairs near Lake Street through Friday, Feb. 28. Work hours are 7 a.m. to 5 p.m., weekdays. One-way traffic control will be in effect. Motorists should anticipate five-minute delays.

– Bridge repairs at the Garcia River Bridge will continue. Work hours are 24 hours per day, weekdays. One way traffic control will be in effect. Motorists should anticipate five-minute delays.

– Replacement of the Greenwood Creek Bridge will continue. One-way traffic control with a temporary signal will be in effect 24 hours per day, seven days per week. Motorists should anticipate five-minute delays. Contractor – Golden State Bridge Inc. of Martinez.

– Guardrail repairs at various locations from the junction of Routes 1/128 to Navarro Ridge Road will continue. Work hours are 7 a.m. to 6 p.m., weekdays. One-way traffic control will be in effect. Motorists should anticipate five-minute delays.

– Bridge repairs at Blue Slide Gulch will continue. Work hours are 24 hours per day, weekdays. One way traffic control will be in effect. Motorists should anticipate five-minute delays.

– Guardrail repairs at various locations from Blue Slide Gulch to Hillcrest Terrace will continue. Work hours are 7 a.m. to 6 p.m., weekdays. One-way traffic control will be in effect. Motorists should anticipate five-minute delays.

– Replacement of a culvert with a bridge at Dunn Creek will continue. One-way traffic control with a temporary signal will be in effect 24 hours per day, seven days per week. Motorists should anticipate five-minute delays. Contractor ‐ Shasta Construction of Redding.

Highway 20

– Bridge repairs at the Cold Creek Bridge will continue. Nighttime work hours are 6 p.m. to 11 a.m., Sunday evening through Friday morning. One way traffic control will be in effect. Motorists should anticipate five-minute delays.

Highway 101

– Caltrans will perform slide repairs near the Korean War Veterans Memorial Bridge (near Frog Woman Rock). Northbound traffic will be restricted to one lane 24 hours per day, seven days per week. Motorists may experience minor traffic slowdowns.

– Upgrades to the message sign near Monica Lane will continue. Work hours are 6 a.m. to 5 p.m., weekdays, and 6 a.m. to 11 a.m., Saturday. One-way traffic control will be in effect. Motorists should anticipate five-minute delays.

Highway 222

– PG&E of Ukiah has been issued a Caltrans Encroachment permit for utility repairs near the Ron Ledford Memorial Bridge beginning Tuesday, March 4. Work hours are 8 a.m. to 4 p.m., weekdays. A shoulder closure will be in effect. Motorists may experience minor traffic slowdowns.