KELSEYVILLE, Calif. – Join the Taylor Observatory-Norton Planetarium on Saturday, Feb. 16, for “What if the moon didn't exist?”

The presentation will take place from 8 p.m. to 11 p.m. at the observatory, 5725 Oak Hills Lane, Kelseyville.

It’s now thought that the moon was created when another planet collided with the Earth. How would life be different if this event hadn’t happened?

A day would be only about eight hours long and gale force winds of 200 mile per hour would be common.

Join them as guest speaker, Stephen Pollaine, explains various things, like how tidal forces work and how all of this affects our calendar in surprising ways.

Dr. Pollaine has a Ph.D. in astrophysics from U.C. Berkeley and a bachelor's degree from Yale. He worked for more than 30 years at the Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory in fusion energy research. He is now retired and living in Loch Lomond.

Lake County's Window to the Universe is held on the third Saturday of each month. The evening's event includes a science topic presentation, a planetarium experience and astronomical viewing. Public events are held regardless of weather. Please dress accordingly.

Suggested donation is $5 per adult and $3 per child under 12 years.

For more information, visit www.taylorobservatory.org or call 707-262-4121 and leave a message. Your call will be returned usually within 24 hours.

LUCERNE, Calif. – The Lake County Democratic Club will hold its regular meeting at 11 a.m. Saturday, Feb. 9, in the Rose Room of the Lucerne Alpine Senior Center.

Guest speaker and club member Adckinjo Esutoki will speak on parliamentarian duties to as to advising the chair and other club officers regarding Robert's Rules of Order and the meeting procedure.

Lake County Democratic Club meetings are held on the second Saturday of the month at 11a.m. in the Rose Room of the Lucerne Alpine Senior Center.

The public is always welcome and membership is open to all registered Democrats.

The senior center is located at 3985 Country Club Drive, corner of 10th and Country Club Drive, in Lucerne.

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. .

LAKEPORT, Calif. – Jim Williams’ band will be rocking the house with easy to dance to favorites during the Chinese New Year Dinner and Dance at the Lakeport Senior Activity Center on Friday, Feb. 8.

The dinner and dance will take place from 5 p.m. to 9 p.m. at the center, 527 Konocti Ave.

The dinner will be a freshly cooked buffet of Chinese foods including chicken chow mein, chicken fried rice, sweet and sour pork, orange chicken, soup and egg roll.  

Celebrating the year of the snake is an event for all ages, with tickets only $25.

Costumes are encouraged, and the best costumes will win prizes of $100 cash for first place, and gift certificates to the Meals On Wheels Thrift Store of $50 and $25 for second and third place.  

Tickets can be purchased at the senior center from 8 a.m. to 1 p.m. and the thrift store at 120 N. Main St. from 9 a.m. until 5 p.m., Monday through Friday.  

Proceeds from this event will benefit the Meals on Wheels program.

For more information, call the center at 707-263-4218.

LAKEPORT, Calif. – The Soper-Reese Community Theatre’s Classic Movie Series will feature “Pillow Talk” on Tuesday, Feb. 12.

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

New in February will be a matinee showing, with doors opening at 12:30 p.m. and the show starting at 1 p.m.

For the evening showing, doors open at 5:30 p.m. with the film starting at 6 p.m.

“Pillow Talk” is a 1959 romantic comedy starring Doris Day and Rock Hudson.

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.

UPPER LAKE, Calif. – Lake County Wine Studio is hosting the first of its 2013 wine tasting events featuring wines from Noggle Vineyard & Winery with winemaker Michael Noggle and an artist’s reception with photography and home décor items by Sandy Cline on Friday, Feb. 1, and Saturday, Feb. 2.

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

Noggle Vineyards and Winery is a family-owned boutique winery in the secluded Old Long Valley region of the blossoming Lake County appellation.

The six-acre vineyard sits on a 1,500-foot bench below Round Mountain and above the North Fork of Cache Creek. A combination of mineral-rich volcanic soils and warm daytime temperatures with breezy, cool nights promotes a slow, even ripening of the grapes and yields deep rich colors and complex flavors.

Noggle handcrafts his wines, bringing the fruit-forward drama of the hot mountain landscape and crystal blue skies into the bottle. The result in the glass is a complex bouquet of deep berry, black cherry, and chocolate aromas that delivers a structured and balanced wine with a silky finish.

Every vintage, every wine is nurtured from vine to bottle to bring out the unique, complex berry character that is the Noggle Vineyards & Winery trademark.

Sandy Cline has been a resident of Lake County for the past five years and has been honing her photography skills for the past decade.  

Inspired by the beauty of Lake County, her trademark has been capturing heart shapes within the viewfinder, “I am not out looking for hearts, they find me because they are everywhere,” she said.

Beyond her Found Hearts series of photos and greeting cards, Cline has a Lake County scenes and landscapes collection that have been published in two books that are for sale. The books are wonderful treasures for tourists and residents alike.

Cline also makes a myriad of home décor items that she fashions from recycled wine barrels. Adding to that line of art, she recently acquired some dead old growth grapevines which she has made into candle holders, displaying the beauty of the wood and giving new purpose to be enjoyed rather than decay.  

The $12.50 ($10/per person for studio club members) wine sampler with paired appetizers by Cache Creek Catering will feature 2009 Cabernet Sauvignon with a Gruyere, garlic and onion bread pudding and the 2007 Cabernet Sauvignon will be paired with a roasted fennel and root vegetable meatball dusted with coffee spice. Vegetarian requests will be accommodated with RSVP to Susan by Jan. 30: 707-293-8752.  

To offer a complement of white wines at the evening events, the studio will be pouring the 2011 Sauvignon Blanc from Elk Mountain Vineyards in Upper Lake, and 2010 Chardonnay from Cache Creek Vineyards with additional appetizers.  

There is no charge to those who wish to view the artwork and meet the artist without partaking of the food and wine. Reservations are not required.

Lake County Wine Studio is both 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 Cline art show will be on display for the full month of February.

Tickets to the upcoming Wine & Chocolate event to benefit Lake Family Resource Center are now on sale at LCWS at the $35 discounted pre-event purchase price.

Beginning in February, LCWS will be adding additional open hours on Mondays from 11 a.m. to 6:30 p.m. Thursday, Saturday and Sunday hours are from 1 p.m. to 7 p.m. and Friday from 1 p.m. to 8 p.m.

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

LAKE COUNTY, Calif. – The Lake County Bar Association is pleased to announce the election of its 2013 officers.

The following attorneys who will serve as the association’s officers and board members during 2013:

• Mary Heare Amodio, president;
• Douglas Rhoades, vice president;
• Isabelle Brown, treasurer;
• Jay Boslin, secretary.

The Lake County Bar Association is an informal association of attorneys who are members of the State Bar of California and who live, visit or practice in Lake County.

At the present time the Association does not offer any honorary or affiliate memberships.

The association will be offering mandatory continuing legal education on a monthly basis in 2013, which is open to attorneys and paralegals needing MCLE credit. The group also will organize informal mixers from time to time.

“The Lake County Bar is striving to provide quality continuing education and to address the professional needs of attorneys in Lake County,” said Amodio. “There are less than 100 attorneys registered with the State Bar in this county and the majority of these attorneys are solo practitioners. We hope to provide support to the local attorneys and create a collegial relationship among attorneys, even if they are typically adversaries in the court room.”

She added, “We are always looking at ways to grow the organization and better serve our constituents and the citizens of Lake County.”

Attorneys who would like information about joining the Lake County Bar Association, or about the 2013 MCLE events should contact Amodio at 707-263-5759 or by email at This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. .