I called many businesses to formulate this list; some of them told me to “check our Web site” but when I did they had no current events posted, so I am sorry if I missed any.

Many thanks to the Lake County Visitor Information Center and the Lake County Marketing Department who compiled much of this information.

As a special note, the Moore Family Wineries Irish feast on March 14 needs an RSVP by March 1, so if you intend to attend let them know ASAP.

March 1: Fish Fry, Howard’s Grotto, Clearlake. Lioness Club benefit for community projects and scholarships. $8 at the door. 3 p.m. to 7 p.m. 994-0441.

March 1: Sunday Brunch in the Garden, The Blue Wing, Upper Lake. Brunch served 10 a.m. to 3 p.m. George Husaruk will be playing the flute, 11:30 a.m. to 2 p.m. 275-2244.

March 2: Monday Blues, The Blue Wing, Upper Lake. 6:30 p.m. to 9 p.m. Blues Farm will perform. 275-2244.

March 3: Meet the Winemaker, The Saw Shop, Kelseyville. 6 p.m. Robleto Winery. 278-0129.

March 6: Meet the Winemaker, The Blue Wing, Upper Lake. 6 p.m. to 9 p.m. Jed Steele and Joy Merrilees will be pouring Steele Wines.

March 7: Pruning & Pastries, Six Sigma Ranch, Vineyards & Winery, Lower Lake. 10 a.m. to noon. Vineyard Manager David Weiss demonstrates hands-on winter pruning. $10 per person, pastries will be served. Reserve a space by March 5. 994-2086.

March 8: Sunday Brunch in the Garden, The Blue Wing, Upper Lake. Brunch served 10 a.m. to 3 p.m. Stephen Holland on guitar and vocals, 11:30 a.m. to 2 p.m. 275-2244.

March 9: Monday Blues, The Blue Wing, Upper Lake. 6:30 p.m. to 9 p.m. Hanson Raitt Band will perform. 275-2244.

March 14: Wine Tasting and Art Show, Best Western El Grande Inn, Clearlake. 5 p.m. to 8 p.m. Seventeenth annual event featuring local wines and exhibitions from local artists. Silent auction, raffle, door prizes and music. Benefit for the Park Study Club’s scholarship fund. Tickets are $20. 995-9316.

March 14: Irish Feast with Molly Brennan’s, Moore Family Winery. A three course Irish feast with wine and live Irish music at the Moore Family Winery’s Tasting Room. $40 per person. RSVP to Stepheny by March 1. 738-0507

March 15: Sunday Brunch in the Garden, The Blue Wing, Upper Lake. Brunch served 10 a.m. to 3 p.m. Travis Austin will be playing flamenco guitar, 11:30 a.m. to 2 p.m. 275-2244

March 16: Monday Blues, The Blue Wing, Upper Lake. 6:30 p.m. to 9 p.m. Twice As Good will perform. 275-2244.

March 21: Winemaker’s lunch, Ceago Winery, Nice. 11 a.m. to 2 p.m. Jim Fetzer will host a luncheon celebrating the spring equinox with a food prepared by Chef Nicolas. Wine club members; $40; nonmembers, $50.

March 22: Sunday Brunch in the Garden, The Blue Wing, Upper Lake. Brunch served 10 a.m. to 3 p.m. Chris Forshay on guitar and vocals, 11:30 a.m. to 2 p.m. 275-2244.

March 23: Monday Blues, The Blue Wing, Upper Lake. 6:30 p.m. to 9 p.m. Levi Lloyd Band will perform. 275-2244.

March 27: Lake Wind Ensemble, Tallman Hotel, Upper Lake. Featuring Beth Aiken on oboe, Ann Hubbard on bassoon and Nick Biondo on clarinet. Pam Prisco will pour Steele Wines. Tickets to this event can be obtained by calling the Tallman Hotel reception desk at 275-2244. The cost for each reception and concert is $40.

March 28 and 29: The Fifth Annual Tulip Festival, Tulip Hill Winery, noon to 4 p.m. Live music, wine, food and winery tours and 50,000 tulips will be in bloom. $25 in advance $30 the day of the event.

March 29: Sunday Brunch in the Garden, The Blue Wing, Upper Lake. Brunch served 10 a.m. to 3 p.m. Sarah Tichava on guitar and vocals, 11:30 a.m. to 2 p.m. 275-2244.

March 29: Wine Tasting Basics, Moore Family Winery, Gary Johnson will be matching MFW with small bites, free logo glass and wine wheel. 5 p.m. to 7 p.m. $25. RSVP to Stepheny by March 25. 738-0507.

March 30: Monday Blues, The Blue Wing, Upper Lake. 6:30 p.m. to 9 p.m. Lake Blues All-Stars will perform. 275-2244

Ongoing activities

The New Cool at Konocti Harbor featuring David Neft. Konocti Harbor hosts “The Piano Man” David Neft, playing the grand piano from 6 p.m. to 9 p.m. every Friday and Saturday in the relaunched dining room. www.konoctiharbor.com.

Langtry Estate and Vineyard is offering exciting and innovative tour programs. Guests ride in battery-operated Global Electric Motorcars. Tours are offered Tuesday through Saturday. The Tephra Vineyard Lunch Tours are offered at 11 a.m. and 1 p.m. $40 per person includes lunch and wine tasting. 21000 Butts Canyon Road. Reservations required 24 hours in advance. Info: 987-2385.

Tuscan Village Friday Concert Series, Main Street, Lower Lake. Live music, food, wine tasting. Presented by 2Goombas and Terrill Cellars. 5:30 p.m. to 8:30 p.m. Info: 994-3354.

Beer Master Dinner Series, Molly Brennan’s 175 N. Main St., Lakeport. Second Tuesday of each month, 6:30 p.m. to 9:30 p.m. Different brewery featured each month, with beers paired with each course of a five-course meal including dessert. Advance reservations required. Info: 262-1600.

If you have a food or wine related event and would like to have it listed in the coming months, please feel free to call Ross at 998-9550.

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THIS STORY HAS BEEN UPDATED; THE US GEOLOGICAL SURVEY HAS UPGRADED THIS QUAKE FROM 3.3 TO 3.7 MAGNITUDE.

THE GEYSERS – A 3.7-magnitude earthquake hit The Geysers area early Friday morning.

The quake occurred at 2:29 a.m., and was centered one mile north of The Geysers, five miles west southwest of Cobb and seven miles west northwest of Anderson Springs, according to the US Geological Survey.

The US Geological Survey report noted that the quake was recorded at a depth of 1.4 miles.

Residents of Kelseyville and Cobb reported feeling the quake, which also was felt as far away as El Cerrito and San Francisco, according to the US Geological Survey's shake reports.

The last earthquake measuring 3.0 or above reported in Lake County occurred on Jan. 22, measured 3.0 on the Richter scale and was centered one mile northwest of The Geysers, as Lake County News has reported.

E-mail Elizabeth Larson at This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it..

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The California Highway Patrol reported that 19-year-old Ricardo Medina was arrested following the crash, which occurred at 10 a.m. Sunday, Feb. 15.

Medina was driving his 1991 Red Chevy Blazer westbound on Highway 20 east of Mitchell Road in Clearlake Oaks, while 57-year-old Pamela Joseph of Clearlake Oaks was driving her 1994 green Ford Explorer eastbound on Highway 20, the CHP reported.

The CHP report said Medina was unable to negotiate a right curve in the road and crossed into the eastbound lane and struck Joseph’s vehicle head-on.

Both vehicles sustained major damage and came to rest blocking the westbound lane, according to the CHP.

Joseph sustained major non-life threatening injuries while Medina only sustained minor injuries. The CHP said both parties were taken to Sutter Lakeside Hospital by Northshore Fire Protection District ambulance.

Medina is suspected to have been under the influence of alcohol and marijuana at the time of collision and was booked into the Lake County Jail after being released from the hospital, the CHP reported.

CHP Officer Joseph Wind is investigating the incident.

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T Watts at the KPFZ microphone. Courtesy photo.

A children’s story: For, EJF, ADLN, ARB, JNW, JBLD, JJD, RTMW, TLH and all children, everywhere.

One sunny morning Brownette woke up and it was her birthday. It had taken her a long time to become 7 years old and she was glad. As she stretched and yawned she heard a noise at her bedroom window.

TAP, TAP, TAP, TAP, TAP, TAP, TAP. She counted each sound. Seven taps. She arose from her bed and went to the window. She was surprised to see a tiny horse on the ledge.

“Birthday greetings, Brownette. Today is your lucky day. My name is Euphrates (U-FRAY-TEEZ). I am the African Birthday Horse. Each day, I find an African child whose birthday it is. I grant them the ability to travel through time with me, to be any age they want to be. So choose three ages you want to be, Brownette. But remember, the last age you choose is the age you must stay. Which age would you like to be first?”

“I think I’d like to be 20 like my older sister, Orangine. She always tells me that, twenty is a good age to be.”

As soon as Brownette said the word ‘twenty,’ the room grew to a gigantic size. Or rather, she shrunk, because suddenly she was smaller than Euphrates.

“Climb aboard, Brownette. It will be a short ride. Twenty is not so far away. When we land, I’ll disappear, but when you’ve had enough of twenty, I’ll be near. Just shout my name loud and clear.”

Brownette mounted Euphrates. She suddenly felt like she was on an elevator going sideways. Just as she was getting used to this strange feeling, it stopped. Euphrates disappeared. She was still in her room but something was different. She felt bigger. She walked over to her mirror and was surprised to see she looked all grown up. She wanted to rush downstairs and show her Mommy and Daddy how she had grown, but before she could the phone rang. She answered it.

“Hello.”

“Hello, Brownette. This is Nathan. How are you?”

“Fine, thank you. How are you?” Brownette answered slowly, not sure who Nathan was.

“Brownette, I have been wanting to ask you a long time if you would marry me,” asked Nathan.

“Hold on a minute. I have to do something.”

“EUPHRATES!”

The African Birthday Horse appeared.

“I told you I’d be near,” said he.

“I don’t think I like this age very much. Can I be 40 now? Mommy and Daddy are 40 and they’re pretty cool.”

“Climb aboard to see what’s in store at the age of 10 times four,” rhymed Euphrates.

When the feeling stopped she was in a strange house, in a strange kitchen with seven strange little children tugging on her skirt. They were all talking at once.

“MOMMY I CAN’T FIND MY SHIRT HE HIT ME I DID NOT SHE DID IT AND I TOLD YOU I WAS TELLING MOMMY I’M HUNGRY CAN I GO OUTSIDE MOMMY MOMMY MOMMY!”

“EUPHRATES!”

The African Birthday Horse appeared.

“What is it, child?”

“Forty is not the age for me. I think I would just like to be me.”

In a very short time, Euphrates had Brownette back in her room at her right age. It had been fun riding with Euphrates but she was glad to be back. Plus she still had her birthday to enjoy. And she did just that. She even had cake and ice cream twice – once at home and once at her grandparent’s house. But she never forgot about Euphrates, the African Birthday Horse!

Keep prayin’, keep thinkin’ those kind thoughts!

*****

Upcoming cool events:

The Lake County Branch of the NAACP will hold its annual Black History Program on Feb. 28 at Praises of Zion Baptist Church, 3890 Emile Ave., Clearlake, from 1 p.m. to 4 p.m. The public is invited. For more information call 995-2545.

Calling For Light: A Spring Concert of Poetry and Music. Carolyn Hawley, Piano. Chopin and original Works. Accompaniment to Poetry. T. Watts, accompaniment on Trumpet. Lake County Poets Laureate Mary McMillan, Sandra Wade, Carolyn Wing Greenlee, James Bluewolf and Jim Lyle. Sunday, March 15, 3 p.m. Galilee Lutheran Church, 8860 Soda Bay Road, Kelseyville. Tickets are $10 in advance at Watershed Books, Lakeport and Wild About Books, Clearlake. $15 at the door. Children may attend for free. A benefit for KPFZ 88.1 FM.

T. Watts is a writer, radio host and music critic. Visit his Web site at www.teewatts.biz.

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The Big Sulfur Creek fish ladder is meant to help steelhead migrate the waters more easily. Photo courtesy of Calpine.

MIDDLETOWN – Earth-friendly technologies and sustainable ways of supporting energy and business were a theme in Lake County on Thursday.

In the morning, Congressman Mike Thompson was on hand for the dedication of the county's solar array near Lakeport. Then, on Thursday afternoon, he made the trip to the Calpine Visitors Center, where he was honored by Calpine, which named a new fish ladder on Big Sulfur Creek in his honor.

Supervisors Jim Comstock and Jeff Smith, as well as state and federal officials, were on hand for the presentation at the Calpine Visitors Center.

The Big Sulfur Creek fish passage project is a joint project between Calpine, the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration's (NOAA) National Marine Fisheries Service and the California Department of Fish and Game.

Completed last October, the fish ladder was shaped to create stable streaming flow conditions along its margins at moderate to high water levels. It includes ladder steps designed to provide juvenile fish passage at lower flows, and allows upstream fish migration over a wider range of stream flows compared to traditional fish ladders.

Calpine spent six years working on the project, beginning in 2001, said Calpine Senior Vice President Mike Rogers.

“This really is an exceptional example of sustainability,” said Rogers, who added that it's an example of industry and government coming together on an important project.

The company had been meeting with officials from state Fish and Game when the subject of Russian River steelhead came up, Rogers said. The fish were having trouble migrating through a part of the river.

Specifically, a road crossing on The Geysers property, consisting of a triple concrete box culvert, was found to be a partial barrier to fish migrating upstream, according to a Calpine report.

So began what would be years of what Rogers called “formidable tasks” – from studying the stream to designing a project, getting complex permits and diverting the stretch of river while the fish ladder was constructed, said Rogers.

The end result was unobstructed, year-around access to the largest suitable spawning and rearing habitat on Big Sulfur Creek – one of the largest tributaries to the Russian River – above the confluence with Squaw Creek, according to Calpine.

Officials explained that steelhead trout spawn from December through April in coarse gravel areas of small streams and tributaries where cool, well-oxygenated water is available year-round.

David White of NOAA explained that the steelhead is a threatened species, and Big Sulfur Creek is a unique habitat. The fish ladder maximizes the amount of habitat available in the river, he said.

To underline the project's importance, White explained that the Russian River's steelhead runs were estimated to have 65,000 fish in the 1970s. In recent years, that number has plummeted to between 3,000 and 6,000 steelhead.

The reduction in habitat and dewatering of stream tributaries were devastating the steelhead population, White said.

But there's hope that the steelhead – which is very sensitive to environmental conditions – will come back. White said two adult steelhead were found at the project site, along with close to 2,400 juveniles. They also found 1,000 yellow-legged frog tadpoles, two California giant salamanders and about 1,000 red-legged salamander larvae.

The creek is home to a very rich assembly of California native fishes, said White.

Rogers paid tribute to Thompson, who was on the short list of candidates considered to lead the federal Department of the Interior.

Thompson lauded the work of the NOAA scientists, who he said are doing good scientific work for the government.

He said fish are an environmental canary in the mine shaft.

“If the fish aren't living where they're supposed to be living, something is wrong,” said Thompson.

Thompson recalled that he and Calpine go back a long way.

While he was in the state Legislature in the 1990s, the effort got under way to put in place Lake County's effluent pipeline to The Geysers – where the treated wastewater is injected into the steamfields to help generate geothermal power.

Thompson was elected to Congress in 1998 and when he got to Washington, DC, he started working on the pipeline issue. It was placed in a bill but the Army Corps of Engineers said it would not allow the project even if the bill was approved.

“I was up against the wall,” said Thompson.

He said he received a call from a White House staffer asking if he was still going to support the bill in which the pipeline was included, and Thompson said no.

A short time later he got a call from the President Bill Clinton asking why he was changing his vote.

Thompson said he told Clinton about Lake County's pipeline and the problems he was having with the Army Corps of Engineers.

“It is so, so wonderful when you're needed,” said Thompson, recalling how the problem was suddenly solved and the pipeline was allowed to go forward.

“Renewable energy is so important to us and our future,” Thompson said.

He said he hopes to see the steelhead numbers recover after a 90-percent drop in fish numbers since the 1960s.

For the First Congressional District, steelhead and salmon are a big part of the economy, heritage and culture, Thompson said.

A trip had been planned to go to the fish ladder, but Calpine officials said concerns about a rock slide on the road preempted the trip. Instead, visitors were taken up to see The Geysers site.

E-mail Elizabeth Larson at This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it..

From left, District 1 Supervisor Jim Comstock, David White of NOAA, Congressman Mike Thompson, Calpine Senior Vice President Mike Rogers, District 2 Supervisor Jeff Smith and Bruce Carlsen of Calpine gathered for the dedication Thursday, February 19, 2009, at the Calpine Visitor Center in Middletown. Photo by Elizabeth Larson.

The Big Sulfur Creek fish ladder before the recent storms. Photo courtesy of Calpine.

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Intelligence Committee Chairman Silvestre Reyes (D-TX) announced the subcommittee assignments.

“Mike Thompson led active oversight efforts as a subcommittee chairman in the 110th Congress, and I am pleased that he will repeat this role again,” said Chairman Reyes. “As the Chairman of the Subcommittee on Terrorism, Human Intelligence, Analysis and Counterintelligence, his efforts are critical to ensuring that the men and women of the Intelligence Community receive the resources and authorities that they need to keep the country safe.”

Thompson will also serve on the Oversight and Investigations Subcommittee.

“I am honored that my colleagues trust me to help ensure our nation has the best intelligence programs in the world and that we are using our capabilities effectively and responsibly,” said Thompson. “The men and women who serve our country by gathering intelligence are one of our nation’s best assets, and I look forward to assisting their efforts.”

This is Congressman Thompson’s second term as chair of the subcommittee.

As chairman, Thompson will direct hearings, investigations and legislative initiatives under the subcommittee’s jurisdiction.

The subcommittee authorizes the budgets and activities of the Central Intelligence Agency, the Defense Intelligence Agency, the national security elements of the Federal Bureau of Investigation and the intelligence elements of the Departments of State, Energy, Treasury and Homeland Security.

“Securing peace and stability around the world cannot be done without effective intelligence gathering,” said Congressman Thompson. “My belief in the power of good intelligence to create a world without terrorism has only been strengthened by my experience on this Committee. We must continue to work for a world where intelligence is our best weapon, and war is our last resort.”

Thompson, a Vietnam combat veteran, served on the House Committee on Armed Services from 1998 until 2002.

He was appointed to the Committee on Ways and Means in the 109th Congress, where he currently serves on the Health and Select Revenue Measures subcommittees.

Visit Thompson's Web site at http://mikethompson.house.gov/.

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Judge Richard Martin explains his reason for denying the motion to reduce the charges in court on Friday, February 20, 2009. Photo by Harold LaBonte.

LAKEPORT – A Lake County Superior Court judge on Friday turned down a motion to reduce charges against a man accused of felony manslaughter involving a boat and boating under the influence.

Sacramento defense attorney Victor Haltom sought the charge reductions on behalf of his client, Bismarck Dinius, 40, of Carmichael.

Dinius is facing charges that arise from an April 2006 boating collision on Clear Lake, during which Willows resident Lynn Thornton, 51, was fatally injured, dying a few days later.

He was at the tiller of a sailboat owned by Thornton's fiance, Mark Weber of Willows, when the sailboat was hit by a speedboat driven by Russell Perdock, currently a captain in the Lake County Sheriff's Office.

Following an investigation which the Sacramento County Sheriff's Office was called in to lead, Dinius was charged in the case. The District Attorney's Office alleges that the sailboat's running lights weren't on and says Dinius was under the influence of alcohol. Perdock was not charged in the case.

Following several hours of delays due to other cases, Dinius' case was heard Friday afternoon by Judge Richard Martin.

Haltom had filed a request that the felony charges against Dinius be reduced to misdemeanors. In his argument he went one step further, referring to a procedure which gives a magistrate or superior court judge the authority to grant a full dismissal of all charges.

Deputy District Attorney John Langan offered no opposing arguments during the afternoon court session.

Judge Martin said he had spent a significant amount of time researching Haltom’s basis for the motion.

Then, in a 20-minute response, Martin denied Haltom's request, explaining that, despite the technical and creative merits of Haltom’s motion, it was not timely, as a window of opportunity to submit motions of this type had come and gone.

Martin further explained that the next window of opportunity available to the defense to request a review of such a motion would be between the point of conviction and the time of sentencing.

Following the decision, Haltom asked the court to allow members of Lynn Thornton’s family to address the court. Several of them – who had mailed letters to the judge stating their position in defense of Dinius – were present in court on Friday.

Martin denied the request to hear from the family, suggesting that the best place for such testimony is in front of a jury.

While still in the courtroom and discussing future court dates with Martin and Langan, Haltom informed the court that he would be seeking DNA samples from Perdock. Haltom openly expressed his doubts as to the validity of the blood samples allegedly taken the night of the incident.

“I have good reason to believe that the blood in the vials may not be Perdock's blood,” said Haltom.

Prior to the hearing, Dinius told Lake County News that he was cautiously optimistic about the motion's possibility of success. The worst-case scenario for him now is that he could end up spending four years in prison for the manslaughter charge.

After the hearing Dinius said he felt that local authorities will force the case to go before a jury.

Before the hearing, Haltom stated that the ability to charge Perdock in the case runs out on April 26 due to the statute of limitations. He made that point in court as well.

Langan remained in the courtroom on court business and was unavailable for comments immediately after the hearing.

The next court appearance in the case is March 27, during which Dinius does not need to be present. Other pretrial hearings are scheduled for April 20 and May 15, with his trial tentatively scheduled to begin on May 19.

E-mail Harold LaBonte at This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it..

Bismarck Dinius is expected to go on trial this coming May. Photo by Harold LaBonte.

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Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger congratulated legislators for passing the budget package to address the state's $42 billion budget deficit.

“I am extremely proud of the members of the legislature, both Republicans and Democrats, who had the courage to stand up and put the needs of Californians first,” he said. “Rather than approaching this unprecedented crisis with gimmicks and temporary solutions, we took the difficult but responsible steps to address our entire $42 billion budget deficit and pass historic bipartisan reform measures.”

Schwarzenegger said it's a “difficult” budget, but, he added, “we have turned this crisis into an opportunity to make real, lasting reforms for California.”

State Sen. Patricia Wiggins, who represents Lake County in the state Senate, said the budget will help the state address its budget with a view toward the future.

“This budget, which includes spending cuts, revenue increases and borrowing, is not a pretty budget, but it’s a necessary budget,” she said. “It’s a budget which spreads the burden across the people and businesses of this state, but it’s also a budget which includes economic stimulus and government reforms.”

Wiggins said the budget addresses the state's short-term deficit problem while paving the way for long-term solutions such as economic growth and job creation.

“And if we receive our fair share of economic stimulus funds from the federal government, we will be able to reduce some of the borrowing and spending cuts, and lower some of the taxes, that we approved earlier today,” she said.

The budget deal makes moot a lawsuit filed against State Controller John Chiang last Friday by numerous counties – Lake among them – in reaction to Chiang's announcement that he would begin withholding payments to counties due to the state's budget crisis, as Lake County News has reported.

Chiang said the move was necessary because there wasn't enough cash left in the state's bank account to pay all of its bills. He stated that he was forced to delay $3.3 billion in payments to local governments, state contractors and taxpayers this month.

Chiang said Thursday that the long-overdue budget deal won't immediately fill the state's treasury.

“The Department of Finance has promised to provide us within a week with the data we will need to update our cash flow analyses and determine how to manage the state’s payments through the end of the fiscal year,” he said. “Once this budget plan provides the needed cash in the treasury, my office will work around the clock to get delayed payments out the door.”

County Chief Administrative Office Kelly Cox said local officials are still trying to figure out how the budget ultimately will affect local jurisdictions.

Paul McIntosh, executive director of the California State Association of Counties, told Lake County News on Thursday that 37 bills – that, stacked up, were about 1 foot thick – made up the budget package.

One of the biggest areas of concern was a proposal that arose during the budget negotiations that called for delaying payments for mental health, CalWorks and several other benefits program services to counties for a period of seven months, as Lake County News has reported.

“That is not in this budget package,” said McIntosh.

There may, however, be some payment deferrals in June and July, he added.

“It's much more amenable language to counties than was originally proposed,” said McIntosh.

There also are plans for a May 19 special election, which will feature six different propositions related to the budget. McIntosh said those propositions include proposals to divert monies from Proposition 10, which imposed a cigarette tax, and Proposition 63, a mental health services fund measure; a spending cap; and a proposition that would look at the state lottery.

The special election is estimated to cost counties $80 million, said McIntosh. Counties are asking for language to be included in the legislation so they will be reimbursed for the costs of the election, as they were last year's February presidential primary.

McIntosh said the budget includes cuts in health and human services, particularly to program recipients, and some county administration cost reductions.

“We're grateful that the Legislature has solved this issue,” McIntosh said.

Although the Legislature doesn't have the power on its own to change the budget process, McIntosh said there is a building recognition that the process is “absolutely ridiculous.”

He said a petition is circulating to change the vote percentage needed to pass a budget from the two-thirds currently required to 55 percent.

McIntosh said counties and the state have a dysfunctional relationship that goes back 30 years, to the passage of Proposition 13.

Proposition 13 shifted total fiscal responsibility to the state, and removed a great deal of power from Boards of Supervisors when it comes to deciding how funds are spent. McIntosh said that, as a result of Proposition 13, only about 10 percent of county budgets are now discretionary.

As for the calls from some people that a constitutional convention is in order, McIntosh said to be careful what you wish for. The concern, he said, is that some interests might try to take over that process.

E-mail Elizabeth Larson at This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it..

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Acupuncture is one example of this. Acupuncture was developed after the Chinese discovered Ayurvedics using gold and silver needles on patients over 4,000 years ago. This practice is called “marma.”

But enough of Ayurveda for now. Let’s talk about some general principles of wellness.

When the very young child walks into the kitchen and mommy is sweeping the floor s/he may ask: “Mommy, why are you creating all this dust in the air?” Obviously mommy knows something the child does not. And that is this: One must get rid of the old and dirty in order for the new and clean to emerge. And then some general maintenance should take place before the next cleansing.

These three principles of creation hold true for the kitchen, home, yard, town, city, country and, indeed, the entire universe. In Ayurveda we call this universal process sattva, rajas and tamas: creation, maintenance and destruction. In sociological terms its called thesis, synthesis and antithesis (create, maintain and destroy).

So you ask, “What does this have to do with health?” Everything.

Would you wax a dirty floor? Would you clean an already clean floor? There is an order to creation that makes things work best.

I’ll wax politically for a moment. We get rid of one president and at least some of his policies in order to replace those policies with new and (hopefully) more workable and beneficial ones. We maintain the new policies until they prove unworkable or unsuitable and then the process starts all over again.

Now here’s my point. Job No. 1 for greater experience and realization of health and vitality is to clean out the “pipes” of the system. Clean out the toxic waste sites before we rejuvenate the system.

And what are the main toxic waste sites of the body? The liver, colon and kidneys. Can toxins, parasites heavy metals, bacteria and fungus be elsewhere in the body? Absolutely. But cleaning these main transformers and processors of nutrients is vital. They can easily become clogged and be overwhelmed by the above invaders and eventually cause disease and even life threatening situations. Taking even the finest herbal rejuvenate without first cleansing will often only push toxins deeper into the tissues.

So first consult with an experienced natural health professional and s/he will then give you an herbal/nutritional protocol that will 1) detox and cleanse. Then 2) rejuvenate and, finally, 3) maintain with healthy eating instructions as well as lifestyle practices such as meditation, yoga, breath work and appropriate exercise.

And remember, health is a lifestyle.

To your health!

Steven West, ND is a Kelseyville- based naturopath and nutritionist. He graduated form the Institute for Natural Health Studies and has been in practice in California for 18 years.

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Schwarzenegger's office said that the bipartisan budget package takes the necessary steps to reduce spending, bring in new revenue, improve the business climate and create jobs, and make government more efficient.

First District Assemblymember Wesley Chesbro (D-Arcata) voted for the package, which he called “a compromise of deep cuts and revenue increases that required both sides of the aisle to make concessions.”

Said Chesbro, “The cuts we made are the most severe in the history of California budgets. All Californians will be asked to make sacrifices, either in the form of service cuts or paying a little more in taxes to return our state to solvency. If we had not acted on this solution now – if we had waited any longer – the pain for all Californians would have been worse.”

Chesbro said he doesn't like taxes, or cutting spending on education and other vital programs. “But the Legislature had to act now,” he said, explaining that failure to act would have jeopardized California’s eligibility for federal economic stimulus funds. Thousands more Californians employed in the public and private sector would have lost their jobs as one project after another was shut down, he added.

On Friday Schwarzenegger used his line item veto authority to cut $958 million from the 2009-10 budget's general fund.

Those line item cuts include at least a 10-percent reduction to most of the constitutional offices; replacing general fund appropriations with federal funds that the state otherwise would not receive for higher education; and, finding additional savings within the California Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation.

Other features of the budget include a strengthening of the rainy-day fund, opening up of primary elections and elimination of legislative pay raises during deficit years.

“We have achieved a great victory for California today,” Schwarzenegger said. “By staying focused on what was best for the people of our state and not the special interests, we were able to come together and solve our $42 billion deficit and also find meaningful and lasting solutions to our broken budget system.”

Despite having to make some tough decision, the state is “back on the best path forward,” said Schwarzenegger. “We will continue to work with our most important partners – the people of our great state – to ensure we never again face the kind of catastrophic budget scenario we experienced this year.”

The budget includes $14.9 billion in spending reductions, Schwarzenegger's office reported.

The reduction from most constitutional officers’ budgets, which resulted from the line item veto, will achieve $47 million in savings, according to the governor.

He added that the cut to the constitutional officers' budgets reflects equity among all executive branch agencies for the state employee compensation reductions within the budget through furloughs, elimination of positions, overtime reform and reducing paid state holidays. The constitutional officers will have the flexibility to implement the savings within their own offices.

Higher education will receive federal funding to replace general fund monies in the amount of $255 million each to the University of California and California State University systems. Additional savings of $400 million will come from California Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation through continued reforms and other cost saving measures that will not jeopardize public safety.

The budget includes temporary revenue increases totaling $12.5 billion through a one-cent increase in the state sales tax, an increase in the vehicle license fee to one percent and an increase in the personal income tax that federal stimulus funding will likely help offset. The vehicle license fee will also include an additional ongoing 0.15 percent increase that will be dedicated to local law enforcement programs. Additionally, the state will bring in revenue through modernizing the state lottery and bringing in $5 billion in 2009-10 that will offset the need for additional tax increases or program cuts.

Chesbro said the budget package he voted for will have a far less negative impact on the First Assembly District than what the governor had originally proposed.

He said the Legislature saved the rural sheriffs program and greatly reduced the impacts of deferred payments to county services. They also saved the California Conservation Corps., minimized cuts to education spending and made sure schools will be repaid in the future. Schools also received greater flexibility in how they spend state funds, and cuts to health and human services were limited.

Without the budget solution, Chesbro said veterans would have been among those to suffer first and most severely. “The state was in real jeopardy of losing federal funds needed to care for those who served in the armed forces and fought for our freedom.”

Chesbro said the budget sought to keep the state's workforce intact. The vast services those workers provide includes everything from ensuring environmental protections, to building transportation projects, to helping people file unemployment claims, to fighting wildfires.

The governor said he fought hard to include needed economic stimulus to help create jobs and boost the state's economy at the same time as the budget asks Californians to pay more in taxes while reducing their services.

The budget includes incentives and gives a competitive edge to companies that are creating jobs for Californians and to encourage companies to expand in and relocate to California. Also, a “new hire” tax incentive will target small businesses that create new California jobs in the coming two years – when we need them most, officials reported.

The package also provides for more public-private partnerships and design build authority to create more jobs and build projects quicker and more cost-effectively for the taxpayer. As well as, incentives to lure television and movie production back to California.

Other budget highlights include flexibility for categorical education funding allow local schools and districts to use it as they see best fit to serve children and keep more money in the classroom. And the state will move forward this year to reorganize its IT functions to save an estimated $1.5 billion over the first five years and creates a new streamlined, cabinet-level office for the state’s energy-related functions helping California focus on energy stability and eliminating redundancy.

Schwarzenegger's office reported that one item of importance to the governor – that was highlighted among his campaign promises – was that the rainy-day fund, or the budget stabilization account, will be increased and reformed making budget spending more predictable and stable.

Additionally, through the budget package, Californians will have the opportunity to enact true reforms for the state including open primaries to provide more moderate candidates and eliminating pay raises for elected officials when California is spending more money than it is taking in.

The structural changes to put California back on track will go before voters. Schwarzenegger said he intends to form a partnership with the people to pass these ballot initiatives.

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LAKE COUNTY – Lake County's congressman said Friday that the economic stimulus bill will benefit not just the nation by the North Coast in the effort to get the sluggish economy revitalized. {sidebar id=122}

Congressman Mike Thompson (D-St. Helena) spoke with a group of North Coast journalists Friday, shortly before the House of Representatives voted 246 to 183 to pass the updated version of the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act (H.R. 1), which will spend $787 billion on the nation's recovery.

But the bill didn't meet the approval of Republicans and wasn't unanimously accepted among all Democrats in Congress.

In the House, no Republicans voted for the bill, and seven Democrats crossed the aisle to vote against it, with one Democrat not voting at all.

The bill had passed through a conference committee to work out the differences between previously approved versions of the bill that had passed through the House and Senate.

On Friday evening, the Senate also approved the updated version of the bill on a vote of 60 to 38. There were three Republicans who voted for it, with unanimous support from Senate Democrats.

Thompson, who would cast his aye vote a short time after the teleconference, said the bill is designed to jump-start the economy through a variety of measures – tax benefits for families and small businesses, substantial investment in infrastructure and innovation, and job creation.

It's important to move quickly, he said. “We've got a situation where the economy is hemorrhaging jobs – thousands of jobs – as we speak.”

The stimulus bill is supposed to create three to four million jobs, give $116 billion in tax cuts to 95 percent of working families and shift the economy to a basis of renewable energy through $50 billion in new funding and tax incentives, according to Thompson. Another $110 billion would repair and modernize roads, bridges, transit and waterways.

“It helps California a lot,” he said.

The state stands to receive $26 billion from the recovery package, to be used for everything from roads and bridges to upgrading schools, Thompson explained.

A bill analysis found it will create 400,000 jobs in California and 8,000 just in his district alone.

Thompson's district includes Lake, Del Norte, Humboldt, Mendocino and Napa counties, and portions of Sonoma and Yolo counties. Of those, the most recent unemployment report, which covers December 2008, has Lake with the highest unemployment, 13.1 percent, an 11-year high, as Lake County News has reported.

“We need to do this and we need to do it quick,” he said.

Thompson helped draft key energy tax provisions, including a new investment tax credit for facilities to manufacture green technologies in America rather than shipping those manufacturing jobs overseas.  The provisions also will provide grants to incentivize businesses to invest in renewable technology today, rather than waiting until the economy improves.

He also was able to secure several key provisions in the final stimulus bill that will make crucial investments in green energy technology and led efforts to provide $4.6 billion in critical funding for the Army Corps of Engineers, which he said was left out of the original bill, prompting him to write to President Barack Obama and Speaker of the House Nancy Pelosi.

The provisions he authored would make it easier for state and local governments to finance the purchase of solar systems and will have access to $2.4 billion in new energy conservation bonds to reduce greenhouse gas emissions.

The bill includes $287 billion in tax cuts for individuals and businesses, which Thompson said accounted for 38-percent of the bill.

Projects Thompson listed that would be important for his North Coast district include work on the Sacramento Delta levee system and the silted-in Crescent City Harbor in Del Norte, as well as the Napa River, which flooded in late December 2005 and early January 2006 and caused more than $115 million in damage to Napa and the surrounding communities.

Thompson, who said he went to each of the counties in his district to ask them for a list of “shovel-ready” projects, didn't have a current list of projects that would take place in Lake County, but he'll work with the county on such a list.

County Chief Administrative Officer Kelly Cox said Friday that local officials don't yet know how the county may benefit from the package.

For the folks on Main Street, there will be a reduction in capital gains tax on the sale of small businesses, businesses would be eligible for new vehicle sales tax deductions, and individuals also will be assisted in purchasing solar energy equipment.

Individual taxpayers could see up to $400 in tax cuts on their tax bill, or $800 for couples, said Thompson. Anyone subject to the Alternative Minimum Tax, which is set to expire – about 28 million people nationwide, or 50,000 people in the First Congressional District – would see tax relief.

The bill also includes $7.2 billion to expand broadband Internet access in rural and underserved areas.

“It's real short in regard to what we need,” Thompson said.

That money will be spent in a few ways, he explained. For one, it will be used to expand broadband in rural areas where it's already used. It also will be installed in areas where it isn't already present.

“It's certainly good for rural America, that's where the holes are,” said Thompson. “It will help our district a lot.”

He and Rep. Anna Eschoo, a Bay Area colleague in California's Congressional Delegation, both wanted to see more done on behalf of broadband expansion in the bill, but there wasn't enough room to add the money needed.

Thompson said he and Eschoo plan to soon introduce legislation that would use bond funding to continue the broadband expansion effort.

Republicans maintain skepticism on stimulus package

Speaking on the floor of the House Friday, House Minority Leader John Boehner (R-OH) spoke against the stimulus bill, saying that the GOP's economic recovery plan would create twice as many jobs at half the cost as the Democrats' plan.

“When you look at some of the spending in this bill, it will do nothing about creating jobs in America,” Boehner said. “Tell me spending $50 million for some salt marsh mouse in San Francisco is going to help a struggling auto worker in Ohio? Tell me how spending $8 billion in this bill to have a high-speed rail line between Los Angeles and Las Vegas is going to help the construction worker in my district.”

He also criticized passage of the bill when he said that not one member of the House had time to read all 1,100 pages before the vote.

Boehner said Republicans have been excluded from the process altogether, and their ideas about how to solve the crisis were ignored.

US Senate Republican Leader Mitch McConnell (R-Kentucky) spoke against the bill on the Senate floor Friday.

“This isn’t Monopoly money. It’s real. It adds up – and it has to be paid back, by our children and by their children. And the American people still don’t have the facts about the total cost,” he said.

McConnell said it isn't timely, targeted or temporary, three critical points that he said the president's own top economist outlined for the stimulus.

The bill contains an extraordinary sum of money that deserves an extraordinary level of scrutiny, McConnell said, adding that it's laden with pork, including $300 million for new government cars, $50 million for out-of-work artist and $165 million to maintain and build fish hatcheries.

Thompson dismissed such criticisms. “The Republicans have had every opportunity to participate in this,” he said. “I don't think there's been any shortage of effort in trying to work with Republicans.”

The American people want members of Congress to work together, said Thompson.

He contrasted the president's bipartisan efforts with those employed by the previous administration, recalling a meeting between the Blue Dog Coalition – a group of moderate and conservative Democrats, of which Thompson is a member – and former Vice President Dick Cheney.

Thompson said Cheney told the group, “You all seem like nice guys, but we don't need you.”

Arguments over waste

Thompson also challenged the assertions that the bill is filled with pork and earmarks.

“There aren't any earmarks that jump out at me,” said Thompson. “The president has said that he didn't want any earmarks in the bill.”

An analysis of the House version of the bill by FactCheck.org found it essentially earmark-free, although the Senate version contained several items that could be considered pork – such as $198 million in benefits for Filipino veterans and $500 million for National Institutes of Health facilities in Bethesda, Md. (For the full analysis, see FactCheck.org: A look at claims about the stimulus bill.)

Still, the Council for Citizens Against Government Waste issued a statement Thursday urging Congress to vote against the stimulus bill.

“The compromise bill yielded little improvement for taxpayers,” said council President Tom Schatz. “In exchange for a paltry extra $13 a week in tax relief, Congress is saddling American families with thousands of dollars a month in new spending obligations and huge interest payments on the national debt going forward indefinitely.”

Schatz said there were no efforts to address the mismanaged and unnecessary  programs that waste billions of dollars every year.

Not everyone in Congress is perfectly happy with the bill, Thompson said. “You can put me on that list.”

He wasn't, for example, happy to see a $15,000 first-time homebuyer credit in the House's original version of the bill reduced to $8,000 in the final version. The first bill also included stronger language on school construction, which he said was a deal breaker for some in the Senate who didn't think anything should be done in the way of building new school facilities.

However, Thompson said, “There's enough in this bill to like.”

On Saturday, President Obama said he plans to sign the bill shortly.

Obama said the money must be spent “unprecedented accountability, responsibility and transparency.” he said he's asked his cabinet and staff “to set up the kind of management, oversight, and disclosure that will help ensure that, and I will challenge state and local governments to do the same.”

Soon to be launched is a new Web site, www.recovery.gov, which will allow Americans to see where the money is going and to offer comments and ask questions, said the president.

“Ultimately, this is your money, and you deserve to know where it’s going and how it’s spent,” he said.

Obama said he plans to introduce a proposal that involves restoring discipline to the federal budgeting process.

E-mail Elizabeth Larson at This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it..

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