Regarding the June 19 "Cost Cutting Measures" announcement by Sen. Wiggins to cut small parts of her state-issued car allowance and annual per diem: This is just one example of state tax abuse in my opinion.

When I worked for the state in San Francisco and Sacramento (and commuted from Fairfield), no one gave me per diem or a state-issued car of any sort. Nor did I have per diem (per diem meaning per day expenses). I paid for my own food, own gas. I always paid my way to work, had to work all year long, and 40 hours a week.

I got no special retirement or insurance benefits and no workshop weekends out of town. Why? I was simply a legal secretary and a legal analyst (paralegal).

Politicians are not kings and queens! And what about their plump vacations, fancy offices, special furniture and state-issued clerical help? The unimportant people are lucky to get a salary that can equal the "average annual per diem of $35,000" per year for senators who decide their own salary and benefits. That $35,000 per diem for many state employees does not include, of course, their salary and retirement.

I believe that only police, fire or some hospital employees need special consideration.

Bette Mueller lives in Kelseyville.

The Lucerne Alpine Senior Center recently held elections for a new board. While generally this sort of thing is routine and hardly newsworthy, in this case, unfortunately that is not true.

Everyone knows that senior centers are a valuable asset to their communities, and to that end they receive both federal and state funds. Likewise they rely on the goodwill and support of these communities for additional, much-needed financial support and for volunteers. In exchange they function as a location offering many services to seniors and a place where they may gather for social, educational and other purposes.

These factors impose a serious responsibility on those whose task it is to guide and manage the centers. It is important to remember that these institutions are public ones and that they must operate by clear and transparent means.

In conducting elections for a board of directors, these centers are no different than any government or national body. Elections must be open, fair and public. In this regard the current elections held at the Lucerne center fall woefully short of these standards.

The issue here turns on who is qualified to vote. Is the voting open and inclusive to as much of the community as possible or is it narrow and exclusive? This is a critical question in any election, and over time certain standards have evolved and have moved into the area of general agreement. The criteria for voting must be published widely and generally known, they must be fair, consistent and equally applied, and they must be reasonable.

None of these are to be found in this recent election. Standards for voting were never officially created by the board. They were never published or made generally known to potential voters.

Standards were changed during the period leading up to the elections, and they were entirely arbitrary, inconsistent and unequally applied. One woman, a former member of the board whose service to the center spans 10 years and who has frequently made generous financial contributions to the center, was deemed not qualified to vote.

On the day of the voting, she made a personal appeal in open meeting to those conducting the elections to be allowed to vote. She was denied. Many others were disenfranchised as well because their service to the center was deemed inadequate or because they did not eat lunch twice a week at the center.

Clearly there is a problem here that may require an external legal solution. But outside of these irregularities concerning qualification and voting, there lies a deeper and more important question: Is the Lucerne Alpine Senior Center to be available only to a small, self-selected group who use their position to continue what is for them a comfortable status quo, or is it to be a greater community resource available to any and all who wish to participate? I vote for the latter.

Gregory Cavness lives in Lucerne.

The 2009 Clear Lake High School Every 15 Minutes Committee would like to thank the following people for their selfless gifts of time, services and/or products.

The program again was a great success but would not have been without the support of our community. Hopefully the community will continue to support the program for our future students.

Many thanks to: The Lakeport Police Department Volunteers, California Highway Patrol, Lake County Sheriff's Office, Lakeport Fire Protection District, K-Corps, Robinson Rancheria Pomo Indians, Lake County Alcohol and Other Drug Services, United Christian Parish, Chapel of the Lakes, Middletown Rancheria Band of Pomo Indians, McDonald’s of Lakeport and the Norcio Family, Lakeport Regional Chamber of Commerce, Hillside Honda, Lakeport Rotary, Sheffert Videography, Lo Down Productions, Sutter Lakeside Hospital, Umpqua Bank, Pegasus Productions, City Center Reality, Clearlake Redi-Mix, Corvettes of Lake County, Switchblade Tattoo, Jimmy’s Deli and Taqueria, Phil and Nancy Kirby, Strong Financial Network, Bob Schoenherr, Economy Propane, Lannette R. Huffman DDS, Mark L Buehnerkemper OD, XI RHO PSI, Safeway, Delta Iota Tau, Northshore Business Association, Lakeport Grocery Outlet, Flowers By Jackie, Ruzicka Associates, Mark and Patricia Wiggs and the Diaz Family.

Your unyielding dedication to our community and the education of our youth regarding their choices involving alcohol is commendable.

Jarvis Leishman and Dale Stoebe are Lakeport Police officers and members of the Every 15 Minutes-Clear Lake High School Committee.

Topping the list was our star sponsor, Hidden Valley Lake Community Services District (HVLCSD).

HVL CSD provided our event t-shirts, which promoted their water-awareness campaign, along with the popular race bags.

Our other star sponsor, Crazy Creek Gliderport, provided and prepared the gorgeous, unique venue where the event took place.

Next up were silver sponsors Hardester’s Markets and Happy Smiles Dental Practice, which have both faithfully supported Spring Has Sprung since its inception in 2003. The Milers also were thrilled to have St. Helena Hospital Clearlake Adventist Health on board as a silver sponsor this year. The sunblock they gave to each race bag was a crowd-pleaser.

Repeat bronze sponsors Hidden Valley Food Mart (home of the Famous Breakfast Burrito), Airport Auto Brokers (Lakeport), Hidden Valley Auto Body and Langtry Estate Vineyards and Winery (which donated wine) are much appreciated.

New bronze sponsors this year were Morgan Lane Real Estate (which donated pens for each race bag), Century 21 and Chic Le Chef catering of Hidden Valley Lake, whose pre- and post-race snacks were a big hit.

I would also like to thank Tina Chiotti-Stewart of Middletown Florist and Gifts for donating our photo-trophies, Carol Christe of HVL for providing post-race massages, and Gary Nylander, owner of the Oaks Red & White Store, for donating two cases of fruit for our event.

Rob Roy Golf Course provided 18 holes of golf for two and a golf cart, awarded to the male winner of the 10K race. Twin Pine Casino donated a $50 dining gift certificate, awarded to the female winner of the 10K race.

The support of the above businesses enabled the Milers to execute another premier event, drawing participants from numerous counties. As a result, the Milers were able to give $1,100 to nonprofit “Operation Tango Mike,” whose mission is to send care packages to our troops overseas. Without the 19 volunteers from Tango Mike, the Milers couldn’t have pulled off the event as we did, and they deserve our support in return.

Thanks again, Lake County businesses. We appreciate you.

Jeanine Burnett is president and race director for the Lake County Milers. She lives in Hidden Valley Lake.