The Lake County Amateur Radio Society will operate from Vista Point near Lakeport, starting about 11 a.m. Saturday, June 27. The Chicken Net group will go on the air from Navy Camp at Lake Pillsbury about the same time.

Both groups invite the public to come and see ham radio's new capabilities and learn how to get their own FCC radio license before the next disaster strikes.

It was just a year ago devastating lightning-caused fires struck Lake and other nearby counties. Amateur radio operators provided assistance to public agencies with communication needs. When trouble is brewing, ham radio people are often the first to provide critical information and communications.

This weekend the public will have a chance to meet and talk with Lake County ham radio operators and see for themselves what the Amateur Radio Service is all about.

Showing the newest digital and satellite capabilities, voice communication and even historical Morse Code, Lake County hams will join thousands of others across the country holding public demonstrations of emergency communications abilities.

The 24-hour event, called Field Day, is the climax of week long "Amateur Radio Week" sponsored by the ARRL, the national association for Amateur Radio. Using only emergency power supplies, ham operators can quickly set up their emergency radio networks for emergency response agencies, all for free.

Their slogan, "When all else fails, Amateur Radio works!" is more than just words to the hams as they prove they can send messages in many forms without the use of phone systems, the Internet or any other infrastructure that can be compromised in a crisis. More than 40,000 Amateur Radio operators across the country participated in last year's event.

To learn more about Amateur Radio, go to www.emergency-radio.org . Come and see for yourself why this is not your grandfather's radio anymore.

Habitat for Humanity is looking for prospective homeowners.

To learn all about this opportunity for you and your family join them at their monthly application workshop.

Application workshops are held every month; the upcoming workshops are scheduled for 3 p.m. to 4 p.m. Thursday, June 25, and Thursday, July 30, at the Habitat for Humanity office, 16285 A. Main St., Lower Lake.

Please call ahead of time so they may have enough of the necessary supplies ready at hand for your convenience.

Come and learn more about Habitat — find out about plans for the future and how you might be able to own your home.

For more information contact Habitat for Humanity at telephone 707-994-1100, online at www.lakehabitat.org or e-mail This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. .

Lake Co Community Co-op guest speaker, Laura Stec, discussing the "global warming diet" presentation to an audience in Clearlake, which was also filmed and appeared live on local channel TV8. Courtesy photo.

CLEARLAKE – The Lake Co Community Co-op (LCCC) hosted culinary chef and author, Laura Stec, on June 13 to speak about the “global warming diet,” which is subject of her book, “Cool Cuisine: Taking the Bite Out of Global Warming.”

Held the first time at the Clearlake City Hall, and filmed live on TV8 by co-op member, Allen Markowski, the meeting gave Stec an opportunity to give a lively and informative slide presentation and talk on how our food choices affect the health of our planet.

At the same time she accentuated the importance of valuing the energy our foods provide.

She offered culinary tips on meal prep and on flavor enhancements to make meal planning easier and eating more exciting and fulfilling.

Stec's book is available at Wild About Books in Clearlake. If you missed the presentation, watch for it soon to appear again on TV8.

Thanks to the LCCC, Wild About Books, Clearlake City Hall, and Allen Markowski for making this event possible and visible to the community.

Celebrating one and one half years in existence, the Lake County Community Co-op envisions cultivating an evolving community by nurturing values of social, economic and environmental responsibility. The co-op wishes to support our local farmers and producers and provide a forum for community activities.

For more information or to become a member of the LCCC, follow the links at http://lakeco-op.org or call 707-993-4270.

Laura Stec explaining how our eating habits can negatively affect our ecosystem. Courtesy photo.

The meeting will be held at the Redbud Library Conference Room, 14785 Burns Valley Road, Clearlake.

There will be a special buffet at 6:30 p.m. to celebrate the 40th anniversary of the Stonewall uprising of 1969.

The Stonewall Club will appear in the parade for the second year. Group membership is open to all LGBT Democrats and their friends and allies.

For more information call Bill Berkey at 707-995-3905.

A group of more than 30 individuals, with varied recreational interests attended and a spirited, interactive, discussion was held that allowed everyone present to discuss and list their ideas for the development of the mountain’s master management plan.

Representatives from the Lake County Sierra Club, Boy Scouts of America, Habematolel Pomo, Elem Tribe and the general public were in attendance.

When complete, which will probably take one to two years, the plan will govern the park’s use,

conservation and preservation.

Types of use, policies and procedures, resource and fire management plans and more were discussed, as well as, restrictions that come with the sale of the property, including day use only, except by special arrangements, no motorized vehicles, except by authorized use, and preservation and conservation of the mountain.

County staff anticipates having the basics of the master management plan decided on prior to opening the trails to the public late this year or early next year.

An additional meeting is scheduled to take place on Wednesday, June 24, from 6 p.m. to 8 p.m., at the Lower Lake Museum.

The final two meetings will take place Wednesday, Aug. 12 and 26 in Lakeport from 6 p.m. to 8 p.m. in the Board of Supervisors Chambers at the Lake County Courthouse, 255 N. Forbes St., Lakeport.

For more information contact the Public Services Department at 707-262-1618 or visit

www.preservekonocti.org .

Wiggins, who represents California’s Second Senate District, said she was returning her state-financed automobile and state-issued gasoline credit card because “it is the right thing to do at a time when the people of California are being asked, or forced, to make financial sacrifices during very difficult economic times.”

The state pays up to 90 percent of the monthly cost for legislators to lease a vehicle, or $350, whichever is less. While some lawmakers lease more expensive cars, Wiggins has driven a 2007 Honda Civic Hybrid, for which she has paid an extra $34 a month above the amount paid by the state.

Legislators also use a state-issued card to pay for gasoline, which Wiggins said she will no longer need.

The annual cost for legislators’ vehicle leases, gasoline and repairs is a little over $1 million, a fraction of the state’s current $24 billion deficit.

In addition, Wiggins said she would be forgoing about 20 percent of the daily per diem that legislators receive to cover the cost of living expenses while they are working in Sacramento. On average, per diem totals approximately $35,000 a year.

Wiggins said that “it makes no sense to ask millions of Californians to accept cutbacks in pay or services without cutting back ourselves, and these are the kinds of steps we can take to share in the sacrifices that we are asking so many others to make.”

Finally, Wiggins also was among those advocating that senators accept voluntary reductions in their own salaries.

Senate President Pro-Tem Darrell Steinberg (D-Sacramento) announced June 16 that he was encouraging his colleagues to make voluntary pay cuts of 5 percent. Wiggins has moved to reduce her own pay by 5 percent, effective June 1.

The Second Senate District includes portions or all of Humboldt, Lake, Mendocino, Napa, Solano and Sonoma counties.