NORTH COAST, Calif. – Mendo Lake Credit Union (MLCU) is partnering with several local agencies in a holiday collection effort to provide gifts to children in need this year.

MLCU invites the community to donate gifts to bring joy to boys and girls in Lake and Mendocino counties, said MLCU Director of Marketing and Community Outreach Jamey Gill.

Members of the credit union and the communities in which MLCU has branches are encouraged to stop by any one of the four branches to pick up a tag associated with a child, then later drop off gifts.

Gill announced that MLCU is partnering with the following community organizations:

• Redwood Community Services in Ukiah, Fort Bragg, Lakeport and Clearlake;
• Toys for Tots in Lakeport and Clearlake;
• Lake Family Resource Center, Lakeport;
• Soroptimist, Fort Bragg;
• Mendocino Coast Children's Fund, Fort Bragg.

Gift dropoff deadlines are Dec. 14 and 16, depending on the partnering organization. Details are available at the MLCU branches in Ukiah, Lakeport, Clearlake and Fort Bragg.

“We always look forward to partnering with our community organizations at this time of year,” said Gill. “From all of us at Mendo Lake Credit Union we would like to thank you and wish you a happy holiday season!”

Mendo Lake Credit Union is a member-owned financial cooperative and has been serving members’ financial needs since 1959.

For more information, contact the Mendo Lake Credit Union, 707-468-0161, or visit the “What’s New” page on the www.mlcu.org Web site.

LAKEPORT, Calif. – United Christian Parish will host “The Joy of Christmas Concert” on Sunday, Dec. 11.

The concert will begin at 4:30 p.m.

All are welcome to the free concert.

Goodies will be served after the performance.

United Christian Parish is located at 745 Brush St., Lakeport.

CLEARLAKE, Calif. – Joining a community event presented by the Rotary Club of Clear Lake at Burns Valley Elementary School on Saturday, Dec. 10, from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. Worldwide Healing Hands health care volunteers will conduct free health screenings to individuals attending the event.

Dr. Paula Dhanda along with medical and community volunteers from Worldwide Healing Hands, or WHH, will be on hand to offer free health screenings and referrals to attendees of the Rotary Club of Clear Lake’s annual Community Christmas Celebration and Dinner.

The event is one of many health screening opportunities planned by the organization to assist Lake County’s residents this year. 

WHH plans to conduct similar screening clinics to the underserved and those in need in the future.

Volunteers will continue to inform individuals about health care availability at upcoming sessions. 

For information about upcoming screenings, Worldwide Healing Hands missions and volunteer opportunities, visit the WHH Web site, www.worldwidehealinghands.org .

In addition to WHH health screenings, visitors to the Rotary Club of Clear Lake’s free Christmas Celebration and Dinner event will also have the opportunity to participate in the Warm For The Winter free giveaway held in conjunction with the annual event.

Items to be given away include warm clothing, coats, hats, gloves, tents, and blankets.

If you wish to donate to this event, contact Joyce Overton at 707-350-2898, email This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. .

Donations can be dropped off at Highlands Senior Center, Monday to Friday, 9 a.m. to 3 p.m. through Friday, Dec. 9, or at the Meals on Wheels Thrift Store at 14773 Lakeshore Drive, Clearlake, from 9 a.m. to 3 p.m.

LAKE COUNTY, Calif. – The Lake's List toy drive for Clayton fire survivors has issued an updated list of items needed in the final days of the effort.

The toy drive continues until Dec. 12, with distribution planned on Dec. 18.

Organizers are looking to collect new, unwrapped gifts.

Items they are requesting include toy horses, Barbie sets, basketballs, play makeup, Mickey Mouse Clubhouse toys, doll houses, Disney movies, warm clothing for newborns (hats, socks, etc.), comic books, Legos, Pokemon items, music CDs, helmets, perfume, gift cards for clothing (not Walmart), a fuzzy pink piggy bank, two The Weeknd posters, girls shoes (size one and a half), scooter (for a girl), bean bag chair, anything basketball-related, jewelry, books and board games (teen/young adult), baseball items (SF Giants), fishing pole and bait, Monopoly game, Captain America, Harry Potter (movies/ books/etc.), Wii U Games, Jurassic World, Star Wars and Minecraft (figures or wall torch).

There are six locations in different communities around the county where toys can be dropped off during the drive:

• Clearlake: Clearlake Paper Co., 14935 Olympic Drive.
• Clear Lake Riviera: Riviera Foods, 9730 Soda Bay Road, Kelseyville.
• Lakeport: Kingdom Games, 301 N. Main St.
• Lower Lake: Spruce Grove Storage, 11360 Spruce Grove Road.
• Lucerne: Lakeview Market, 6084 Highway 20.
• Middletown: Funtopia Toys, 21163 Calistoga Road.

For those who wish to mail a donation, items can be mailed to P.O. Box 524, Clearlake, CA 95422.

For additional information, visit www.facebook.com/LakesList/ .

SACRAMENTO – State Sen. Bill Dodd (D-Napa) recently introduced new legislation to protect victims of mass fraud and identity theft.

The introduction of this legislation comes following the recent Wells Fargo scandal where millions of accounts were fraudulently opened without consent, using consumer’s personal information from existing accounts.

Dodd’s bill would help victims by eliminating the use of forced arbitration clauses in contracts that were fraudulently created. Such contracts prevent consumers from having their day in court to recover damages.
 
“It’s unacceptable for consumers to be blocked from our public courts to recover damages for fraud and identity theft. Allowing victims their day in court not only allows them to recover, it can prevent more victims by putting an end to illegal business practices,” said Dodd. “With quick federal action on this issue unlikely, it’s critical that California lead the nation to prevent these abuses.”
 
Earlier this year, Wells Fargo Bank came under massive scrutiny when information came to light that employees had fraudulently used their customers’ personal information to create more than two million fake accounts without consent.

Some of these fraudulent accounts incurred charges and fees totaling millions of dollars that were passed along to the unknowing victims. Many of the victims attempted to sue the Bank for damages and to recover their losses.
 
In response, Wells Fargo argued – and courts have upheld – that their customers had waived their right to sue when they previously opened their “legitimate” accounts with the Bank.

As a result, the victim’s only available recourse was through binding arbitration. Arbitration is typically a less costly resolution process for the defendant. Outcomes from arbitration also tend to benefit the defending party as they are able to select the arbitrator who will oversee the case. Wells Fargo has since received upwards of $150 million in regulatory fines for their illegal use of consumer information. 
 
“Victims of fraud and identity theft can face many damaging and long lasting effects that can take years to be realized. The recent Wells Fargo case is a perfect example of that, and these victims deserve access to our public courts,” said Richard Holober, Executive Director of the Consumer Federation of California. “I’d like to thank Senator Dodd for introducing this legislation that takes a stand for consumer protection and will act as a deterrent against devious acts of fraud committed against the public.”
 
Dodd’s bill, SB 33, will prohibit the use of forced arbitration in cases where any organization has wrongfully used consumer information to commit fraud.

Dodd’s bill has already gained support from the Consumer Federation of California, the Consumer Attorneys of California, and other consumer advocates. The bill will receive its first committee hearing early next year.
 
Last week U.S. Sen. Sherrod Brown (D-Ohio) and Representative Brad Sherman (D-Calif.) introduced a federal bill with a similar aim to give customers the ability to go to court to recover damages from fraudulently created accounts.

LOWER LAKE, Calif. – The Clear Lake Trowel and Trellis Garden Club recently visited the student garden at Lower Lake taught by Lisa Rogers, environmental science and gardening teacher to all K-7 students at Lower Lake Elementary School.

The group entered the garden by ducking through a wire trellis with low-hanging gourds that may end up as future art projects.

The children were sitting around a bench getting ready to make holiday decorations out of sticks and ribbon. All were quite enthusiastic and welcomed club members with a “thank you” banner and a “flower” fan with words of appreciation. 

The club then was given a tour of the school by Rogers and students Alee and Regan of their vegetables, flowers and herb gardens. Jaxson also presented the block raised bed that his dad built. 

All of the children were quite proud of their achievements. When asked what part of the gardening they liked best, they said “all of it.”

As club members left, the children were working on painting rocks. One rock was painted “Bee Nice” and a smiley face on the other side. 

The portable classroom and all of its contents for Rogers' classes were damaged by the Clayton fire. All of it has to be removed.  Also their garden shed completely burned down with all gardening materials. 

The Lakeshore Lions Club has replaced the shed and Rogers anticipates the damaged portable classroom will be removed and replaced sometime next summer.

In the meantime, classes continue and they make do. The children are resilient and enthusiastic about gardening. Rogers said it is hard to keep the vegetables since the children keep eating them. 

The Clear Lake Trowel and Trellis Garden Club has donated $2,000 to this student garden as well as another $2,000 to seven other youth gardens located in Kelseyville, Lakeport, Cobb, Lower Lake High School and Upper Lake.

These donations were made possible through the “Hidden Gardens of Lake County” garden tour this spring and the support of the people of Lake County.

The Clear Lake Trowel and Trellis Garden Club is a member of the Mendo-Lake District of the California Garden Club Inc.-Pacific Region and National Garden Clubs Inc. For more information call Dana at 707-275-3500.

SACRAMENTO – The California Community Colleges Chancellor’s Office on Monday provided a guiding statement of principles to the system’s 113 colleges as they adjust to uncertainty over possible immigration policy changes that have the potential to affect undocumented students.

The guidance comes after incoming Chancellor Eloy Ortiz Oakley joined with leaders of the University of California and the California State University to formally request that President-elect Donald J. Trump preserve the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals, or DACA program, which allows children of undocumented immigrants to pursue higher education in the United States.

“It is vital that these students, who were brought to this country as children, have the ability to learn without fear of being deported,” Oakley said. “The California community colleges stand with these students because they represent some of the best qualities that our state and nation have to offer.”

The Chancellor’s Office guidance provided to colleges reaffirms the following principles:

• The California Community Colleges are open to all students who meet the minimum requirements for admission, regardless of immigration status.
• The Chancellor’s Office will not release any personally identifiable student information, including any data related to immigration status, without a judicial warrant, subpoena or court order, unless authorized by the student or required by law.
• The Chancellor’s Office will not cooperate with any federal effort to create a registry of individuals based on any protected characteristics such as religion, national origin, race or sexual orientation.
• The Chancellor’s Office will continue to advocate for educational opportunities for all students in the community college system, regardless of immigration status, at the state and federal level.

While the Chancellor’s Office acknowledges local authority and control in the administration of its community colleges, its encourage local community college districts to consider the system’s values when responding to this situation.

The Chancellor's Office said it finds the following strategies to be consistent with these values and recommend using them as a starting point for local deliberations in these matters:

• District police departments should not detain, question or arrest any individual solely on the basis of (suspected) undocumented immigration status.
• Districts should not cooperate with any federal effort to create a registry of individuals based on any protected characteristics such as religion, national origin, race or sexual orientation.
• No confidential student records should be released without a judicial warrant, subpoena or court order, unless authorized by the student or required by law.

The California Community Colleges is the largest system of higher education in the nation composed of 72 districts and 113 colleges serving 2.1 million students per year.

For more information about the community colleges, visit http://californiacommunitycolleges.cccco.edu/ .