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LAKE COUNTY, Calif. – More than 25 wineries around Lake County are planning to open their tasting room doors to welcome guests to the Lake County Winery Association’s Annual Holiday Open House Dec. 6-8.
Member wineries of the Association invite visitors to “sip, savor and shop” between 11 a.m. and 5 p.m. each day. Admission is free.
The event will take place at wineries, cellars and wine artisans throughout the communities of Lake County, including Clearlake Oaks, Kelseyville, Lakeport, Lower Lake, Middletown, Nice and Upper Lake.
“Enjoy holiday shopping in our beautiful rural areas,” says Nick Butitta, president of the Lake County Winery Association. “Avoid the crowds and malls, and find wonderful gifts offered by our award-winning wineries. In addition, enjoy many of our local communities’ holiday events.”
The open house will feature case and wine sales as well as a variety of gift ideas from the wineries and artisans.
For a list of participating wineries and additional information about Lake County wineries, visit the Lake County Winery Association Web site, www.lakecountywineries.org .
The Lake County Winery Association promotes the wineries and award winning wines produced in the higher elevations of the North Coast.
To contact the association, send an email message to
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SACRAMENTO – State Controller John Chiang on Friday released his monthly report covering California’s cash balance, receipts and disbursements in October 2013.
Revenues for the month totaled $5.3 billion, surpassing estimates in the state budget by $510.5 million, or 10.7 percent.
Total revenue from the first four months of the fiscal year totaled $25.5 billion, beating year-to-date estimates by $603.7 million.
“State revenues are more than $600 million ahead of projections following a second straight month of strong collections,” said Chiang. “Importantly, because higher-than-expected payroll withholdings and estimated payments are driving the good news, it signals that Californians are beginning to earn more, work more, and the Great Recession is becoming a faint image in the rear view mirror. The recipe for sustaining this momentum is to remain disciplined in our spending, pay-down debt, and aggressively hold taxpayer-funded programs accountable for results.”
Personal income taxes for the month came in $438.9 million above (11.8 percent) estimates, much of that from tax amounts withheld on individuals' paychecks.
Sales tax receipts were up $53.2 million (7.4 percent). Only corporate taxes missed their monthly estimate, coming in $16 million below (8.9 percent) projections.
Year-to-date disbursements were $103.1 million below estimates, but this variance will easily be offset in November by more than $1 billion of planned payments to education agencies. Those payments were originally expected to go out before October 31.
The state ended the month with a General Fund cash deficit of $18.3 billion, which was covered with both internal and external borrowing. That figure is down from last year, when the State faced a cash deficit of $24.7 billion at the end of October 2012.
For more news, please follow the Controller on Twitter at @CAController, and on Facebook at California State Controller's Office.
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MIDDLETOWN, Calif. – The Middletown Area Merchants Association will host an open house mixer from 5:30 p.m. to 7:30 p.m. Tuesday, Nov. 19.
The event will take place at the Middletown Plaza.
There will be light refreshments, raffle prizes and great conversations.
Visit each shop, complete the MAMA punch card and be entered into the grand prize drawing.
Visit the MAMA Web site at http://www.middletownareamerchants.com/ .
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NORTHERN CALIFORNIA – Congressman John Garamendi (D-CA) and Congressman Doug LaMalfa (R-CA) announced the introduction of a bipartisan measure to protect farms and ranches from new flood rules that prevent them from growing.
The bill, H.R. 3315, exempts agricultural structures like barns, sheds and silos from FEMA requirements that effectively prohibit construction in areas designated as floodplains.
These regulations, which apply to new construction and rehabilitation of existing buildings, require structures to be raised above any potential flood lines – a requirement that is too costly and impractical for large structures like equipment sheds and rice dryers.
“The FEMA requirements threaten to put many farmers in Northern California out of business – and the problem is spreading across the country,” said Garamendi. “I thank Congressman LaMalfa for his leadership and dedication in tackling this problem. We will continue to work with district stakeholders in advocating for a solution.”
“We’re simply trying to bring some common sense to the new federal flood regulations and allow our region’s agriculture to continue growing,” said LaMalfa. “While most flood regulations make sense, farmers need to replace old buildings as they wear out and build new ones as their business grows. Agriculture is the backbone of the North State’s economy, and we need to ensure that it can continue growing well into the future.”
“This bill will provide some much-needed regulatory relief for our region. Unless there are changes to FEMA regulations, agriculture simply won’t be sustainable over the long term,” stated Sutter County Supervisor James Gallagher.
“We’re excited about the bipartisan leadership on this issue. Rural areas have been struggling under flood regulations for years, so we’re hopeful that this provides some much-needed relief to farmers and ranchers,” added Kristi More, executive director of the Agricultural Flood Management Alliance.
Garamendi is a life-long rancher, manages a pear orchard, and represents California’s Third Congressional District including Colusa, Glenn, Lake, Sacramento, Solano, Sutter, Yolo and Yuba counties.
LaMalfa is a lifelong farmer representing California’s First Congressional District including, Butte, Glenn, Lassen, Modoc, Nevada, Placer, Plumas, Shasta, Sierra, Siskiyou and Tehama counties.
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