LAKE COUNTY, Calif. – Lake County Wine Studio is hosting a wine tasting event in September featuring wines from R Vineyards with owners David and Monica Rosenthal, and artist reception with a collection of watercolor paintings by Sharon Fenton.

The event will run over two days, from 5 to 8 p.m. Friday, Sept. 4, and 4 to 7 p.m. Saturday, Sept. 5.

The $12.50 ($10/per person for studio club members) wine sampler and appetizers will showcase the new release 2014 Viognier with goat cheese and pears with strawberry gastrique and toasted red walnuts on endive, 2012 Cabernet Franc with a salad of lentils, cucumbers, red onion and grapefruit supremes with an orange and honey vinaigrette, 2012 Reba Red Syrah with a Turkish turkey meatball with herbed cream sauce, and the 2013 Old Vine Zinfandel with Armenian lemon amoushe dusted with pistachios and a drop of local honey.

Appetizer pairings for these wines have been created by Fresh & Bangin’ Eatery in Lucerne.

R Vineyards presents the release of their 2014 Lake County Viognier at this reception event. This is the third vintage released of this exotic and aromatic varietal, R Vineyards’ signature white wine.

“This wine is our personal ‘go to’ wine,” said Monica Rosenthal. “It pairs well with almost everything we serve at our table.”
 
The 2013 Lake County Old Vine Zinfandel is a Gold medal-winning wine and the distinct, fruit forward style 2012 Cabernet Franc has been honored with a Double Gold medal at the recent 2015 Lake County Wine Awards Competition held at Langtry Estate & Vineyards earlier this summer.

The Gold medal-winning R Vineyards 2013 Old Vine Zinfandel is made from grapes planted in 1937 on the Rosenthal family’s Hoodoo Creek Ranch property in Middletown. The production is limited; only 72 cases produced.
 
“This is the first time I have made wine from these old vine grapes in about 15 years,” said Rosenthal. “The grapes usually go to a Napa Valley winemaker who has earned 90+ ratings for the finished wine. Since my wife, Monica and I started releasing wines under the R Vineyards label in the fall of 2013, I have been looking forward to bottling and releasing this wine made from the old vine head-trained Zinfandel grapes.”

Owners David and Monica Rosenthal have been involved in the wine industry for 30-plus years. Between the two of them, their experience includes winegrape growing, wine tasting, marketing and winemaking.
 
R Vineyards is located in South Lake County in Middletown. The grapes are sustainably farmed and grown in the soils of the Mayacamas Mountains on the north slope of Mount St. Helena. R Vineyards is not currently open for public tasting, however the wines are available at the Lake County Wine Studio.

The artist for June is Sharon Fenton. Introduced to art by a paint by numbers kit at the age of 12, Fenton was "hooked" and painted her first original piece using the leftover paints from that kit.

A California girl and former Cardinal, she graduated from Clear Lake High School in Lakeport and moved to the Ukiah area in 1970. Her formal art studies commenced at Mendocino College in their watercolor class and since then she has not put her brushes down.

Refusing to box herself into any particular style, Fenton said, “Every subject is my favorite. I believe there is no limit to the exciting combination of techniques and colors. I experience each painting as an adventure, and sometimes an unintentional stroke or touch becomes the painting.”

A member of the Lake County Arts Council, Mendocino County Art Association and Ukiah Valley Artists Co-op, Fenton’s works have won numerous awards at the Lake County, Mendocino County and Redwood Empire Fairs.

Lake County Wine Studio is a gallery for display of arts and a tasting room, wine bar and retail shop for the fine wines of Lake County. Artist’s shows are held on a monthly basis with art and wine receptions held the first Friday and subsequent Saturday of each month.

The gallery is located at 9505 Main St. in Upper Lake and is open Monday, 11 a.m. to 6:30 p.m.; Thursday, Saturday and Sunday from 1 to 7 p.m.; and Friday from 1 to 8 p.m.

The Fenton art show will be on display for the full month of September.

For more information call Lake County Wine Studio at 707-275-8030 or 707-293-8752.

LAKE COUNTY, Calif. – Native Daughters of The Golden West member Ruby Glebe recently shared her appreciation with firefighters who came to the county to fight this summer's wildland fires.

Glebe, who is 101 years old, gathered with the firefighters from Santa Rosa, Cloverdale, Forestville, Healdsburg, Petaluma and Rincon Valley at Round Table Pizza after the Native Daughters of The Golden West Lupoyoma Parlor's August meeting.

She and other members of the Native Daughters of The Golden West voiced their thanks to the firefighters for the sacrifices they made to save local communities.

NORTHERN CALIFORNIA – The Napa Valley community will come together to reflect on the one-year anniversary of the South Napa Earthquake on Aug. 24, at 3:20 p.m. in Veterans Memorial Park.

The event is being coordinated by the city of Napa, county of Napa, and the Napa Valley Unified School District.

The public is invited to attend the event that will commemorate the earthquake, highlight the progress of the community, and underscore the need for constant earthquake preparation.

Assemblyman Bill Dodd will join Congressman Mike Thompson, state Sen. Lois Wolk, Napa Mayor Jill Techel and others to address the audience.

The anniversary also coincides with milestones for a pair of bills co-authored by Senator Wolk and Assemblymember Dodd providing earthquake relief to impacted communities.

Senate Bill 35, which would provide tax relief to victims, passed the legislature and is awaiting Gov. Brown's signature.

Assembly Bill 18, which would defray the costs incurred by local governments as a result from the earthquake, will be voted on by the Senate Appropriations Committee on Aug. 27.

“We can all be proud of how our community came together after the earthquake,” said Dodd. “Both in the immediate aftermath and over the last year, we’ve rallied together and have really come a long way. Even now, one year after the South Napa earthquake, there is still more work to be done as there are still families and businesses struggling with the recovery process. This anniversary also provides an opportunity to highlight the critical need to prepare for the next earthquake, and I encourage everyone to take reasonable precautions.”

UKIAH Calif. – The North Coast Opportunities Governing Board will meet on Wednesday, Aug. 26.

The meeting will begin at 3 p.m. at the North Coast Opportunities office, 413 N State St., Ukiah.
                   
Timed items are as follows:

3 p.m.: Call to order, roll call, introductions, approval of agenda.
3:05 p.m.: Public input.
3:10 p.m.: Consent agenda.
3:15 p.m.: EDFC DPO presentation.
3:30 p.m.: HSCDP child and family outcomes.
3:50 p.m.: HSCDP school readiness goals.
4 p.m.: HSCDP revised recruitment plan.
4:05 p.m.: HSCDP governance screener.
4:10 p.m.: Executive director evaluation process update.
4:15 p.m.: July financials.
4:25 p.m.: New board member training.
4:30 p.m.: Executive director's report.
4:40 p.m.: Fiscal sponsorships.
4:50 p.m.: Review schedule time for board meetings.
5 p.m.: Brief reports and announcements.
5:05 p.m.: Parking lot (presentation of topics for consideration/future agenda item).
5:10 p.m.: Adjourn to closed session, if required.

For information, or if you need disability modification or accommodation in order to participate in this meeting, please contact the NCO executive assistant 48 hours before the meeting at 707-467-3210.

KELSEYVILLE, Calif. On Saturday, Aug. 22, the Time Bank of Thrive Lake County is hosting a special event with live music, food, bake sale, craft vendors and raffle.

The fun and festivities will be open to the general public from 5 to 7 p.m. outside Glebe Hall at St. Peter's Church, 4085 Main St., Kelseyville. All ages are welcome.
 
The new Lake County band "Curveball" will perform classic rock and dance tunes. Members of the band include David Howard on guitar and vocals, Nick Crowe on keyboard and vocals, and Milton "Brownie" Brown on electric violin, guitar and vocals. 
 
Prior to this special event, from 3 to 5 p.m., prospective and current time bank members can attend the monthly meet-up inside Glebe Hall.

The meet-up is way to find or provide assistance with needs such as child or pet care, help moving, help rebuilding or repairing, stress relief, socialization, and more. 

Information also will be provided about the time bank social capital fund, which is a good solution for those who need more than they can currently offer. Earn two hOurs for attending the meet-up and one hOur for each new guest you bring.

Time bankers exchange time instead of money for services. Membership is open to Lake County residents, businesses or organizations. You can also drop by the time bank office at 307 N. Main St., Lakeport on Thursdays from 10 a.m. to 1 p.m.

For more information, visit http://timebanklakeco.org , email This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. or phone 707-413-0220.

LAKEPORT, Calif. – The Lakeport Housing and Business Loan Committee is scheduled to meet on Tuesday, August 25.

The committee will meet at 10 a.m. in the back conference room at Lakeport City Hall, 225 Park St.

Agenda items include approval of the July 22 meeting minutes; comment from staff, consultant and committee members; and citizens' input.

Under business items, the committee will consider a request from Kellee and Jesse Bussard, who are seeking a $35,000 business assistance loan for the purchase of shoe inventory and to provide working capital for their recently opened store, “The Shoe Box.”