State Board of Equalization Vice Chair George Runner will host a telephone town hall for local government officials on Tuesday, March 3, at 10 a.m.

The event, co-hosted by the League of California Cities, will provide specific information on how the BOE can help your city.

“My district contains more than 130 incorporated cities, all of which face unique tax issues,” said Runner. “It is important for city officials to understand California’s complicated tax laws. As their elected taxpayer advocate, I want to hear their concerns and answer their questions.”

Those wishing to participate may register online at www.boe.ca.gov/townhall or by calling 916-324-4970.

Individuals who preregister will receive a telephone call at the start of the event inviting them to connect to the town hall.

Elected in November 2010 and reelected in 2014, George Runner represents more than nine million Californians as a member of the State Board of Equalization.

For more information, visit www.boe.ca.gov/Runner .

KELSEYVILLE, Calif. – Sons of Norway Vikings of Lake Lodge No. 6-166 will hold its next heritage and culture event on Sunday, March 15.

The group will meet beginning at 1 p.m. at the Galilee Lutheran Church Fellowship Hall, 8860 Soda Bay Road in Kelseyville.

The gathering will feature a lunch of corned beef and cabbage for a $5 donation.

Guest speaker Bruce Fihe of Nordahl Grieg Lodge No. 6-52 in San Jose will present a program on stamp collecting.

The afternoon events include fellowship, interesting programs, a quick Norwegian language lesson and, occasionally, some dancing.

Visit the lodge's Web site at http://www.vikingsoflakelodge.org/ .

LAKE COUNTY, Calif. – Sutter Lakeside Hospital has shown its support for Habitat for Humanity’s Wheelchair ramps and lifts program with a $2,000 donation.

Since its creation last year, $49,800 has been raised towards the program that offers wheelchair ramps, wheelchair lifts, and a variety of handicap accessibility modifications to qualifying veterans, seniors, and disabled individuals in Lake County.  

Several Lake County homeowners have been given assistance to date.

Sutter Lakeside Hospital’s generous offering will assist Habitat for Humanity in reaching their $75,000 program goal and will provide assistance for additional homeowners.

To help the wheelchair ramps and lifts program reach its goal, donations may be sent to Habitat for Humanity Lake County, P.O. Box 1830, Lower Lake, CA 95457, or you may contact the office at 707-994-1100 for more information.

In addition to monetary donations, donations of wheelchair ramps or wheelchair lifts also are encouraged.

SACRAMENTO – State Treasurer John Chiang has announced the upcoming sale of $1.9 billion in tax-exempt State of California general obligation bonds.

“With proceeds earmarked for the construction of roads, children's hospitals, schools, and other critical infrastructure, these bonds are an important investment in California’s future,” Chiang said. "In addition to securing the necessary capital to complete vital public works projects which propel our economy, I'm also taking full advantage of currently low interest rates by refinancing past, higher-cost debt. Every dollar saved in debt service is a dollar that can go to support public health, education, and safety.”

An early order period for individual investors will take place on March 3.

Advertisements for the sale began Thursday in newspapers, on radio and online.

Examples of the advertisements, along with other information on the sale, can be found at www.buycaliforniabonds.com .

Institutional investors will then have an opportunity to place orders on March 4.

A total of $1.11 billion from this sale will be used to refinance existing bond debt.

The remaining $790 million of the sale will be used to provide permanent financing for capital facilities or other voter-approved projects and public facilities.

This bond sale comes on the heels of Fitch’s decision to upgrade of California's credit rating from “A” to “A+.”

The State Treasurer has broad responsibilities and authority in the areas of public investment and finance.

In particular, he oversees the issuance of state debt and is responsible for crafting best practices for the sale of debt and the investment of public funds for California’s more than 4,000 local bond issuers, including the state, school districts, cities, counties, and special districts.

CLEARLAKE, Calif. – Clearlake City Councilman Bruno Sabatier will be guest speaker at the Lake County Democratic Club on Tuesday, March 10.

The meeting will begin at 6:30 p.m. in the social hall of the Lower Lake Community United Methodist Church, 16255 Second St.

Sabatier will address current issues facing Clearlake and his goals for 2015. Time will be allowed for questions and answers.

Lake County Democratic Club meetings are held on the second Tuesday of every month and are open to the public. Membership is open to all registered Democrats.

The Lake County Democratic Club is an officially chartered club of the Democratic Party of Lake County.

For more information visit www.lakecountydemocraticclub.org or contact the club at This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. .

LAKEPORT, Calif. – Do you wonder what all the fuss is about Facebook? What is Twitter and why would anyone want to send at “tweet?”

Lake County’s library director Christopher Veach will present a series of lectures called “Social Media 101” at all four Lake County Library branches over the next three months.

Social Media 101 will cover the basics of Facebook, Twitter and other popular social media Web sites in a 30-minute presentation and then guests will have time to ask questions.

Guests are invited to bring their own technological devices. For more information call 707-263-8817.

Lakeport Library will host Social Media 101 on March 7 from 2 to 3 p.m. at 1425 N. High St.

Redbud Library will host the program on March 14 from 2 to 3 p.m. at 14785 Burns Valley Road in Clearlake.

On April 7 the program will be at Middletown Library, 21256 Washington St. from 2 to 3 p.m.

The last program will be at Upper Lake Library on May 2 from 2 to 3 p.m. at 310 Second St.

This project was supported in whole or in part by the U.S. Institute of Museum and Library Services under the provisions of the Library Services and Technology Act, administered by the State Librarian.

The Lake County Library is on the Internet at http://library.co.lake.ca.us and Facebook at www.facebook.com/LakeCountyLibrary .