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UPPER LAKE, Calif. – The Lake County Wine Studio is hosting a wine tasting event featuring wines from Cache Creek Vineyards and an artist reception with artists Rolf Kriken and Karen Turcotte on Friday, May 6, and Saturday, May 7.
The Friday event will take place from 5 to 8 p.m., while hours on Saturday will be 4 to 7 p.m.
This event includes an optional progressive three-course winemaker dinner at the Tallman Hotel following the appetizer course at the Studio on May 7. Winemaker Derek Holstein will be at the Studio and Tallman Hotel for the reception and the special dinner event. Musical guest on guitar is Steve Winkle.
The $15 ($12/per person for studio club members) wine sampler and appetizers by Fresh and Bangin' Eatery presented at the studio will showcase the 2014 Sauvignon Blanc with a split pea crostini with lardons, 2013 Chardonnay with a blackened fish taco, 2011 Reserve Chardonnay with carmelized onion plus asiago latka with creme fraiche and chives, and 2012 Cabernet Sauvignon with cherry mole on beef tenderloin over rice.
The wines and menu prepared by guest chef Mark Linback at the Tallman Hotel on May 7 will feature the 2014 Cabernet Rosé with a baby spring vegetable salad dressed with goat cheese, almonds and parsley sauce, followed by the 2010 Syrah with roast breast of duck, celery root puree, walnut slaw and red wine gastrique. The dessert course will be a chocolate mascarpone sandwich with berry glaze paired with the 2010 Petite Sirah.
Reservations for the Saturday tasting at the Studio and dinner at the Tallman are $80 plus tax and may be obtained by calling the Tallman Hotel at 707-275-2244, Extension 0.
A master foundryman, artist Rolf Kriken will have a number of his bronze sculptures installed at the Wine Studio for viewing during the receptions and month of May.
Intensely familiar with the horrors of war, having served our country in the U.S. Army from 1962 to 1968 – three years active duty and three years reserve – Kriken resumed his education after returning home, and from 1973 while actively working as an artist, sculptor and foundry man at the same time, graduated with his master's degree in fine arts in 1975.
Following a position as an instructor at the Richmond Art Center, he was the director of the Berkeley Art Foundry from 1975 to 1979. He then opened his own foundry in Oakland, The Nordhammer Art Foundry, which he relocated to Kelseyville in 1991.
Kriken was commissioned to create the three-dimensional, life-size sculptures, bronze fabrication and art work for the California Vietnam Memorial in Sacramento, dedicated in 1988 to the 5,822 Californians who died or remain missing from the Vietnam War, and honors every man and woman who served in war.
He has exhibited in more than 60 locations since becoming an artist and has produced several commissioned works of public art. Kriken was quoted last year during another exhibit of his works, "My work is for those who have been killed and to help me find some finality and closure with what happened. I am trying to raise awareness about how we aren't learning from our history. I just keep trying to expose the craziness and also honor those who have served - I care about our fellow soldiers who have served."
Artist Karen Turcotte will be showing a variety of mixed media art, sculpture and three-dimensional works.
Turcotte's love of nature and natural materials manifests in much of her work, whether riffing on the politics of war or capturing a botanical texture, she strives to take nature into the realm of man.
She arrived at her conceptual perspective through a certain cynicism that ecology and history teach. A background in horticulture taught her to respect the fragility and beautiful cruelty of nature's evolutionary web.
As a student of history, she understands the inevitable repetition of conquering and destruction man has sustained for millennia.
Turcotte's message is a contrast between primordial forms and colors, and the preternatural chaos of man's dominance. "Whether using natural materials, recycled finds or traditional mediums in unexpected ways, I invite the viewer to take a closer look at their place in the world," she stated.
Lake County Wine Studio is a gallery for display and sale of arts and a tasting room, wine bar and retail shop for the fine wines of Lake County. Artists' 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, Thursday, Saturday and Sunday from 1 to 7 p.m., and Friday from 1 to 8 p.m.
The Kriken/Turcotte art exhibit will be on display through May 30.
For more information call Lake County Wine Studio at 707-275-8030 or 707-293-8752.
MIDDLETOWN, Calif. – REACH Air Medical Services, South Lake County Fire Protection District and Lake County Assistant Superintendent of Schools April Leiferman worked together to give Minnie Cannon Elementary School After School Program an experience to remember.
On Friday, April 15, students from Minnie Cannon After School Program were escorted to the South Lake County Fire Protection District station in Middletown where they were greeted by firefighters from Cal Fire and South Lake County Fire Protection District, and Melinda Waters from REACH Air Medical Services.
The students in the After School Program ranged in grades from kindergarten to sixth grade. Most of the 60 students in the program were evacuated due to the Valley fire in September.
Because of the fires, the children would get scared when they would see the helicopters or hear the emergency vehicles.
After Cindy Adams, director of Child Development, informed Leiferman of the children’s reaction to those events, they decided to team up with REACH and the fire service to put on this event for them.
Leiferman and Waters worked together for several weeks, through many obstacles, to make sure that this event would happen for the 42 students who attended.
The purpose was to show the children that the vehicles and helicopter are there to keep them safe and to help.
“By giving the children a positive experience, we hope to desensitize the children to their fear of the helicopter and sirens from the emergency vehicles,” said Leiferman.
The students rotated between three areas. They were taken through the fire station and shown where the firefighters eat, sleep and hold meetings. They also got to explore the many vehicles that the fire service uses and ask the firefighters questions.
The helicopter flew above the children as they were walking into the station and were greeted by the flight paramedic, Melinda Waters.
They got to meet the flight nurse, Deb Yoder and pilot of the helicopter, John Wilson, while walking through the helicopter and were shown the medical equipment they use while in flight.
The older children were allowed to sit in the cockpit under the supervision of Wilson, while he showed them all the gears and switches.
Smokey the Bear was there as well and took pictures with the students and gave lots of hugs. Many students were taking picture in the helicopter and fire station too.
Toward the end of the event the students received gifts from REACH and the firefighters, including beach balls, fire helmets and Frisbees.
The event ended with the students and emergency staff eating dinner together in the fire house. Dinner conversation consisted of the students telling their personal stories of the Valley fire as the emergency responders comforted each of them.
The event was a success due to Leiferman and Waters being an advocate for the students and this event.
For more information about the After School Program, please contact Cindy Adams at 707-263-4563 or by email at
Annie Mills is a communications specialist with the Lake County Office of Education.
LAKE COUNTY, Calif. – The latest report on home sales in Lake County shows increasing prices and reduced inventory.
The Lake County Association of Realtors, or LCAOR, reported that the March median sales price of single family residences in Lake County rose 26 percent when compared to the February 2016 median sales price.
The number of sales increased more than 55 percent, rising from 54 sales in February to 84 sales in March, LCAOR said.
LCAOR said the uptick in the number of sales reduced the current “for sale” inventory from six months to four months. Six months of inventory is considered “normal” and implies that if no other listings came on the market it would take six months to sell the existing inventory.
“Inventory levels in the first three months of 2015 averaged eight months and the days on market for the same period averaged 114 days,” said 2016 LCAOR President Erin Woodward. “For the first three months of 2016 inventory levels averaged a bit over five months and the days on market averaged 78 days.”
The median sales price for March 2016 was $239,450, compared to $190,000 in February 2016 and $224,000 in March of 2015, the report showed.
In a year-over-year comparison – March 2016 versus March 2015 – the median price increased by 6.9 percent and the number of sales increased 61.5, according to LCAOR's report.
Types of financing for March showed 28.5 percent were cash, 34.5 percent by conventional loans and 10.7 percent by FHA loans, based on the report. In February 2016, 44.4 percent of the sales were financed by cash, 27.8 percent by conventional loans and 11.1 percent by FHA loans.
The market continues to have some distressed properties, the association reported.
Real estate owned, or foreclosed, properties accounted for 8.3 percent of the sales, and short sales – properties sold for less than what was owed – made up 4.8 percent of the sales, LCAOR said.
On a statewide basis, the California Association of Realtors, or CAR, reported that existing, single family home sales totaled 415,220 in March, up 5.5 percent from February 2016 and 5.7 percent above March 2015.
The median statewide sales price was $483,280, up 8.9 percent from February 2016 and up 4 percent from March 2015, the association said.
The median number of days it took to sell a single-family home in California declined in March to 30 days, compared with 41 days in February and 34 days in March 2015, according to CAR. The months of available inventory was 3.6 months.
CAR also reported that 3.69 percent was the going rate for a 30 year fixed rate loan.
LAKE COUNTY NUMBERS AT A GLANCE
March 2016
Median price: $239,450
Median days to sell: 76
Units sold: 84
February 2016
Median price: $190,000
Median days to sell: 81
Units sold: 54
March 2015
Median price: $224,000
Median days to sell: 116
Units sold: 52
The California Fish and Game Commission adopted recreational ocean and inland salmon season regulations as presented by the California Department of Fish and Wildlife (CDFW) on April 18.
Ocean salmon season dates and management measures are set to coincide with the alternatives adopted by the Pacific Fishery Management Council for federal waters off the California coast.
Inland river seasons adopted by the Commission are identical to the 2015 seasons with the exception of a reduction in the allowable harvest of Klamath Basin Chinook salmon.
“Reduced fishing opportunity in the ocean and inland areas are a reflection of lower abundance for some California salmon stocks as compared to recent years, likely as a result of extended drought and generally unfavorable ocean conditions for salmon survival,” said Jennifer Simon, an environmental scientist with CDFW’s Marine Region Salmon Team. “The 2016 seasons are intended to allow limited fishing opportunity on stocks that can support them while providing increased protection for the most vulnerable of stocks.”
An expected ocean abundance of roughly 300,000 Sacramento River fall Chinook (compared to 650,000 last year) will support recreational and commercial opportunities for ocean salmon fisheries off portions of California and Oregon.
A projected return of 151,000 spawning adults allows for an inland river recreational harvest of 24,600 adult Chinook.
The Klamath River fall Chinook ocean abundance forecast of 142,200 adults is substantially lower than recent years and the primary reason for ocean fishery constraints.
A projected return of 30,909 natural area spawning adults allows for an inland river recreational harvest quota of 1,110 adult Chinook salmon greater than 22 inches. In 2015 the harvest quota was 14,133.
The resulting bag and possession limits and seasons adopted by the commission are as follows:
Central Valley rivers:
Daily limit of two fish per day and a possession limit of four fish. On the American and Feather rivers the general season opener is July 16. On the Sacramento River below Deschutes Road Bridge to the Red Bluff Diversion Dam, the season opens Aug. 1 and closes Dec. 16. From below the Red Bluff Diversion Dam to the Carquinez Bridge, the season opens July 16 and closes Dec. 16. Please see the 2016 Freshwater Sport Fishing Regulations booklet for openings and closing of specific sections of each river, as well as gear restrictions.
Klamath River:
Daily limit of two fish per day of which only one may be greater than 22 inches, and the possession limit is six fish of which only three may be greater than 22 inches. The Klamath River fall Chinook season opens Aug. 15 and closes Dec. 31, while the Trinity River opens to salmon fishing on Sept. 1 and closes Dec. 31.
Ocean salmon:
Ocean salmon recreational fisheries include a daily limit of two adult Chinook salmon with four in possession on land with varying size restrictions depending on the area. Season dates include openings in May, June, July, August and the Labor Day weekend in the Crescent City/Eureka area. Fisheries further south opened on April 2 and will continue through Nov. 13 in the Fort Bragg area, through Oct. 31 in the San Francisco area, through July 15 from Pigeon Point to Point Sur, and through May 31 south of Point Sur.
For a more in-depth look at ocean salmon seasons and restrictions, please see www.wildlife.ca.gov/oceansalmon .
Long-running drought conditions, coupled with suboptimal ocean conditions, have raised serious concerns for Sacramento River winter Chinook salmon, which are listed as endangered under the Endangered Species Act and have experienced very low survival as juveniles in 2014 and 2015.
Fisheries south of Point Arena, particularly recreational fisheries in the greater Monterey Bay region, continue to experience late-season reductions in 2016 to minimize interactions with winter Chinook.
The California Fish and Game Commission on Monday voted 3-0 in favor of an emergency rulemaking to prohibit recreational take and possession of razor clam from Humboldt and Del Norte county beaches.
The closure is now in effect.
Closure of the fishery shall remain in effect until the Director of the Office of Environmental Health Hazard Assessment (OEHHA), in consultation with the director of the California Department of Public Health (CDPH), determines that domoic acid levels no longer pose a significant risk to public health and no longer recommends the fishery be closed.
The California Department of Fish and Wildlife (CDFW) will maintain a list of closed beaches of the state and update that list on Wednesday of each week by 1 p.m.
It shall be the responsibility of any person prior to taking razor clams in Humboldt and Del Norte counties to call CDFW's hotline 831-649-2883 or visit CDFW's Web site at www.wildlife.ca.gov/fishing/ocean/health-advisories to obtain the current status of any ocean beach in those counties.
A CDPH health advisory has been in effect for razor clams in Humboldt and Del Norte counties since August 2015 due to elevated domoic acid levels.
Results from the most recent tests showed that the health risk to humans from consumption of razor clams remains significant, prompting CDPH to reissue a health advisory on April 20. OEHHA followed that with a recommendation for fishery closure.
The domoic acid present in razor clams remains from the massive toxic algal bloom of Pseudo-nitzschia that occurred last year in the Pacific Ocean.
Algal blooms are common, but this one was particularly large and persistent. CDPH has advised that razor clams are known to retain domoic acid for long periods of time, in some cases more than a year.
CDFW will continue to coordinate with OEHHA and CDPH to test domoic acid levels in razor clams along the north coast to determine when the fishery can safely be opened.
Domoic acid is a potent neurotoxin that can accumulate in shellfish, other invertebrates and sometimes fish. It causes illness and sometimes death in a variety of birds and marine mammals that consume affected organisms.
At low levels, domoic acid exposure can cause nausea, diarrhea and dizziness in humans. At higher levels, it can cause persistent short-term memory loss, seizures and can in some cases be fatal.
OEHHA Memo from April 20: http://nrm.dfg.ca.gov/FileHandler.ashx?DocumentID=122446&inline .
LAKE COUNTY, Calif. – Lake County AmeriCorps is accepting applications for the 2016-17 academic year.
AmeriCorps serves schools in Lake County through the Lake County Office of Education.
Positions available are full-time mentor plus, half-time and quarter time preschool tutors, in-school and after school tutors, Hero Project and Healthy Start members.
Members receive a stipend twice a month and an education award at the end of their service.
It is an opportunity to increase job skills, gain valuable training, and network with school staff and administrators. AmeriCorps provides the training and tools needed for your service.
Interviews will start soon, so they are encouraging those interested in the education field, social services, or behavioral studies and those who want to further their education to apply at www.edjoin.org and search Lake County, then click on Lake County Office of Education to view the job descriptions.
For more information on Lake County AmeriCorps, you can visit their page on Facebook or call 707-263-8796, Extension 241, for more information.