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- Written by: Habitat for Humanity
Funds from the “Brush of Kindness” grant will be used to assist very low and low-income homeowners in repairing and rehabilitating their homes in Lake County.
The public is invited to comment by contacting Tammy Brigham at 707-994-1100 or by mail within 15 days of this announcement.
The statement of activities for this grant is available at Habitat for Humanity Lake County, 15312 Lakeshore Drive, in Clearlake.
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- Written by: Elizabeth Larson
“In light of our worsening wildfire seasons, it makes perfect sense to bolster one of the most effective means of wildfire prevention,” Sen. Dodd said. “That’s why I wrote the law last year to encourage greater use of prescribed fires. This bill continues our efforts by ensuring practitioners of this time-tested technique can be protected from unintended costs. This vote brings us a step closer to achieving that goal.”
Prescribed fire, also known as controlled burning, has been used for centuries to clear tinder-dry trees and brush that are known to fuel runaway wildfires.
Rarely do prescribed fires escape their bounds and cause damage to neighboring properties. If they do, Sen. Dodd’s new bill, Senate Bill 926, would establish a fund to help cover costs.
It is a follow-up to Senate Bill 332, written by Sen. Dodd and signed into law last year, which protects landowners and prescribed fire managers from having to pay fire suppression expenses unless they have acted with gross negligence.
SB 926 is sponsored by The Nature Conservancy. It was approved in the Senate with overwhelming support and heads next to the Assembly.
“Science shows that prescribed fire is vital to curbing catastrophic megafires in California,” said Jay Ziegler, director of policy and external affairs at The Nature Conservancy. “In the big picture, if we are going to restore our forests at a pace and scale, we need to reduce barriers to burning, our most effective long-term landscape fire management tool. SB 926 will do that. We thank Sen. Dodd for his leadership on SB 926 to establish a prescribed fire claims fund.”
“Sen. Dodd’s legislative leadership on prescribed fire and cultural burning is charting a path forward to a safer, healthier, more resilient California,” said Michael Wara, director of the Climate and Energy Policy program at Stanford University. “SB 926 is critical to this path because it will provide a substitute for the now unavailable insurance that prescribed fire practitioners need to practice their craft.”
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- Written by: Elizabeth Larson
This gun violence prevention legislation co-authored by Chairman Thompson includes common sense measures supported by the American people that will help end gun violence and save lives.
The Protecting Our Kids Act is expected to come to the House floor next week for a vote.
“The passage of the Protecting Our Kids Act today by the House Judiciary Committee is an important step forward to help end gun violence,” said Thompson. “By cracking down on gun trafficking, ghost guns and bump stocks, raising the age to purchase certain firearms, strengthening safe gun storage rules, and banning large capacity magazines often used in mass shootings, we can help keep our communities safe and save lives. I look forward to voting on this legislation when it comes to the floor next week and I will continue to do everything in my power to enact common sense gun laws that our nation wants and our country desperately needs.”
Earlier this week, House Gun Violence Prevention Task Force Chairman Rep. Mike Thompson (CA-05), House Judiciary Committee Chairman Jerry Nadler (NY-10) and House Judiciary Crime, Terrorism, and Homeland Security Subcommittee Chairwoman, Sheila Jackson Lee (TX-18) introduced H.R. 7910, Protecting Our Kids Act.
The House Judiciary Committee passed H.R. 7910, the Protecting Our Kids Act, on Thursday by a vote of 25 to 19.
H.R. 7910 would:
• Raise the lawful age to purchase a semiautomatic centerfire rifle from 18 to 21 years old.
• Establish a new federal offense for the import, sale, manufacture, transfer, or possession of a large capacity magazine, with exceptions for certain law enforcement uses and the possession (but not sale) of grandfathered magazines; allow state and local governments to use the Edward Byrne Memorial Justice Assistance Grant Program to compensate individuals who surrender large capacity magazines through a buyback program.
• Establish new federal offenses for gun trafficking and straw purchasers and authorize seizure of the property and proceeds of the offense.
• Establish voluntary best practices for safe firearm storage and award grants for Safe Firearm Storage Assistance Programs.
• Establish requirements to regulate the storage of firearms on residential premises; create criminal penalties for violation of the requirements
• Build on ATF’s regulatory bump stock ban by listing bump stocks under the National Firearms Act and statutorily banning the manufacture, sale, or possession of bump stocks for civilian use.
• Build on ATF’s regulatory ban of ghost guns by ensuring that ghost guns are subject to existing federal firearm regulation by amending the definition of “firearm” to include gun kits and partial receivers and changing the definition of “manufacturing firearms” to include assembling firearms using 3D printing.
Following the tragedy at Sandy Hook Elementary School, then-Democratic Leader Nancy Pelosi appointed Rep. Mike Thompson Chairman of the House Gun Violence Prevention Task Force. This group, consisting of more than 185 Members of Congress, is devoted to finding common sense solutions to our nation’s ongoing gun violence epidemic.
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- Written by: Kathleen Steinberg
LAKE COUNTY, Calif. — On Tuesday, May 17, Dana Di Ricco Benjamin and Dr. Glenn Benjamin welcomed members and guests of the Clear Lake Trowel and Trellis Garden Club to their beautiful ranch in Upper Lake for the club's spring tea celebration.
The weather was perfect and attendees were treated to tours of the hosts' gardens of colorful blooms and eye-catching statues and their state-of-the-art horse barn that houses their award-winning Percherons.
As the tea started guests were seated at tables under the ample shade of the large trees that dotted the freshly mowed lawn.
All of the nine tables were covered with crisp white tablecloths and set with the finest bone china and freshly polished silverware. Each table sported artfully arranged floral bouquets.
In addition, because the event was a tea party, each table was further festooned with its own silver tea set. Yes, it was fancy!
And so were the attendees. The women wore their “Sunday best” and several donned festive-looking hats that would have fit in quite nicely at a Churchill Downs racing event. Even the men in attendance seemed to be “styling” a bit in honor of the occasion.
No tea party would have been complete with the requisite little sandwiches (no crusts, please) and sweet treats commonly served at high tea events, and garden club members extended their creative culinary cunning in making delicious dozens of each which were relished by all.
To add even more flavor to the afternoon, at the end of the tea attendees caught a glimpse of Dr. Glenn Benjamin and his “footman” in a white carriage pulled by a pair of snow white horses as they made their way toward the front of the house where they stopped.
Of course, many hurried over to admire the horses more closely. Some even got to take a short ride in the carriage!
A short time later, festivities at the tea continued when Dana Benjamin presented the gathering with a huge cake which we all shared in devouring with gusto as we participated in a gift exchange and final raffle.
At the end of the afternoon, there was no doubt in anyone's mind that they had all shared some wonderful and memorable moments together and would be looking forward to the tea next year.
Membership in the Clear Lake Trowel and Trellis Garden Club is open to all those who have an interest in gardening. They would like to share a cup of tea with you at our annual tea next spring, or during any of our monthly meetings.
Please call club President Carol Dobush at 707-279-1169 for information. The club is a member of the Mendo-Lake District of the California Garden Club Inc.-Pacific Region and National Garden Clubs Inc.