HIDDEN VALLEY LAKE, Calif. – The Acme Foundation will be celebrating its 13th anniversary on Sunday, March 6, at 2 p.m. in the Greenview Room at Hidden Valley Lake with a book signing event.

Author Bobbi Lippe Mallace will talk about her latest children’s book, “Fluffy, Muffy and Tuffy’s Great Search,” written for children 4 to 8 years old.

Mallace also will be available to sell autographed copies of her book giving a generous portion of the proceeds to The Acme Foundation.

Children are welcome but, due to limited seating, RSVPs are required by March 1. Call 707-928-5200 to RSVP.

Refreshments will be available and there will be a raffle for a dinner for four at the Greenview Room.

There is no fee to attend, although donations are appreciated to help the foundation continue helping the community’s seniors and disabled with the veterinary costs of their seriously ill cats and dogs.

The event is sponsored by the Hidden Valley Lake Association, Patricia Meyer & Associates and Jon “The Tax Man.”

While the continuing resolution does include some meaningful cuts to wasteful spending, it also includes irresponsible cuts that would hurt working families in Northern California and across our country.

Non-security discretionary cuts of the magnitude authorized in the bill would likely result in over 800,000 lost jobs in both the public and private sector.

“Like the American people, the federal government has a responsibility to operate within its means,” said Thompson. “That includes increasing saving and decreasing spending, particularly on programs that have proven to be inefficient or ineffective. This is the very definition of fiscal responsibility and the foundation of a strong economy.

“The continuing resolution may slash spending, but it’s not fiscally responsible,” Thompson continued. “I’m not afraid to cut spending where it’s deserved – in fact, I voted for tens of billions in cuts to wasteful programs over the course of this budget debate. However, this bill completely devastates funding for crucial health care programs, transportation and infrastructure projects, education, and other smart investments that the American people rely on. Cuts of this magnitude will undoubtedly harm our country’s fragile economic recovery and result in hundreds of thousands of lost jobs.”

There are several cuts that are particularly concerning to Rep. Thompson, given their impact on Northern California and the rest of our state. As written, the continuing resolution would:

• Defund federal protections for salmon. The continuing resolution would strip funding for important state water initiatives, including the biological opinions protecting salmon. The economic impact in California’s 1st District would be catastrophic: thousands of jobs and millions of dollars in economic activity could potentially be lost.

• Strip $1.7 billion from the Social Security Administration (SSA). H.R. 1 would cut over a billion dollars from SSA for the remainder of the year, a cut so drastic that SSA would need to impose significant furloughs. An agency shut down would force over half a million new retirees, disabled workers and survivors into a backlog before they could receive the benefits they earned.

• Slash $1.3 billion in funding for Community Health Centers, including $32 million for clinics in California. The continuing resolution would cause nearly half a million patients to lose access to cost-effective care and over 750 health care workers to lose their jobs statewide. In Northern California, over 38,500 local patients would have reduced access to health care services and over 30 full-time staff could lose their jobs. Decreased access to community health centers would result in more Californians going to emergency rooms, driving up the cost of care. H.R. 1 would also reverse steps taken to properly fund physician reimbursement for primary care doctors and doctors in rural areas. Taken together, these provisions will increase the cost of health care all Americans.

• Reduces the Pell Grant scholarship maximum award. H.R. 1 would reduce access to higher education for hundreds of California students. By decreasing the Pell Grant scholarship award, many grant recipients in our community would be forced to take out more loans to afford their college tuition and fees. Since higher education prepares our students to compete in a 21st century economy, the continuing resolution is a direct threat to America’s ongoing economic recovery and global competitiveness.

• Eliminates Title X, the nation’s family planning program, and federal funding for Planned Parenthood. The continuing resolution eliminates the Title X program and prohibits all federal funding for Planned Parenthood, one of the largest women’s health providers. Millions of women in California and across our country will lose access to basic primary and preventive health care, including lifesaving cancer screenings, family planning, contraception, STI testing and treatment, and annual exams.

Both President Obama and Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid have stated they will not support the House bill as written, leaving the House and Senate very little time to come up with a compromise before the current continuing resolution expires and government is forced to shut down on March 4.

“Unreasonable efforts like this one just bring us closer to a government shutdown,” Thompson continued. “Closing our government would mean seniors wouldn’t receive their Social Security checks, airport security operations would come to a halt, and veterans’ benefits would be stopped. These are real consequences for real Americans, including families in our district.”

The full course meal features traditional corned beef and cabbage, potatoes, onions and carrots, along with Colcannon, soda bread and mint chocolate chip ice cream for dessert at $20 per person.

The pub will open with green beer and wine at 5:30 p.m., dinner will be served at 6 p.m.

For tickets please telephone Jeanette at 707-263-6390 or Judy at 707-263-3174.

Hurry, seating is limited and goes fast.

CLEARLAKE, Calif. – The Lake County Historical Society will enjoy its general membership meeting on Sunday, Feb. 27, at the Highland Senior Services Center, 3245 Bowers Ave., in Clearlake.

Join the group at 1 p.m. to relax and enjoy listening to the meeting's speaker, retired District 1 Supervisor Ed Robey.

Robey will provide a historical perspective on the founding and growth of the city of Clearlake.

He has been intimately involved with Clearlake. Residents called on him in 1980 to help found the new city, and they elected him to the first Clearlake City Council.

Robey served three terms on the Clearlake City Council and two terms as mayor. He went on to serve eight years on the Lake County Planning Commission and was elected a county supervisor in 1996. He retired from the Board of Supervisors in 2008 having served three terms representing District 1.

Refreshments will be available. Donated cookies and cake to share would be appreciated.

If you have any questions please call President Phil Smoley at 707-349-1008.

Offered for sale at very reasonable prices are potted plants and specialty plants from member’s gardens which do well in our area.

Also available will be arrangements of fresh flowers suitable for Mother’s Day gifts.

The yard sale will have garden related and household items. Refreshments such as baked goods, hot dogs, chips and drinks will be available for purchase.

This year, for the first time, Master Gardeners will be on hand to answer questions and a special area will be set up for children’s activities.

Funds raised from the sale help to support the HVL Garden Club activities which include beautification of common areas in Hidden Valley Lake; beautification and litter patrol of Hartmann Road; educational presentations at the club’s monthly meetings, support for landscaping for Habitat for Humanity homes and special events.

All HVL Garden Club meetings are open to the public.

Meetings are held the second Monday of each month with a social gathering at 9:30 a.m. followed by the business meeting at 10 a.m. in the administrative office of the Hidden Valley Lake Association, 18174 Hidden Valley Road, Hidden Valley Lake.

For further information please contact Angela Birk at 987-0195, This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it..

The mission of the HVL Garden Club is to provide members a greater sense of appreciation, pride and knowledge about our private and public gardens and for the study and enjoyment of amateur gardening in various aspects and applications.

The meeting will begin at 2:30 p.m. at the Lake County Office of Education's Kesey Room, 1152 S. Main St., Lakeport.

Agenda items include election officers, adoption of a by-laws amendment relative to designees for members-at-large, adoption of a policy in support of the long-term continuation of First 5, a request to the Board of Supervisors to send the state legislature a letter in support of First 5, discussion on LCCAA’s current status and consideration to rescind First 5’s agreement with LCCAA, kindergarten entry data profile results, a presentation on current activities for National Children’s Dental Health Month, the executive director’s report and commissioner’s reports.

The commission also will hold a closed session performance evaluation of Executive Director Tom Jordan.

For more information contact Lake County First 5 at 707-263-6169 or visit www.firstfivelake.org.