LAKEPORT – The team captain's meeting for the American Cancer Society Relay For Life will be held Thursday, March 4.

The meeting will begin at 6 p.m. at the Sutter Lakeside Wellness Center, 5176 Hill Road East, Lakeport.

The committee meeting will follow.

The wellness center is the building behind the hospital. Go through the doors, up the elevator, past the gym, and look for the balloons and signs.

All are welcome to attend, start a team, join a team, be on a committee and help fight back against cancer.

The Relay for Life will take place May 15 and 16 at Kelseyville High School.

LAKE COUNTY – In honor of Black History Month, KPFZ 88.1 FM “Woman’s Voices” show this Thursday, Feb. 25, will feature Voris Brumfield and Aqeela El-Amin Bakheit.

The show will begin at 9 a.m.

Brumfield will share her life experiences growing up in segregated Houston, Texas, with listeners and hosts Rae Eby-Carl, Gloria Flaherty, Loretta McCarthy and Lenny Matthews.

Bakheit, president of Lake County's chapter of the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People, is finishing up her master's thesis on gender, race and our judicial system, and will discuss those issues on the show.

Listeners are encouraged to call in with any questions or comments for the show's guests. The studio call in number is 707-263-3435.

If you are donating to charities providing earthquake relief in Haiti, you may be able to claim those donations on your 2009 tax return.

Here are 10 important facts the Internal Revenue Service wants you to know about this special provision.

A new law allows you to claim donations for Haitian relief on your 2009 tax return, which you will be filing this year.

The contributions must be made specifically for the relief of victims in areas affected by the Jan. 12 earthquake in Haiti.

To be eligible for a deduction on the 2009 tax return, donations must be made after Jan. 11, 2010, and before March 1, 2010.

In order to be deductible, contributions must be made to qualified charities and can not be designated for the benefit of specific individuals or families.

The new law applies only to cash contributions.

Cash contributions made by text message, check, credit card or debit card may be claimed on your federal tax return.

You must itemize your deductions in order to claim these donations on your tax return.

You have the option of deducting these contributions on either your 2009 or 2010 tax return, but not both.

Contributions made to foreign organizations generally are not deductible. You can find out more about organizations helping Haitian earthquake victims from agencies such as the U.S. Agency for International Development ( www.usaid.gov ).

Federal law requires that you keep a record of any deductible donations you make.

For donations by text message, a telephone bill will meet the record-keeping requirement if it shows the name of the organization receiving your donation, the date of the contribution, and the amount given.

For cash contributions made by other means, be sure to keep a bank record, such as a canceled check or a receipt from the charity. Receipts should show the name of the charity, the date and amount of the contribution.

For more information see IRS Publication 526, Charitable Contributions and Publication 3833, Disaster Relief: Providing Assistance through Charitable Organizations. To determine if an organization is a qualified charity visit IRS.gov, keyword "Search for Charities." Note that some organizations, such as churches or governments, may be qualified even though they are not listed on www.irs.gov .

LOS ANGELES – On Monday California Attorney General Edmund G. Brown Jr. joined the California Department of Real Estate (DRE) and the State Bar of California in warning Californians to avoid forensic loan audits, the loan-modification industry's latest "phony foreclosure-relief service," in which homeowners pay up-front fees for a forensic review of their lender's practices, but are provided no actual foreclosure relief.

"Forensic loan audits are yet another phony foreclosure-relief service hawked by loan-modification consultants trying to cash in on the desperation of homeowners facing foreclosure," Brown said. "The foreclosure-relief industry continues to be long on promises, but short on results."

Individuals and businesses who offer forensic loan audits use inflated and misleading claims to convince homeowners to pay up-front fees for services that produce no actual foreclosure relief.

Homeowners are encouraged to pay for an audit of their mortgage loan file to determine their lender's compliance with state and federal mortgage-lending laws. This audit is pitched to homeowners as a tool they can use to gain leverage and speed up the loan-modification process.

In truth, there is no evidence or statistical data to support claims that forensic loan audits-even if performed by a licensed, legitimate and trained auditor, mortgage professional or lawyer-will help homeowners obtain loan modifications or provide any other foreclosure relief.

"The State Bar is committed to dealing with all aspects of loan foreclosure fraud involving attorneys," said State Bar President Howard Miller. "We will continue to work with all the other government agencies to prevent fraud and to move for disciplinary sanctions against attorneys who violate their obligations to their clients."

By law, all individuals and businesses offering mortgage-foreclosure consulting, loan-modification and foreclosure-assistance services must register with Brown's office and post a $100,000 bond. It is also illegal for loan-modification consultants and businesses to charge up-front fees for their services.

Brown has sought court orders to shut down more than 30 fraudulent foreclosure-relief companies and has brought criminal charges and obtained lengthy prison sentences for dozens of deceptive loan-modification consultants.

In 2009, the DRE investigated more than 2,000 complaints involving loan-modification scams. Nearly 350 individuals and companies received a desist and refrain order to stop illegal activity.

"The DRE has aggressively pursued loan-modification scammers who prey on vulnerable and financially stressed homeowners, and those peddling false hope by promising mortgage relief with a forensic audit will be scrutinized," stated Real Estate Commissioner Jeff Davi. "With consumer education efforts and warnings, we hope to keep consumers from falling victim in the first place."

As part of the consumer alert, Brown offered the following tips to homeowners:

• Don't pay up-front fees. Foreclosure consultants are prohibited by law from collecting money before services are performed.

• Don't ignore letters from your lender or loan servicer. Responding to those letters is your best bet for saving your house.

• Don't transfer title or sell your house to a "foreclosure rescuer." Beware! This is a scam to convince homeowners they can stay in the home as renters and buy their home back later. It could also be part of a fraudulent bankruptcy filing. Either way, a scammer can then evict you and take your home.

• Don't pay your mortgage payments to anyone other than your lender or loan servicer. Mortgage consultants often keep the money for themselves.

• Never sign any documents without reading them first. Many homeowners think that they are signing documents for a loan modification or for a new loan to pay off their delinquent mortgage. Later, they discover that they actually transferred ownership of their home to someone who is now trying to evict them.

Nonprofit housing counselors certified by the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development provide free help to homeowners. To find a counselor in your area, call 1-800-569-4287.

If you are a homeowner who has been scammed, you can contact Brown's office at 1-800-952-5225 or file a complaint online at: www.ag.ca.gov/consumers/general.php . You can also learn more about avoiding scams and obtain a complaint form by visiting the DRE's web site at: www.dre.ca.gov .

If you have a complaint against a lawyer, contact the State Bar Complaint Hotline at 1-800-843-9053. Complaint forms and an explanation of the attorney discipline system are available online at: www.calbar.ca.gov .

In 2009, California accounted for 22 percent of the nation's foreclosure activity, with 632,573 homes in foreclosure statewide. This is an annual increase of more than 20 percent in foreclosure activity from 2008 and a 150 percent increase from 2007.

For more information on Brown's action against loan-modification fraud visit http://ag.ca.gov/loanmod .

LAKE COUNTY – The Konocti Regional Trails (KRT) Web site has undergone some major upgrades to make it more interactive.

The site, located at www.konoctitrails.com , contains information about a countywide effort to develop non-motorized trails on and around Clear Lake in Lake County.

The new Web site has been developed to be more interactive, allowing you to give us feedback on some of the concepts.

New features include:

• Video footage and slide-shows of outdoor recreation in Lake County;

• A calender with upcoming trails events, cleanup days, races, fundraisers, lectures – anything to do with nonmotorized outdoor recreational activities in Lake County (businesses and organizations are welcome to post events);

• Map to public access points on Clear Lake;

• Water trails and current land trail maps;

• Lake levels and weather;

• Press releases and trails updates;

• Results from workshops one and two, and the online survey;

• Details on the five major study areas and conceptual trail ideas developed from the workshops;

• Discussion group, where interested persons can provide feedback/post comments on ideas generated.

The Konocti Regional Trails group is comprised of representatives from various Lake County departments, organizations and volunteers. They need public support and help to make this a reality.

How can you help? Here are some suggestions:

• Provide input on trail concepts and connections in the KRT discussion group;

• Attend meetings, give political support;

• By volunteering to build and/or maintain trails – add your name to the list on the Web site;

• Collect information on potential trail routes by use of GPS and ground-truthing;

• Write up summaries/descriptions of current trails for posting on the Web site;

• Write up grant proposals;

• Network with other groups.

For more information or to make suggestions, view the KRT discussion group or email This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. .

LAKEPORT – Clear Lake Trowel & Trellis Garden Club (CLTTGC) is honoring Carol Kesey by awarding one of two $1,000 scholarships in her name.

CLTTGC was organized in Sept. 21, 1955. Kesey, a charter member, celebrated her 92nd birthday Dec. 5, 2009.

She said that in 1955 “instead of being one of the oldest members I was one of the youngest with a baby girl in tow.”

Kesey continues to be a very active member. She enjoys growing and sharing her beautiful flowers. We are all blessed when we drive by her home and take in the lovely view.

She helped name the club when a proper name was required in order to enter in the Lake County Fair. Kesey has consistently won numerous awards with her show stopping arrangements and individual flower specimen’s that she enters in the fair each year.

Kesey grows prize-winning chrysanthemums which she graciously shares with arrangers participating in the November Chrysanthemum Show, which is free to the public.

She is from a family of educators and is aware of the value of a college education and the need for scholarships to aid in reaching that goal.

Kesey taught at Lakeport Grammar School. Her husband, the late Bill Kesey, was Lake County School Superintendent. Their son, Tom Kesey, is a retired vice president of Mendocino College. Tom Kesey’s wife, Jane, taught for Ukiah’s schools.

Tom and Jane Kesey’s son, Roy Kesey, is an international teacher and author of several books. Roy Kesey has taught in France, Peru and China.

Alexandria, Tom and Jane Kesey’s 10-year-old granddaughter, is following in her great-grandma Carol’s footsteps and has entered and won awards in flower arranging in the Ukiah District Fair. She enjoys going through her great-grandma's collection of vases to choose just the right one.

Kesey's two other children, Jim and Laura, also are college graduates with careers in other areas.

In 1992 CLTTGC established a scholarship fund of $250 in memory of Elizabeth Whitehead. By 2004 the scholarships fund had grown to its present level of two $1,000 scholarships.

Watch for a news release from CLTTGC Scholarship committee detailing all the information needed to apply for one of our scholarships.

For more information see www.clttgc.org .

The garden club meets at noon on the third Tuesday of the month at the Scotts Valley Women's Club House, 2298 Hendricks Road, Lakeport.

Members, guests and all interested are most welcome. President Jo Jameson, 707-263-4039, invites interested gardeners to join us.

Clear Lake Trowel & Trellis Garden Club is a member of Mendo-Lake District, California Garden Club Inc., Pacific Region and National Garden Clubs Inc.

Ann Blue is a member of the Clear Lake Trowel & Trellis Garden Club and last year's scholarship committee chair.