Mama’s Kitchen has launched its first-ever Thanksgiving bake sale, Pie in the Sky. Volunteers are selling items through businesses, schools and organizations all over San Diego County until Nov. 16. The pies will also be available for pick-up at various sites on Wednesday, Nov. 23.

Through the sale of pumpkin, pecan and apple pies, which are donated by local pastry chefs, caterers and bakeries, Mama’s Kitchen hopes to raise enough money to fund 400,000 home-delivered, hot and nutritious meals to families in San Diego County affected by HIV/AIDS. The proceeds from the Pie in the Sky bake sale will enable the organization to continue its mission.

The new fund-raising event was initiated to recoup the recent losses in government funding, which totaled $115,000 in fiscal 2005. The event kicked off at Pie Central on Oct. 12, with a party featuring a celebrity pie-eating contest and an appearance by San Diego Charger Ben Leber.

“Each bite that you savor of these delicious pies will warm your heart when you consider that the proceeds are brightening the lives of thousands of San Diego’s most needy citizens,” said Alberto Cortès, executive director of Mama’s Kitchen.

Mama’s Kitchen was founded in 1990 when volunteers from the AIDS Assistance Fund, a food bank for people with AIDS, discovered that many of their clients were becoming too ill to take care of themselves. Today, Mama’s Kitchen prepares and delivers three meals a day for every day of the week to about 300 men, women and children affected by HIV/AIDS in San Diego County. For more information, visit their Web site at www.mamaskitchen.org.

Assemblymember Lori Saldaña, D-San Diego, will host “Home Buying 101” on Wednesday, Nov. 2, from 5:30 to 7:30 p.m. at the North Park Recreation Center.

The event is aimed at first-time homebuyers looking for information on down-payment assistance and below-market fixed-rate loans, and will also provide assistance for veterans and their families. Information will be available about current state legislation geared to enhance housing affordability for moderate- and low-income families.

“A lot of people looking to buy their first home don’t know where to start or what assistance is available, Saldaña said. “This workshop is designed to give them access to the information they need to navigate the complexities of buying a home in the San Diego housing market.”

Saldaña, who represents the 76th Assembly District, said the information would be useful to anyone planning on buying a home.

Among the participants will be representatives from the San Diego Housing Commission, the California Housing Finance Authority and the San Diego Association of Realtors.

The North Park Recreation Center is located at 4044 Idaho St. To RSVP or for more information, call (619) 645-3090.

Anita Hill, who testified during the 1991 Senate confirmation hearings of Supreme Court Justice Clarence Thomas, will speak about gender, race and the future of the court on Thursday, Nov. 3, at 7:00 p.m. at UCSD’s Price Center Ballroom. Hill, a professor, is the author of Speaking Truth to Power, which recounts her personal experience as a witness in the Senate confirmation hearings.

The event, which is free and open to the public, is co-sponsored by the UCSD Women’s Center, UCSD’s Office of Sexual Harassment Prevention & Policy, University Events, the Women’s History Museum and the Helen Edison Lecture Series. For more information, call the University Events Office at (858) 534-4090.

J*Pride, San Diego’s Jewish GLBT community and the San Diego Jewish Book Fair, a program of the San Diego Center for Jewish Culture, have arranged for Jewish lesbian author Lesléa Newman to discuss her new collection of short stories, A Letter to Harvey Milk, at the San Diego Jewish Book Fair on Sunday, Nov. 13.

Newman is the author of 50 books, including the pioneering work Heather Has Two Mommies. Many of her books concern themselves with lesbian identity and Jewish identity, as well as current topics such as AIDS, eating disorders and sexual abuse. Her literary awards include poetry fellowships from the Massachusetts Artists Fellowship Foundation and the National Endowment for the Arts, the James Baldwin Award for Cultural Achievement and three Pushcart Prize nominations. Nine of her books have been Lambda Literary Award finalists.

The Nov. 13 event begins at 5:00 p.m. at the David & Dorothea Garfield Theatre of the Lawrence Family Jewish Community Center in La Jolla. The theatre is located at 4126 Executive Dr.

J*Pride will host a reception with the author following the event, and all who attend the event are invited. For more information, call (858) 457-3030. Tickets are $7.50 for members and $9.50 for non-members. To purchase tickets, call the JCC box office at (858) 362-1348.

The California chapter of the National Organization for Women (NOW) and WAGE (We Advocate Gender Equity) join forces to put sex discrimination on trial at the WAGE annual fall meeting at the Malcolm X Library, taking place Saturday, Nov. 5, from 12:00 noon to 4:00 p.m.

The forum will feature a luncheon presentation, “Going Beyond Struggle to Victory,” by California NOW president Kimberly Salter. As the leader of the largest state feminist organization in the country, Salter will address the slow but incremental progress women are making in the paid labor force.

A mock trial featuring prominent Oakland civil rights attorneys Anne Weills and Dan Siegel will follow the luncheon. Weills and Siegel will render opposing arguments from a real case involving claims of pay inequity, tenure denial and sexual harassment at a well-known university.

Weills and Siegel are widely known for representing clients in academic discrimination cases, including UC Berkeley professor Jenny Harrison, whose successful case led to the formation of WAGE in 1993. The afternoon will conclude with a press conference led by Weills, Siegel, Salter and representatives from participating organizations.

Salter is an organizational psychologist who works with individuals and organizations to assist them in having healthy relationships and effective communication in their personal and professional lives. A longtime feminist activist, Salter was elected president of the National Organization of Women’s California chapter in July 2005.

“WAGE is pleased to bring such strong social justice advocates together to examine ways to truly achieve gender equality within academia and other work environments,” WAGE co-chair Pat Washington said. “Participants will learn strategies that will help them navigate their own work experiences.”

Attendees may bring a bag lunch. However, a luncheon buffet will be available for $20 per person with advance reservation. Checks for the luncheon buffet should be made payable to WAGE.

The Malcolm X Library is located at 5148 Market St. All Malcolm X Library events are free and open to the public. For more information, call Pat Washington at (619) 582-5383. For more information about WAGE, visit their Web site at www.wage.org.

Komen San Diego’s Race for the Cure is San Diego County’s largest race supporting local breast cancer education and awareness. This year’s co-ed 5K (3.1-mile) run takes place in Balboa Park on Sunday, Nov. 6. A new event, Kids for the Cure, encourages families to educate children ages 12 and under about breast cancer awareness by allowing their children to join the thousands of expected race participants in this year’s Race for the Cure. In addition, San Diegans that cannot attend the Race for the Cure can participate in Sleep In for the Cure, an opportunity provided by Komen San Diego that allows people to pay a fee slightly more than the race entry fee and receive a special Sleep In for the Cure nightshirt. The costs for Race for the Cure, Kids for the Cure and Sleep In for the Cure are $25, $15 and $30, respectively.

Proceeds from Race for the Cure, Kids for the Cure and Sleep In for the Cure benefit the Komen Foundation, with 75 percent of all proceeds remaining in San Diego for breast cancer education, screening and diagnosis. The remaining 25 percent supports national breast cancer research programs.

For more information, visit the national Web site at www.komen.org or the San Diego affiliate Web site at www.sdkomen.org. Sign up for the race at the Komen San Diego Web site, or call In Motion at (760) 692-2900.