Icon covers events

When my calendar comes up, there is an icon in red with the "M" that is like the Gmail icon. I have to click on it before it will go away and let me see the events listed underneath. After a few minutes, it then comes back. I need to have a view of my events at all times, not just when I think about it. I have the calendar on my sidebar to remind me of things I would otherwise forget about. Is there a way to make this icon never appear?

I'm having the same the issue. Except when I click on the logo, IE is launched and it tries to get me to sign into Google.

That GMail icon is shown there because the gadget notifies you that you have unread emails in your GMail account.

If you don't need that, please uncheck "Check GMail" checkbox on the settings panel.