Efren Carrillo - Our Community

Congratulations to everyone involved in the building, design, and planning for Harmony Union School District’s Salmon Creek Falls Environmental Center at their Occidental campus. Victoria Johnson reports that it has earned the very first LEED PLATINUM certification in Sonoma County, and is the only LEED Platinum public school building in the State! This remarkable achievement resulted from true community collaboration and a lot of hard work.

An important special election for the Russian River Redevelopment Oversight Committee (RRROC) will take place on December 18, 2009 between 5:00 p.m. and 8:00 p.m. Mail in ballots can be sent if they are received by December 17th.

For details about the election and to read candidate statements, visit www.sonoma-county.org/cdc/rrroc_election.htm
The RRROC provides citizen input and makes funding recommendations for the Russian River Redevelopment Project. Information about meetings and updates are also available at the CDC website.

There are five RRROC seats up for the election in 2009:

• Two seats in the Residential Tenant category (candidates: Amber Twitchell, Chris Auzton, and Dawn Robinson-Warner)
• Two seats in the Residential Owner-Occupant/Residential Property Owner category (candidates: Ken Wikle, Rex Good, and Tom Lynch)
• One seat in the Business Owner/Business Property owner category (running unopposed: Elio Buck Sierra)

The Sonoma County Energy Independence Program (SCEIP) recently reached the $40 million mark in applications. This program provides financing for homeowners and building owners to make energy and water upgrades. From new insulation and windows to toilets and heaters and solar panels, this program is making homes and buildings throughout Sonoma County more energy and water efficient. Many thanks go to Assemblyman Jared Huffman for authoring AB811 which paved the way for our SCEIP program and its financing mechanism.

Local residents from large ranches to individual homeowners have taken advantage of this program. The Dutton Ranch near Sebastopol installed solar panels on their workers' housing that offset up to 99% of the building's electricity needs. This system saves more in electricity costs than their payments.

Having a professional perform an audit of your home or building can reveal inexpensive, easy repairs that can save a lot of energy. For example, a few small efficiency improvements such as duct sealing and insulation can reduce the size of a planned solar system substantially and therefore the system cost.

Russell Gaughen of Monte Rio chose to improve his 1950s era home's energy efficiency on his own by replacing windows, doors and insulation. After making sure his building envelope was energy efficient, the SCEIP program allowed Russell the financing mechanism to install the solar upgrade that he had longed for. With his solar panel system in place, he will pay for it over time with the money he saves on energy bills.

Following on the heels of SCEIP, a collaboration developed by the County and major cities (Santa Rosa, Petaluma, and Rohnert Park) resulted in the newly created Sonoma County Regional Climate Protection Authority which will work with the Climate Protection Campaign to design and implement a one-stop retrofit service. The retrofit program, due to launch in April 2010, will provide energy analysis, finance packages and options (SCEIP), and access to certified contractors through a single contact point.

Funded in part by federal stimulus money, the design and implementation of the retrofit program will include stakeholder input and collaboration with existing programs. The first quarter of 2010 is the critical input and design period for the program. For information or to provide resources, contact Chris Cone (ccone@climateprotectioncampaign.org or 525-1665x118).

To take advantage of the SCEIP program, contact Sonoma County Energy Independence Program (www.sonomacountyenergy.org or 521-6200)

This Christmas season is a great time to support the work of Starcross Community, in the Annapolis hills, which serves the needs of children with HIV/AIDS both locally and internationally. The Starcross story shows that the work of few can make a difference in the lives of many. Starcross relies on Holiday sales to support their work year round. This has been an especially challenging for them with their olive harvest reduced by 90%, so please visit their website at www.starcross.org for both inspiration and to show support with a gift purchase or donation.

This year has been difficult for many in our community, and challenges lie ahead for all of us in the coming year...The Holidays are a good time to slow down, breathe, and appreciate friends, family, and our beautiful county. I hope this season brings all of you opportunities for joy and reflection, and a look forward to the turn of the year.

County offices will be closed from Christmas Eve through January 3rd, as part of a cost saving measures agreed to by our employees.

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Higher Education Fiscal Crisis Protects Wealthy

By Peter Phillips

Police are arresting and attacking student protesters on University of California (UC) campuses again. “Why did he beat me I wasn’t doing anything,” screamed a young Cal Berkeley women student over KPFA radio on Friday evening November 20. Students are protesting the 32% increase in tuition imposed by the UC regents in a time of severe state deficits. The Board of Regents claims that they have no choice. Students will now have to pay over $10,000 in tuition annually for a public university education that was free only a few decades ago.

The corporate media spins the tuition protests as if we are all suffering during the recession. For example, the San Diego Union Tribune November 20 writes, “These students need a course in Reality 101. And the reality is that there is virtually no segment of American society that is not straining with the economic recession. With UC facing a $535 million budget gap due to state cuts, the regents have to confront reality and make tough choices. So should students.”

Yet, the reality is something quite different. Our current budget crisis in California and the rest of the country has been artificially created by cutting taxes on the wealthiest people and corporations. The corporate elites in the US, the top 1% who own close to half the wealth, are the beneficiaries of massive tax cuts over the past few decades. While at the same time working people are paying more through increased sales and use taxes and higher public college tuition.

The wealthy hide their money abroad. Rachel Keeler with Dollars & Sense reports (November 19th & 29th stories) that over the years, trillions of dollars in both corporate profits and personal wealth have migrated offshore in search of rock-bottom tax rates and the comfort of no questions asked. Offshore banks now harbor an estimated $11.5 trillion in individual wealth alone, and were a significant contributing factor to the international economic downturn in 2008.

According to the California Budget Project, tax cuts enacted in California, since 1993, cost the state $11.3 billion dollars annually. Had the state continued taxing corporations and the wealthy at rates equal to those fifteen years ago there would not be a budget crisis in California. Even though a budget deficit was evident last year, California income tax laws were changed in February of 2009 to provide corporations with even greater tax savings—equal to over $2 billion per year. California is similar to the rest of the country where the wealthy and corporate elites enjoy economic protection through increased costs to working people.

Higher education has been cut in twenty-eight states in the 2009-10 school year and further, even more drastic cuts, are likely in the years ahead. California State University (CSU) system is planning to reduce enrollments by 40,000 students in the fall of 2010. The CSU Trustees have imposed steep tuition hikes and forced faculty and staff to take non-paid furlough days equal to 10% of salaries.

The students who are protesting tuition increases know they are being ripped off. They know that we are bailing out the rich with hundreds of billions dollars for Wall Street and massive budget cuts for the rest of us. The corporate media doesn’t explain to over-taxed working families how they are paying more while the rich sock it away.

The current economic crisis is a shock and awe process designed to undermine low-cost higher education, force labor concessions from working people and protect the wealthy. We need higher taxes on the corporations and the top 1%, combined with free public college education and tax breaks for working families. And, we must have a media that tells us the truth about inequality and wealth. A true economic stimulus increases spending from the bottom up not the top down.

Peter Phillips is a professor of sociology at Sonoma State University, President of Media Freedom Foundation, and recent past director of Project Censored.


Daily News at: http://mediafreedom.pnn.com/5174-independent-news-sources

Validated News & Research at: http://www.mediafreedominternational.org/

Daily Censored Blog at: http://dailycensored.com/

Project Censored: http://www.projectcensored.org/

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California State Parks Initiative

“It is with great hope that I report that a significant step towards sustainability for our State Parks was taken this week by the California State Parks Foundation and partners. On November 3rd a proposed statewide ballot measure was filed with the Attorney General's office. The "California State Parks and Wildlife Conservation Trust Fund Act of 2010, would create a stable, reliable and adequate source of funding to protect state parks and conserve California wildlife." - Michelle Luna, Stewards of the Coast & Redwoods

Initiative Basics:

The State Parks and Wildlife Conservation Trust Fund ("Trust Fund") revenues could only be spent on state parks, wildlife, natural lands and ocean conservation programs.

The Trust Fund would be funded by an $18 annual State Park Access Pass surcharge on all California cars, motorcycles and recreational vehicles that would be collected by the Department of Motor Vehicles as part of the annual vehicle license fee. Larger commercial vehicles (those subject to the Commercial Vehicle Registration Act), mobile homes and permanent trailers would be exempt.

Vehicles subject to the surcharge and all occupants of those vehicles would have free day use admission to all state parks throughout the year.

Trust Fund revenues would amount to approximately $500 million each year (based on about 28 million registered vehicles) and 85% would be allocated to state parks and 15% to other state wildlife and ocean protection agencies.

With a new dedicated revenue stream in place, approximately $130 million of General Fund dollars, that provide a portion of overall state parks funding, would now be available for other vital needs, like schools, health care, social services or public safety.

The Trust Fund would be subject to an independent audit by the State Auditor and a Citizens' Oversight Committee would be created to ensure funds are spent appropriately. Audit, oversight and administrative costs of this measure would be limited to 1% of the annual revenues.

Next Step - Qualified Signatures on Petitions

The next step will be to qualify enough signatures in the next few moths to get the initiative on the ballot in November of 2010. Stewards will be spearheading this effort in Sonoma County and if you are willing to help, please email stewards@mcn.org with your name, preferred email address and phone number. I will have more information after November 16th and will send out another update at that time.

Other Ways for you to Help Stewards Restore Services in our Parks

Support our Quilt drawing with a donation online. The drawing will take place at the Annual Volunteer Celebration on December 4, 2009.

Support our Holiday Online Auction (see below)

We are honored to have recently received another challenge grant from the Dean Witter Foundation for general support. The $20,000 award includes a $10,000 matching grant, which means we need your help to raise the $10,000 that will be matched by the Dean Witter Foundation dollar for dollar.

If you are able to donate now.

Thanks for your continued support,
Michele Luna

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The Klamath River Renewal Battle

Photo of the Klamath River form www.friendsoftheriver.org

River of Renewal traces the longtime battle
over salmon and water in the Klamath Basin

The Klamath Basin in Northern California and southeastern Oregon is home to ranchers, farmers, commercial fisherman and the Yurok, Karuk and Hupa tribes. Since the mid-1800s, these groups have vied for rights to the Klamath River and its tributaries, which are vital spawning habitat for wild Pacific salmon. Hydroelectric dams have impeded the salmons’ ability to migrate between the ocean and their breeding grounds, and low river levels resulting from agricultural use have caused the mass death of migrating fish.

Remarkably, after years of conflict and negotiations, these groups recently came to agreement to share water and improve the river habitat. In September, the Secretary of the Interior announced an agreement with the PacifiCorp electric power company, based in Portland, Ore., and the governors of California and Oregon to remove the four hydroelectric dams on the Klamath River. River of Renewal, winner of Best Documentary at the American Indian Film Festival in 2008, traces the tumultuous back story of these accords. Presented by Native American Public Telecommunications (NAPT) and the National Educational Telecommunications Association (NETA) for Native American Heritage Month, the 55-minute documentary begins airing in November. Check your local public television station’s schedule for broadcast dates and times.

Producer and narrator Jack Kohler (Yurok/Karuk/Hupa) travels back to his ancestral land to explore the history of the conflict from a Native perspective. He learns about cultural traditions that revolve around salmon and listens to his people talk about their long struggle to establish fishing rights and mend river conditions. River of Renewal captures eight years of protests, meetings and political action concerning the Klamath and provides viewers with an insider’s view of the saga.

“The dams were built in a time when jobs were needed and sources of energy were scarce,” Kohler says. “Now we realize the mistakes that were made. It is time to fix those mistakes. How can we make the world an ecologically sound and environmentally safe place to live? In one century, we have wreaked havoc on our mother earth, and now it is time to Pikiawish—renew the world.”

The River of Renewal website offers viewers more information about the new agreement, a guide to taking political action in favor of dam removal, and a guide to methods of conflict resolution that helped resolve the Klamath clashes. Visitors can also learn more about salmon, the ecology of the Klamath Basin and tribal history. A viewer guide and other educational tools are available for educators and community groups.

River of Renewal, a Pikiawish Partners production in association with Specialty Studios, is produced by Jack Kohler, Steve Michelson and Stephen Most and directed by Carlos Bolado. Major funding was provided by the Corporation for Public Broadcasting.
Web site: www.riverofrenewal.org

Jack Kohler has been a resident of Sonoma County since 1986. He began his film making career in 1997 working on the Production team of "Grand Avenue" and then getting a small supporting role in that film. The first film he co-produced, "California's Lost Tribes" aired on PBS nationally in 2006 & 2007. It included the issues surrounding Indian Gaming, including key moments in the Rohnert Park Community meetings about the Graton Rancheria Casino. His new documentary "River of Renewal" was eight years in the making. It chronicles the on going battle over the resources of Northern California’s and Oregon’s Klamath Basin. The film reveals how different dominant groups over the generations have extracted resources from the Klamath Basin with disastrous consequences including the collapse of wild salmon populations. This collision between sustainability and exploitation of our precious and diminishing resources may result in the largest dam removal project in history and the restoration of a once vital river.

Image of dead salmon in Klamath River from:
http://voices.washingtonpost.com/cheney/chapters/leaving_no_tracks/
An estimated 77,000 salmon washed up on the banks of the Klamath River. In 2006, the government declared a "commercial fishery failure" on the West Coast. Image: dead salmon line the banks of the Klamath River in Sept. 2002.

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State Parks Access Pass Funding Solution

Stewards of the Coast & Redwoods is working
to restore services in our parks.

· We are raising the funds needed to keep the State Park Visitor Center and public restrooms in Jenner open.
· We are determined to continue providing opportunities for over 5,000 school children each year to use our Russian River area State Parks as their outdoor classrooms. This means funding portable restrooms for their use and maintaining the staff support needed for our docent-led environmental education programs.
· With the reduction in seasonal park staff, we are organizing volunteers to staff the entrance station at Armstrong Redwoods SNR during the off season to encourage park users to pay required fees and to provide park information.
· At this time, it is looking promising that we will move forward under the leadership of the California State Parks Foundation to pass a ballot measure in November 2010 to provide sustainable funding for the State Park system. If approved, a surcharge on our annual vehicle license fee will provide Californians with a State Park Access Pass, allowing free day use in almost all of California’s State Parks. Stewards will lead this effort in Sonoma County.

Michele Luna, Executive Director
Stewards of the Coast and Redwoods
(707) 869-9177 Ext. 4# - Office
mluna@mcn.org
www.stewardsofthecoastandredwoods.org

State Park Service Reductions
to Meet Budget Cuts and Keep Parks Open
with Minimal Disruptions

In keeping with Governor Schwarzenegger’s plan for keeping parks open, California State Parks is today announcing the implementation of service reductions at parks across the State. The goal is to achieve the required cost savings while minimizing the disruption to park visitors as much as possible.

All of the service reductions are consistent with the Governor’s September 25 announcement of the kinds of service reductions the public could anticipate in order to achieve the budget savings necessary to meet severe budget restrictions.

The reductions are designed to minimize disruptions for park visitors, while keeping parks open and achieving the $14.2 million in budget savings to help close the State’s budget deficit. To achieve savings as quickly as possible, State Parks will begin implementing these cost saving measures all across the State in the next few days.

The service reductions came about through a process wherein each of the State Parks’ District Superintendents designed a plan for specific reductions tailored for each park within their respective district. The plans included all 279 parks within the statewide system. A summary of some of the most common service reductions across the State include:
• Reduce days of operation by two or three weekdays at selected parks. Other parks will close a portion of a campground or outlying day-use areas.
• Close and consolidate some park offices and/or reduce hours of operation.
• Reduce off-season lifeguard levels at some beaches.
• Remove some trash cans and fire rings from the beach and close roughly half of the restrooms at some beaches.
• Close many park visitor centers two or more days every week.
• Reduce the numbers of school tours and interpretive programs at many parks.

These service reductions are intended to ensure that California State Parks achieves its required cost savings while maintaining revenues at the highest level possible for the remainder of this fiscal year and while minimizing disruptions to visitors.

For the Russian River District, the specific service reductions for the parks within the district are as follows:

Austin Creek State Recreation Area
• Bull Frog Pond Campground and Tom King/Mannings Flat I and II Backcountry Campsites closed November 1, 2009 to June 30, 2010

Sonoma Coast State Park
• Bodega Head East Day Use, Campbell Cove Day Use, Bodega Dunes Day Use, South Salmon Day Use, South Goat Rock and Blind Beach Day Use, Russian Gulch Day Use, and Vista Point Day Use closed November 2, 2009 to June 30, 2010
• Jenner Visitor Center and Public Restroom closed November 2. 2009 to June 30, 2010
(Note: Stewards of the Coast and Redwoods, a State Park nonprofit cooperating association, is working hard to obtain funding to keep the Jenner Visitor Center and Public Restroom open).
• Bodega Dunes Campground partially closed November 1, 2009 to June 30, 2010.
• Willow Creek and Pomo Canyon Campgrounds closed November 1, 2009 to June 30, 2010.

Fort Ross State Historic Park
• Reef Campground and Day Use Area closed November 1, 2009 to June 30, 2010.
• Fort Ross State Historic Park including Visitor Center and Fort Compound closed Monday through Thursday.

Kruse Rhododendron State Reserve
• Restroom Facilities closed November 2, 2009 to June 30, 2010.

Salt Point State Park
• Fisk Mill Day Use and Lower Gerstile Cove Day Use closed November 2, 2009 to June 30, 2010.

Some visitors may be inconvenienced by these service reductions; however, it is hoped that park visitors will understand and appreciate the severe budget reductions that have occurred and help State Parks minimize the cost impacts to the system. The public can assist by hauling out their own trash and helping to keep facilities as clean as possible for the next park visitor.

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California Budget Cuts - Sad Day for State Parks

A Sad Day for State Parks

By Michell Luna, Stewards of the Coast and Redwoods

Well, now we know what we face! The Governor has cut an additional $6.2 million from the State Parks budget bringing the total to $14.2 million for the 2009/2010 fiscal year.

This is devastating news for our parks statewide. We can expect to see the closing of about 100 State Parks after Labor Day.

With the economy affecting so many people, we need our parks. Our campgrounds are full because people are using our parks more then ever. Where will they go to recreate with their families during these trying times?

Our local rural communities will suffer with the loss of tourism dollars. Our local Russian River area State Parks attract over 4 million visitors a year. That represents an influx of millions of dollars into our local economy.

It's now up to us locally to come up with a plan to keep Armstrong Redwoods State Natural Reserve, Austin Creek State Recreation Area, Sonoma Coast State Park, Fort Ross State Historic Park and Salt Point State Park open in the Russian River District. Our parks need our help in order to maintain services.

Stewards needs your help as we work with our local District staff to identify partners in our community who value our State Parks and will help us financially to keep them open and keep our community viable. If you are someone who thinks you can help, please contact me as I will be convening a working group of people to help with this effort.

We also need to find a stable and sustainable funding source for our State Parks NOW. If it means a ballot measure for next year, then let's do it and create a positive legacy for our grandchildren so they will not loose the chance to visit a State Park and learn about the fragile natural and cultural resources that we NEED to steward into the future!

I promise to keep you all updated as we move forward with our efforts.

Please contact me if you think you can help at mluna@mcn.org.

CONTACT INFORMATION:

Mailing Address:
Stewards of the Coast and Redwoods
P.O. Box 2
Duncans Mills, CA 95430

Tel: (707) 869-9177

FAX: (707) 869-8252

E-mail: stewards@mcn.org

Website: www.stewardsofthecoastandredwoods.org

Promoting education, preservation & restoration of the natural & cultural resources of Russian River area State Parks

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Saving State Parks from Budget Cuts is High Priority

By Michele Luna, Executive Director, Stewards of the Coast and Redwoods

On Tuesday, June 2nd one hundred State Park supporters attended the Budget Conference Committee meeting to testify against the Governors proposal to cut the General Fund allocation for State Parks. This cut could result in the closure of 223 State Parks including all the State Parks in Sonoma County.

We arrived at 9:30 am to lobby legislators and met with many staff members who were for the most part supportive. We stressed the economic impacts to our communities, the loss of lifeguard services at our beaches, the destruction of this incredible legacy started during the depression, and the loss of education for school children. The California State Parks Foundation did an excellent job organizing this effort in a very short time. We are very appreciative to them.

The Budget Conference Committee meeting started at 1:30. Resources shared the agenda with Prisons and we had to wait for them to present their recommendations and then for the public to testify. When it was time for the Committee to address Resources it was close to 4:30. The Legislative Analyst’s Office recommended fee increases in lieu of State Park closures. We do support fee increases considering the dire situation our state is in but we don’t want to raise fees to the point where the public has to think twice about whether or not they can afford to visit our parks.

When we got our chance to testify, we each had 60 seconds to speak. Testimony lasted until about 8:00 pm. I want to thank Fred Luna, Suki Waters and Clara Bolster who also testified from Stewards.

The Budget Conference Committee is going over all the issues the week of June 8th and we are looking for them to make their recommendation to the Governor’s office by the end of the week. At this time it is not clear as to whether or not their recommendations will go to the Big 5 or directly to the entire legislature. The Governor is pushing the legislature for a budget decision by mid-June since the State is looking at running out of cash by mid-July.

It’s not too late to TAKE ACTION.

SHOW YOUR SUPPORT FOR OUR STATE PARKS
STATE PARK APPRECIATION DAY
Armstrong Redwoods State Natural Reserve
June 21, 2009 – 9:00 am to Noon
FREE event except for parking fees

Join fellow park supporters at a gathering in the historic Forest Theater at Armstrong Redwoods. Experience a campfire program, hear guest speakers and share your own state park stories. Wear green or a green ribbon! Visit www.stewardsofthecoastandredwoods.org for more details.

Write your own personal letters to the Budget Conference Committee Chairperson Noreen Evans and our legislators. Specifically mention your favorite parks in the Russian River area.

Assemblywoman Noreen Evans
P.O. Box 942849
Sacramento, CA 94249-0007

Patricia Wiggins
State Capitol, Room 4081
Sacramento, CA 95814

Wes Chesbro
State Capitol
P.O. Box 942849
Sacramento, CA 94249-0001

Consider these facts when writing to you legislators:
The State of California contributes roughly one tenth of one per cent of its General Fund Budget toward the costs of operating California’s 279 state parks. Yet the parks generate billions in revenue for private businesses, resulting in hundreds of millions in State tax revenue. Over 100,000 private sector jobs are dependent on the spending by park visitors in local businesses.
The 2008-09 budget for California State Parks includes $149 million from the state’s tax-based General Fund. This represents just slightly more than one-tenth of one percent of the state’s total General Fund Budget ($149 million divided by $103.4 billion = 0.13%).

Assuming a $15 billion deficit in the overall state budget, then entirely eliminating the Department of Parks and Recreation and closing all 279 state parks in California would fill less than 1 percent of the need.

At this point, it is important for the public to understand that an examination of the numbers shows that reducing the budget of California State Parks will do little to improve the state budget gap. It would, however, cause significant harm to local economies and reduce the State’s General Fund revenue even further.

State Parks is a critical piece of California’s travel and tourism industry generating more than 75 million visitor days every year

Based on a 2002 study, visitors generate more than $6.5 billion dollars in total output and new sales for private businesses in communities around State parks yearly as a result of visitor spending. The tax revenue from that spending generates $2.35 in General Fund revenue for the State for every dollar of General Fund received by State Parks to operate the system (primarily from sales and income taxes on the travel and tourism industry). [ The Role of California State Parks in the California Economic System, James R. King, JK Inc., December 2002]

Therefore, based on the study, saving $149 million by closing State Parks would cost the General Fund more than twice that amount in lost revenue (more than $350 million). Also, eliminating that $149 million also eliminates the $6.5 billion in profits generated by visitor spending in local businesses around parks.

The clear conclusion is: Cutting parks will reduce the number of park visitors, thereby reducing visitor spending and revenue to private businesses by tens of millions, causing job layoffs and damage to local economies. And in the end, that will reduce tax revenue to the State making the State budget situation worse, not better.

Local Facts:
4.1 million Visitors a year visit Russian River District State Parks.

Closing Armstrong Redwoods could result in a loss of $50 million to the RR Area and up to $80 million to Sonoma County Tourism. (2008 Economic Impact Study)

On June 8, 2009, findings from a recent survey conducted by Sacramento State University were released. The survey found that visitors to California’s state parks spend an average of $4.32 billion per year in park-related expenditures, based on attendance estimates of about 74.9 million visitors a year. The survey found that park visitors spend an average of $57.63 per visit, including $24.63 inside state parks and $33 in local communities. Russian River area State Parks alone attract 4.1 million visitors a year and Sonoma County State Parks attract almost 5 million visitors a year. Do the math and we have further confirmation that closing state parks will devastate our Sonoma County economy to the tune of about $165 million a year.

www.stewardsofthecoastandredwoods.org

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Marriage - a Matter of Equal Rights for ALL

By Vesta Copestakes

This battle for Human Rights gets weary, like so many other battles for Human Rights. To have one segment of the human population tell another segment that they are not worthy of sharing the same rights is beyond understanding. But so many aspects of life are beyond understanding. Love seems so simple, so pure, and so much a part of everyday life. How can it be a battleground?

Protect Our Families
The argument that by denying the rights of marriage to gay and lesbian members of our family will protect our children, and therefore our families, is perhaps the least understandable argument of all. What part of commitment to love and a sense of belonging is dangerous to children?

Every parent knows the desire to protect our children and every parent knows that it's impossible on a grand scale. Our children are separate from us. They make their own decisions right from the start and they pay consequences for those decisions and therefore learn from them. Being homosexual has been proven to NOT be a decision. It's a BIOLOGICAL FACT.

Yes, there are some people - more women then men - who choose to love someone of the same sex out of frustration and anger as much as out of love. But even those people have to feel love in order to cross the boundaries between lust and love, between dating and commitment.

Learning that homosexual couples have sex is not enough to make a person homosexual. They either are or are not. So the argument that same sex relationships will be taught in our schools is ludicrous. Sex is taught in our schools only with the permission of parents. If parents don't want their children to lean about sex at school all they have to do is fill out a form and the kid won't be in that class.

But life - that's another issue entirely. How do you shelter a child from reading the newspaper, watching television or engaging in conversations? You don't. At some point in a child's life they will learn that people of the same sex fall in love just like heterosexuals. Love is love…period. Attraction brings people together, and from all the statistics on marriage, homosexuals have a much better commitment history than heterosexuals - by far! Peraps it's because they have fought such a hard battle just to love in the open that when they make the commitment, they do it with more conviction than male/female couples.

A Matter of Time
I was encouraged to see that Marie Osborn has came out in favor of same sex love. Her daughter or sister - or someone in her family, is homosexual. That's a real challenge for Mormons because homosexuality is, in essence, against their religion. Pity. They have such large families. Someone is bound to be homosexual. Do they reject each family member who is? Cast them out into the world as rejected? If religion is about strength of families and homophobia is as well, then this is not very comforting.

I read that Gavin Newsom's father, a judge and Catholic, has been profoundly against homosexual relationships and same sex marriage. I'm pretty certain he didn't raise Gavin with the concept that he should grow up to be a leader in the same sex marriage revolution. But even this man finally came to believe that he was wrong. Was it the inlfluence of son on father or just a matter of time.

Time is always on our side. Take any subject where people are filled with hate, rage, etc. and over time, sometimes hundreds of years, minds change. Experience is the great teacher. In this case sooner or later the haters will love someone who is homosexual. Not sexual love - family love. It makes them take a differnt look. Some do. Some don't. But the more people look at other people in terms of our similarities and less in term of differences, the more there is hope that marriage will be free to everyone who loves. Laws chnaged to allow differnt races to marry. Laws will change to allow different sexes to marry.

We still have a lot of work to do to bring peace to our families - and ultimately to our planet.

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Balancing the Budget with Common Sense

Budget cuts need to SOLVE problems - not make new ones.

By Vesta Copestakes

I understand the need to balance the budget - and I also understand the urgency. And I even understand that by now legistors are swamped with people making pleas for what is important to them personally.

In the case of our state parks, although there are millions of people who use them, there are equally millions who never set foot on park land.

Millions never need food stamps. Millions never need in-home care. Millions never need alcohol and drug detox programs. Millions never need prison support services.

Pick a subject where cutting costs will save money and you will hurt some severely, while not touching the lives of others.

It seems that much can be accomplished by trimming fat out of every part of the state budget. Yes, that takes time and a profound attention to detail, but broad strokes may have immediate results, then in the long run, will probably cost more money. We can't think only in the NOW any more. We have to consider our future, plan well for it, and ponder the consequences of our actions before we embark on a path.

Closing parks won't keep people from using them anyway, but there will not be enough personnel to police and maintain the land. Partying youngsters on a hot summer night could easily start fires. Close restrooms and people will use the forest floor. Do you actually think that a gate and fence will keep people out?

Rather than harp on all the reasons to keep parks open without offering a solution, I'd like to suggest a few ways to accomplish our goals for balancing the budget - or at least keep it from collapsing, while making improvements on how our state handles money.

One of the facts that came out of last year's proposal to close state parks, is that every $1 that funds the state park system returns $2.35 to the state's General Fund, largely through economic activities in communities surrounding state parks.

I happen to live in one of those communities that would be negatively impacted. I can't think of a community in our state that wouldn't feel a negative impact. Los Angeles? If people can't come to the parks, they also won't be stopping at stores for gear and supplies, and that means they won't be paying sales taxes. So individuals save money but the state, and communities, lose money! This is a lose/lose.

I honestly think that there are ways to cut costs without sinking any one ship. For example, Government jobs and retirement plans are notorious for employing people over many years, with automatic pay raises whether they work to deserve them or not. Government also pays retirement pensions at remarkably high levels and then gets no work in return for that money. If the governments were run like a business, people would only keep their jobs if they worked hard, and well, and if the company couldn't afford raises, no one would get one. Retirement? That's up to the individual to take care of. Beyond Social Security, people need to be responsible for their own lives. It's like that in the private sector - why not government?

Mini-budget cuts that add up. How many departments could be streamlined through changing how things are done. There's hardly an aspect of life where you couldn't look at a situation and make it more efficient. Working efficiently costs less. Some government programs cost more than if the same task were performed by a private sector company. People are still employed but all the benefits, pensions, etc. are not a government expense. Many government jobs are no different from people on entitlement programs. There's a lot of money going out for very little energy and effort coming in. No private sector business could survive this way.

Generate income through legalizing marijuana and taxing it the same way alcohol is taxed. People like to get high. It's silly to allow one form of inebriation and not another. Tax revenues generated though addictive substances is part of our income stream. Pot is considerably less harmful than alcohol and cigarettes yet both are highly additive, as well as costly to society. Not only would the state have increased revenue, it would also have drastically reduced costs fighting this losing battle. This one item could go a long way toward actually balancing the budget.

I believe strongly that there are many ways to come to terms with this financial crisis. Treating the state the same way we treat our home and family budgets, and our private sector business budgets, would help tremendously. It may take time, but in the long run, we have a solution that could change the way we function for the better.

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State Requirements force Sonoma County to Waste Water

Even though water storage in Lake Mendocino is only at 59% of capacity, on March 12 the Sonoma County Water Agency began releasing more water – an additional 25 cubic feet per second - from Lake Mendocino in order to comply with state-mandated Russian River instream flow requirements. Drying tributaries are sending upper Russian River flows plummeting to near state-mandated levels – 150 cfs in the upper Russian River and 125 cfs in the lower Russian River.

“We are mandated to release water we don’t have from Lake Mendocino,” said Paul Kelley, chair, SCWA Board of Directors and Sonoma County Board of Supervisors. “We are facing both a natural and regulatory drought.”

The concern about Lake Mendocino revolves around the need to have adequate water in storage for the summer and fall for all water uses in the system. These uses include municipal water supply for portions of Mendocino and Sonoma counties, water for protected coho salmon, Chinook salmon and steelhead under federal and state endangered species laws, water for recreation at Lake Mendocino and along the Russian River, and agricultural water supply. Additionally, SCWA is concerned about having to release additional water to satisfy agricultural frost protection needs in March and April. Without additional releases, frost protection diversions could harm juvenile salmonids.

Water flows into Lake Mendocino from PG&E’s Potter Valley Project have been reduced by thirty-three percent due to a 2004 decision by the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission. The Potter Valley Project diverts Eel River water through a Mendocino County powerhouse owned and operated by PG&E into the upper Russian River Basin, and is the source of most of the summer flow in the East Branch Russian River to Lake Mendocino. This 2004 FERC decision limited the amount of water PG&E can divert from the Eel River for power production. Historically, flows through the Potter Valley Project into the East Branch Russian River would have been in excess of 300 cfs this time of year, but are currently less than 50 cfs.

Despite the continued lack of water in Lake Mendocino, the current water year became “normal” based on the requirements in SCWA’s water rights permits and State Water Resources Control Board Decision 1610. The determination of a normal, dry or critically dry year is defined by Decision 1610. Dry year conditions were in effect for the period from February 1 to February 28 and minimum flow requirements were reduced to 75 cfs and 85 cfs in the upper and lower Russian River, respectively.

SCWA is preparing a Temporary Urgency Change Petition for submittal to the State Water Resources Control Board to reduce Russian River instream flow requirements this summer. The details of the petition will not be determined until April 1, the next time the water year type (normal, dry, or critically dry) is declared. There will likely be a hearing by the State Water Board to consider the petition within a few months of its submittal.

As of March 12 Lake Mendocino’s water storage level still remains low – only 59 percent of capacity – compared to 95 percent last year.

Sonoma County Water Agency provides water supply, flood protection and sanitation services for portions of Sonoma and Marin counties. Visit us on the Web at www.sonomacountywater.org.

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Sonoma County Protests Propisition 8

RALLY TO PROTEST THE PASSING OF PROPOSITION 8

Rallies are being held around the state and nationally to protest the state of California writing discrimination into our constitution.

We will be rallying in Sonoma County
Saturday November 15th, 10:30am at Courthouse Square in Santa Rosa.
between 3rd & 4th Streets at Mendocino Avenue

Come and show your support. All are welcome!
A lawsuit is being filed, we're trying to get Sonoma County to sign on to the lawsuit as a petitioner. Our Democratic State Representatives have signed on to a "Friends of the Court" brief to show their support for equal rights.
Come and stand for equality!


Below are two essays submitted to WCG on this subject - there are more. Thanks for reading.


PROTECTING THE RIGHTS OF THE MINORITY
FROM THE TYRANNY OF THE MAJORITY
The Saga of Proposition 8

By Maddy Hirshfield

Election Night, November 4th, 2008 will go down as a night of mixed results and mixed emotions. Never has my heart been so lifted and so broken all at once. The same night that brought an end to the wretched truism that only a white man could be elected president, brought us news that the people of California had decided to enshrine bigotry and discrimination into our state constitution.

As of 1:09 pm, Monday November 10, Prop 8 stood at 52.3% Yes and 47.7% No. Out of almost 11 million votes cast that's a difference of a little less than half a million. There's a law suit in process that Los Angeles; San Francisco and Santa Clara have filed and the wheels are turning to get Sonoma County signed on as a co-petitioner.

Proposition 8 is but the latest chapter in a tortured story of the struggle for equal rights, a story of the intolerant seeking to use the most sacred tools of democracy to demonize and marginalize those with whom they disagree. In 2000, its predecessor, Proposition 22, was overwhelmingly passed in California. Prop 22 consisted of fourteen words: "Only marriage between a man and women is valid or recognized in California." On May 15th, 2008, the Republican-dominated, moderately conservative California Supreme Court struck down Proposition 22. Chief Justice Ron George wrote for the majority: "Our state now recognizes that an individual's capacity to establish a loving and long-term committed relationship with another person and responsibly to care for and raise children does not depend upon the individual's sexual orientation," The statement by George went on: "An individual's sexual orientation -- like a person's race or gender -- does not constitute a legitimate basis upon which to deny or withhold legal rights."

At that point, the only thing left for those in opposition to marriage equality was to have those same fourteen words written into our Constitution. The good news: All they had was fear and intimidation. The bad news: fear and intimidation worked.

The lawsuit now being filed is an argument over whether Proposition 8 constitutes an "amendment" or a "revision" as each needs to find its way to the ballot via a different path. But that's for the legal types to sort out. On the practical side, I simply do not understand how it's possible to write discrimination INTO the constitution. What if a group of people got together and were successful getting an initiative on the ballot that would amend our Constitution to make it illegal for Latinos to have bank accounts, or for people of color to sit anywhere on the bus they wanted, or drink from the water fountain of their choosing. And let's for argument sake say that amendment to the Constitution passed by a majority of voters. Would we then simply sit back and say, "Oh well, the people have spoken?" Of course not!

Our adversaries say gays have all the rights of marriage now with domestic partnership. Even if that were true -- which it is not -- we learned a long time ago that separate is not equal. Back in the days when people of color had to ride in the back of the bus and drink from separate fountains they still reached their destinations and had their thirst quenched. But we stopped doing that because we figured out it was wrong to treat people differently ... and it still is.

However, here is my glass-half-full view of things as we move forward in this process.

• Statewide, we came so much closer to defeating Prop 8 than we did with Prop 22 in 2000.

• We here in Sonoma County turned Prop 8 down by more than 40 percentage points, we only defeated Prop 22 by 6.

• I've received beautiful, supportive emails from friends who say they just don't understand. And they tell me about conversations with co-workers who feel the same.

• I also get emails from supporters who tell me they know it's coming because they listen to their 12-year-old kids talking with their friends, and the 12-year-olds don't get what the problem is either.

• And ... Barack Obama was elected President of the United States.

I literally sobbed through our new President-elect's entire acceptance speech. And when he got to the part where he said "all Americans" must come together, "black, white, young, old, gay, straight"... a voice in my head kept saying, "it's going to be all right" over and over again, "it's going to be all right."

I believe in "protecting the rights of the minority from the tyranny of the majority" and I have faith that's exactly what we will do.

I also have faith that it will be all right because the majority will soon be the minority. Those 12 year olds are growing up … and we older folks live to fight another day.

Onward!

Maddy Hirshfield is a long time political activist. She currently works for Assemblywoman Patty Berg who recently signed on to a "Friend of the Court" brief along with a majority of other legislators to overturn Prop 8."

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An open letter to supporters of Prop 8:

My name is Sabina and I and coming out of the closet to tell you...that I'm left-handed. Yes I know that it's been apparent for most of my life, but I need to publicly state it.

What's the big deal about being a lefty? Well these days society's majority of right-handers doesn't look down on the 10% of us who aren't, but that hasn't been the case for most of history.

The settlers of this country used left-handedness as evidence of being in league with the Devil. Yes, being a southpaw in Salem was proof of being a witch and reason enough to burn or drown you.

Being left-handed was always seen as being suspect, of not being normal, of being other. The Romans considered the right side the source of good, and all negative things as emanating from the left. In fact, the Latin for "the left side" is sinister, with all the connotations and meanings that word still carries today.

Even as recently as the last century being left-handed was looked on as being wrong somehow. My great-uncle Alberto was born lefty. His family tied his arm to his side and forced him to use his right hand. In the end, his community still looked at him as a left-handed man who was using his right instead.

And why this suspicion of lefties? No one has ever been able to give me a satisfactory reason. I hear a lot of stuff about the Bible and "the right-hand of G-d," about how it doesn't look normal, about being taught to think that way. Mostly I hear about how being different from the norm is wrong.

Luckily for me, people--and society-- have the ability to change their views. When it became apparent that I was left-handed, my parents did not try to change me. In fact, my family and community did not even give any notice to it. It was just a part of who I was, along with my blue eyes or my brown hair. And while it can sometimes be a challenge to be a lefty--guitars are strung wrong, scissors don't cut correctly, the design on my coffee mug never faces me when I drink from it--I know that being different is not seen as being not-normal.

By the way, I also happen to be Jewish and gay. Most people have let go of their discrimination of the former; it's not seen as acceptable for Americans to voice anti-Semitic comments. I look forward to the day when you let go of your fear of the latter as well. You can change the way you've been taught to look at people who are different from you.

Sabina Fried
Sebastopol

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VOTE NO on Proosition 8

From Rachele Ketchem, Sebastopol - “I find it almost funny that 95% of the population is worried about the 5% gay population bringing down the institution of marriage and feel they need to make example of a small percentage of the population that nine times out of ten has nothing to do with a heterosexual divorce. What about the heterosexuals who cheapen the institution of biblical marriage…”


I find it almost funny that 95% of the population is worried about the 5% gay population bringing down the institution of marriage and feel they need to make example of a small percentage of the population that nine times out of ten has nothing to do with a heterosexual divorce. What about the heterosexuals who cheapen the institution of biblical marriage and have sex before they are married? You know fornicators!

What about those that like to have a number of people to sleep around with while married or the people that find it a sport to sleep with married individuals and break up marriages? You know adulterers! What about the sadists & masochists, exhibitionists, porn addicts, the folks who add to human trafficking and frequent prostitutes and strip clubs? What about the predominantly Caucasian Protestant rapists and pedophiles bringing down, not only the institution of marriage but add to the moral atrophy in our society? Not to mention it being a heterosexual societal vampire disease contributing to alcohol and substance abuse in their victims.

Of course if the churches behind the YES ON 8 campaign would talk to their members on "The way to be," these churches would be vacant on Sundays and flat broke from not receiving 10% of all the tithes of the sexually deviant parishioners. They would be mad that they were called down on their "sins." They would rather blame the homosexuals for what they are really doing.

I am guessing that in the YES ON 8 campaign member's Bibles, they have taken a Sharpie and crossed out where it says in their favorite scripture at 1 Corinthians 6:9-11, "Neither fornicators, nor adulterers will inherit the Kingdom of God" next to the homosexuals. Notice in that scripture that the heterosexuals are lumped in the same category as the homosexuals and the murderers and thieves! One "sin" is not worse than the other.

As I ponder on these words I am under the assumption that we are all on the same playing field. So why is there not a proposition on the ballot to demand that heterosexuals keep their legs crossed and keep their hands off the spouses of other people and not glorify this in the media and schools as our kids are taught about divorce? Why not have a proposition to admonish the heterosexuals who are men of violence...rapists and pedophiles and to keep their hands off other people's women and children? It all seems so hypocritical.

This all makes me think about that "rafter" scripture and to truthfully accept everyone and "be putting up with each other and to love one another." After all, the homosexual community has had to put up with heterosexuals committing crimes against humanity against them and their children and getting away with it.

In Sonoma County, we had a district attorney who cared more about keepinga man out of jail - a Caucasian church-going married man - because he did not want him to lose his wife, new baby and job for raping a virgin teenager of gay parents. They were told that the victim "would lose the case regardless of physical evidence because the victim has two mothers which would not be looked favorably upon in court." Ah the ugly truth nobody wants to listen to!

I am a heterosexual married woman and mother of two teenagers. I have talked openly about sex and homosexuality with them. My children and I have a pretty open dialogue compared to my "religious" friends and family around me whose kids sneak around on them behind their back (whose kids tell me everything!) and who are going to vote yes on 8.

I urge everyone to VOTE NO ON 8 because it promotes hate, discrimination on the basis of sexual preference, class distinctions, prejudice and ignorance.

Rachele Ketchem
Sebastopol

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NORA Proposition 5 Drug Treatment for Youth and Adults

As the Executive Director of the Drug Abuse Alternatives Center (DAAC), the largest provider of publicly funded alcohol and other drug treatment in Sonoma County, I have seen both the positives and negatives of Proposition 36, the precursor to Proposition 5. Overall, in my opinion, Prop. 36, the Substance Abuse and Crime Prevention Act of 2000, has been a success in Sonoma County and the State as a whole.


Ironically, I, along with many other treatment professionals, opposed Prop. 36 before it was passed. We were concerned that it had been written by outsiders who did not consult with California’s treatment providers and that it did not have strong enough sanctions for non-compliance with treatment, a key argument today by those who oppose Prop. 5.

In fact, I, and many others, turned out to be wrong. In Sonoma County, thousands of individuals have benefited from treatment instead of incarceration and our Public Safety has not been compromised. Statewide, 200,000 have received treatment and UCLA’s study of Prop. 36 not only showed that treatment has worked, but also that it has saved California over $2 Billion since 2000. The only negatives I have seen are that Prop. 36 has been under-funded which has caused long treatment waits and that no provision was made for treatment for youth.

Prop. 5 will improve on Prop. 36 by:

• Providing a systematic treatment system for adults that will unify the current system of Diversion, Prop. 36 Treatment and Drug Courts into one system with three tracks. Track 3, Drug Court, will not be eliminated, as some have said, but will, in fact, be funded at twice the level it is now.

• Providing $65 Million state-wide for funding of treatment for adolescents which will meet the spectrum of youth needs including family therapy, educational and employment stipends, mental health interventions and much more. Prop. 5 will provide services to youth before they get into trouble with the law.

Prop. 5 will do all this without compromising public safety. Judges, not the offender, will determine whether to send the individual to treatment or to jail. Offenders convicted of serious and violent crimes and sex offences will not be eligible.

Prop. 5 will also reform the prison and parole systems. Currently California spends $46,000 per year to house each inmate (twice the national average) and yet our recidivism rate is almost 70%, while nation-wide recidivism is about 35%. By reducing the number of parolees who are returned to prison for dirty urinalysis tests and allowing them to receive treatment, Parole Agents will be able to concentrate their efforts on supervising parolees who were originally incarcerated for serious and violent crimes.

Prop. 5 will do all this with no new taxes and save the State an estimated $2.5 Billion in its first few years according to the impartial and non-partisan Legislative Analysts Office. Our current system is clearly not working. Please join me, the League of Women Voters, the California NAACP and many other organizations and individuals in voting yes on Proposition 5.

Michael Spielman, MFT
Executive Director
Drug Abuse Alternatives Center
2380 Professional Drive, Santa Rosa
(707) 571-2233 x 308

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