According to producer, Colette McMullen, “It’s going great and the community support is fabulous. We really did it…the whole thing came about because of the unique environment Petaluma has…the whole process is different than any other theater I know of. We start with an outline of a script and everyone comes up with ideas. Armand Ramirez is new at acting, a musician, he’s helped drive his own part. Most have co-created their own parts. We announce we are doing it – and people discover their talents.”

Watching the “trailer,” I spot a half dozen actors and musicians we know – and more who I bet we will get to know! That sort of truly hometown experience to be savored and remembered. And inexpensive at $15 per. Go to http://ptm.eventbrite.com for tickets – going fast!

Last dates: Fri/Sat/Sun May 18/19/20 at Petaluma Women’s Club, 518 B Street, easy walking from anywhere downtown. More info. at www.PetalumatheMusical.com or email the producer, Colette@satoristudioz.com

Hope to see you there.

THIS 350 Garden Challenge IS A DROP OF A GLOBAL WAVE of events created by Bill McKibben, 350.org, to help us focus on our Eaarth (McKibben’s book title) – that is can sustain 350parts per million of carbon dioxide, but WE’VE SURPASSED THAT and currently live with 393ppm! We’re poisioning ourselves, is a way to look at it. Urgently needs to be reversed!

At Oasis Farm, friends will gather around the Lovin’ (adobe) Oven and under the new shade tarp up the hill as we expand our gardens, planting a melon and pumpkin patch, we’ll do crafts with kids and share food and song around the adobe oven. Check our blog at http://oasiscommunityfarm.blogspot.com/

At Oasis Farm, the first 350 Garden Challenge brought 50 people over two days, we built our adobe oven, dubbed the Lovin’ Oven

Many friends made then come by now, some help on the land, several are regulars for our eggs from Les Poulets Heureux (Happy Chickens – free range morning till dusk). Just added a dozen baby chicks today! Sweet, tiny black Sex Link chicks. You have to dip their beaks in water and sprinkle bits of mash around them till they learn the water dish and food tray. Love being a chicken Mom.

All who come are invited back for Harvest Party in August on our small peaceful place just outside Petaluma.
Still a bit amazed at the view of Sonoma Mt. and Mt. St. Helena – 50 miles of clean air!

You can see way more about building adobe ovens at Miquel Elliot’s site.

Here’s a view of went on last year :
http://vimeo.com/41028708

At our place, kids are invited to search the hill and barns for all the kinds of birds who reside here, color and assemble a bird mask of one of them, especially seeking the new Barn Swallow nest – I’ve seen five swallows gathering twigs to weave one or more.

Build-your-own-pizza is always part of our gatherings here since our first Challenge when we built oven and friends are invited to bring musical instruments.

So pizza, planting and song around the Lovin’ Oven – and we’ll update everyone on progress towards our CSA (community supported agriculture) – new hot bed and row covers, more veggies this year and some of the fruit trees will have their first fruit this summer, so learning jams and preserves coming up!

Amazing, this land. We knew it was fertile the first time we walked it and Barn Swallows above and Ladybugs and Tiger Swallowtails landing on plants. The view is 360 degrees and beautiful, and we’ll share updates on 350.org and its doings. So looking forward to it!

Two messages I’ve always felt at the same time for May Day: Celebrate Spring! Carry overflowing May baskets of flowers to dear friends. Loved doing that!

Today is the Russian May Day Parade (International Workers) and Occupy Movement has called for NO WORK … while I listen to Dr. John singing “Time for a Change” on KOWS FM, Occidental (streaming). Just heard a young Pete Seeger sing We Shall Overcome (must Sing Out with that) and Bob Dylan A Hard Rain is Going to Fall. A short, horrible/true bit from Mumia Abu-Jamal from Death Row describing “Hell on earth” that is still our Death Row experience in multiple cities across our country. “Life is going nuts,” says the moderator at KOWS FM. “Hopefully, people will get together …and do something (useful)” Now Bob Dylan sings Masters of War. Today feels like a version of the Jewish Day of Atonement, Yom Kipper. How can we move away from violence and toward a peaceful planet? The culture practiced by the original Star Trek Next Generation folk – no money, no war, no injustice noticeable. People in this highly ethical world treat each other with deepest respect – enough respect to speak the truth, something very tough to do, even with loved ones – or perhaps even tougher with loved ones.

Next pick on KOWS: Isn’t this a wonderful time, the Weavers. Yup; that, too! Stellar Jay is eating most of the wild bird feed and just saw five barn swallows pulling bits of hay for nesting. Love those little sailers.

From today’s SFGATE This stands out for me: Organizers describe the May Day events as a coming together, with activists also calling for more open immigration laws, expanded labor rights and cheaper financing for higher education. Financial institutions remain a primary target.

Five banks — JPMorgan Chase & Co., Bank of America, Citigroup Inc., Wells Fargo & Co. and Goldman Sachs Group Inc. – - together held $8.5 trillion in assets at the end of 2011. That’s equal to 56 percent of the U.S. economy, compared with 43 percent in 2006, according to the Federal Reserve.

Read more: http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?f=/g/a/2012/05/01/bloomberg_articlesM3CGZL6S972901-M3CR0.DTL#ixzz1tduAvX00

History of May Day celebrations is amazing. International Workers Day, 100,000 strong parade in Red Square, Russia, today, but it began as a Pagan holiday celebrating spring, often with a May Pole dance. Lovely dance! Performed here in Petaluma by Live Oak Charter School children. Beautiful!

So – today is a celebration of great energy, great beauty of spring, great strength of working people around the world. Stay home and write? Go out and give someone a flower. Don’t go to work, don’t bank. Today. And think about it before you do. Tomorrow.

FYI: A healthy planet can sustain about 350 parts per million of greenhouse gases. Currently we’re at 394.45ppm and rising! We’re poisoning ourselves. Want to help clean up?

With this urgently important vote gone RIGHT, it’s even still possible for Sonoma County to catch up – and even go further – along the sustainability road than our good buddies in Marin, which has a clean energy program in place. We’re 2.5 times bigger so serves way more.

This from Sonoma County Climate Protection Campaign’s Woody Hastings:

“In case you have not seen it in facebook world…(facebook.com/climateprotection)

A unanimous “YES” vote at the Sonoma County Water Agency Board for Sonoma Clean Power!

http://climateprotection.org/scp-release-4-10-12

And we had the room filled to standing room only with over 60 supporters!

“A banner day” according to one of our strategic advisors.

Woody

(taken heavily from Woody)
The Board voted on taking the first steps for an Implementation Plan and a Joint Powers Authority to run the program. Representatives from the environmental, business, and labor communities were on hand to speak in support of local clean power at the Sonoma County Board of Supervisors, 575 Administration Drive, Santa Rosa.
For more information visit Sonoma Clean Power on Facebook or contact Woody Hastings, 707-525-1665 ext. 117, woody@climateprotection.org.

~~~~~

Survey Shows Broad Support for Sonoma Clean Power

On March 13th 2012 the Sonoma County Water Agency issued the results of a market survey about the proposed creation of Sonoma Clean Power, a public-private partnership to buy and generate electricity for local residents and businesses. Ann Hancock, Executive Director of the Climate Protection Campaign made these comments about the survey:

“This survey demonstrates what we’ve been hearing from the community all along – there is enormous support in Sonoma County for expanding options of where our power comes from. People feel strongly that getting our electricity from cleaner sources should be a high priority. This survey corroborates many others showing people’s deep support for renewable energy. It also takes the further step in measuring reactions to local governments taking an active role in developing clean power sources, finding that 74 percent of residents support ‘having a community owned electricity program that uses clean and renewable power.’

“We applaud county officials for proceeding diligently toward creating a local electricity provider. This market survey is one more step in the process of setting up an effective program. There is no bigger action the county can take for renewable energy than creating Sonoma Clean Power. If this program is done right, Sonoma County can set an excellent example of what the clean energy economy looks like.”

And this from Patch/NB Bus Journal:
Monday, April 9, 2012, 6:45 am
Vote is first step for Sonoma Clean Power business plan
By Eric Gneckow, Business Journal Staff Reporter

…significant milestone on April 10…planners will embark on a four-to-six month, $65,000 project to develop an implementation plan that includes details of a joint power governing authority for the proposed agency, according to Cordel Stillman, deputy chief engineer for the Sonoma County Water Authority.

“There’s a lot of education…” he said, describing plans to hold workshops…

Known as “Sonoma Clean Power,” the proposed agency would follow the “community choice aggregation” model made possible by California’s 2002 legislation, Assembly Bill 117. Like the Marin Energy Authority in Marin County, the proposed agency would serve its customers by feeding power into the current grid largely maintained by Pacific Gas and Electric Co.

…benefits include local control, rate stability and the ability to create significant financial incentives for customers who generate surplus power on their own through photovoltaic or other systems.

…Mr. Stillman…said an expected 4 to 10 percent bump in rates initially has remained a primary concern for some, particularly businesses.

…With power generation as part of its charter… the legally independent water agency body was tasked with development of the Sonoma Clean Energy concept. Control will ultimately go to the joint powers authority, which will likely include the municipalities that chose to join.

If implemented, Sonoma Clean Power would become the second such arrangement operating in the state, after the Marin Energy Authority.

Yet Sonoma’s agency could carry key differences, including sheer size, Mr. Stillman said. The county has 265,000 meters – 2.5 times the customer base of the 11-municipality Marin Energy Authority…

Sonoma County … has … current and potential renewable energy assets… the 725-megawatt Calpine geothermal plant, which the company says produces enough energy to power a city the size of San Francisco and currently sells that energy throughout the state.

In its initial survey…the water agency found that 65 percent of businesses surveyed were at least “moderately supportive” of a community choice aggregation arrangement that included renewable sources. 74 percent of residents supported the creation of a locally-owned electricity program that used renewable sources…

In a followup focus group, Data Instincts found that 53 percent of participants would be willing to pay up to $15 more for electricity from the proposed agency, 73 percent would pay up to $10 more, and all 15 participants would pay an additional $5 a month…current projections estimate that the average additional cost for a residential customer would fall somewhere between the $10-$15 range.

“We’re not jumping the gun. We’re being very analytical,” said Efren Carrillo, Sonoma County’s Fifth District supervisor and member of the ad-hoc committee on Sonoma Clean Power. “Tuesday’s meeting is just another step in understanding where we need to be in having a cost-effective program.”

Fourth District Supervisor Mike McGuire, another member of the committee, said that rebates and other incentives could help enhance interest in the business community.

His concern: “How can we work with the entities that are the largest power users — business — and provide them with the tools to drive down their costs?”

(me again) At LEAST they are asking HOW we get this done. OK.

Speakers and organizers of Spring of Sustainability are not giving in to the paralysis that seems to infect most of us – getting heavier and more prone to illness because – we can’t break loose from our TVs – and computers! (Am victim to the latter!) Did you notice Spring is PERMANENTLY two weeks early? That’s the sweet part. The Maldives under water? Some COUNTRIES will have to “move” due to the auto and factory-based pollution that cause climate crisis. Unending drought? All the people living without water will have to migrate, though that must be horrendous when you are dying of thirst! Acidification of our oceans? Die-off of countless species? Really, how on earth did we allow this craziness when we have known for many years what the destruction of our natural resources would bring? Seems unconscionable to me.

Knew from Vinit Allen, founder of Sustainable World Coalition, that his Spring of Sustainability would bring a solid base of useful information aimed at balancing the needs of our habitat with our own. Each interview is 1/2 hour, takes place at noon – and expect all to be marvelous. Though I have missed a few, and its not always possible to have noon free, this remains a series not to be missed. May have to buy the CDs.

The line up is amazing: Jane Goodall, Joanna Macy, Thom Hartmann, Bill McKibben (350.org), Frances Moore Lappe’ (Diet for a Small Planet and so much more!), Nina Simmons (Bioneers), Duane Elgin (Living with Simplicity), Van Jones(Green Collar Jobs), and so many more incredible workers for our mutual planetary health. Want to join them?

You can call in questions. http://springofsustainability.com/ Also found recommendation here: http://www.democraticunderground.com/112710429

“Here’s a very strong recommendation. This program of daily half-hour webcasts throughout the spring looks like it’s going to be amazing. The list of 100 presenters is a jaw-dropping who’s who of the movement. And like everything in a gift economy, there is no money involved – just connections and the good kind of growth.”

And from WiserEarth, a creation of ecology icon, Paul Hawken, and friends: http://blog.wiserearth.org/capitalism-communities/ (

Hosted by Betsy Rosenberg, today’s talk on the Spring of Sustainability series featured Emmy award-winning journalist and host of Sundance Channel’s The Green Simran Sethi.

Earlier this week, author Hunter Lovins spoke to us about finding a way out of capitalism. She urged each of us to delve deeper and question where the basic necessities in our lives come from.

On Tuesday, Duane Elgin explored the topic of volunteering simplicity and the importance of living with balance. As he puts it, “There is no cook book about simplicity.”

This Thursday, Simran Sethi speaks to us about where the environmental movement stands in our current media sphere. Her topic, “Why Sustainability Isn’t Getting More Traction–and What We Can Do To Change It,” was a good segue to a question many of us may be wondering as we approach Earth Day this April.

Sending an important message on such a massive scale requires incredible drive. Over the last several years, the movement has gained powerful momentum but has been losing traction at the same time. What happened? Simran Sethi couldn’t have put it better when she responded, “Things got really deeply politicized and convoluted. There are a number of reasons it didn’t gain traction… This is just the way we’re wired.”

On a very basic level, our human brain is programmed to react to immediate danger. The difference between telling someone what is going to happen to him or her in twenty years versus what is affecting them right now, Simran explains, is really in the framing.

Reflecting on what a journalism student once proposed, Sethi remembers being challenged herself to reframe the question of what sustainability is to focusing on what sustains us as people.

“We have to work with existing cares. It’s about igniting people in a place where they already care, meeting people where they are.”

Back in October 2011, Wiser had the honor of hosting a WiserLocal event with Simran in la Ruche, Paris. That night, Simran and the community discussed what was holding us back from going green. Moving beyond the “one-size-fits-all” idea and approach is urgent, she mentioned. We need to push past dropping alarming statistics and bring the environmental conversation back to the level of the people. What does it mean in our day-to-day lives?

Five months later, she speaks to listeners this afternoon about what works with environmental communication and perhaps—our greatest fear—what isn’t working.

Simran’s message hasn’t changed, and neither should ours. It’s easy to be deterred when the sustainability message is losing its hold in the midst of mainstream media. In the end, however, it seems like what is at stake isn’t the message we’re trying to send. It’s the way in which we’re sending it.

“Taking one step is a part of a bigger journey,” Simran Sethi reminds us.

Indeed, the movement and dialogue surrounding sustainability hasn’t lost its traction. Maybe the real challenge is figuring out how to hang on to it. (More on this at http://metamorphose.us/
“Metamorphose

An interdisciplinary exploration of the personal and cultural dimensions of transformation. A creative investigation into the values, beliefs and social conditions that bring us together and inspire us to engage and flourish. Answers to the question, “What ignites change?”
Founded and curated by Simran Sethi. Currently in beta.

Spring of Sustainability runs through Friday, June 22, 2012. For more info: 415-737-0235, info@swcoalition.org, http://springofsustainability.com/.

This Buddhist stuff sticks to me – I love it because it digs into what I’m thinking and doing and helps me do whatever with more focus and integrity. I do want to be kinder and more clear as I age. What else is worthwhile?

A card from San Francisco Shambhala Meditation Center quotes the father:

The Shambhala teachings are
founded on the premise that there is basic
human wisdom that can help to solve the world’s
problems. This wisdom does not belong to any one
culture or religion, not does it come only from the
West or the East. Rather, it is a tradition of human
warriorship that has existed in many cultures at
many times throughout history.
– Chogyam Trungpa Rinpoche

Was deeply pleased with the whole evening at Grace Cathedral atop Nob Hill – from the ride over in fantastic early spring afternoon sun (Wow! The gleaming OCEAN to the right of Golden Gate Bridge – that hump of red rock just before you go onto the Bridge. Wondering where the boats are going if you see one. Looking for just one bird.)

And then there is Grace itself. Lived 1 1/2 blocks from there as a single parent and by myself 18 years. Grace was where I walked when others may have gone to a bar. Adore a slow walk inside when late afternoon sun floods your whole being with stained glass light. Nothing like that. Immense.

My eyes feasted on the views from the outdoor labyrinth (had to walk it, recalling how it once helped me heal), Huntington Square Park, full of purebred dogs and their people, my son’s early childhood neighborhood park, the Fairmont behind it with its amazing elevator to the stars, the energetic jonquils and irises in the Grace landscaping, the Gold Door of the Cathedral itself with its marvelous bas relief. I am at home outside and inside Grace.

But what was this Rinpoche/teacher, son of a great man, to say to us? More of the same from a deep place. Sakyong Mipham Rinpoche, in his forties but the grin of a guy in his 20′s, faces fear that the human race may not make it. He doesn’t know if we will. But our situation, as I understand it through him and readings, is like the old Buddhist parable about a person on a cliff with a tiger behind and another at the bottom of the cliff. A strawberry is available to hand. You reach out and grab it!

So the conversation, the talk, was about worthiness and bravery. Not how much do you earn or how many degrees do you have or who you bested – but the sense that your life is worthy, that you pledge to practice civility throughout life – you learn to actually listen to whoever comes to you, you are kind to whoever comes and you learn to see what is rather than what you thought it was. Hard work! Must be done over and over and over. But you know the work is good; each day it is good.

Looked around at over 1,000 people, a room filled with gentleness and intelligence. A great gathering. Must go find them where they practice; lots of choices. Close to Petaluma, you can visit Sonoma Shambhala Meditation Center, 255 Napa Street (I will), or Santa Rosa Shambhala Meditation Center. Ten in our area including a Tamalpais Center in San Rafael. Wonder if Petaluma will come along and start up a center.

Enlightenment, as I got the concept in my 20′s, was about perfection – becoming a Buddha through generations of work in that direction, and, somehow, through NOT wanting it but becoming it. But Sakyong Mipham Rinpoche was teaching a variety of enlightenment I hadn’t encountered – enlightenment as civility in each day. If the world chose to be kind – no more war, famine, most tragedies gone. When death comes, it is part of a cycle we are all in together. Hi, there!

For more, visit a center or www.shambhala.org/centers/

Launch venues: started up at the also-new Lydia’s Organics/Sunflower Cafe in Redwood Business Park (used to be Cisco Systems cafeteria) and an after-party for many many warm dancers and imbibers at Redwood Cafe, on the main block of downtown Cotati, where “Billy Jean, She’s My Girl,” got the bodies on the dance floor in high form and the crowd generally very upbeat! I enjoyed the Port in a tiny glass.

Lydia’s food is new to many – raw and organic or sometimes cooked, I say the food is TASTY and makes one feel just spendid. Like you ate something VERY good for you! And you did. I’ll be back soon I know. Especially for the chocolates, crepes, and I did love the Superburger with watercress. Raw chocolate is extremely pleasant and enjoyed picking out a half dozen and offering bites all around the big table in the Kids Corner they set up for us complete w. red velvety table cover and a crystal vase of gorgeous buds. Will have to take a slow, close look at the jewelry and photography on sale, too.

Whole Lydia’s portion of the launch was just great fun. Packed. Everywhere I walked, friends both close and just recently met. Caught up on a few wild stories (private) and shared this with nephew, Casey: “I think they make pens with all the colors of the alphabet….Oh, I meant rainbow!” To which I replied alphabet is much more interesting. What color do you think A is? And then something about the typewriter I “invented” which you could carry around, but when you needed to write, you’d put a piece of paper under the metal object and move it around for each letter. Duh! A complete waste of time! But I invented it. Casey will invent something that actually works someday I’d bet.

So lots of hugs and how do you do and then it dawned on me that not only was the Tango portion of entertainment over, but our granddaughter, Rose, was a performer in the demonstration of Capoeira Azania, a Brazilian martial art “with an incredible history. Created by Africian slaves fighting for their freedom and seeking to preserve their culture and spirits, they masked their dangerous art form from their Portuguese slave owners in dance moves and the rhythm of drums…a mix of dance, acrobatics, theatre, music and effective fighting techniques.” (from their site)

Rose did a great job – and she’s only 9! Was warmed by the fact her parents, Day and Rebekah Waterbury, have just now launched a dance studio, Dance Underground, in the warehouse we used to call home at 215 Water Street along the River. Here’s the listing I found for Dance Underground/Capoeira:
Capoeira Fitness Martial Arts Culture Class Schedule
Dance Underground
215 Water Street
Kids: Tues/Thurs: 4:30-6pm
Adults: Tues/Thurs: 7-8:30
Contact Mary: (415)314-7622
So pleased to see this happening as, am sure, are those who take the class. Exercise with grace and soul.

Wondering what comes next for Aqus Community and us. I’ll fill out the Aqus Community form at http://aquscommunity.com/index.php?option=com_acctexp&task=subscribe and consider creating an Oasis Farm event or so in collaboration with these friendly people people.

Great start, guys and gals of Aqus Community. And many of you are fine dancers and drummers.

We ran a dunk tank and had Victor Piatt Juggler Extraordiaire at the corner of Kentucky and East Washington, fire dance parties along the River on Water Street, wonderful house concerts at the first JV location when the store had moved to Petaluma Blvd. So much…

At one early point, I got excited about the idea of designing a store window. Was going to fill a tree with stuffed birds, put a cut out birder near it with binoculars and a word balloon saying “The Spring is Sprung, the Grass is Riz, I wonder where the birdies is?” which I’ve been saying, probably from my Mom, since little! Wayne morphed the window into a life-sized cut out PHOTO of him dressed in safari clothing – and he became for me and others The Jungle Guy.

Wayne also became Emmett Kelly the clown interviewed – he just squeezed a horn like Harpo Marx – by Channel 50′s Curtis Kim, boosting Children’s Village in Santa Rosa. We created a small circus for the afternoon in Helen Putnam Plaza across the street. Wish I had video now of Wayne as an elegant, weird tall and awkward bird with huge feathers who comforted a sad girl (Lili Miesner, his first employee). Unlike any other bit of schtick you’ll ever see – sweeter! Another time he had a costume made and became George Bush on stilts, dripping money from a suitcase. Wayne walked from Walnut Park to Luchessi park as part of an anti-Iraq War march that day. And he became Uncle Sam on stilts handing out American flags to amazed children all around the Fairgrounds as part of the SesquiFest 4th of July celebrations during our really great SesquiCentennial.

I got to write a chapter on the future of Petaluma for the Celebrating Petaluma coffee table book for the Sesquicentenial. Also wrote 7 articles for a downtown business insert in the SF Chronicle, which we called Day Tripping in Petaluma and more for a silly Onion-style newsletter where I wrote as a penguin. Very silly; very fun!

A serious effort we made was with American Independent Business Alliance (AMIBA) as we created Petaluma Independent Business Alliance (PIBA) and ran with that as long as it seemed to make sense (two years of Shop’n Crawl at Christmas brought more sales to many stores and customer loyalty).

Many sad feelings as we leave. So many children come in, hangdog, and ask if we could somehow stay open. Some write letters and handmade cards to express their feelings.

Sorry, everybody, we have to close. We’ll go back to our (fairly new to us) Oasis Community Farm and make it what it will be in future – a place to visit, probably a membership farm, where you can buy great veggies, eggs, fruits, nuts, cheese, who knows whatall! Bet I’ll learn to make fancy jams!

And if all goes at all well, we’ll be a place to gather for music, drama, humor, whatever we need to gather for…Kids of all ages welcome always!

What is sad is not just the kids and their parents who we will miss (and hopefully keep in touch with many who want to), but the whole shift of the global economy! It’s not just in Jungle Vibes and Starstruck and Heebe Jeebe and Crackerjacks that the pinch is felt – its every small town, every country. We’re very lucky – we have local food, a very beautiful place to live, and each other. But we don’t have the money we had awhile ago. And it’s not coming back.

This isn’t our fault – and I can’t just say its Wall Street. It’s also Amazon, it’s also automation, it’s also globalization. One thing for sure: we have just this one planet and haven’t yet learned the stuff on it is for REUSE and RECYCLING, not neverending growth. That can’t work; never really did, though we humans made a valiant effort to keep making money by exploiting whatever can be exploited.

The earth is complaining quite shrilly at this point. More than HALF the population of our world will be without clean drinking water within ten years if we don’t change our ways.
Want that to be YOU? Oh, it’s OK if it’s just THEM? No.

It isn’t OK to let others suffer. I most identified with Satyagraha in my 20′s and guess I still do. That’s the principle held by Gandhi, the principle of the Bodhisatva, “I shall not be free until every blade of grass is free.” That principle is something we love and want to move closer to. Learn more ways to be kind. “What would Gandhi do?” became my placard for demonstrations. My idea, Gandhi’s presence still felt from reading him in my 20′s.

Meanwhile, back on Oasis Community Farm, 27 laying hens, a great crop of tomatoes, squash, lettuces, swiss card first year and the fruit and nut trees starting to bear this spring! Lots of excitement around that as well as completing the amazing house Wayne designed and built to the roof.

And Jungle Vibes? Was it ever a theme park as Wayne envisioned? That he grew up 7 miles from Disneyland explains a lot! It was endlessly entertaining and seemed it go on forever; Wayne felt he would have happily stayed into his 80′s in a better-healed economy.

From the Rainforest Tea Party featuring belly dance and nutritional supplements (I wasn’t here yet), to many Family Fun Days with petting zoo and crafts, Kids Open Mic (thanks, Barbara Arhon!), Exploratorium science days (used info from their site to build wonderful toys and teach about fire, magnets, balance – so sweet!) Well, I can’t even list all the events we ran. Usually several planned ahead of whatever date it was.

We will never forget – how could we? Talk with a couple hundred neighbors in a day, watch the kids get excited by science, sweet little girl toys, the Topsy Turvey Gumball machine with an elephant sound (our Elephant in the Living Room). I’ll do a Snapfish photo book for a small memento.

Guess I wanted an Everything Store when I was little; got to share one as an adult. Now is is going, going, gone! Stop by and say hello Sat. or Sun. By Monday, we’re doing donations for non-profits. Sigh. And goodbye.

Phil Donahue came to the Apple Box Monday noontime to boost the candidacy of Norman Solomon for Lynn Woolsey’s Congressional seat. The crowd was enthusiastic and nostalgic for the good old days when Phil Donahue had the best talk show period.

These guys were doing a set of 12 engagements around District 2. Perfect day, even an egret that Phil noted. “Don’t tell anybody how great it is here.”

Go to
for a bit from Donahue. And here are some photos:

Norman Solomon is running for the new District 2 seat in Congress, spanning the incredible distance from the Golden Gate Bridge to Oregon along the coast. A new media group I gathered together, California North Coast Media, did a candidate forum including Solomon and the other 7 candidates still available throughout the 5 counties of District 2 and at our site, www.cncm.us Huge issues for candidates now. War, of course, a focus for both Norman Solomon and Phil Donahue, both of whom have produced movies on this. Solomon’s War Made Easy with Sean Penn is a stunner and now Donahue has Body of War, now showing in selected theaters.

The guys, Phil and Norman, were a perfect tag team for progressives. Anti-war icons, they addressed income inequality, the future of work and energy; all the tough topics without reserve or, seemingly, ego. Truly good guys.

What they said at the Apple Box, with an adoring local crowd in attendance, can be viewed in whole on PCA’s Channel 26 very soon – or call and ask to have it shown. 773-3190.

Will definitely go see Phil’s film – always admired his good ethics and mind – and Norman Solomon is a force for good. Voting for him? A very good idea…and he needs volunteers, too!

Emotions were high last night, but people were respectful from first comment to last, by Jason Davies’ young daughter, Lea, the brave girl. I heard old friends and new express their love of the land we share, the Commons, the Wetlands.

There’s still a chance to win for the People. Seems Mike Healy’s comment yesterday that Judge Rene Chouteau’s rulings had only been contested once and never overturned, was itself overturned by Sheri Chlebowski, who ran with the comment to an attorney friend who dug out a very different statistic:
Judge Chatoeux evidently has been challenged 8 times – and overturned 4 times – 50% overturns vs. the California average of 19%. So the show isn’t over – there’s still a chance to appeal this decision, though City Council must weigh the likelihood that CEQA rules and regulations point to misbehavior which cold lead to reversal of the judge’s verdict. If so, the whole thing goes back to the Supes, who, we expect, will NOT favor Dutra this time around.

Was pleased to speak after Cynthia Murray, who ran for Assembly when our Mayor Pam also ran. Cynthia’s always pro-business spoke up for business – but not the businesses I usually speak up for. I’ve often spoken for small business – for the shops and services that fill the famous avenues of downtown Petaluma, the shops that are threatened by big box stores and monopoly businesses that would drive them out.

The Press Democrat/Argus wrote up the story

Significant catch from Karina Lofee at Petaluma Patch:

“If the appellate court overturns Judge Chouteau’s decision even partially, the project would have to be voted on again by the Board of Supervisors. But because the board has changed since the original vote took place, with Supervisors Mike Kerns and Paul Kelley retiring, it’s unlikely that the project would get approved again.”

So keep the faith, Friends of Shollenberger Park. We still have a park and it still has no asphalt fumes spewing out across the River. Not yet. Let’s hope – and work for – a healthy, great park – Shollenberger. Made up of dredgings from the Petaluma River, it is a gem.