There are over 300 non profit organizations providing services, assistance, or support for Petalumans.  While there are many ways to find information about these organizations, it can be a hit or miss proposition.A small group, working with the City’s Technology Committee, is attempting to develop a searchable date base that will make it easier for people wishing to volunteer or to seek assistance. As one person put it: “(We need to provide)… the information in a way that is searchable (the tags). The City’s community links are just names and numbers, which isn’t very helpful if you don’t know what an organization does.” 

It is my understanding that the data base will be open to additions after it is launched. In fact, the idea is to publicize it and encourage additions.

But first we must have  a starting point. 

My “role” is to help gather information about those groups and organizations that serve Petalumans.  

To date the list includes

• Christmas Cheer
• Committee on the Shelterless (COTS)
• Boys & Girls Club of Petaluma
• Burbank Housing Management Corporation
• Family Education Ctr
• Friends of the Petaluma River
• Giant Steps Therapeutic Equestrian Center
• Hospice of Petaluma
• Mentor Me Petaluma
• Polly Klaas Foundation
• Petaluma Bounty
• Petaluma People Services Center
• Petaluma Mothers Club
• Petaluma Mothers of Preschoolers (MOPS)
• Project Linus (North Bay Chapter)
• Petaluma Ecumenical Housing (PEP)
• Rebuilding Together Petaluma

Underneath each name I have worked up “profiles” with searchable tags.

For example:

Project Linus (North Bay Chapter)
Petaluma CA 94954
Website: http://www.orgsites.com/ca/linus/index.html
E-Mail: jgiacom@comcast.net
STATEMENT–The Project’s goal is to provide security blankets for children in distress due to serious illness, trauma or who are otherwise in need. In other words: “Children who need a hug.”
TAGS—children, ill, illness, sick, sickness, quilting, knitting, crochet, blankets

Giant Steps Therapeutic Equestrian Center
595 Deer Creek Lane
Petaluma, CA 94952
Phone: (707) 769-4770
Website: http://www.giantstepsriding.org
STATEMENT—A non-profit organization that believes that caring for and riding horses can be a powerful tool for healing individuals with physical, emotional and developmental challenges, as well as children considered to be “at-risk.”
TAGS—children, therapy, illness, disability, physical therapy

REQUEST FOR HELP–If you are aware of organizations or groups you think should be on the list, please send me whatever information you may have–If you only have the name, that is sufficient.  I will do the rest.

You can post it as a comment to this post or send it to neighborspetaluma@hotmail.com.  Please put “NGO” in the subject line.

Thanks!

Tag Petaluma Outside.In [where: 94954]

californiacitynews.org

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In which His Majesty gets ready for the red carpet walk.

All of Petaluma is agog with news of the new movie premiere. Forget Spielberg and Scorsese. On Sunday night you can see H.R. Downs and Paul Francis [the Michael Moore’s of Petaluma minus a few pounds] at the premiere of their big-box documentary in the theatre [note the cool European spelling] district at Boulevard Cinema [go ahead and park in the Basin Street garage, just be careful and walk with a friend].

His Majesty on the red carpet…

All the gliteratti of Petaluma will be there, walking the red carpet [ok, the concrete sidewalk. But you can see the brass plaques of the young girls who were instrumental in getting the cinema built.]. His Majesty will pull up in the royal limo about 6:30 PM [no, your Majesty. You’ll be walking the five blocks to the theater] We’re not sure Brad and Angelina will be on time. And we hear that Newman and Redford have scheduling conflicts. But His Majesty will be there to hobnob with the Petaluma celebs. We hope to get H.R’s and Paul’s autograph.

Be there or be square…

For five bucks and the price of popcorn you can’t beat it. So if you are interested in what the big-box invasion is going to do to Petaluma in the next ten years, Boulevard Cinema at 7PM Sunday September 30 is the place to be.

The Petaluma Neighborhood Association ( http://keeppetalumaeggcentric.com/ )is excited to announce the premiere of a documentary film
by H.R. Downs and Paul Francis! LWC coordinator Ben Boyce is one of the contributors. Now on the big screen.

Boulevard Cinema (Petaluma Blvd. @ C St.)
Ticket price $5 This viewing is open to the public so please invite your friends and neighbors!

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Doing the Math on Proposed Big Box Retail

A Community Forum

Tuesday, October 2nd, 6:30-8:30 pm
Petaluma Public Library
100 Fairgrounds Dr.

Panelists:

Sarah Muller, Associate Policy Director, Working Partnerhsips, USA, San Jose

Ken Jacobs, Labor Specialist and Chair, UC Berkeley Center for Labor
Resarch and Education

Vicki Pozzebon, Executive Director, Santa Fe Alliance

Patty Norman, Children’s Specialist at Copperfield’s Books Petaluma.

Moderator, Eileen Morris, Co-Chair, Living Wage Coalition

The forum is free and wheelchair accessible.

Sponsored by the Living Wage Coalition of Sonoma County and New
Economy, Working Solutions (NEWS).

For more information call 707-545-7349 x220 or ben.boyce@sbcglobal.net
and see: http://www.livingwagesonoma.org

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The Petaluma Neighborhood Association is excited to announce the premiere of a documentary film
by H.R. Downs and Paul Francis! LWC coordinator Ben Boyce is one of the contributors. Now on the big screen.

Boulevard Cinema (Petaluma Blvd. @ C St.)
Ticket price $5 This viewing is open to the public so please invite your friends and neighbors!

2 Comments »

By Frank Simpson

Petaluma Involved Neighbors (PINS)

______________

The purpose of this article is to address some of the concerns raised in the comments posted to the Pulse of Petaluma Shopping Cart Survey of September 12, 2007. Please note that while I make no mention of the blight factor or the environmental impact of abandoned shopping carts, that is not to say that they are not real costs. 

Survey Link http://pulse-of-petaluma.petaluma360.com/default.asp?item=675264

Background

Any discussion of Petaluma’s abandoned shopping cart phenomenon requires an understanding of who is taking them. There are five categories of people who take carts or who perform additional mischief with carts once they are out in the city environs.

They are the…

• Carless (Those who use carts as car substitutes)
• Homeless (Portable Closets)
• Vandals/Kids (Let’s throw the carts off a bridge)
• Cart Kleptos (Those who regularly take carts for no obvious purpose) &
• Recycle Raiders (Those who use shopping carts to raid the blue cans)

Prior to 2004, we had a wandering cart population due mostly to the homeless and the usual assortment of mischief-makers. Based on my records and observations, the problem really began to take off in 2004. The change was due, in my opinion, to the dramatic increase in the number of people who started using shopping carts as car substitutes…

FOR EXAMPLE

1. Home from the store…

2. Groceries put away and the cart is pushed down

the street…

3. And left half way between the store and

a creek…

Will it make it back to the store?

OR

Will it join this cart in the creek?

We tried at least three times to help curb the problem through private efforts and communications with local stores, regional management and even corporate management.  Our initial efforts did produce some beneficial reductions in the abandoned cart population but the progress quickly disappeared. Each succeeding effort produced diminished returns.

Cart Theft

I agree that removal of a shopping cart from store property is theft and I appreciate the sentiment of many that the solution is to arrest the cart “thieves.” 

In addition…

• I am fully aware of the glaring irony that you can have someone arrested for stealing food or clothing, but no one is going to be arrested for taking a shopping cart. 
• Put another way, it’s OK to “steal” a shopping cart worth $150 as long as you have paid for the merchandise in the cart.

Irony notwithstanding, we have to recognize today’s social reality. Arresting people for taking shopping carts is not a realistic solution. 

No Single Solution is Mandated

A “California-style” shopping cart ordinance does not mandate any particular form of cart management or cart control…

• It does require stores to develop and submit a plan for approval that is designed to control shopping cart inventories.
• It also sets up enforcement procedures to ensure compliance.

Food Prices

For those concerned about the potential of increased food prices due to a cart control ordinance, I must point out that you are already paying for the cost of abandoned carts…

• Don’t think for a moment that stores don’t factor cart shrinkage in their budgeting and pricing. It is just a cost of doing business. 
• Each time a cart disappears, another has to be purchased to take its place. 
• Assuming, for the purposes of this discussion, that each cart costs $150, you can get into some serious money very quickly. 

Even if a cart is recovered, it frequently is not in a condition to be returned to service… 

With effective cart management, stores can maintain a lower cart inventory. In addition, the service life of each cart is longer because they are not being pushed down our streets and sidewalks–a bone-jarring experience for man and cart.

Public Nuisance

It is tempting to say that enacting a shopping cart ordinance is blaming the stores for the theft of their carts. The fact is that many cities in California (not to mention the rest of the United States) have had to deal with abandoned shopping carts as a public nuisance and have passed ordinances to deal with the problem. 

It is time for Petaluma to do the same. Remember, Raley’s is coming to town and other “cart” stores are on the planning horizon.

Based on the precedents and experiences of other California communities, we need to construct an ordinance that recognizes the nature and extent of the problem in Petaluma…

• Such an ordinance is easily drafted with forward effective dates to give stores time to comply.
• Many stores have experience in complying with cart ordinances in other cities so there is little or no learning curve.

Of course, enforcement by the City will be required; however, if properly implemented, the enforcement need will diminish as stores get control of their cart inventories. 

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If you missed yesterday’s City Council presentation about “Neighborhood Emergency Preparedness” initiatives, you might have heard the following statement: “As you have heard many times regarding major disasters; it isn’t a question of IF, but WHEN. Whenever we approach the anniversary of he 1906 S.F. Earthquake, the public is reminded of the need to “Be Ready” and to “Be Prepared.”

Just a few weeks ago, the City Council heard a 30 minute presentation by personnel from the Sonoma County Office of Emergency Services. The council members heard the OES staff use acronyms such as SEMS and NIMS. As council members they have been required to attend workshops that inform them about how emergency situations are handled by OES professionals at the State, County and Municipal level.

However; what about local citizens? We have been told, more than once, that in the event of a 1906 magnitude earthquake happening along our Rodgers Creek Fault, the impact in

For over a year, there has been a group of local volunteers who have been involved with an emergency preparedness initiative that was “incubated” shortly after Hurricane Katrina. It has “hatched” a few more acronyms suck as CERT, NERT, and ALERT. The “spark plugs” who have been “energizing” this effort made a brief report about what has been accomplished, to date, to the council so that our families and friends at the neighborhood level will “Be Ready.”

This summary report may be view on the City of

http://petaluma.granicus.com/ViewPublisher.php?view_id=3

For additional information about CERT, NERT or ALERT, check out:

http://www.PetalumaNERT.org

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Note: This blog was written on March 21st, and has been sitting on the desk top because the author was just too busy “springing into action” on this and that. Sorry for the delay. It’s the thought that counts.

 Today is the first day of Spring and as usual, I waddle down the driveway in my bathrobe to pick up our three newspapers (it must be Wednesday): the Argus-Courier, the Press Democrat, and the SF Chronicle … but something is different …. its bright and the sun is coming up. Something has changed. What is it?

 Oh, my golly! It’s 7:00 a.m.! For the past several months I ‘ve been waking up between 3 and 4 a.m., logging on to the Internet for a couple of hours writing a blog, and then going back to bed around 6 or 7 a.m. for another couple of hours of sleep. Is this the result of the daylight savings time change, or the fact that I’m was still on the computer until 11 p.m. or midnight? (Computer addicts keep strange hours, you know.) Whatever the reason, no matter what time it is, it’s time to spring into action with a new blog for our newly created community and neighborhood-centered website - OPEN. (Our Petaluma Electronic Network)

 This morning, I’m still reflecting on the citizen turnout and participation in the last couple of City Council meetings. The various causes and the passionate and sincere public comments have been most impressive, IMHO. One in particular, almost brought tears to my eyes. A teacher from McNear Elementary School spoke about how an old barn might be saved and used as a nature study center rather than moved or destroyed in order to permit the building of more homes. Her description of what sixth graders are experiencing - now, at the site, caused me to remember that it was  “promoting the greater use of the out-of-doors as a learning laboratory, that brought me to California and San Francisco State University in 1960. My job was to direct a field campus in the Sierra Nevada during the summer months and to develop an outdoor education program for teachers during the academic year.  I also recalled that the first, three student teachers  we placed in a resident outdoor school for one week was right here in Sonoma County. That all happened almost 50 years ago. (My, how time flies when you’re havingh a good time.)

Hey! Wait a minute. None of this blah-blah-blogging is related to the title of today’s blog. Oops, sorry; I got carried away thinking about my days as an ECO Educator, when I was an activitist for utilizing local school grounds, city, parks, summer camp sites, and for that matter - any natural area, anywhere, as a laboratory for teaching K-12 students principles and concepts related to environmental, conservation, and outdoor education. Although we didn’t have blogging  in the 1960s, my brother and I did put our thoughts and ideas about how to use the out-of-doors for learning in a book titled, Teaching in the Outdoors. After five editions and translations into both Japanese and Chinese, it is still being published.

 Today, instread of writing books and essays, activits are finding out that blogging on the Internet can be most effective in spreading the word about their pet causes, thoughts and ideas. One of the reasons  OPEN was established, was to provide an independent platform for community and neighborhood activists to express their viewpoints. It’s time for any citizen with a cause or a concern to spring into action and create an OPEN Weblog. What we “plant” in the Spring, we can “reap” in the Fall. Stay tuned.

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If  you have been reading the local newspapers recently, there appears to be a few “local action groups” (LAGs) that are perfect examples of how citizens can come together around an issue, concern or need and pursue a course of action that either captures the attention of the larger community and/or begins to solve the problem. For example:

PINS - Petaluma Involved Neighbors are concerned about the vandalism, graffiti, blight and decay in Petaluma. Founder, Frank Simpson, has created a web site that documents via photographs what has been happening in Petaluma over the past few years, http://www.picturetrail.com/PINS131/ He has also created an archieve site at http://groups.yahoo.com/group/Graffiti_PINS131/ Recently, Frank has also blogged extensively on this theme for the Argus-Courier at http://frank-simpson.petaluma360.com Bottomline: He has gotten results. For details, go to my blog, “The Squeaky Wheel” does get results at  http://bill-hammerman.petaluma360.com

Victoria neighbors have launched a campaign related to the city’s “Draft Environmental Impact Report-Review of Planning Commision Recommendations for Parcel-Specific Land Uses.” They have asked the City Council to reconsider the existing very low residential designation to rural residential and increase in park acreage and place his item on the agenda of their next meeting, Monday, March 19, at 7:00 p.m.

This neighborhood action group has been focussed on this issue for some time, and their efforts may be reviewed on Granicus - the city’s video of past meeting - http://petaluma.granicus.com/ViewPublisher.php?view_id=3 jump to “Sub-Area 8-West Hills-Lands of Davidson (Scott Ranch). Anytime a neighborhood action group can attract over 100 citizens to a public meeting you know they are organized, effective and having an impact.

 ALERT - Alliance for Local Emergency Response Teams held its quarterly meeting, last week, and a dozen neighborhood leaders (NERTs) participated in an information update session, as well as planning for the next quarter. Since last March, the Petaluma CERT-NERT-STAR intiative (now coordinated by ALERT), has: graduated 50 Community Emergency Response (CERT) volunteers, created 12 NERTS, licensed 12 FCC Amateur Radio Operators, established 6 electronic conference boards, and one web site http://www.petalumanert.org At the Sonoma County level, a Petaluma-based, team of eight volunteers participated in the 2007 CERT Challenge and five ham radio operators advanced to become volunteer members of the county’s Auxilary Communications Services (ACS).

These three reports are great examples of the PetalumaNet motto, the greatest resource of any community is the collective wisdom, intellect and creativity of it citizens. Stay tuned for future updates and example of community action groups.

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We hearing these two buzz words more and more as the 2008 presidential race gets underway. Are they really new? IMHO, no! I believe that the North Bay’s recent use of the label Telecom Valley incorporated the spirit of these two words, but without the buzz.

What ever became of those glamorous years, 1990-2002? What impact, if any, did they have on Sonoma County and our favorite river town, the birthplace of Telecom Valley in 1987, when Don Green founded Optilink? The final score card may not be tallied for a few more years, but it is obvious that we have more people, more houses, more cars, along with an increase in local community concerns and problems than the pre-Telecom Valley days. I’m not so naïve to believe that the growth of the telecommunication technologies industry of the 1990s was the sole cause. Of course, tourism, agriculture, and the wine industry played a role, but Telecom Valley was the new brand name.

My concern is what happened to that “spirit of innovation and transformation” associated with this branding of the region as the “heart of the global telecommunication industry?” Did it change the way our local city governments, schools, businesses, health care, and community-benefit organizations conduct their affairs? Again, IMHO, no! Yes, indeed, we all know that change is the only constant in life, and that changes take time and do not happen overnight. But, must it take as long as it does to make modifications or alterations in how our “established” community institutions, agencies, and organizations function in order that they might achieve their desired goals in a more effective, efficient and economical manner?

Some folks will say you have to have a crisis first.  You have to capture the public’s attention before they even begin to think about making changes. Does that mean we have to wait until there are disasters, riots, recessions, or other catastrophic events before we swing into action? More on the local community level, do we have to organize pothole and graffiti patrols in order to capture government’s attention? I could go on and on. Our various forms of news media report these kinds of stories each and every day. So what?

Since I believe strongly in the capacity and the ability of citizens to rise to the occasion with innovative and transformational ideas when faced with crises, I’ll pause for a while and see what our readers have to suggest. Please feel free to leave a comment. It just might lead to making an important change in how we live, work, play and learn. Stay tuned.

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Have you noticed the number of acronyms I use in my blogs? What do they stand for and what do they mean? Isn’t the use of acronyms supposed to make it easier for readers to understand your references? Here’s my Weblog’s index of acronyms and their related community theme or topic. (There’s an exam at the end of this blog.)

 Earlier in my blogging career (such as it is as a volunteer journalists), our website projects in the late 19990s used PEN (Petaluma Electronic Network),  PCN (Petaluma Community Network), and POL (PetalumaOnline). Recently, our emergency preparedness initiatives resulted in CERT (Community Emergency Response Training), NERT (Neighborhood Emergency Response Team), ALERT (Alliance of Local Emergency Response Teams), and STAR (Safe – Trained – Alert – Ready). 

Now that we have launched a campaign for OPEN (Our Petaluma Electronic Network), you might run across these letters and their relationship to local neighborhood action group projects.

Sample Matrix of Current Concerns

• NEAT = Neighborhood Empowerment & Action Teams
  • Graffiti and vandalism
  • Abandoned shopping carts
  • Overdue parking of vehicles

• NERT = Neighborhood Emergency Response Teams
  • Emergency preparedness
  • Emergency communications

• KYN = Know Your Neighborhood
  • Neighborhood political action groups

• PINS = Petaluma Involved Neighbors
  • PINS Picture Trail Site & Archieves

• NWG = Neighborhood Watch Groups
  • Under-age drinking & drugs
  • Inactive Neighborhood Watch groups
  • Speeding & reckless driving in neighborhoods
  • Cooperation with NERT & NEAT

• NAG = Neighborhood Action Groups
  • Issues identified by neighborhood

If you’re still with me, that means you are interested; so, we’ll skip the exit exam. However, you are invited to check out the http://www.petalumaopen.net and consider stepping up to the plate and bringing your neighbors together in order to identify and begin to take action that will address a need or concern of your choosing. After you have gotten the ball rolling, take the next step and share what your neighborhood accomplished by posting a blog to this site. Instruction on “How to post a blog entry” are linked on the OPEN home page.

 I’ve “talked the talk,” are you and your neighbors ready to “walk the walk?” Stay tuned for case study reports from Neighborhood Action Groups that actually did it.

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