Project Open

As stated in Emergency Preparedness Blog #25 … “Stay tuned, the R.Q. averages for zip codes 94952 and 94954 will be released this weekend.” OK, so we a week late; but we wanted to allow time for the “Prepare Petaluma Forum” to be held first … which was last Thursday. Here is the report that was announced at yesterday’s meeting of NERT Sparkplugs. (Neighborhood Emergency Response Teams) 

94952 Zip Code - 26 responses - average score = 6.42 (10 point scale)94954 Zip Code - 10 responses – average score = 4.8  (10 point scale)Totals                   36                                                5.61 

The national average from a telephone survey (a random sample of 1,005 Americans) conducted in September 2007 = 4.41 on the “RQ” Survey’s 10 point scale. Among the key findings at the national level:

• Sixty-five percent of respondents claimed they know how to find the emergency broadcasting station on a radio.
• Sixty-two percent said that their local government had an emergency plan.
• The majority of Americans remain unprepared. Only 4 percent have taken all the preparedness actions recommended in the RQ and 23 percent have not taken a single action.

If you haven’t taken this “Readiness Quotient” survey yet, invest one minute and go to: http://www.whatsyourrq.org

If you have taken the survey and want to improve your score, click on this link:

http://www.whatsyourrq.org/tips.shtml

Speaking of ACTION, stay tuned for a future blog that will offer additional suggestions of what ACTION Petalumans can take to help not only themselves and their family, but their NEIGHBORS as well.

Just like the American Red Cross,

ALERT =

CERT = Community Emergency Response Teams

NERT = Neighborhood Emergency Response Teams

:

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September 2007 was our 4^th National Emergency Preparedness Month. Eighteen hundred organizations sponsored over 1,000 events designed to motivate the American people to “Get Ready” and to prepare for emergencies from natural disasters to terrorist attacks.   Here in Petaluma, our Alliance for Local Emergency Response Teams (ALERT) sponsored or coordinated the following: “Disaster Readiness” information booths at three Farmers Markets; four neighborhood get-togethers, that attracted over 100 people, to promote the formation of Neighborhood Emergency Response Teams (NERT); and the distribution of over 850 Emergency Preparedness pocket guides. In addition, our community’s 6^th CERT course (Community Emergency Response Team) took place at Groverman Hall.. By the end of this month, over 70 citizens will have completed a 24-27 hour course (offered since March 2006) devoted to training people to be better prepared to respond to emergency situations in their communities. Later this month, there will be additional opportunities for Petalumans to learn how to: (a) make a family disaster plan, (b) create an earthquake safe home, (c) prepare a disaster supply kit, and (d) learn what other resources are available. What has been lacking until now, however; has been a “yardstick” or practical “gauge” for individuals and communities to assess their degree of preparedness and to identify what additional steps need to be taken in order to really Be Ready to be on one’s own for 72-hours or longer. The tool that will help you determine your level of readiness and then compare your findings with a national average is called the Readiness Quotient or “RQ.” The Council for Excellence in Government has developed two barometers to help communities and individuals to actually measure readiness and preparedness. One, the Public Readiness Index provides a score for a geographic location, such as: a city, a state, or the nation. The “RQ Test” for individuals and families is a quick and simple one minute test to complete.     Take it now … http://www.whatsyourrq.org/ and compare your results with the national average, as well as other residents living in your Zip Code. 

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10-11 a.m. Met one-on-one with a videographer who produced an Internet TV show shortly after Hurricane Katrina that addressed the concern: Sonoma County Disaster; Can Sonoma County Communicate? It appears that many communities across the nation are asking a similar question – today. Maybe it’s time to produce another “Special Report” dealing with this issue.

11 a.m.-1 p.m. Mingled (a Bill Soberanes word) with a dozen other licensed amateur radio operators from throughout southern Sonoma County. The conversation topics ranged from using satellites to communicate to how to increase the range of a Handy Talkie using a “Tiger-Tail.” (Cost = seven cents.)

1:30-3:00 p.m.  Participated in a public health flu pandemic table top exercise organized by Sonoma County VOAD (Volunteer Organizations Active in Disasters). This exercise brought together approximately 25 representative from groups that ranged from volunteer neighborhood teams (like COPE and NERT) to large non-profit organizations that operate as the county, state and national level (American Red Cross, Salvation Army, Amateur Radio Relay League)

4-5 p.m. Zzzzzzzz (Seniors need naps)

6-8 p.m. Monthly get-together of Petaluma NERT Hams (Neighborhood Emergency Response Team amateur radio operators) who conduct weekly Net Control Check-in drills, as well as share technical information that increases their understanding of amateur radio procedures and theory. Approximately, 14 NERT Hams checked in. Guess what? Everyone received a “tiger-tail” for his/her HT.

How much fun can you have in one day? Just “walk the walk.” Stay tuned.

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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!

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My friend, Eagle-Eyes, blogs for Petaluma360; but he thought this headline and news item was also appropriate for a community web site devoted to NAGs (Neighborhood Action Groups).

On September 16th, an article titled, “Neighbors Come Through” described how  “in the wee hours of Thursday morning, residents of the tight-knit neighborhood knew what to do.” Evidently, one person helped his neighbors escape from their buring home while another neighbor drove up and down the street honking her horn to alert all the other neighbors who were still asleep. It was 3:27 a.m. Everyone got out safely due to the quick response of neighbors “who had banded together to establish its own set of emergency protocols.”

 Sounds like a story from earlier times when neighbors came together to help one anothner raise barns in the 19th Century. A 21st Century version of neighbors helping neighbors is our local NERT initiative. Since September is National Emergency Prepardedness Month, publicizing Neighborhood Emergency Response Team activities and events is in order.

Check out http://www.petalumanert.org for vital information about how to “Be Ready” for a major disaster. Eagle-Eyes doesn’t want to read any articles about you or your family being insured. Stay tuned and continue to visit Petaluma OPEN for addition news items related to Neighborhood Action Groups.

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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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Recycling Guide  SERVICES DIRECTORY

The attached documents are intended as quick reference and contact references for common daily problems and nuisances–abandoned shopping carts, appliance disposal, etc.

The important thing to remember is to USE them.  In many instances, nothing will be done unless it is reported.  Never assume that someone else has done the job.

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