Santa Rosa Snippets

On Tuesday, June 12, at 4:00pm, the Santa Rosa City Council will hear the Charter Review Committee’s recommendation to place district elections on the November ballot. Please be there to show your support or to speak in favor of letting the people vote on district elections. I believe Santa Rosa citizens deserve the opportunity to vote in November to elect City Council members by districts.

Location: Santa Rosa City Hall Council Chambers, 100 Santa Rosa Avenue, Santa Rosa

The Southeast Greenway Campaign vision for a Greenway to Spring Lake moved several steps closer to reality in May, and the Campaign team now plans to learn from the success of another greenway project: the Blue Greenway in San Francisco. 

On Thursday, June 7, the Southeast Greenway Campaign will host guest speakers Meredith Thomas and Rachel Russell of the San Francisco Parks Alliance for an evocative presentation on The Blue Greenway, their ambitious project to transform San Francisco’s southeastern waterfront with parks, trails and open space. The Blue Greenway will create a continuous 13-mile bike commute route from Candlestick Point to downtown San Francisco, and open access to the waterfront. The Blue Greenway involves multiple agencies and is tapping into creative funding strategies, offering valuable lessons learned to the Southeast Greenway Campaign.

FARMERS’ MARKET WILL CONTINUE AT SANTA ROSA VETERANS’ BUILDING, WITHOUT INTERRUPTION, UNDER NEW MANAGEMENT.

Over the past few months, we have heard that the farmers market held at the Santa Rosa Veteran’s Hall may have to close, move to another location or charge booth fees two to three times the $26 that has been charged in the past. As long‐time farmers and vendors at the Santa Rosa markets, we understand how devastating this would be not only to small farmers but to their customers as well. A coalition of community and market members have therefore formed a mutual benefit non-profit corporation in order to continue having farmers markets on Wednesdays and Saturdays. We will be operating as Redwood Empire Farmers’ Markets and our first market will be July 4^th, 2012.

Citizens for Safe Neighborhoods will be asking the courts to issue a stay order to halt the construction of the expansion of the BoDean Asphalt Plant.  The hearing is scheduled for this Wednesday, May 15^th at 3 p.m. at Dept. 16 Empire College Annex, 3035 Cleveland Ave, Suite 200, Santa Rosa. Interested neighbors and residents are invited to show their support at the hearing.

San Francisco Bay Area Theatre Critics Circle Awards Rounds Out Award-Winning Season

6^th Street Playhouse is proud to announce its win of six awards from the San Francisco/Bay Area Theatre Critics Circle, out of an astounding 18 nominations. During the gala, held in Oakland on May 6, SFBATCC bestowed a total of 64 awards and three special achievements on outstanding theatre artists from nine Bay Area counties. Theatre Circle critics nominate and vote for the awards which are given in categories broken down by the audience capacity of the theatres.

Mr. Rogers was right when he said that it is a beautiful day in the neighborhood!  Spring has sprung and flowers in our neighborhoods are bursting with color.  You can add to this bouquet of color by planting sunflowers in front of where you work, play and live!

If you ever wanted to get involved in our community, this is the month!  Santa Rosa opens its doors to a myriad of fun activities that will be a perfect conduit for meeting our neighbors and building community.  Join in the fun and let’s all work together to help make Santa Rosa and even better place to live, work and play.

Schools Plus will announce a donation of $160,000 to Santa Rosa public Secondary Schools to fund sports, music, art and drama programs on February 22^nd at the Green Music Center on the Sonoma State University campus. The ceremonial allocation will take place at 7:00pm before a large audience of students, parents, and local dignitaries gathered for a SRCS’s music concert – a prime example of the vital enrichment programs Schools Plus supports.

A new county park – the Taylor Mountain Regional Park and Open Space Preserve - will open later this month following Tuesday’s approval of the property’s transfer from the Sonoma County Agricultural Preservation and Open Space District to Sonoma County Regional Parks.

It’s time to fess up!  Is anyone reading my column?  I certainly hope so.  Last month I wrote about some of the drop in classes at the Senior Centers in Santa Rosa.  Well, I decided to take my own advice and guess what?  I took a couple of drop-in Spanish classes at the Bennett Valley Senior Center and they were awesome!  You’ll see me there again this month.  Seriously, the Senior Centers are huge resources for recreational activities, lifelong learning and social services. I never thought I’d ever be the age to take advantage of these services but since I am, I going to enjoy them.  Rumor has it that the Ukulele lessons are really fun too!  Can’t wait to find out for myself.  Hope to see you there!

Taylor Mountain joins Regional Parks

Southeast Santa Rosa Park and Preserve is now Open to Public

By Meda Freeman

A new county park – the Taylor Mountain Regional Park and Open Space Preserve - will opened this month following the property’s transfer from the Sonoma County Agricultural Preservation and Open Space District to Sonoma County Regional Parks.

The 1,100-acre site in southeast Santa Rosa is scheduled to open Saturday, Feb. 23. At that time, the public will no longer need permits to visit the property and an interim entrance on Kawana Terrace will be open daily from 8 a.m. to sunset.

Schools Plus presents Santa Rosa City Secondary Schools with $160,000 in Enrichment Funds

Schools Plus will announce a donation of $160,000 to Santa Rosa public Secondary Schools to fund sports, music, art and drama programs on February 22^nd at the Green Music Center on the Sonoma State University campus.  The ceremonial allocation will take place at 7:00pm before a large audience of students, parents, and local dignitaries gathered for a SRCS’s music concert – a prime example of the vital enrichment programs Schools Plus supports. 

Pivot Charter School North Bay Now Enrolling, Information Session Scheduled Feb. 20

School Offers Students Personalized Support On-Site and Online 

Pivot Charter School, North Bay, a free public charter school serving students, grades 6-12, in Sonoma and surrounding counties, has scheduled a local information session to help interested students and parents learn more about the innovative hybrid learning program. The information session will be held 6 p.m. Wednesday, Feb. 20, at Pivot Charter School, 1577 Farmers Lane, Santa Rosa. Pivot is currently enrolling students for the spring semester and the 2013-14 school year.    

The new multi-million dollar Green Music Center at Sonoma State University may have grabbed most of the headlines--and generated more than its share of controversy as well as excitement.  But classical music lovers in the county have another reason to celebrate this fall. For its 13^th season, Sonoma County’s all-volunteer orchestra, the American Philharmonic Sonoma County, has taken up residence at another architectural and acoustic gem, the recently restored Santa Rosa High School Auditorium. After a year-long search, the orchestra has also chosen a new music director. 

The new year is still fresh in my mind.  This year I vowed to get out there and try some new things.  How about you?  Are you up for doing something new?  If so, maybe it’s time to check out the Environmental Discovery Center (EDC) at Spring Lake Regional Park in Santa Rosa.

The deadline to register for Santa Rosa’s 10^th annual National Arts Program has been extended to January 18, 2013. Spaces are still available. 

The City of Santa Rosa Recreation & Parks in conjunction with the National Arts Program is proud to announce the 10^th Annual National Arts Program Exhibition and Competition in Santa Rosa. This program provides local artists of all ages with a forum to showcase their artistic accomplishments and encourages artistic growth through scholarships and awards.

Yahoo!  The New Year is here!  January is the time of new beginnings.  It’s the time of year when we all sit down and envision what we’d like the upcoming year to be like.  For some of us, we might make resolutions to lose weight, get organized, spend less money or figure out how to enjoy life to the fullest.   

It’s hard to believe that Thanksgiving has come and gone. Where did the year go? It seems like just yesterday I was giving out candy to trick or treaters and today I’m thinking about buying holiday gifts. Yes, it’s been a whirlwind but I’m hoping that everyone took time out from their busy schedules to enjoy a Thanksgiving feast and reflect on all that is good in our lives.