Santa Rosa Snippets by Elaine B. Holtz - April 2017
Dedication Celebration
On Saturday, April 29th at 12:30 pm, The City of Santa Rosa will host the dedication and ribbon cutting for the reunification of Old Courthouse Square. The community is invited to attend this historic event in the heart of Downtown Santa Rosa.
Mayor Chris Coursey will lead the Courthouse Square dedication. Special Guest Gaye LeBaron will share historical insights on the Square, its impact on our growing community and its significance to Santa Rosa’s downtown vitality.
Santa Rosa Awards and Events
Congratulations Santa Rosa for being ranked 17th happiest city in the nation out of 189 metropolitan cities, California ranked 13th out of 50 states.The State of American Well-Being: 2016 Community Well-Being Rankings report was done by Gallup and Healthways which highlights important trends in health and well-being within communities across the nation. , The data is based on 177,192 telephone interviews with U.S. adults across all 50 states and the District of Columbia, conducted from January 2nd to December 2016 with results released in March 2017. For more information go to http://www.well-beingindex.com/download
A special Congratulations to Santa Rosa City Council Members Julie Combs, chosen as Democrat of the Year and Chris Rogers, Young Democrat of the Year 2017 by The Sonoma County Democratic Club.
All are invited to celebrate Santa Rosa’s 8th Annual Earth Day Festival Downtown at Santa Rosa City Hall, Saturday April 22 from, 12-4pm. This fun, FREE, and family-friendly Festival goal is to inspire awareness and build community through environmental protection.
On February 7, 2017, the City Council unanimously declared Santa Rosa to be an Indivisible City and safeguard the civil rights, safety and dignity of Santa Rosa residents. City Council Resolution Number RES-2017-017, Included in the resolution is SECTION 2, “That the Santa Rosa City Council opposes deportations based solely on immigration status which split up families, and calls upon the federal government to promptly legislate a pathway to citizenship for undocumented immigrants, and to refrain from deportations of immigrants who have not been convicted of felonies endangering the community, until such time as the U.S. Congress does legislate such a pathway”. To read the full resolution go to srcity.org/news/Pages/CityCouncildeclaresSantaRosaanIndivisibleCity.aspx.
Women in Conversation features Gloria Steinman – Founder ofMs Magazine
Speaking to a full house at the Luther Burbank Center for the Arts, Gloria Steinman, writer, lecturer and political activist reminded women how far we have come and that we need to make sure we do not lose what we have gained. Her presentation was heartfelt and interesting. She told the audience she would speak for a while and then would open it up for questions, answers and announcements.
The highlight for me was when during the question and answer portion, a woman came to the microphone and said, “I felt left out, I could not attend the women’s march because I am Pro Life”. and asked Steinman what she thought. For me this was a stunning moment and demonstrated the divide that is happening between women. I discovered in my research that the Pro Life contingent was discouraged from participating in the march on January 21, 2017. usnews.com/opinion/op-ed/articles/2017-01-19/the-womens-march-on-washington-errs-in-excluding-pro-life-feminists
Steinman shared with the woman that she and probably the majority of the women that were in the audience were Pro Life and Pro Choice and questioned why some think the government should be involved in a woman’s right to chose. It was a moment for me as I recognized I wanted to know the answer and that if left unanswered the divide will get deeper and we all lose. As women we need to come together and dialogue with one another around this important issue and begin to, build bridges, not walls. The event was made possible by collaboration between Summit Bank andThe Press Democrat.
Special music events at Santa Rosa homeless shelters.
The Music Is Care (MIC) program brings musicians directly to the people living at the shelters run byCatholic Charities in Santa Rosa. This unique program is sponsored by local non-profit, Live Music Lantern who gifts concert tickets to teachers and social workers in Sonoma County as a form of self care. Research has demonstrated that providing programs like the MIC give the homeless population a moment in time, to be focused on something that is positive and something that can bring them joy,”
Long time musician and performer Buzzy Martin exclaims, “My heart is humbled once again, whenever, I play at a MIC event. Please check out this wonderful Non-Profit that brings love, hope and music to the ones that need it the most.” Live Music Lantern founder Elijah Barntsen is hosting a concert at Ner Shalom Synagogue at 85 La Plaza, Cotati, formerly known as the Cotati Cabaret, on April 30th at 7pm as a benefit for the MIC program with world-renowned African guitarist, Vieux Farka Toure’. The monies raised will go towards paying the musicians who perform at the MIC events.
A few closing thought
It has been a busy and fast month. After all I experienced this month when I saw this quote I said YES, “You can waste your lives drawing lines. Or you can live your life crossing them.” –Shonda Rhimes is an American television producer, screenwriter, and author. Any ideas or information you want to share, don’t be shy, and email me with your suggestions.
Elaine B. Holtz is producer/Host of “Women’s Spaces” on KBBF 89.1FM Monday 11-am-noon and repeats at 11pm to midnight Visit her website at: womensspaces.com Become a fan on FB.
