Four state and national education union leaders from the California Teachers Association,  California Federation of Teachers,  National Education Association and  the American Federation of Teachers, issued a statement of solidarity demanding all federal and state lawmakers  take quick action to put an end to the tragic shootings by passing meaningful and sensible gun reform, in the wake of the early morning shooting at Saugus High School in Santa Clarita, California.

A landmark program between the California Pollution Control Financing Authority(CPCFA) and the California Air Resources Board (CARB) has now financed more than 25,000 cleaner burning diesel trucks. That is the equivalent of removing 4 million passenger cars from the road and 145 tons per year of particulate matter."California’s aggressive targets for newer and cleaner diesel, natural gas and zero emission vehicles are necessary to protect our communities and the environment," said California State Treasurer Fiona Ma, who chairs the CPCFA board.

UPDATES on West County Teachers Strike & Lawsuit - Latest to initial posts. The West County School Board is using funds that would have gone to Special Ed or livable wages for teachers and giving it to a wealthy lawyer who goes from school district to school district helping to sue low-income teachers. They are suing over the teachers taking a legal strike Wed Nov 13.source: https://www.facebook.com/nbjwj/

An unprecedented 90 percent of voters in the City of Rohnert Park passed Measure B to protect open space and focus growth inside the city’s Urban Growth Boundary (UGB) for the next 20 years — until the end of 2040. The UGB can only be changed by a vote of the people, with few exceptions. Greenbelt Alliance led the campaign to pass Measure B.

In 2019, 36 states introduced over 220 bills to curb or eliminate plastic pollution. News story after news story has covered the harrowing statistics around the presence of plastic in nearly everything, from the water we drink  to the  air we breathe. This relatively sudden spotlight on plastic pollution is largely a result of China’s 2018 National Sword Policy.  After years of purchasing, processing, and managing 70% of the United States’ plastic collected for recycling and 95% of the European Union’s,  China banned imports  of most recyclable waste, leading to a stark 99% drop in its plastic materials imports in one year’s time.  

Permit Sonoma is conducting initial damage assessments on an estimated 59buildings damaged by the Kincade Fire. Rapid Evaluation Safety Assessment, also known as RESA,allows people to inhabit and use safe homes and businesses, and ensures that people are prohibited from entering unsafe structures.

Sonoma County Farm Bureau needs your help to find those in our agricultural community who have been impacted by the recent wildfires and also individuals who are willing to help.  https://sonomafb.org/kincade-fire-recovery-resources-help/. Residents impacted by the Kincade Fire can access recovery services and resources at the Local Assistance Center (LAC) which will open Monday, November 4, 2019 at the Healdsburg Community Center, 1557 Healdsburg Ave. The LAC will be open from 10:00 a.m. to 7:00 p.m. daily through Wednesday, November 6, 2019. The LAC may remain open after this date if needed. Language access services, including Spanish interpretation will be available.

There is much to be thankful for on the Sonoma Coast, and there’s a lot you can do to protect it right now.  Your current opportunities to act on behalf of our coast range from Permit Sonoma’s present process of updating our Local Coastal Plan to President Trump’s unwarranted Sonoma Coast “review” that still threatens our Greater Farallones National Marine Sanctuary.  In addition, there remains a looming federal offshore drilling scheme planned for our coast, and we are confronting Caltrans’ proposal to build a giant “Bridge to Nowhere” at Scotty Creek near Sereno del Mar, not to mention the attempted revival of a long-discredited proposal by the US Fish species anticoagulant rat poison pellets onto the Southeast Farallon Island.

If you are wondering why you should participate in the process now underway to update the Local Coastal Plan let me offer my take on the core reason.  The continuation of sound public policy protecting the coast from excessive development while ensuring access to the beach and care of the environment requires commitment.  That commitment comes doing the work of learning the issues and the process and then showing up.  The draft document is available on-line at the PRMD website.  There will be public hearings as the process unfolds.  

Our County by Lynda Hopkins - 5th District Supervisor - November 2019. Local Coastal Plan, PSPS, or “Public Safety” Power Shutoffs, Flood Recovery Funds, Disaster Prep Fair, CalFire Fire Prevention Grants.

On October 14, when many financial institutions closed for the federal holiday, Redwood Credit Union (RCU) closed for a different reason—to send its entire workforce out to give North Bay high school students a “bite” of financial reality. RCU has been presenting its Bite of Reality financial education program at local high schools since 2013, but never on such a large scale. This year, more than 3,100 Sonoma, Marin, and Napa high schoolers gained practical financial skills in one impactful day.