2. Oppose Central Subway bonds - MTA board meeting May 1
3. Wildflower Show in Santa Clara April 28-29
4. San Francisco Landmark Tree Tour April 29
5. Hunting bill to ban dogs draws opposition
6. Facing the Storm: Story of the American Bison on PBS
7. Pregnant thought from Frederick Law Olmsted - born 26 April 1822
8. Silent protest to save Niles Canyon May 7. Caltrans trying to finesse opposition
9. Doyle Drive demolition detours today's schedule field trip
10. Hillside restoration at McKinley Square Sunday 29
11. Inspiring dune restoration in Presidio
12. Pledge to bring back the pollinators
13. Widespread endorsements of SaveTheFrogs day
14. Stepping Westward - Denise Levertov
15. Feedback
16. SciAm: Water not on public mind/can organic food feed world?
17. Wry view of Rupert Murdoch-David Cameron imbroglio
18. Rhino view of Viagra
1. Position: Media/Press Intern
Restore Hetch Hetchy (www.hetchhetchy.org), the national campaign to bring the Hetch Hetchy Valley in Yosemite National Park back to life, is looking for a talented journalism student to support RHH pubic relations efforts. This UNPAID internship is located in our office in downtown San Francisco and requires an 8-10 week, 25-30 hour per week commitment for summer interns.
For more infromation about the campaign view the award winning short film "Discover Hetch Hetchy with Harrison Ford" : http://vimeo.com/26047094
Interns will work in coordination with pro bono PR experts and report to the Executive Director. Day to day responsibilities will include but not be limited to:
• pitching news stories to reporters,
• drafting press releases,
• coordinating media events
• drafting monthly e-newsletters,
• updating social media sites,
• coordinating letters to the editor,
• coordinating outreach to neighborhood media
• rapid response.
This is a great opportunity to develop hands-on experience promoting a historic environmental campaign. Applicants must be outgoing self-starters with a passion for the environment.
Skills Required:
1. Intermediate computer skills, including but not limited to, Microsoft Offce Suite and website management
2. Excellent organizational skills
3. Strict attention to detail
4. Ability to switch gears quickly
5. Strong work ethic, dependable and punctual
6. Good sense of humor
7. Love of outdoors and backpacking is desired
How to Apply
Please send cover letter, short writing sample and resume to: mike@hetchhetchy.org
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2.
SaveMuni.com
OPPOSE CITY REVENUE BONDS FOR CENTRAL SUBWAY
Attend this meeting to oppose City revenue bonds for the Central Subway.
MTA Board Meeting
Tuesday, May 1, 2012, 1:00 pm start (Item 10.4 at +/- 2:00 pm?)
City Hall, Room 400
MTA BOARD AGENDA, MAY 1, 2012: See link for Item 10.4 for details.
http://www.sfmta.com/cms/cmta/SFMTABoardMay12012agenda.htm
SaveMuni.com has asked that Item 10.4 be removed from the Consent Calendar.
The MTA is quietly authorizing and incurring debt for $61 million in revenue bonds for the Central Subway. But the premises of Prop A 2007, which granted revenue bond authority to the MTA, have not been met. Despite increased funding from increased parking taxes/ fees/ fines/ enforcement, MTA has shifted those funds to work orders and bad projects like the Central Subway. Mandated citywide improvements from the Transit Effectiveness Program (TEP) have not been implemented---only service cuts, discontinued routes, shortened and curtailed lines. Revenue bonds are much more needed to address Muni’s $25.4 billion in existing capital needs.
PROP A CHARTER AMENDMENT, November 2007: See Page 39 and 115.
http://sfpl.org/pdf/main/gic/elections/November6_2007.pdf
The MTA calls the issuance of revenue bonds as assurance funding---in the event that State High Speed Rail Bond Funds are delayed. But Governor Jerry Brown has not supported the Central Subway Project for Proposition 1A High-Speed Rail funds---because “the project appears unrelated to the high-speed rail project or a comprehensive statewide rail plan”. In fact, the Central Subway disconnects Muni from High-Speed Rail:
· The Central Subway will eliminate the existing T-Line’s loop into Market Street’s Metro/ BART Stations and the future High-Speed Rail hub at the Transbay Terminal.
· The Central Subway’s Reports to the FTA predict a reduction of 36,000 bus hours per year on the Stockton/ Columbus Corridor (76,400 bus hours per year in the FEIR)---a substantial decrease of buses to Caltrain at 4th and King Streets, as well as northeastern and southeastern San Francisco.
· The Central Subway will be disconnected from all of Market Street’s Metro/ BART Stations, going instead to a Union Square Station that is a 1,000 foot walk to the Powell Station.
· The Central Subway’s added $15 million annual operating costs will decrease citywide frequency of service.
· The T-Third Line’s completion (Phase 1) already reduced connectivity, eliminating the 15-Bus to the Montgomery Metro/BART Station and reducing 41-Buses to the Embarcadero Metro/ BART Station.
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3.
40th Annual Wildflower Show
The 40th Annual Wildflower Show, the premier botanical and horticultural event of the South Bay and Peninsula, will take place at Mission College in Santa Clara over the weekend of April 28 – 29, 2012, 10:00 a.m. to 4:00 p.m.
The Wildflower Show is a two-day expo showcasing the plant biodiversity of Santa Clara, San Mateo and surrounding counties. In April many native plants are in full bloom, providing a breathtaking display of natural beauty. Over 400 species of wildflowers and native plants will be displayed, each accurately labeled, and many suitable for the home garden. Knowledgeable botanists and gardeners are on hand to answer questions.
Many special activities take place in conjunction with the wildflower show. Free classes are offered on wildflower identification, native plants for Bay Area gardens, where to see wildflowers, and how to draw wildflowers. Children will also enjoy fun wildflower and nature activities. Books, posters, seeds, note cards, and other wildflower-related items are available for purchase.
This educational event is free and open to the public, and suitable for the entire family. Here one can learn about the breathtaking diversity of California’s native flora, and pick up ideas for the home garden.
The venue is Mission College, Student Center, conveniently accessible from the Great America Parkway exit off Highway 101 in Santa Clara. Parking is free (in Lot C only). The Wildflower Show is sponsored by the Santa Clara Valley Chapter of the California Native Plant Society and Mission College Biological Sciences Department.
For more information: www.cnps-scv.org email: cnps_scv@yahoo.com or call: 650-260-3450
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4. Landmark Tree Tour with Mei Ling Hui
Sunday, April 29, 1:30 - 4:30 p.m.
You're invited on a three-hour biodiesel bus tour of trees designated as "Landmark Trees" by the City and County of San Francisco due to their age, ecological value, or historic or cultural factors. Our guide for this tour, Mei Ling Hui, is Urban Forest and Urban Agriculture Coordinator for the San Francisco Department of the Environment, but will be leading this tour as a volunteer.
We'll meet on the southwest corner of Bush and Octavia streets. Parking in that neighborhood is difficult, but it's accessible via MUNI bus lines 1, 2 and 3. Note that we'll end the tour in a different location, at Van Ness and Market streets, for easy access to public transit. Be advised that the bus has no rest room, and we may not be stopping near public rest rooms during the tour.
The cost of the tour is $10, payable in cash on the day of the tour. Please RSVP to Sarah Campbell at sarah@fuf.net.
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5. Eric Mills
[http://hosted2.ap.org/CAANR/703431ceb9e54ef59a493df79e81e2f3/Article_2012-04-24-Hound%20Hunting/id-fd7dc3b09bc44b60b4f6e72b82562fcb]
California hunting bill to ban dogs draws hundreds
By JUDY LIN, Associated Press
Apr. 24, 2012 5:04 PM ET
SACRAMENTO, Calif. (AP) — Hundreds of animal lovers and hunters packed the Capitol on Tuesday to testify about a bill seeking to ban the use of dogs to hunt bears and bobcats in California, legislation that arose after a top state fish and game official drew heat for killing a mountain lion during a legal hound-hunting trip in Idaho.
The crowd overflowed two committee rooms and filled the building's two cafeterias before SB1221 by Democratic Sen. Ted Lieu passed its first committee test on a 5-3 vote.
Supporters say hound hunters use packs of dogs, often equipped with radio collars, to chase wild animals until they tire and run up a tree. The dogs used for this type of hunting are sometimes mistreated, they say.
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6.
PBS series on the American Bison begins this Thursday night. Please help spread the word. And thank the station for such programming. It'll encourage them to do more such shows in the future.
National broadcasts of FACING THE STORM: STORY OF THE AMERICAN BISON will begin this Thursday, April 26, 2012 on the acclaimed PBS series, Independent Lens Nearly 1600 broadcast dates have been confirmed by PBS stations nation-wide with all major markets carrying the program. Check local listings for broadcast times and dates.
This latest work by filmmaker, Doug Hawes-Davis, is an unflinching examination of the complex, centuries-long relationship between humans and bison in North America. The Kansas City Star calls the film, "An incisive history of the animal's relationship to man and efforts to restore bison herds to the Great Plains." The Missoulian adds that the film "paints a portrait that's as broad and subtly shaded as the Great Plains themselves."
The feature version of the film, which was broadcast exclusively on MontanaPBS has been nominated for a NW Regional Emmy Award in the Documentary category. Amazon and the iTunes store are now accepting pre-orders for DVD and video downloads of the documentary feature. If you have already seen the film, please take a minute to rate the film or write a short user review on both iTunes and amazon.
FACING THE STORM: STORY OF THE AMERICAN BISON is available for international broadcast licensing through TVF International in the UK.
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7. Born 26 April 1822 Frederick Law Olmsted
Frederick Law Olmsted in an 1886 letter to the Park Commissioners regarding Golden Gate Park:
Let me counsel you, in general terms, to remember that your park is not for today, but for all time - so long as you have a city. You have your present population to satisfy and please. It is an intelligent population, beyond a doubt, and possessed of a high appreciation of good results. But it is to be expected that future generations will be more intelligent and more appreciative.
"The sojourning habit of the people is shown in their want of interest in the fixed qualities of the place." Frederick Law Olmsted
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8. Niles Canyon News
Silent Protest at Caltrans Hearing May 7 in Fremont
Caltrans, after announcing it will restart the environmental review and public comment for phases I and II of the Niles Canyon highway widening project, will now hold yet another public meeting on the project, supposedly to get “local stakeholder feedback.” Scheduling a public input meeting on a Monday morning when most of the community cannot attend is telling.
This next meeting will be with an “independent” panel of “traffic safety experts” from the Federal Highway Administration. The FHA is not independent – they are in the business of road-building and highway widening and work with and fund Caltrans on many highway projects.
Since Caltrans has completely ignored all public input, comments and opposition to the project and has yet to consider a safety project without highway widening, we view this latest dog-and-pony show as an attempt by Caltrans to have the FHA somehow “validate” their highway widening project.
The FHA and Caltrans will now conduct a “Road Safety Assessment” to “evaluate the current accident data, observe current traffic patterns and behaviors, consider environmental impacts and local stakeholder feedback, and recommend possible safety improvements to State Route 84.” We are not aware of any independent environmental experts invited to be on the panel.
Caltrans and FHA will hold a kickoff meeting and presentation on Monday, May 7, from 9 am until noon, at the City of Fremont Housing Division (Niles Conference Room), 39550 Liberty Street in Fremont.
Save Niles Canyon and Alameda Creek Alliance will hold a silent PROTEST outside of the meeting; we need as many people as possible to arrive at 8:30 am on May 7 and hold signs lining the entrance to the meeting. We will try to get the press there. This will be a silent protest – we will not engage or debate Caltrans or FHA representatives outside the event. The purpose is to have a dignified show of community opposition to the project. We will have numerous creative signs with our message: to protect the canyon and its wildlife habitat, demand Caltrans drop the highway widening proposal, and supporting reasonable and justifiable road safety projects within the existing roadway. Save Niles Canyon, Alameda Creek Alliance and the coalition of groups working to protect the canyon will send a delegation of stakeholders into the meeting to raise our issues with the project before the FHA.
There will be a sign-making party in Niles on Saturday, May 5, at the LEAF Center in Niles, with BBQ and pies by Niles Pie. If you would like to attend the sign-making party and/or the protest, please contact Bruce Cates at bwcates@hotmail.com.
Caltrans and the FHA will have a follow-up meeting on the Road Safety Assessment at the same location (Fremont Housing Division) on Wednesday, May 23, from 1 to 3 pm.
Find out more about the Alameda Creek Alliance’s campaign to Protect Niles Canyon.
Caltrans Audit
Save Niles Canyon is pursuing a Caltrans internal audit of the proposed highway widening project. Although we do not hold out much hope for Caltrans to objectively audit themselves, a complaint letter was sent to Caltrans’ Audits and Investigations Unit on March 22.
Where are Our Elected Representatives?
We are extremely disappointed in the inaction and non-response of our elected state officials, Senator Ellen Corbett and Assembly member Bob Wieckowski. On February 23, we asked these representatives to introduce legislation that would prevent Caltrans from funding or implementing any project which involves widening the road in Niles Canyon. These are our elected officials who are supposed to represent the constituents in their legislative districts; it has been over two months and they have not responded and refuse to return phone calls.
Please contact these representatives and politely insist they help with a legislative solution to force Caltrans to pursue a reasonable and justifiable highway safety project in Niles Canyon. Ask them to sponsor legislation that would prevent Caltrans from funding or implementing any project which involves widening the road in Niles Canyon, while allowing safety projects and measures within the existing roadway that address safety concerns in Niles Canyon.
Contact Senator Corbett
E-mail: Senator.Corbett@senate.ca.gov
Phone: (510) 794-3900
Mail: Senator Ellen Corbett, 39155 Liberty St., #F610, Fremont, CA 94538
If you live in Corbett’s district (Pleasanton, Sunol, San Leandro, Hayward, Union City, Fremont, Newark, Milpitas, San Jose), you can contact her online here.
Contact Assembly Member Wieckowski
E-mail: Assemblymember.Wieckowski@assembly.ca.gov
Phone: (510) 440-9030
Mail: Assembly member Bob Wieckowski, 39510 Paseo Padre Parkway, Suite 280, Fremont, CA 94538
If you live in Wieckowski’s district (Pleasanton, Sunol, Castro Valley, Union City, Fremont, Newark, Milpitas), you can contact him online here.
(JS: There is much more valuable information than I have room to post. Here's more:
Click to view this email in a browser
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9. Jan Blum:
I see that the Presidio North Shore April 28 walkabout has been cancelled due to Doyle Drive destruction activities.
A few hardy souls are planning to meet on the grassy mound directly across from the original Crissy Field Center on April 28th to cheer on the demo of Doyle Drive. You are still most welcome to join in the cheering (which may never be heard due to the 40 mechanical hammers), at 2-3 PM.
The brand new Lands End Vistitor Center opens the same day at the Merrie Way parking lot above the Sutro Baths –festivities start at 11 and go till 2 PM . Everyone is welcome.
One reader's comment:
I attended the preview of the new Visitor Center at Land's End- it is strictly a glorified bookstore/cafe.
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10. We are having a Hillside Restoration at McKinley Square, San Francisco, this Sunday April 29th, 10am-12noon.
Restoration tasks will include:
Harvesting seeds from native grasses (June Grass, California Fescue, Deer Grass, Red Fescue) for fall plantings.
Remove fox tails, mallow, fennel from slopes, replace with natives in strategic areas.
Remove any trash.
Improve trails.
Cover the exposed tree roots with mulch / straw bales.
Brick foundations around native plants that need it.
And there is a partial picture key posted here:
http://mckinleysquareblog.blogspot.com/2012/03/native-sustainable-plant-key-in.html
As before, there will be native plants for those that join us to take home. What is good for the park is good for our backyards (perhaps even better).
RSVPs encouraged. Those that can make it great. And those that can not, no worries, we know not everyone can make every time. We do this approximately monthly. The hillside is looking better and better. The plants we planted last fall are beginning to bloom.
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11. From Lew Stringer:
Hi Jake, I thought you might enjoy this interactive photo of the newly created dunes in the Presidio near the former Public Health Services Hospital by 15th Ave.
The dunes sit atop a former Army landfill known as Graded Area 9. The Presidio Trust remediated the site by capping it with clean dune sand harvested from the construction of the Cal Academy parking garage in Golden Gate Park. For the last two seasons we have collected dune annuals from surrounding remnants and seeded them here.
Click the below link for an interactive photograph of many of the native plants growing there now. Once you enter the photo, you can identify these plants by clicking on the thumbnails at the right of the screen.
http://photosynth.net/embed.aspx?cid=5d27250c-6781-4c85-b802-dd2a90f10a7b&delayLoad=true&slideShowPlaying=false
__________
Thanks for sending this, Lew. I will post to my newsletter (minus, unfortunately, the beautiful and awe-inspiring picture, because it necessitates scrolling horizontally, and that messes up the whole newsletter).
This is truly inspiring. How pinched was the vision of CNPS activists interacting with the Army in the 1980s and '90s, grateful for any crumb that would fall from the table. We wouldn't have dared to even think of some of the grand projects that have already happened--much less ask for them.
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12.
BRING BACK THE POLLINATORS
Take the Pledge to Protect Bees
April is National Gardening Month, and also when we celebrate Earth Day. What better time to announce a new Xerces campaign focused on bees? A productive garden needs bees and the earth would be a far poorer place without them.
Bring Back the Pollinators is based on four principles: grow pollinator-friendly flowers, provide nest sites, avoid pesticides, and spread the word. With these core values, pollinator conservation can be adapted to any location, whether you tend an urban community garden or a suburban yard, work in a city park or on a farm. Bring Back the Pollinators has already spread from coast to coast thanks to Rapid Refill. Now we are asking you to join in this campaign.
We make the commitment to you that we will work every day to protect pollinators and their habitat. Will you make a similar commitment to the pollinators? Will you sign the pledge?
TO BRING BACK THE POLLINATORS, I WILL:
• Grow a variety of pollinator-friendly flowers that bloom from spring through fall.
• Protect and provide bee nests and caterpillar host plants.
• Avoid using pesticides, especially insecticides.
• Talk to my neighbors about the importance of pollinators and their habitat.
SIGN THE PLEDGE ONLINE
When you have signed the pledge, you may purchase and install our new pollinator habitat sign in your front yard, community garden, farm, or wherever you are to show your support for pollinators.
Together, we can bring back the pollinators!
Here are just a few things that Xerces is already doing to protect bees:
• Making science accessible by publishing reports such as Are Neonicotinoids Killing Bees?
• Working with farmers to create pesticide-free, flower-rich habitat on farms.
• Engaging thousands of citizens in a nationwide search for rare bumble bees.
• Teaching Pollinator Conservation Short Courses in all regions of the U.S.
• Maintaining the online Pollinator Conservation Resource Center.
This is the first update on Bring Back the Pollinators. Watch out for future emails with more things you can do and information about our work.
Xerces Society
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13. The following have officially recognized April 28 as Save The Frogs Day:
Tampa's Mayor Bob Buckhorn
Mayor of Washington DC
Governor of South Carolina
Michigan House of Representatives
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14.
Stepping Westward
(excerpt)
What is green in me
darkens, muscadine.
If woman is inconstant,
good, I am faithful to
ebb and flow, I fall
in season and now
is a time of ripening.
If her part
is to be true,
a north star,
good, I hold steady
in the black sky
and vanish by day,
yet burn there
in blue or above
quilts of cloud.
There is no savor
more sweet, more salt
that to be glad to be
what, woman,
and who, myself,
I am, a shadow
that grows longer as the sun
moves, drawn out
on a thread of wonder.
~ Denise Levertov ~
(Poems, 1960-1967)
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15. Feedback
Alane Bowling:
Jake, I'm beginning to sound like a broken record (remember those?), but once again THANK YOU for the poetry. I've shared The Mind of Time is Hard to Read and Instructions with friends on Facebook, along with the Picasso quotation. National Poetry Month has a friend in you. Thanks again, Alane
OK, Alane, this one is just for you:
No, no, there is no going back.
Less and less you are
that possibility you were.
More and more you have become
those lives and deaths
that have belonged to you.
You have become a sort of grave
containing much that was
and is no more in time, beloved
then, now, and always.
And so you have become a sort of tree
standing over a grave.
Now more than ever you can be
generous toward each day
that comes, young, to disappear
forever, and yet remain
unaging in the mind.
Every day you have less reason
not to give yourself away.
~ Wendell Berry ~
(Collected Poems)
for H.T.
On Apr 26, 2012, at 1:26 PM, Jean Ouellette wrote:
Not to be frivolous about the need for accurate data regarding Delta water policy, but didn't we already do this exercise with CALFED about ten years ago?
From the Association of California Waterways, via the always-useful Brown and Caldwell California Water News:
State Board Proposes Workshops on Delta Water Quality Objectives
The State Water Resources Control Board is proposing a series of workshops as part of its process to consider new water quality objectives for the Bay-Delta.
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16.
PLUGGED IN: Is Water on the Public's Mind? Not Really. Not Yet
http://links.email.scientificamerican.com/ctt?kn=7&ms=MzkxMjU1NTIS1&r=NTM5NzIzNTA1NgS2&b=2&j=MTQwODM2NzM2S0&mt=1&rt=0
NEWS: Grid Unlocked: How Street Networks Evolve as Cities Grow
Before urban planning, street patterns emerged organically. Understanding the fundamental and man-made forces behind the growth of streetscapes could help guide the development of today's cities
http://links.email.scientificamerican.com/ctt?kn=47&ms=MzkwNjYwNzkS1&r=NTM5NzIzNTA1NgS2&b=2&j=MTM5MzYwMzE0S0&mt=1&rt=0
NEWS: Will Organic Food Fail to Feed the World?
A new meta-analysis suggests farmers should take a hybrid approach to producing enough food for humans while preserving the environment
http://links.email.scientificamerican.com/ctt?kn=58&ms=MzkxMjU1NTIS1&r=NTM5NzIzNTA1NgS2&b=2&j=MTQwODM2NzM2S0&mt=1&rt=0
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17.
The Economist
Murdoch grilled, Cameron fried
Britain's press scandal keeps on sucking in politicians
The Murdochs v the government
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18.
The greatness of a nation and its moral progress can be judged by the way its animals are treated" Gandhi EXTINCT IS FOREVER.
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