www.95436.com

Feds finalize Eel diversion cuts

I don't pretend to understand everything -- or even much -- of the merits of the Low Flow/No Low Flow debate. What I do know is that the federal Environmental Protection Agency can't be trusted, that the Sonoma County Water Agency (aka, the Board of Supervisors) can't be trusted and Federal Energy Regulatory Agency can't be trusted.

All too often these outfits trip all over themselves while trying (and too often succeeding) to screw us. So perhaps someone will explain to me why this story in today's Press-Democrat, Feds finalize Eel diversion cuts, makes sense.

As I read it, the EPA and its co-conspirators have decided that the three species of endangered salmon in the Eel River need more water to keep breeding, while the same suspects conclude that the same three species in the lower Russian River need less water ?

Why more water in the Eel and less water in the Russian. I'm no expert and perhaps I'm excessively cynical, but at first glance it appears that the only difference is that the Eel River water, which bypasses Lake Sonoma, can't be sold by the Water Agency to out-of-county agencies, while the Lake Sonoma water can.

Am I wrong? Click "comment" and tell me so.

Can you get cellphone coverage in Forestville?

Several months back a bunch of us Forestvillians started griping about cellphone service in Forestville. No one in our small group had a good thing to say about any of the cellphone service providers. I'd like to know others' experiences.

I've had Verizon for nearly a decade and their call reception has never been good here, at least at my home. The other day I called one of their service techs. He did some research and told me there are two cell towers that "serve" Forestville. The closest is two miles to the north, which I guess is on the hills

What's Up with That?

By Vesta Copestakes

I got a call from someone today who asked me if I knew anything about the man who was arrested in Guerneville on Monday for child molestation. He was quickly released on $100,000 bail. The caller, a father, was deeply concerned that this man (someone he knows and who is well-known in Guerneville) is out where he can do more harm, not behind bars where parents can feel safe that he is out of reach of their chilren.

Does anyone know about this - and why he was released so quickly - yet on bail, which usually implies enough guilt to keeps tabs on the alleged criminal? We are, by law, innocent until proven guilty. What's the correct course to take here?

January 24 Town Meeting

This was the best Town Meeting yet. Maybe people are finally getting the concept that the Forestville Planning Adssociation hosts a Town Meeting every 4 months to bring the town up-to-date on numerous projects that effect our lives. This one focused on ways that we can have an influence on our elected offocials and other government people who have the ultimate control over whether something gets built, etc. or not - we got an update on numerous projects in the works - we got introduced to Harvey Charnovsky, the developer of Woodstone, the porposed housing development on the corner of Mirabel Road and Trenton Road across from Speer's Market, and we were educated about the proposed reduction of the Russian River flow during summer months, designed to save our endangered fish.

About 95436.com: the interview begins

Many people beyond the West County are intrigued with the notion of a community-centered "weblog"/discussion area/online calendar. One of my friends, Christian Crumlish, the publisher of Radio Free Blogistan and other online ventures, asked if he could interview me about the genesis of this experiment.

This post and the comments that follow will constitute that interview. Christian will be along sometime to start the questioning. When he does, his name will appear in the "Recent Comments" section in the right sidebar. Click on that and you'll be looking on.

Although the interview is nominally between the two of us, neither Christian nor I will mind if any of you ask a question or make a comment.

The interview will continue until Christian gets tired of it.

No Low Flow update

From the No Low Flow folks (see web address below or in preceding post):

Entrix Report

The Entrix report [RK: the proposal for lowering the river flow] is available at www.spn.usace.army.mil/ets/rrsection7/   - this is the Sonoma County Water Agency SCWA website.

We have several copies of a CD version of the Entrix report at the Russian River Chamber that can be copied onto your computer. The report is also available for $120.00 from the SCWA.
We would appreciate hearing your comments on this 1400 page report.

nolowflow.com - Committee Website

Please access our website for current information.

February 6, 2004 - Board of Supervisors Meeting

YOUR ATTENDANCE AT THIS MEETING IS REQUESTED!
Public Policy Facilitating Committee, Section 7 Consultation (Low Flow Proposal from the SCWA)
9 am – Board of Supervisors Chambers, 575 Administration Drive, Santa Rosa

Ride the Burke’s Bus to this meeting – bus will leave from the Russian River Chamber of Commerce, 16209 First St., Guerneville (by the Plaza) at 7:30 a.m. prompt. Space is limited. To make a reservation, call 869-9000  

Get Involved – the next meeting of the No Low-Flow Committee will be held

Monday, January 26 at 6:00 p.m. at the Odd Fellows Hall, First Street, Guerneville

Rotary Is Now Accepting Applications for Scholarships...

By Herb Nurmi

The scholarships pay up to $25,000 for a school year overseas. The favored applicants will probably be college juniors, seniors or graduates. The goal of the Rotary Ambassador scholarships is world peace and understanding. For details, call Bill Cole at 829-5069

250+ jam River flow meeting

By Roger Karraker

As Vesta said in her post, it was a wild and wooly River Flow meeting in Guerneville Thursday evening. It's late now, so I'll just post a couple of observations now and two pictures I got at the event. But I took lots of notes, enough for several posts and I'm working on getting a full transcript of what was said.

1. The meeting more than packed the hall. There were 116 seats inside, all filled, with another 70 folks standing (the room's capacity) and whole lot more outside. When I went in at 5:15 p.m., 35 minutes before kickoff, there were 50-60 people outside listening to an audio feed of the proceedings. All told then, about 250 persons early on. I was told that a lot more showed up later on. There were dropouts, but about 150 still remained at 7:30 p.m. when I left.

2. The process itself is so drawn out as to be crazy. We're talking about fast approval now, by April, of a component that then can't really be adopted by the California Water Resource Quality Control Board until 2011. More on this later.

3. Russian River Chamber of Commerce Director (and Gazette contributor) Steve Fogel is spearheading the "No Low Flow" campaign. He estimates that, if approved, the proposal will result in a loss of 500 jobs in communities from Headsburg to Jenner. He's set up a No Low Flow website. The information there is minimal now, but expect a lot more in coming days.

4. Congresswoman Lynn Woolsey read a short keynote address. It was clear that she was skeptical about the proposal. But that's the whole reason for semi-independent government agencies: to be somewhat insulated from political pressure. Here's a picture of Woolsey:

5. The evening's sense of calamity was lightened a bit by the presence of four members of the Sisters of Perpetual Indulgence. Pictured below is Sister Sparkle Plenty, who was assisted by Srs. Carmelita Cheesecake, Nova Nilla and Barbie Mitzvah. There's more about the group on their website.

Posted by Roger Karraker on January 23, 2004 at 12:46 AM in County/Calif. issues, Environment | Permalink | Comments (1) | TrackBack (0)

By Vesta Copestakes

Tonight, January 22nd, the Russian River Chamber of Commerce hosted an incredibly well-attended and well-executed public forum and discussion of the Sonoma County Water Agency proposal to comply with federally mandated fish protection by drastically reducing the Summer flow of the Russian River.

Naturally, River residents and businesses are outraged, but environmentalists are also alarmed because the study that has been done so far has considered only one element to the complex problem in coming up with their “solution.” Hundreds of local concerned citizens filled the Guerneville Veteran's Hall and hundreds more stood outside to listen and to let their “No Low Flow” voices be heard.

By Herb Nurmi

Accountability for all California schools is measured each year by each school's ability to demonstrate annual yearly progress. The U.S. No Child Left Behind Act of 2001 requires all schools to improve and reach the goals of proficiency for all students. Each state was given the responsibility for developing its progress criteria for its schools. Under the criteria developed by the California State Board of Education, schools must:

.Meet annual measurable objectives in English language arts and mathematics, measured by performance on the high school exit exam.
.Have a 95 percent participation rate on the exit exam.
.Demonstrate progress on the Academic Performance Index which measures the academic performance and progress of individual schools and establishes growth targets for future academic improvement.
.Demonstrate an improvement of at least 1 percent in its graduation rate.
"We are proud that our students met each criterion", said the El Molino co-principals Frank Anderson and Doria Trombetta. "El Molino was one of the few high schools in Sonoma county that achieved the Annual Yearly Progress".

In mathematics, 62.7% of the students met the objectives and 64.2% in English language arts. Nearly all the students took the exam exam, 96.9 percent in English language arts and 96.1 percent in math. El Molino's index grew from 702 in 2002 to 747 in 2003.

"We congratulate our students for their hard work and diligence, which led to their success,'" said the co-principals. "We express our gratitude to our teachers and counselors and all the members of the school staff, who work hard to support our students. We applaud all the parents of El Molino students who encourage their students daily to come to school and remain engaged in academics, champion their athletics and activities and support the goals of El Molino High School, including the assessment program that is a large portion of Annual Yearly Progress."

Low Flow Russian River Proposal

By Vesta Copestakes

Tonight, January 22nd, the Russian River Chamber of Commerce hosted an incredibly well-attended and well-executed public forum and discussion of the Sonoma County Water Agency proposal to comply with federally mandated fish protection by drastically reducing the Summer flow of the Russian River.

Naturally, River residents and businesses are outraged, but environmentalists are also alarmed because the study that has been done so far has considered only one element to the complex problem in coming up with their “solution.” Hundreds of local concerned citizens filled the Guerneville Veteran's Hall and hundreds more stood outside to listen and to let their “No Low Flow” voices be heard.

El Molino High School Reports

By Herb Nurmi

Accountability for all California schools is measured each year by each school's ability to demonstrate annual yearly progress. The U.S. No Child Left Behind Act of 2001 requires all schools to improve and reach the goals of proficiency for all students. Each state was given the responsibility for developing its progress criteria for its schools. Under the criteria developed by the California State Board of Education, schools must:

.Meet annual measurable objectives in English language arts and mathematics, measured by performance on the high school exit exam.
.Have a 95 percent participation rate on the exit exam.
.Demonstrate progress on the Academic Performance Index which measures the academic performance and progress of individual schools and establishes growth targets for future academic improvement.
.Demonstrate an improvement of at least 1 percent in its graduation rate.
"We are proud that our students met each criterion", said the El Molino co-principals Frank Anderson and Doria Trombetta. "El Molino was one of the few high schools in Sonoma county that achieved the Annual Yearly Progress".

In mathematics, 62.7% of the students met the objectives and 64.2% in English language arts. Nearly all the students took the exam exam, 96.9 percent in English language arts and 96.1 percent in math. El Molino's index grew from 702 in 2002 to 747 in 2003.

"We congratulate our students for their hard work and diligence, which led to their success,'" said the co-principals. "We express our gratitude to our teachers and counselors and all the members of the school staff, who work hard to support our students. We applaud all the parents of El Molino students who encourage their students daily to come to school and remain engaged in academics, champion their athletics and activities and support the goals of El Molino High School, including the assessment program that is a large portion of Annual Yearly Progress."