Page 38 - SCG 11-15.indd

On October 19th, the North Bay Business Journal revealed that plans are well in place for an equestrian center to replace the Sonoma Development Center (SDC) that has taken care of disabled people for over 100 years. The property is zoned for nonprofit or governmental
The Town of Windsor introduced the Hometown Heroes Banner Program back in November of 2013. Since its inception 44 Banners have been hung on the lamp posts around the Windsor Civic Center area. Each banner honors a home-grown active-duty service man or
activities. But this project, expected to generate $300 million a year for the county in tourism activity, hardly seems to be nonprofit.
woman. This program was created to recognize and honor Windsor residents and their immediate family members who are serving our country in the United States Armed Forces. The banners display the program logo as well
as a photo of the Hometown Hero, their name and military department. The next banner ceremony is scheduled for Sunday, November 1, 2015, 1:00 p.m., Huerta Gymnasium, 9291 Old Redwood Highway, Building 200, Windsor. The program is ongoing, and applications and donations continue to be accepted.
Nevertheless, plans have been in process since at least November 2012,
when the California Equestrian Park and Event Center (CEPEC) began publishing its newsletter, available on its website, cepac.us. Though unknown to the many people who have been actively opposing the closure of the SDC, the plan hasn’t exactly been secret. The group held a fundraiser at the Green Center at Sonoma State the same year. Sponsors listed on its web site number approximately 54 businesses scattered throughout the county, and include such local luminaries as Oliver’s, Osmosis Spa (in Freestone), Kendall Jackson Winery, Chalk Hill, Lagunitas Brewery, Northwood Golf Course and Restaurant (all the way in Guerneville) and others.
Save up El Nino Rain Water
According to the folks at Daily Acts, “When it comes to rain, we don’t
have a shortage issue; we have a storage issue. Did you know that 1” of rain
on a 1,000 square-foot roof yields over 600 gallons?” How can we harness
this water and keep it feeding our farms and gardens? Join Daily Acts and the Windsor Garden Club for a talk where you’ll discover opportunities for storing rainwater, including rain tanks, swales, rain gardens, and more. This talk is free and open to anyone interested in saving rain water. Join them on Tuesday, November 17th, 7:00 pm at the Windsor Senior Center. The Windsor Garden Club holds “Third Tuesdays” garden education seminars each month immediately following their monthly Member Meeting. Speakers come from all over to share their gardening and farming secrets. Consider becoming a Windsor Garden Club Member, come to the meeting early, 6:30 and share your passion for plants with a great group of folks.
Winter Wine Walk benefits the Windsor Service Alliance
The Windsor Winter Wine Walk is scheduled for Thursday, November 19th this year from 5-8 pm. The event is a whirlwind of tasting and sampling some of Sonoma Counties finest wines and food tidbits from local chefs and caterers while visiting all the businesses in the Old Downtown Windsor area. It is a happy event with all the wines and the food being paired together in advance making each stop a delightful tasting experience. Tickets are only $40 per person, all food and wine are donated so all proceeds from this event go to fund the Windsor Service Alliance who in addition to other things delivers food to needy local families every Friday. The Windsor Service Alliance is
a cooperative, volunteer effort among groups and individuals who share a common concern for the well-being of all the citizens of our community. You can check them out at windsorservicealliance.org. The popular Windsor Winter Wine Walk event sells out early every year so get your tickets now online at olddowntownwindsor.com or in person at Pages Bookstore and Images on the Town Green and like the event on Facebook.
Don’t forget the Windsor Certified Farmers Market is happening every Sunday, Rain or Shine 10-1 pm at the beautiful Windsor Town Green through December 13th. There’s always live music, Brunch, BBQ and some of Sonoma Counties finest fresh produce and preserved foods. Starting Sunday, November 1st you will see more local artists and crafters joining the Market. This year decide to buy your Holiday gifts locally. There are some beautiful things available and giving handmade gifts, even if you didn’t make it yourself, makes it special. When you buy from an artist at the Market you are buying from
the maker themselves. Talk to them and learn about the item you are buying, maybe simple things can be revised or you can order in a different color? That’s the beauty of buying direct, you get exactly what you want and you know right where it came from and what you are getting. We’ve recently learned of the suspected contamination in toys and other products from China and we’ve all heard the horror stories of labor in overseas factories. Let’s turn those dollars right around and keep them right here in Sonoma County. At the most basic level, when you buy local more money stays in the community. Research shows twice the money stays in the community when folks buy locally. For a great story on the subject visit, content.time.com, “Buying Local: How it Boosts the Economy” by Judith D. Schwartz.
So while our friends and neighbors have been testifying at long hearings held by the County and attended by some of our beloved supervisors, plans for the sale of the land for 27,000 horses have been in place.
That’s shocking! And nobody knew? The Sonoma Land Trust didn’t know? The County Open Space Preservation District didn’t know?
The lack of transparency is even more disturbing than the project itself, although what all those hoof beats are going to do to our cherished bucolic property in Eldridge between Sonoma and Glen Ellen can certainly be imagined, not to speak of the traffic, the visitors, the trash...and, yes, the carbon dioxide and methane wafted into our choked and warming atmosphere.
Certainly there will be objections. But the banner will be jobs, tourism and profits! And claims to maintain the beautiful open space, protecting it from... affordable housing, for example. A state of the art treatment center for the disabled people we create with our toxins; a fabulous carbon sequestering ranch; a farmers’ market.
Climate Change Events
Transition Sonoma Valley co-sponsored a talk, “Political Will for a Liveable World” with Earth Care, the environmental group at the Congregational Church, and presented by Dr. Peter Joseph, advocating a carbon tax to solve our climate problems.
Also in October we had the second annual Sustainability Day at Sonoma State, a free event with a full slate of speakers. I attended but am writing this column before it happens on October 20-21, so I’ll have to tell you about it at some other time.
On the 24th we had a unique all-day event Mulchstock, with demonstrations and workshops on mulching those lawns instead of removing them, a thankless and laborious task. I went because I am going to convert a little strip of land on my back patio to a vegetable patch, and in order to do that I have to restore the soil. Again, this is a way we can all help return carbon to the soil – while growing beautiful fresh foods! It takes a little work but it’s direct, easy, and very rewarding.
Windsor Farmers Market – Open through December 13th
All these events are leading up to the Conference of Parties in Paris (COP21) which begins at the end of this month. Demonstrations to demand action from our (cough, cough) world leaders will be happening all over the world. You and your pals can all attend the one in Oakland on November 21. Gather at Lake Merritt Amphitheater 12:00 noon - March 1:00 pm - March to Frank Ogawa/ Oscar Grant Plaza for Rally. Please do!
Climate change is without doubt the greatest threat to life on this planet, greater even than nuclear war. It’s extraordinary that we have created such dilemmas for ourselves and all other inhabitants of this little planet, and that we have demonstrated such incapacity in gaining control of the monster. Demand action now! The sea is rising as we speak, and in case you had forgotten, we’re all coastal dwellers here. May our highest nature finally triumph over whatever you wish to call the force of greed and hostility that is still running the show, God help us...
38 - www.sonomacountygazette.com - 11/15