Page 30 - Sonoma County Gazatte May 2017

By KBBF volunteer Serena Makofsky
Cinco de Mayo Fiesta: KBBF will be participating at the Roseland’s 12th Annual Cinco de Mayo Festival happening Friday May 5th, from 4-9pm
at 665 Sebastopol Road. The gathering brings together live music, dance, folkloric presentations, delicious food, and deejays. Rosie the Trolley transports people to the festivities. For the details about who will be onstage, consult santarosacincodemayo.com/.
More than Reading at Roseland Library: KBBF is proud to announce that Roseland Community Library o ers activities several times per week, in Spanish and English. For May, you can learn about Cooking in Season (May 3), attend Bilingual Storytime (Saturdays), Read to a Dog (May 6), take your child for a meditation session (May 6), try High Intensity Interval Training (May 9),
or go to the Club de Lectura (May 11). The Roseland branch is at 779 Sebastopol Road, tel. 707-548-7873. For further information, see the Sonoma County Library website at sonomalibrary.org/locations/roseland-community-library.
Mariachi Vargas de Tecalitlán One of the world’s most popular m:ariachi ensembles comes to SR for a Mother’s Day matinee concert. The show is on Sunday, May 14th at 3pm, at Luther Burbank Center for the Arts. Get your tickets at tickets.lutherburbankcenter.org/single/EventDetail.aspx?p=2668.
Celebración de Graduación Latinx: MEChA de SRJC honors graduating students and their families on May 20th from 10am to 1pm, at SR Junior College. To nd out more and get on the list of invitees, see https://dream.santarosa. edu/form/la-celebraci%C3%B3n-de-graduaci%C3%B3n-latinx.
Dialog with a Philosopher: On May 11th, Racial Justice A:llies presents international speaker, poet, and, activist Bayo Akomolafe. In his recent writings, he has re ected, “The way forward is thus awkward – or rather, there is no clear algorithm on what to do now except perhaps, among other things, to pay close attention to these twists and turns, these rabbit holes and tricky terrains.” Discover more at facebook.com/racialjusticeallies/.
Get Woke Stay Woke: North Bay Chicana activist Alicia Sanchez gave
the keynote address at the rst-annual WE THE FUTURE Social Justice Conference (wethefuture.santarosa.edu/), put together by SRJC Petaluma
and North Bay Organizing Project on April 28th. Her inspiring words ushered in the day’s theme of “Get Woke Stay Woke.” The intersectional conference centered around coalition-building among activists of color, working-class folks, interfaith allies, feminists, members of the LGBTQI community, immigrants and the undocumented, labor organizers, and environmentalists. Danny “Big Dan” Mora of Oakland hip-hop crew BRWN BFLO closed out the lively gathering.
The People United: April 29th marked the day of El Pueblo Unido: People’s March for Jobs, Justice, and the Climate. Nearly 40 organizations were represented at the May Day event that aligned with the People’s March for Jobs, Justice, and Climate in Washington, DC, forming a united voice against destructive policies on immigration, Native American rights, public lands, environmental protections and marginalized populations in the United States. Traditional Aztec danza, speakers, and music kept the proceedings spirited as people marched from Roseland to downtown.
Share Your Skills: This month’s RadioLand column is brought to you by new volunteer Serena Makofsky. She saw the KBBF booth at SR’s Community Engagement Fair and brought her family to the station for an orientation. They began working at the station and recommend others join this most worthy cause. If you too seek the excitement, satisfaction, and learning experience of volunteering at KBBF, call the station at (707) 545-8833 or email at info@KBBF- fm.org, attention Judy.
Program News: “Classical Tones” is KBBF’s bilingual show of classical music with a Latin connection. Nora Villanueva hosts and Alan Bloom produces. It broadcasts Wednesday nights from 9-11pm on 89.1. The show is now also syndicated on Paci ca Radio’s AudioPort network
30 - www.sonomacountygazette.com - 5/17
First 100 Days
Much is made of a public official’s first 100 days (and nights) in office. Mine have certainly been a whirlwind. A lot of people have asked me what it’s like being Supervisor, and whether it’s what I expected it to be.
During the day, I race from meeting to meeting all around the Fifth District. At night, when I’m not attending a community forum, I catch up on email after tucking my kids into bed... and lose sleep over how to best address homelessness, or how to protect our undocumented residents, or how to rehabilitate the Russian River. I comb the internet, skimming endless articles and reports, searching for strategies that might work in Sonoma County.
So is the job what I expected? Yes, and then some. I love my job, and feel honored to have the opportunity to serve our community. Over the past 100 days, I’ve worked to familiarize myself with all aspects of local government - and to get to know areas of the Fifth District I wasn’t as familiar with. I’ve taken tours of the jail, Health Services, Human Services, Regional Parks, the Agricultural Preservation and Open Space District, Probation Camp, the Potter Valley Project, and the Hall of Justice. I’ve spent time with all of the County’s Department Heads discussing the services they provide to the community.
I’ve gotten to tour or meet with many of our West County non-profits, from St. Dorothy’s Rest in Camp Meeker to the Occidental Arts and Ecology Center to Sunny Hills Services and West County Health Clinics.
I’ve helped constituents deal with potholes, permits, septics, second units, road closures, red tags, and flood evacuations. I’ve worked on ordinances regarding junior second units, auxiliary dwelling units, and cannabis. I’ve had the opportunity to vote to preserve 2,000-year-old redwoods, to fund scientific research on our Russian River Watershed, and to finalize funding for Andy’s Unity Park in Moorland. I am always moving, and always learning. I traveled to Washington D.C. to attend the National Association of Counties Legislative Conference, and lobbied federal legislators about local needs. This month, I’ll be taking our County’s concerns to Sacramento.
What I am most proud of in my first 100 days is my ongoing commitment to community engagement. I love nothing more than being out in the community, working directly with community members to find solutions to long-standing problems. I’ve held town halls, public meetings, and community forums in Guerneville, Forestville, Bodega Bay, Monte Rio, and Roseland. There are more to come, and I look forward to empowering our unincorporated communities, and working with residents to increase self-determination and self-governance.
Aside from severe weather events, which dominated quite a bit of my first 100 days, my main focuses this year have been immigration, homelessness, and the Russian River watershed. I continue to work to protect our undocumented residents, to bring the community together to reduce homelessness in our urban and rural areas, and to create a watershed-wide restorative vision for the Russian River.
Recently, I’ve become enamored with the idea of a Russian River Water Trail - a series of landings and campgrounds that could run from Mendocino to Jenner to facilitate multi-day trips on the River. This idea came out of my small group at the Russian River Confluence, an event created by Supervisor James Gore. James is the District 4 Supervisor, and between us, we represent the entirety of the Russian River and approximately 70% of the land mass in Sonoma County. Since he was elected in 2014, James has worked to create a collaborative approach to restoring and rehabilitating the Russian River, and I’m looking forward to furthering his efforts, and partnering with him on watershed wide initiatives.
Now, a few public service announcements:
Cannabis cultivation permits will be issued by the County starting July 1. Stay tuned to http://sonomacounty.ca.gov/CAO/Cannabis/Adopted-Medical- Cannabis-Program-Ordinances-and-Policies/ for announcements about workshops to help guide you through the permitting process.
Here’s to the rst 100 days - but more importantly, here’s to the next 265. What would you like to see the County accomplish in the coming year? Comments? Questions? Email me at lynda.hopkins@sonoma-county.org.
The Agricultural Preservation and Open Space District has launched the Vital Lands Initiative, and held community meetings to invite community comment. If you missed those meetings, don’t fret - visit http://www. sonomaopenspace.org/projects/vital-lands-initiative/ for future workshops.