Page 35 - Sonoma County Gazette MARCH 2020

Gov. Newsom Offers State-Owned Sites for Homeless Shelters
While reading the Press Democrat, many of us were greeted with the news that Governor Newsom has offered Sonoma County the opportunity to lease 49 state-owned parcels for emergency homeless shelters. They are offered
as part of Newsom’s package of emergency measures meant to address the homelessness crisis.
One prominent parcel in the City of Santa Rosa is the 57-acre Southeast Greenway. Read the full article here: https://www.pressdemocrat.com/ news/10732193-181/newsom-offers-up-santa-rosa
The paper quotes a spokesman for Newsom’s administration as saying...
“It doesn’t mean that we’re requiring the city to use them or
This offer gives communities more choices of where to place emergency services and shelters, but it is up to local leaders - the City Council and Board of Supervisors - to select the most appropriate sites. We applaud Governor Newsom for focusing on the homelessness that is affecting so many California communities.
Our colleagues at the City of Santa Rosa’s Real Estate Services Department are communicating with Caltrans to find out more about how this development will affect our work on acquiring the Southeast Greenway. The Greenway Partners - City of Santa Rosa, Sonoma Water, Sonoma County Regional Parks, Sonoma Land Trust, LandPaths, and the Southeast Greenway Campaign - have a current Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) with Caltrans that gives us the first right of refusal to purchase the property and stipulates that the Greenway property will be sold intact and not divided into parcels.
that we even want the city to use them.”
Where Does the Greenway Stand?
Rohnert Park is one of my favorite cities in Sonoma County so I am excited to say I am your new columnist for the Sonoma County Gazette. My goal is
to promote worthwhile events at the Reading movie theater and Spreckels Performing Arts Center which is entering its 31st season. I also want to introduce you to amazing people who live or work in Rohnert Park.
First, I want to introduce you to Debra Shine from SASSI which stands for Success, Abundance, Self Care, Sacred and Innovation. Debra
is producing an amazing event called International Women’s Day 2020 The Majesty of Women. It celebrates 100 years since the ratification of women’s rights to vote. It’s Thursday, March 5th from 6pm to 915pm at Foxtail Golf Club 100 Golf Course Dr. Rohnert Park. It’s $25 per person which includes six inspiring speakers and awesome appetizers. Speakers include Debra Shine, Ariana Aparicio, Julias Ellois, Lynell Gren, Christi Corradi and Denise Cotton- Royal. Call 707 244 3077 for tickets.
Martin Scorsese fans will be happy to know they can watch his best films on the big screen at the Reading Theater. On March 4th is “Taxi Driver”, March 11th is “Raging Bull”, March 18th is “Good Fellas” and March 25th is “Casino”. Tickets on sale now at readingcinemasus.com and Harry Potter fans will be very happy to know they can watch “Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets” on the big screen March 21st and 24th. You can buy tickets at readingcinemasus.com
Spreckels Performing Arts Center is throwing a party March 8th at 7pm celebrating its past seasons. This free event features concert-style songs with a look forward at the upcoming 2020/21 season. Performers include Daniela Innocenti Beam (Songs For A New World), Denise Elia-Yen (Urinetown), Kirstin Pieschke (South Pacific) and sharing their talents are three members of the Spreckels Youth Ensemble: Madison Griego, Elisabeth Petro and Mario Herrera. All singers will be accompanied by musician extraordinaire, Lucas Sherman. No reservation is needed. Since Denise’s husband David Yen also starred in the recent hit (Urinetown) hopefully he will make a surprise appearance.
Last month the Animal Shelter League of Rohnert Park presented “Bark after Dark”, a dinner and auction to benefit the Animals. It was a lot
of fun. I learned that the shelter has an identification tag machine. It’s free
if you are from Rohnert Park or Cotati. The vegetable lasagna was a big hit. The rotary club of rancho cotati was on hand selling wine and soft drinks. They made a lot of money for the shelter. The live auction did very well with some amazing items including Sonoma County tour by air and a dinner with firefighters from Rohnert Park.
Lastly, let’s congratulate Jaimie Flores of Rohnert Park who was named to the Stanislaus State Fall 2019 Dean’s List. To qualify, students must earn a GPA of 3.5 or higher and registerfor and earn a minimum of 12 units of credit of graded coursework at the University
Keep me informed so I can keep readers informed!
Since the approval of the General Plan Amendment, Rezoning Plan and EIR for the Greenway in July 2019, staff from the City’s Real Estate Services Department, Sonoma Water and Sonoma Land Trust have been working with Caltrans to prepare the information needed to support an appraisal of the property. This process is moving forward, as is fundraising for acquisition
of the Greenway land. Our goal for this next year is to finish all necessary preparations and negotiate a Purchase and Sale Agreement (PSA) with Caltrans for the Greenway transfer. As our Co-Chair Thea Hensel was quoted as saying in the article, “We’ve been at this for 11 years and we don’t intend to change anything at this time.”
We will keep you updated as we learn more.
Visit the Santa Rosa Southeast Greenway online at southeastgreenway.org
Save the Date! - Measure M Parks for All
Community Meeting for SE Santa Rosa Date: Thursday, March 26, Time: 5:30-7:30 p.m.at Montgomery High School, 1250 Hahman Dr, Santa Rosa
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