Page 25 - Sonoma County Gazette June 2017

Santa Rosa Happenings The Reuni ed Old Courthouse Square had its o cial opening on May 29 with Mayor Chris Coursey assured us at the ribbon cutting, “it’a work in progress.” Overall the response was positive although some complained about the extensive use of concrete and small size of the planted sycamore trees. I found out that there are still features to be installed, such as the refurbished Ruth Azawa fountain. Anne E. Seeley, Chair, Concerned Citizens for Santa Rosa she thought the square was an improvement, “My husband and I walked on the new downtown plaza and I loved it!” For Seeley most important was, “not having a busy street slicing through the heart of downtown!”
Refreshing Roseland
Adding to the excitement of the opening around 3pm dozens of progressive groups came together and marched to the square from their rally on Sebastopol Ave. to demonstrate for environmental protections, racial justice and workers rights. It was quite a sight seeing a reported 1,000 marchers le into the square. As I watched the marchers ll the square I thought to myself, these were not people protesting these were people who wanted to protect our democracy and make this a better place for all of us.
Action was taken to move the “fecal matter man Mike” from the Roseland Village Shopping Center property before the Cinco de Mayo festival last month. This was a relief to local residents who had to deal with his foul smelling recreational vehicle parked at the site near the Roseland Library and Community Center for many months. The Cinco de Mayo events went well and now local folks are hoping the homeless camp behind the library for over a year and a half will soon be moving also. Many Roseland residents want a nice “Spring cleaning”. Now it is time for a refreshing breath of fresh air with spring like weather nally here after the long wet winter.
Santa Rosa’s Wednesday Night Market kicked o its 28th year at the newly the reuni ed Old Courthouse Square with 100 vendors there to provide goods and information on service available in the County. Nancy Rogers, co-owner with her husband Harold of the Red Rose Catering was a vendor at the market and was pleased at how the Courtyard looked. “I liked the new square, it was more open and bigger and I could see more activates from where I was plus there was a lot more walking space,” she said the market happens every Wednesday night from, May 3 to August 16, 2017 from 5 o’clock to 8:30 PM.
The nice weather is also the start of the spring building season and two residential construction projects planned for Roseland are now moving forward after long delays. The Crossroads a ordable housing project on Burbank Ave. is now under construction with all of the cement foundations in place. Wooden frame “stick built” style construction has begun on a few buildings to the northeast corner of the property right next to the new charter high school building being built at Sheppard Elementary School. There will be 79 units of for rent housing provided by Burbank Housing Development Corporation for lucky winners of a lottery to be held for residences. Anyone can sign up for the housing and Roseland residents do not get preference.
Support and Care for Homeless Pets and their owners According to
Dr. Gillian Squirrel, founder of Homeless With Pets, a 501 (c) program, “the vast majority of homeless services and agencies with which people living homeless come into contact do not make provision for companion animals.” HomelessWith Pets helps people with resources, to learn about compassionate and humane animal care.
Another project mentioned in Roseland Review years ago is now nally “breaking ground” after long delays in the planning and permitting process. Paseo Vista, being undertaken by Mike Gasparini and Alan Henderson, received two one-year time extensions from the Sonoma County Planning Commission on March 16, 2017. At this time roadways are being graded for the medium density residential 167 housing unit site at 1960, 2000 and 2290 Dutton Ave. near Hearn Ave. in south Roseland. The project will provide
“29 low income apartments, 3 very low income apartments, 13 market rate apartments, and 122 market rate townhomes.” The townhomes may sell in the mid $300,000.00 range when completed according to onsite sales signs.
The program o er a variety of services to homeless pet owners which include,free vaccine and wellness clinics, free professional grooming events, humane education and help to be more aware of some of the risks of living homeless with animals, help to get animals spayed and neutered and advocacy with services and agencies
A recent discussion with Mr. Gasparini about the possibility of naming a park to be provided at the site after Joe and Ray Lazinni, long time Roseland residents was well received by Mr. Gasparini. Local residents will be circulating a petition in the future to have both the county and the city allow for the naming of Lazinni Park. The area may be annexed into the city by 2018 if the Sonoma County Local Agency Formation Committee (LAFCO) approves the annexation application submitted by the city of Santa Rosa
in April 2017. The LAFCO hearing is tentatively scheduled for August 2, 2017, the rst Wednesday of the month, according to Executive O cer Mark Bram tt. Interested residents may research the matter at sonomalafco.org.
if there is an animal issue or something goes awry, Also available is subsidized veterinary treatment when this is possible and help with fostering and adoption if a human partner becomes unwell, needs hospital or other treatment.
“Our Mission is simple, we work with people who are living homeless and
with their animal companions. O ering compassion to both ends of the leash we promote the well-being of both.,” states Squirrel. To nd out more information about time and locations where service are being provided and how to support the program go to homelesswithpets.org/.
The Village Station housing project on Sebastopol Rd. and Boyd St.
has new signs out saying construction will start soon there “where luxury meets downtown.” These encouraging developments are beginning as the county embarks on activities for Brown elds revitalization with $392,000 in funding received from the US Environmental Protection Agency last year. On Thursday May 18, 2017 from 6 -8:30 pm sta of the Sonoma County Community Development Commission hosted a session to familiarize
local residents and agencies who had supported their grant application with the possible activities allowed by the federal funding guidelines. Stantec Consultants and a member of the EPA Superfund Division was there to help answer questions.
The Artsy Side of Santa Rosa – SOFA - South A St Art District Arts Advocate Judy Kennedy encouraged me to go see the exhibit, Aging w/Attitude
– Fearless Fashion at 60+, a series of photos by photographer, John Martin, at
the Christie Marks Fine Art Gallery on South A Street. Thank you Judy, I went and want to tell folks this is an exhibit you do not want to miss. The presentation includes a series of 19 photographs of di erent women over the age of 60. Put together by Sebastopol resident Elle Kilner, each photograph is both an expression of art and attitude along with an array of colors that simply make you feel good looking at them. The exhibit ends on June 10, 2017
Along with the exhibit I got to see some of Christie Marks mixed media pieces and found out SOFA is a unique community of more than 30 artists and a multitude of studios to visit. According to their website, this is the largest concentration
of artists in Sonoma County. Visitors can view and even purchase painting, printmaking, photography, collage/assemblage, jewelry, and glass during open studio events. It was an amazing experience walking through free all these great studios and experiencing the beauty of art right here in downtown Santa Rosa. Lots of fun places to have lunch, a cup of co ee or glass of Sonoma County wines. For more information on future exhibits, dates and times visit sofasantarosa.com/.
Now there will begin a concerted e ort to inform local residents and property owners about the bene ts of revitalizing underused brown elds
site to increase their values to the community. There are “more than 50
along the one-mile segment of the Sebastopol Road commercial corridor” according to CDC information sheet Sonoma County Roseland Brown eld Project. In the future a Brown elds Advisory Committee will be formed and an enhanced community engagement process will be undertaken to inform property owners about how participation in these e orts will assist property owners. This will be a refreshing start to a long stalled process to revitalize the Sebastopol Road commercial corridor as well as all of Roseland in the future.
Something to think about “I’ve learned that people will forget what you said, people will forget what you did, but people will never forget how you made them feel.” ― Maya Angelou, who was an American poet, memoirist, actress and an important gure in the American Civil Rights Movement. In 2001 she was named one of the 30 most powerful women in America by Ladies Home Journal.
Elaine B. Holtz is producer/Host of “Women’s Spaces” on KBBF 89.1FM Monday 11-am-noon and repeats at 11pm to midnight Visit her website at: womensspaces.com Become a fan on FB. The show is streaming on kbbf-fm.org
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