January 201023 – Las Gallinas Valley Sanitary District booth at Bay Area Environmental Education Resource Fair (BAEER), 10am-4:30pm.26 – SVNA Community Meeting, 7pm, Korean Presby-terian Church, Adrian & Rosal. Supervi-sor Susan Adams’ "State of the County" address.

February1 – Trails Workshop, 1-5pm, Board of Supes Chambers, Civic Center2 – FCZ#7 Meeting Check eGroup for time/location.

9 – Emergency Operations Facility meeting, 7-8:30pm, Marin Center's Show-case Theatre.13 – 2nd Saturday Median Workday, 9am-noon. N. San Pedro at Schmidt Ln. 16 – CSA #18 Meeting 6pm, Civic Center, Rm 260.22 – Marin County Community De-velopment Agency Meeting, 10am-3pm, includes Housing Ele-ment Update Public Meeting. May be moved to 3/22. Check eGroup for location.

March 13 – 2nd Saturday Median Workday, 9am-noon. N. San Pedro at Schmidt Ln.30 – SVNA Com-munity Meeting, 7pm Meeting, Korean Presbyterian Church, Adrian & Rosal.

MarK yOur caLenDarS

d

By Mary Feller, SVNA Land Use Chair

Just after Christmas, on a bright blue moon night, my husband and I were walking on the marshland. San Pedro Mountain was inky black, and a holiday hush settled in

over the water. Flocks of night birds skimmed past the moon.

We detoured down Vendola to admire the variety of Christ-mas lights strung along the roofs and gardens, and talked about the big coyote who darted in front of our car on North San Pedro Road, headed toward the Civic Center ponds. The next night, our daughter spotted a grey fox.

We marveled at our good fortune to live in this special place, 17 miles from the Golden Gate, yet so rich with wildlife. But the peace and quiet enjoyment of our community is truly threatened. The neighborhood is facing several land-use challenges, stretching volunteer time and donations to the breaking point.

These developments could alter the cherished semi-rural nature of our neighborhood — destroy wildlife habit, and contribute to increases in traffic, noise, light, pollution, envi-

Santa Venetia neighborhood association January/February 2010

The BesT of sanTa VeneTia 2009

Holiday Lights Contest Sparkles in the NightBy Norma Novy

Congratulations to the three big winners of the Best of Santa Venetia Holiday Lights contest! firsT Place goes to the "Christmas House" at 12 Jefferson, de-

scribed by Bonnie Monte as "over-the top-spectacular” and a long time Christmas-decorating veteran (how does he do it and where does he store everything?); second Place was won by the “Snoopy House” at 56 Cushing, new kid on the block who had many decorations that had moving parts; and Third Place was taken by 5 Carmel, one of last year's winners, who improved on last year's bold state-ment. each winner will receive a one-year membership to the sVna and a one-year subscription to 6 issues of "The communicator.”A great big thank you goes out to all of the Holiday Lights Helpers who traveled the streets looking for winners: Bon-nie Monte, flo de losada, russ Greenfield, nanni Wurl, linda levey, and Jim Walsh. Honorable Mentions go to 22 Vendola Drive (one of last year's winners), 30 Jefferson, 149 N. San Pedro, 146 Madi-son, 8 Garden Street, 32 Vendola Drive, and many, many more.

Thanks to all who put up lights, wreaths, Santas, snowmen, reindeer, trains, snow globes, stars, and Creche scenes! z

Continued on page 7

A Tsunami of Development Threatens SVronmental degradation, and flooding.

Because the neighborhood is facing so many challenges, a fund has been established to defray the cost of experts and legal consultation. The hiring of experts to counter absurd assertions in the Environmental Impact Reports (EIR) is the first, and most important, line of defense. Expert opinion also strengthens the legal basis for a legal challenge to certifications of EIR’s — which is ultimately what may need to happen in some of these cases. So, PLEASE DONATE.

here is The currenT lisTThe county housing element: The SVNA dispatched reps to attend a Housing Element workshop. Yet, when the draft document arrived, the SVNA was surprised to learn that THREE inappropriate sites are proposed for below market rate (BMR) housing in Santa Venetia: the old McPhail’s School (19-40 units); the Grange property on the north side of N. San Pedro Road, across from La Brea (7 units); and 650 N. San Pedro Road (12 units). The

1st Place, 12 Jefferson

2nd Place, 56 cushing

3rd Place, 5 carmel

SVNA committee coNtActS

President MARK WALLACE mark.t.wallace @gmail.com

Vice-President ROBERT DOBRiN letters@vendola.org 259-4049

Secretary DENNiS BORTOLi DenSV@aol.com 479-0167

Treasurer LiNDA LEVEy linda@goagil.com 499-3411

Past President TAD iNOUyE tinouye@comcast.net 492-1947

RUSS GREENFiELDMARK WALLACE

DENNiS BORTOLi

LiNDA LEVEy

NORMA NOVy

2 S V N A C O M M u N I C ATO R J A N u A R Y / F E B R u A R Y 2 010

Board Member RUSS GREENFiELD russ.greenfield@ comcast.net

Board Member NORMA NOVy normanovy@comcast.net, 499-9409

Board Member BONNiE MONTE bdmonte@earthlink.net

Board Member Emerita NANNi WURL 472-3269

SVNA BoArd officerS SVNA BoArd memBerS

Neighborhood Beautification & Medians – NANNi WURL Newsletter – LiNDA LEVEy, NORMA NOVyMembership – LiNDA LEVEySocial Activities – TAD iNOUyEWatershed – RUSS GREENFiELD SVNA Land Use – MARy FELLER maryflr@comcast.net SV Community Plan – GiSELLE BLOCK – giselle050@yahoo.com Median Raffle – SyLViA LAKEMAN sylvialakeman@att.net Marsh Steward – JULiANNA OLATE 479-9292

Santa Venetia Neighborhood Association PO Box 4047, San Rafael, CA 94913-4047www.thesvna.org

ROBERT DOBRiN

TAD iNOUyE

BONNiE MONTE

NANNi WURL

the deadline for submissions and ads for the march/April issue is march 1, 2010. email text to Linda Levey at linda@goagil.com, 499-3411. Put SVNA iN the SuBject LiNe of the emAiL.

Email or call about Advertising – Norma Novy at normanovy@comcast.net, 499-9409, fax 499-8441. Ad size is 3-5/8" x 2" vertical or horizontal.

Ad cost for our big Jan/Feb issue is $50. Ad cost for the other 5 issues is $25—or $150 for one year and all 6 issues. Submit pdf, jpg, tiff or busi-ness card or we will design.

NewSLetter SuBmiSSioNS

From the presidentrJanuary 2010

Happy New Year, neighbors! I hope your holidays were restful and rejuvenating.

At this month’s SVNA meeting on Tues-day, January 26th, we welcome susan adams, Supervisor of Marin County’s first district, which includes all of us here in Santa Venetia. Supervisor Adams will give her “state of the county” address. We would like to thank Susan in advance, not just for her presentation at our January meeting, but also for the effort that she and her staff put into clear and timely communication with our neighborhood. I and other SVNA board members have had regular meetings with Supervisor Adams throughout the year. This helps to improve communication with the community, which is reflected in this newsletter.

Overall, our January meeting will be a great opportunity to find out more about the future of Santa Venetia. In addition to Supervisor Ad-ams’ talk, there will be several short presentations on topics of interest to the neighborhood, including:

steve Petterle » of Marin County Parks and the playground commit-tee will present the new plans for Pueblo Park. Tamara hull » will report on the progress of the working group for a community plan. Many well established communities in Marin County have their own community plan, which supplements the Marin County-wide plan. Our working group is using those existing community plans as a basis for a Community Plan for Santa Venetia.

Committee Chairs will also give updates. » sylvia lakeman will hold the Raffle to benefit the Medians. If you have donations for the Median raffle, email Sylvia at sylvialakeman@att.net.

There is a lot going on in Santa Venetia right now and this newsletter is probably the best place to keep up. In this issue we have the results of the Best of santa Venetia holiday lights contest, as well as articles on a wide variety of topics affecting our neighborhood. unlike our regular bi-monthly newsletter, which is subscription-based, the January issue goes out to every address in Santa Venetia. If you like getting the news, and would like to support volunteer community activities such as median maintenance, then please join the SVNA so you can receive our newsletter for the rest for the year.

Included in this issue is a membership form, so please fill it out and send it in for a subscription. Your membership dues pay for postage and production of the newsletter, materials for the volunteer median maintenance crew, meeting facilities and social events.

Keep in mind that the SVNA is a purely volunteer organization: our charter is to improve neighborhood communication and promote neighborhood social activities, such as our annual picnic, and the Hal-loween block party so many of us enjoyed three months ago. When you join the SVNA, you can participate in any of our volunteer activities, or just receive the newsletter to keep up to date.

Thank you for your support and participation. I look forward to seeing you at the meeting.

Mark Wallace

Photo credits: Mary Feller, Jonathan Metcalf, Mary Hanley, Linda Levey, Norma Novy. Many thanks to Ann Thompson for designing the Communicator masthead.

Articles in this newsletter represent the opinions and ideas of the authors, and may not reflect the views of SVNA or its board. While this newsletter aims to best represent information that is useful to the community, please note that SVNA reserves the right to edit submissions for both accuracy and clarity.

Santa Venetia Neighborhood Association Mission StatementTo preserve and promote the quality of life of the Santa Venetia community. This is achieved through encouraging healthy social interaction; facilitating the flow of information; and protecting the natural beauty and economic well being of the community.

susan adams “state of the County” address Jan. 26

Join us at the next Community Meeting Tuesday, January 26, 2010

7pm Korean Presbyterian Church Join us to hear Supervisor Adams give

her “State of the County” Address

couNty AdViSory BoArdSParks (CSA #18) LiNDA LEVEy; NANNi WURL

Dredging (CSA #6) CHRiS DEiBEL, 479-9013, deibel216@comcast.net

Flood Control Zone (FCZ #7) JEFF KRUPNiCK, 472-0158, jeffkrupnick@comcast.net

5

S V N A C O M M u N I C ATO R J A N u A R Y / F E B R u A R Y 2 010 3

Community CompassThe Marin county sheriff’s department Emergency number ................................................................................................911Emergency from a cell phone .............................................................. 472-0911Non-Emergency (24-hour Communications) ................................ 479-2311Crime Prevention ....................................................................................... 499-7263Victim/Witness ............................................................................................ 499-6450

city of san rafaelEmergency ..................................................................................................................911Emergency from a Cell Phone 453-1515Non-Emergency Fire Dept. ..................................................................... 485-3300Non-Emergency Police Dept. ................................................................ 485-3000San Rafael Emergency/Disaster Info Hotline ..................................485-5070

flood control/clogged drainsWorking Hours ............................................................................................ 499-6549After 5pm/Weekends ................................................................................ 499-7237

community development agency/PlanningFront Information Counter .................................................................... 499-6269If you see dumping (get license #) ...................................................... 479-2311To request dumped stuff pick-up ....................................................... 499-7388PG&E underground Alert ..............................................................800-227-2600PG&E Electrical Outage ..................................................................800-743-5002

Library Management Turns a New LeafBy Eva Patterson, Branch Manager, Civic Center Library

On December 14, the management of the Civic Center Library changed hands. damon hill accepted a temporary promotion to Administrative Librarian and I moved in to manage the Civic

Center Library. Originally from Pittsburgh, PA, I’ve been in California and with the Marin County Free Library since 1998. I began working as Branch Manager of the Marin City Library one year after the branch opened in the Gateway Shopping Center and have overseen a steady increase in usage, materials, and community partnerships. My stay with the Civic Center Library runs through June 2010. I look forward to meeting and working with my new Santa Venetia neighbors.

The Marin County Free Library is pleased to announce the 2010 One Book One Marin reading program with the selection of Michael chabon’s Pulitzer Prize-winning novel, “The Amazing Adventures of Kavalier & Clay.” Set in 1939, New York City, Chabon’s novel features Joe Kavalier, a young artist who has also been trained in the art of Houdiniesque escape. He has just pulled off his greatest feat—smug-gling himself out of Hitler’s Prague. He’s looking to make big money, fast, so that he can bring his family to freedom. Libraries around the County are now planning events in support of the book. Please check onebookonemarin.org for all the latest information on events includ-ing those at the Civic Center Library.

eVenTsThe Wisdom of Your Face - See Chinese Face Reading in Action!

February 3 at 12–1:15pm Board of Supervisors Planning Chambers, Room 330 Jean haner, author, “The Wisdom Of Your Face” Chinese face reading is an ancient branch of Chinese medicine that reveals how your inner nature can be read in the features of your face.

The Supergirls: A Slide Show Presentation by Author

March 5 at 12–1:15pm, Civic Center Library Mike Madrid, author, ”The Supergirls: Fashion, Feminism, Fantasy, and the History of Comic Book Heroines” This one hour presentation traces the evolution of these fantasy characters from the 1930s to the present day, and discusses how their roles, and personas often reflected the lives of American women in the “real world”.

How to Draw Comics

March 18 at 6–8pm, Civic Center Library Michael scagliotti, instructor at the Cartoon Art Museum of San Francisco Learn how to draw a comic strip in this fun hands-on workshop just for TEENS, ages 12-18 years old. z

the Library

stacks

Why Join the SVNA?

Being a member is easy. You don’t have to volunteer or commit any time. Being a member simply means you will have access to information about your community.

- Nicole KlocK

Why Join the SVNA?

The SVNA supports All of beautiful Santa Venetia. Join to preserve and promote our quality of life here.

- TAd iNouYe

Sidewalks and SuchBy John Surinchak

I’d like to remind everyone of their responsibility to keep bushes and such from overgrowing the sidewalk. The Americans with Disabilities Act dictates that no plant growth will extend over the sidewalk, up

to a height of 7 feet.

Although there are no “sidewalk police” cruising Santa Venetia, we do have many assisted-living homes in Santa Venetia with residents of various mobility. All it would take is for one person in a wheel chair or walker to fall into the street because bushes blocked their passage on the sidewalk (it’s called an access barrier). The ADA can be strictly enforced in matters like this.

At the free dining room where I chaplain, we have to allow dogs in if the owners claim that they are service animals and proof is not required. Regardless of health or safety concerns, we have to follow the ADA in this matter or be subject to ticketing and/or fines. For more information contact W. Campagna, Marin County Disability Access Coordinator, wcampagna@co.marin.ca.us.

4 S V N A C O M M u N I C ATO R J A N u A R Y / F E B R u A R Y 2 010

sec ond sat u r day med ians

By Nanni Wurl

The SVNA Board and I would like to thank all the dedicated people who have been working on the medians all during this past year. I would especially like to thank the following:

Wayne lechner has given more time than anybody else over the years. We depend on him for pruning advice. carl & helen sitchler have been involved for many years too. Helen is my Co-Chair and she tries to keep me on the straight line. Carl is our expert sweeper. Kurt huget is another old-timer (no reference to his age) and he has been irrigating the median between Meadow and Mabry. Forever. dennis Bortoli is one of a kind. Always works hard and even better, he always allows us to use his truck. Other active and very important members include Bonnie Monte, Winsor orrick, elizabeth chew & Partner, Tim ribble, Joel Yau, and last, but not least, russ Greenfield and Tad inouye. Many thanks to Joyce clements and Zeke lakeman for donating extra cones.

Thanks to lynne steinsieck for our new plants.

And finally, thanks to sylvia lakeman for taking over the Median Raffle at the SVNA Community Meetings. Look for her at our upcoming Community Meeting and buy those tickets to help fund this project. To donate items for the Raffle, email Sylvia at sylvialakeman@att.net. z

Bartendering Services Private Parties & Special Events Mixology Classes Expertise & Equipment included

Patty 415-747-2305 jamakuhapi@yahoo.com

By Bonnie Monte

When lu & Jim Wiese bought their Vendola Drive house in 1957, its access to the canal was a big draw—even though they didn’t yet own a boat. “We could see the potential,” Lu

says. Sure enough, several years later they bought the Sea Fever and spent summers cruising up to the Delta with their young son.

Their neighbors were avid boaters too. “There were 20 families on the canal who belonged to the yacht club, which was where the McPhail School is,” Lu says. “We bought an old barge from Richmond and built a club house.”

Lu taught elementary school in San Rafael, first at San Pedro and then at Glenwood until her retirement. “It was so family-centered,” she recalls fondly. “The parents were very cooperative with the teachers.”

Jim, a Cal graduate who still proudly wears his school ring, worked as chief of construction for the county. “When I started, we were working in the basement of the old Coleman School,” he says. “There was a library up above. We worried that in an earthquake, all those books would fall on us.”

When Frank Lloyd Wright came to San Rafael to speak to the commu-nity about his proposed civic center, Lu and Jim were in the audience. “He talked about his vision: to avoid disturbing the environment, to build into the hill instead of leveling it,” Lu remembers. She also recalls Wright chastising audience members who hadn’t taken the time to examine the model of the project before entering the auditorium. “But he had a twinkle in his eye,” she says.

After retiring, Jim and Lu indulged their love of travel. First on the list was a trip to Minnesota, where Jim hailed from, as did Lu’s parents. They also spent a month in Europe and a month in Samoa, lived in Or-egon for a time, and owned a home in Hawaii on the slopes of Mauna Loa. Now they’re back, ensconced on Vendola Drive. No longer boaters, they still take pleasure in the peaceful vista of the canal through their living room’s glass doors. z

notabLe ne i g h bors

An Update from the SV Community Plan CommitteeBy Jonathan Metcalf

The Santa Venetia Community Plan Committee is continuing to meet with individuals and groups familiar with the community plan pro-cess and is reviewing local community plans in preparation of our

own plan. Our next goal is to look into the possibility of seeking grants and working with a non-profit organization to help fund the project.

Committee member, Tamara hull, will make a presentation of our cur-rent progress at the upcoming SVNA meeting on Tuesday, January 26. We look forward to your questions and participation at the meeting.

If you have an idea or concern about the future direction of our Santa Venetia community, such as land development, the impact of global warming, traffic, etc., send your thoughts to Giselle Block, giselle050 @yahoo.com. Your participation in the Community Plan is wel-come. Please also contact Giselle if you would like to get involved. z

Why Join the SVNA?

Meet your neighbors, join forces to keep Santa Venetia beautiful. - BoNNie MoNTe

S V N A C O M M u N I C ATO R J A N u A R Y / F E B R u A R Y 2 010 5

sVna membership update

Thanks & WelcomeBy Linda Levey

It’s a New Year (can you believe it?) and, as always, optimism is run-ning high! Thanks to all who have supported the SVNA and worked towards our common goals in 2009 and welcome to all who will be

doing so in 2010! We look forward to the help!!!

Support your neighborhood — NOW IS THE TIME! Join the SVNA – an envelope and a membership form are attached. Your membership dues help us to get the word out via our newsletter and meetings.

The more members we have; the more communication we have and the more power we have as a group. Santa Venetia is a great place to live and we want to keep it that way!

More MeMBers = More coMMunicaTion = More PoWer as a coMMuniTY

Another thing that keeps our Neighborhood great is the hard work of our SVNA Board and some of our Members. As I’m sure you know, we could always use more help; not only on the SVNA Board of Directors, but also on any of our committees including: Land use, Community Plan, Watershed, Newsletter, Membership, Social, etc. If you have a special talent where you could help on any of the many committees and/or with any of the various neighborhood projects, please step up now — let us know.

MeMBers are Good, “ParTiciPaTinG MeMBers” are eVen BeTTer!

And on that note… THANKS, to those neighbors who consistently pay their annual membership in the SVNA and THANKS, to those who donate something extra towards the many SVNA projects and works. You know who you are! z

(415) 479-1070405 N. San Pedro Road

San Rafael

— in Santa Venetia — One Mile East of County Civic Center

patrick@chaletbasquemarin.com

r e s t a u r a n t

S-S Dinner 4-9pm

Tu-F Lunch 11:30am-2pm Dinner 5-9pm

Closed Monday

Gallinas Watershed Council One Year AnniversaryBy Art Reichert

Last year, 2009, was the first full year of existence for the Gallinas Watershed Council (GWC). One of our most visible accomplish-ments was getting an old truck, dumpster, and junk pile, that was

discovered by our crew during coastal clean up day, removed from the banks of the creek near the Northgate Industrial Park. The truck was highlighted (“Please Remove This Truck!”) in a YouTube video alex Kahl did of our creek cleanup in September. It took lots of correspon-dence and phone calls to government officials in city, state, county and federal agencies, but eventually the responsible owner was tracked down and cleaned it up.

Our top goal for last year was tackling the issue of trash washing down into the North Fork of the creek from Terra Linda. Our presenta-tion on this topic at the San Rafael City Manager’s meeting was met with the all too familiar response of “we’d like to help, but we don’t have any money.” If the GWC can obtain some grants, and we are now officially a 501C3 non-profit, we hope to partner with the City to install a floating trash boom across the North Fork of the creek (our proposed solution).

One of our biggest supporters is carolyn lenert of the Santa Marga-rita (Terra Linda) HOA. Due to her support, we have three significant successes: 1.) the San Rafael Business Leadership Forum has adopted reducing trash in Gallinas Creek as their project for 2010, 2.) The North San Rafael Coalition of Residents has adopted reducing trash in Galli-nas Creek as one of their three main goals, and 3.) an article about the GWC and issue of trash appeared in the October edition of “The Terra Linda Wind”. The larger watershed is starting to come together!

We’re proud of our accomplishments to date, but there is not enough space in this article to list them all. To see the complete list of what we’ve done in 2009, go to gallinaswatershed.org. Our webmaster, Alex Kahl, has done a fabulous job on our website and I encourage every-one to take a look at it. It is interesting, informative and entertaining. In Jan. 2010 we will have a webpage that will allow you to make a tax deductible donation. We can really use your contribution. We have lots of projects underway to benefit the watershed (i.e. all of us).

GWC will be participating at the 33rd annual Bay Area Environmental Education Resource Fair (aka the BAEER Fair) being held at the Civic Center on Sat., Jan. 23, 2010. The BAEER Fair has been an integral part of the development of the California educational system, committed to providing the widest base of environmental resources to the teach-ing community. We will be sharing an exhibit booth to educate people about our watershed and we may also do a presentation. For more info, go to www.baeerfair.org.

To see either alex’s cleanup video or my slideshow on trash in the creek, simply do a web search on “Gallinas creek” and you’ll see our YouTube entries at the very top.

Trails Workshop, February 1

There will be a second Trails Workshop on Monday, February 1, 2010, 1-5pm in the Board of Supervisors Chambers, Marin Coun-ty Civic Center, San Rafael. This will be a joint workshop with the

Parks and Open Space Commissioners. Topics of discussion wil be:

Phasing and process for the Parks and Open Space Dept.’s trail »work plan relating to the Road and Trail Management Plan, con-struction of the 680 Trail and potential shared-use trail projects.

Policy options related to use of narrow trails and conflict reduction »There will be an opportunity for the Board, the Commission and the general public to offer their comments on these topics.

415.740.8975 TEL 415.419.5926 FAX

www.jAnEELLison.com

‘Staging to Stay’Let’s use what you already have. with a designer’s eye, we'll transform your home. By rearranging furniture, adding the right color, or simply bringing in a cluster of pillows—we'll make your home feel fresh and new.

• Rearrange Existing Furniture• Re-hang Artwork

• Arrange Keepsakes into Collections• Offer Color Advice

• Improve LightingThe resulT: your “new” home for 2010!

6 S V N A C O M M u N I C ATO R J A N u A R Y / F E B R u A R Y 2 010

superVisor adams corner

Supervisor Susan L. Adams, RN, PhD 1st District, County of Marin

Supervisor adams, rick fraites and susan-nah clark wish you a Happy New Year! January 2010, provides us the opportunity

for a fresh start into a new decade, with chal-lenges ahead and much to accomplish.

Some things that have been in the pipeline have come to fruition, including the bike lane connecting central San Rafael with areas north along Los Ranchitos, the improvements to the Civic Center Lagoon playground, and the completion of the highway 101 HOV lane, 580 overpass and enhanced sound mitigation through the San Rafael corridor.

Some of the projects still in progress include: the CSA-18 has been developing the plans for the Pueblo Park playground improvements which will be implemented this year; the Army Corps of Engineers is moving forward on the levee study and County Flood Control Staff is working with the Advisory Board to prioritize the list of projects still needing to be done and to develop the funding mechanisms for repairs and upgrades to the flood zone system, which could include a voter initiative for a possible parcel assessment this year; and work is still being done in conjunction with State and Federal political and depart-mental entities to access funding to offset the costs to the community.

The 650 N. San Pedro Road EIR was presented to the Planning Com-mission. The commission sent it back to staff for further analysis because of deficiencies in the final report. Some members of the com-mission voiced their strong agreement with the comments raised by members of the Santa Venetia community that more studies need to be conducted. The Commission will need to finish their work before the issue comes to the Board of Supervisors, so the original time line has been adjusted (contact the Community Development Agency for an update on the scheduling).

The scoping session for the EIR for the Emergency Operations Facility (January 14) begins the full process for determining environmental issues and community concerns. Once a draft of the EIR is completed, the public will have an opportunity to weigh in and make further comments as to the completeness of the document. There will be many opportunities for the community to weigh in as planning for this project proceeds. If you are not already signed up to receive updates and notice, you may subscribe at: http://www.co.marin.ca.us/depts/AD/main/EOC/eochome.cfm.

Finally, I invite you to subscribe to my monthly email newsletter as we have timely news items and announcements of activities and projects relevant to our San Rafael neighborhoods and community. Go to: http://www.co.marin.ca.us/depts/BS/main/sups/sdistr1/index.cfm.

And don’t forget to check the G Channel on the county web for informative programs such as the leadership summit (12/10/09) and the discussions about the array of initiatives that will be coming to the voters in November and state governance issues that affect how local government provides services to our residents.

You can reach me by email, sclark@co.marin.ca.us, or through my aide, susannah clark, 499-7342. z

Flood Control Zone 7: New Tax Measure on June BallotBy Jeff Krupnick, Chair – FCZ#7 Advisory Board

The Santa Venetia (Zone 7) Advisory Board voted on January 12 to recommend to the Board of Supervisors of the Marin County Flood Control and Water Conservation District that a ballot measure be

placed in the June 8th election. If eventually approved by 2/3 of the voters in Zone 7, a special tax will be assessed on each of the 877 par-cels in the zone of $531 for each of the next ten years. Proceeds from the assessment will be used to fund the following projects:

$2.4 million for Pump Station 2 rehabilitation. This will give the »pump enough capacity to handle a 100 year flood event.

$500,000 for Estancia ditch Improvements. This project may line »the ditch and lower the current intake level at Pump Station #5 to improve drainage flow. This is a very preliminary proposal as several conditions must be investigated before a final proposal is ready.

$1.0 million for continued funding of the Las Gallinas Creek Levee »Feasibility Study with the Army Corps of Engineers

The previous Zone 7 Advisory Board meeting on January 5 was an informational meeting in which the various project options and tax schedules were presented by County Staff. At the conclusion of the meeting, a straw vote was taken of attendees and the above project combination and funding schedule was the majority’s choice.

The Board of Supervisors will consider the Advisory Board’s recom-mendation on March 9 and decide whether to proceed with the ballot measure. Contact susan adams with questions, comments or suggestions. The next meeting of the Zone 7 Advisory Board will be on February 2. z

Join the SVna toDay! Power in numbers – Regular $30 and Seniors $15 includes one-year Membership & 6 issues of The Communicator Newsletter!

(415) 472-589976 San Pablo Avenue, San Rafael

Mon-Fri 9:30am-7:30pm Saturday 9:30am-6:00pm

Venetia SalonHair • Nails • Spa • Facial Treatments

Men~Women~Children

Four ducks at their morning ablutions,

Bathing and preening,

Make ripples in still water.

Bring on the day! They are ready!

Prepared

Walking Santa Venetia | Poems by Pamela Wilding

S V N A C O M M u N I C ATO R J A N u A R Y / F E B R u A R Y 2 010 7

Email Your sRsd

Board members today!

A Tsunami of Development Threatens SVContinued from front page

community was never consulted about these sites. Most are vulnerable to flooding.

The Housing Element, at least as it is proposed for Santa Venetia, is ex-actly the type of planning that contributes to global warming. The sites are miles from any commercial development, hence not walkable. There is no public transit on weekends or evenings. Residents here are almost entirely car dependent. This will result in an increase in vehicle miles traveled (VMT), traffic, pollution and toxic run-off into our streams.

The Housing Element also conflicts with SB375, the new state law — often called the “climate change smart growth bill” — that calls for development to be concentrated within a one-half mile of a major transit corridor (in our case, Highway 101).

Furthermore, in spite of a big showing at the Planning Commission Housing Element hearing, Community Development Agency (CDA) staff disregarded community feedback regarding McPhail’s — even though the community, Supervisor susan adams and Marin County Parks and Open Space has been collaborating with WildCare on their plans to relocate to this site.

In November, neighborhood reps met with Brian crawford, the head of Marin County CDA, to discuss these issues. The meeting was some-what productive and the SVNA hopes to work more closely with CDA staff to identify more appropriate sites. However, the community may lose the old McPhail’s School, a precious resource that serves many functions: a flood holding basin, rare fresh water pond, etc.

McPhail’s School Site: lead agency - The san rafael school district (srsd). While the final decision is not yet in, the SRSD is nevertheless on track to reopen McPhail’s. This is almost mind bog-gling, given the 8am traffic problems in Santa Venetia. The expansion of Venetia Valley School, while wonderful in some respects, is the #1 contributor to the biggest neighborhood headache: morning traffic.

Nevertheless, SRSD management (the School Board and the Office of the Superintendent) has a tin ear when it comes to the environmental consequences/global warming/livability implications of their decisions.

A large number of children attending Venetia Valley come from outside the Santa Venetia neighborhood, resulting in an increase in VMT as the result of parents being forced to drive long distances. SRSD has failed to implement a meaningful car pool plan.

So far, the SRSD has not said whether they intend to conduct envi-ronmental studies and/or an EIR to consider the impacts of traffic, noise, and light, the disruption of our rare fresh water wetland, and the problem of asbestos contamination. As mentioned above, the SVNA has long hoped that Wildcare could relocate to McPhail’s. The SRSD has not worked in good faith with the community on this option.

The San rafael airport Sports Facility: lead agency - The city of san rafael. The Final Environmental Impact Report (FEIR) could be issued as early as this Spring. This project, in the middle of endangered Clapper Rail habitat, will light up our night sky until midnight, seven days a week. With maintenance, hours could extend into the early morning. Ear piercing whistles and thousands of cars per day will gen-erate excessive noise bouncing into homes of Santa Venetia residents living on the creek. Children will be playing within 100 feet of a runway that has been the site of several plane accidents just since 2003.

The City produced a specious Draft EIR Report in which hired guns “prove” that the many impacts and safety concerns of this project can be reduced to “less than significant.” 27 years ago, our former Supervi-sor Bob roumiguiere — nervous about the impact of high intensity development on adjacent parcels (now home to Autodesk, Embassy Suites and Marin Lagoon) — signed off on the Airport deed restrictions in order to protect the quality of life in the surrounding neighborhoods.

Bob’s legacy has been steadily eroded by City of San Rafael. The City Manager sent a cheerleading email to the Airport owners in support of the sports facility in advance of any neighborhood input. The project was presented as a done deal. Lately, activities that are inconsistent with the 2002 Master use Permit and the deed restrictions, includ-

ing antique car storage and large fundraisers, have been taking place openly at the Airport.

In the early 1990s the Airport owner unsuccessfully sued the City and the County in an attempt to break the deed restrictions and build hundreds of homes.

650 north San Pedro road: lead agency - county of Marin. The community has been fighting development of North San Pedro Ridge for more than 20 years. This proposal is the latest iteration. For reasons that are not entirely clear and over the stated objections of the neigh-borhood, County Community Development staff has lobbied heavily to subdivide this property and allow 12 homes plus 2 second units.

Generally, rezoning only happens where a clear community benefit can be shown. However, there is NO community benefit to this rezoning. ZERO. On the contrary, the project will result in a near clear cutting of the site (200 trees), destroying the Blue Heron nesting site. Homes will encroach on the wetland, in violation of Countywide Plan setback rules. Trucks will rumble up and down NSPR, hauling dirt. NSPR will be realigned. A Marin County planner has actually stated on the record that rezoning to higher density “never happens” here in the County. So, we have to ask, why is something that “never happens” in the County, happening here?

The FEIR calls all of this destruction and degradation the “environmen-tally superior alternative” to the current zoning. The SVNA strenuously objects to the rezoning as unnecessary and without any community benefit.

To their credit, some Marin County Planning Commissioners felt staff played fast and loose with the facts. Commissioner don dickenson slammed the no project alternative — a highly misleading scenario of what might happen if the land is not rezoned, and used as a scare tactic by staff — as self-serving for the benefit of the proposed project and not thoroughly analyzed in the EIR.

Commissioner Wade Holland was miffed that staff would allow en-croachment on the wetland setbacks. Paraphrasing his response: “It’s a subdivision! You can draw the lines anywhere you want!” The rezoning will set a precedent for future exploitation and development. Land-owners may soon demand the same consideration.

Many in the neighborhood thought the FEIR and the Amended FEIR were dismissive of community concerns and derisive of submitted comments.

The Marin Jcc use Permit is coming up for renewal. The JCC and/or affiliates recently acquired properties adjacent to the JCC. It’s not known why the JCC acquired these properties. Nor is it known what the JCC may propose in the use permit. The JCC properties are appropriate, however, for housing and lay within the one-half mile limit required by SB375.

What you can do: Write Supervisor susan adams. Thank her for her support. Susan is working closely with the neighborhood on 650 NSPR. Susan spoke on our behalf before the SRSD board several years ago, so urge her to work with the community to rewrite the Housing Element.

Contact the SRSD and tell them what you think about the expansion of schools in our area. urge them to allow WildCare to acquire the school. Tell them, because of the impacts, they must conduct a full EIR if they intend to re-open McPhail’s School. Here are the email addresses of SRSD Board members:

Linda Jackson: ljackson@srcs.orgPaul Cohen: pmcohen@srcs.orgGreg Knell: gknell@srcs.orgJon Loberg: jloberg@srcs.orgNatu Tuatagaloa ntuatagaloa@srcs.org

Let the City of San Rafael know what you think of illegal uses at the Airport. Tell the City to honor the deed restrictions, enforce the use permit, and play fair. Contact: Bob Brown, Bob.Brown@cityofsan rafael.org and Paul Jensen, Paul.Jensen@cityofsanrafael.org. z

8 S V N A C O M M u N I C ATO R J A N u A R Y / F E B R u A R Y 2 010

Venetia Valley ReflectionsBy Christine Gabbard

The Venetia Valley PTA was very excited to introduce “Reflections” the PTA’s National Art program at Venetia Valley this year. All

students (K-8) were invited to create an original piece of visual art or photography relating to this year’s theme: “Beauty is…”.

Congratulations to the following students whose art work/photographs placed 1st, 2nd, 3rd or Honorable Mention among the Venetia Valley competition and went to compete against other Marin County schools at the district level Reflections competition: ian Buczynski, suzette Gonzalez, Melisa Briceno, evan Gabbard, elsa dunn, hanna da-balos, aidan cariadus, Gabriella elias, Melissa caballero, Marcus Perkins, and Gabriela reales.Thank you to ALL the students who participated! We had 45 amazingly beautiful, creative, gorgeous and fascinating entries this year, our first year participating in the program. Since it was such a success and so much fun our first time around, we’re excited to see what our students can accomplish in next year’s program. z

...It’s all in the eye of the beholderBy Linda Levey

“This piece represents a ribbon nailed to an imaginary wall in the sky, flowing downward. The physical dynamics involve oblique suspension of elevated masses, counter to more conventional symmetrical designs with obvious support systems.”

Imagine my surprise when we met with neighbors at McPhail’s School site and found the sculpture we love so much is considered a monstrosity by some…but as one neighbor said, “Artwork is so

subjective.”

But, since I found out a little about the history of this sculpture, from neighbor Peter Gottschalk, I’ve been meaning to put something in the newsletter. The following is what I learned from Peter:

The sculptor’s name is robert W. ellison, of Penngrove, CA. The name of the sculpture is "Four Times Daily" (1978) and was on display at Civic Center Plaza in San Francisco before being moved to the “China Camp Design Center” (McPhail’s School Site). The sculpture, along with his other works, is pictured in the “Gallery” on his website at www.robertellison.com.

Recently, we’ve found the sculpture highlighted on other web pages. According to “slyder24”, Mr. Ellison is working on getting it a home on the campus of Sonoma State university, but that it may take a year or two. Following are links for those who are interested in learning more:

http://www.moremarin.com/buzzhome/2009/11/ somewhere-in-marin.html#more

http://slyder24.wordpress.com/2009/07/15/ a-sculpture-called-four-times-daily/ z

Artwork...

Venetia Valley Education Foundation

A great school makes a great community! Please support the Venetia Valley Education Foundation (VVEF) in its effort to help our local school. For more information visit www.vvef .

org. Thanks for your support! z

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Thank You Supervisor AdamsBy Linda Levey

On January 11, a small group of SVNA members met with our District 1 Supervisor, susan adams. Various topics of interest to the neighborhood were discussed and we all came away with,

I believe, a grasp of how we can better work together to achieve our goals. Thanks to Susan Adams for taking time to meet with us and to Jonathan Metcalf & shelley sweet, Giselle Block, robert dobrin, art reichert, and Mary hanley for spending yet another evening problem-solving for their community, Santa Venetia. We look forward to working with Susan in the upcoming year. z

Why Join the SVNA?

it's a great organization for a great neighbor-hood. - RoBeRT doBRiN

Help Venetia Valley Raise Moneybring recyling every Friday to the Venetia Valley Parking Lot next to the Gymnasium! Bring Plastic Bottles with a CRV label, Aluminum Cans with CRV imprint, Glass Bottles with CRV label. No Wine Bottles or Plastic Containers.

All proceeds support Safe Routes to Schools, Green Team, Parent Teachers Assoc., SELAC (One Green Falcon Card Given to Those Partici-pants in this Program Each Week.)

Save campbell Soup Labels and General Mills box tops! If you use General Mills products (Box Tops for Education) or Campbell Soups (Labels for Education), save them and then drop them off at the Venetial Valley School Main Office at 177 N. San Pedro Road.

S V N A C O M M u N I C ATO R J A N u A R Y / F E B R u A R Y 2 010 9

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San Rafael, CA 94903 email: info@flooronline.com Web: www.flooronline.com

“Don’t Forget” Join the eGroup for current SVNA and

Neighborhood info. Get emails with calendar info and updates.

http://groups.yahoo.com/group/SV-Community and check out our

website at www.thesvna.org

MCCVC Promotes Pit Parking Lot for Safety BuildingBy Mary Lou King, Marin Civic Center Vision Committee

On January 14, the Marin County Community Development Agency conducted a public scoping meeting concerning the Draft Environmental Impact Report for the proposed Emergency

Operations Facility (EOF). This meeting allowed the public to address any issues that may be of concern for this proposed project. There will be future meetings.

Since November 2005 when Marin County made a Power Point pre-sentation to the community and presented the proposed site of the EOF, there has been much talk and action by the public as well as the people living in the neighborhood. It has been pointed out constantly that the Lagoon Park parking lot on the east side of Civic Center Drive is not the most appropriate location. The County was urged to look into other possibilities.

The presentation stated the county had considered five sites. The Lagoon park site which included the Jury parking lot, Petanque courts, and Field of Dogs Park was chosen as the best potential site. There were no comparative studies of the sites. The Heller Manus Report in 2002 established any of the five sites would accommodate the EOF. Two of the five possible sites have since been allocated to other uses: the old Law Library site is now the home for 82 condominiums, and the Christmas Tree Lot site has been offered to the Farmers’ Market as a permanent market. The only other site to be considered for a comparative study would be the Pit parking lot site, the location Frank Lloyd Wright had proposed for any future administration buildings.

The MCCVC is requesting the Marin County Community Development Agency consider the Pit parking lot site as the comparative study site for the DEIR. We are asking the people of Santa Venetia to attend these important meetings and help bring this proposal, as well as any other issues concerning the DEIR and this project, forward.

The next EOF meeting will be held on February 9, 7-8:30pm at the Marin Center's Showcase Theatre. z

San Rafael Airport - Emergency Repairs at the Levees & MoreBy Mary Hanley

In September and October of this year, the Marin County Department of Public Works (DPW) made emergency repairs to the levees at the eastern portion of San Rafael Airport to damages caused by gopher

incursions. Observers in Santa Venetia watched as hundreds of dump truck loads of material from unknown sources were deposited at the airport. The perimeter levees at the airport are now large enough to drive on.

An access road on San Rafael Airport property was also enlarged at County expense. According to DPW sources, no permits were neces-sary because of the emergency repair nature of the work. DPW staffer Tracy clay was questioned about the cost and scope of the work on January 5. Ms Clay elaborated that the repairs were completed for “about $10,000” and that the repairs were done to levees which were on County-owned land. However, parcel maps show that the area in question is owned by the State of California and not by the County of Marin. Adding to ownership confusion are over a dozen “No Trespass-ing” signs atop the repaired levees stating that the land is property of the San Rafael Airport. This is the second emergency repair to levees in this area in less than three years. In November of 2006 there was a partial levee failure necessitating emergency repairs. At that time, DPW Director farhad Mansourian attributed that failure to poor maintenance by the County.

The San Rafael Airport recently held an event with over 200 people in recently completed “Hangar One” which also houses the airport’s administration office. Another event in conjunction with the Rotary Club is scheduled at Hangar One for February. In May they have an-other event scheduled — publicity flyers advertise a demonstration of aerial acrobatics. The City of San Rafael has acknowledged that these events are not allowed under the Airport’s current use permit and notified airport management that they would need a revision to their use permit for such events. The aerial acrobatics would be governed by the Federal Aviation Administration although the plane involved would need to be registered at the San Rafael airport if the plane takes off or lands at the private airport.

In November of 2009, Airport Manager robert herbst stated at a Las Gallinas Valley Sanitary District Board meeting that responses to com-ments made to the Draft EIR for the proposed Airport Sports facility were at least six months away. z

10 S V N A C O M M u N I C ATO R J A N u A R Y / F E B R u A R Y 2 010

Land use update aKeep an eye on the egroup for up-to-the-minute information…

This is a list of current and ongoing projects that we are aware of in Santa Venetia. Now is the time to get involved, before the projects are built, not after. If you have an interest in the outcome of any

of these building projects, and you should, please contact the SVNA Land use Committee and/or the appropriate parties:

33 San Pablo. Neighborhood Contact: Jon Mosher, jonm@rosenthalco.com

650 north San Pedro road. 12 + 2 units proposed. Marin County Contact: Jeremy Tejirian, Marin County Planning. SVNA Contact: Mary hanley, maryinmarin@comcast.net. FEIR was released. Marin County Planning held a public hearing Dec. 14, 2009. Further informa-tion requested and new meeting to be agendized. See article page 10.

900 bayhills Drive, San rafael. Contact: neal osborne, Planner, Marin County Planning.

hamilton Wetlands restoration Project. Automatic Transfer Facility (“The Pit”). For information: http://www.hamiltonwetlands.org. DEIR was released. Public Meeting was held 11/08. The FEIR was to be finished in mid-2009 and, if approved, the ATF would be constructed in 2010, but haven’t heard further.

Old McPhail‘s School Site. SVNA Contact: linda levey, linda@goagil.com. Discussions have stalled between the SVNA, McPhail’s Working Group, San Rafael School District, Marin County, and interested parties. See articles on pages 7 and 11.

Oxford Valley. Montessori School. Marin County Contact: Thomas lai, Marin County Planning. SVNA Contact: Mark Wallace, mark.t.wallace@gmail.com. Montessori School closed escrow on property purchase in July 2008 and is now going through County use Permit process.

Public Safety building/Operations Facility at Marin civic center. Contact: susan adams, District 1 Supervisor or susannah clark, Aide to the Supervisor. Notice of Preparation of EIR was issued Oct. 2009. Scoping meeting was held 1/14/10. See article on page 9.

San rafael airport/Soccer complex/recreational Facility. San Rafael Contact: Kraig Tambornini, Planning, City of San Rafael. SVNA Contact: Mary feller, maryflr@comcast.net. The DEIR was released. San Rafael Planning Commission Meeting was held 5/12/09. Expect FEIR to be finalized and released soon. See articles pages 7 and 9. Further information can be found at www.gallinascreek.org. z

Why Join the SVNA?

To improve the quality of life in your commu-nity and, don't forget, part of your membership fee goes to maintaining our medians!

- NANNi WuRl

Update on the 650 N. San Pedro Road Development and EIRBy Jonathan Metcalf

Community alert! On December 14, 2009, a public hearing was held at the Civic Center with the Marin County Planning Com-mission to review the Final Environmental Impact Report for the

650 North San Pedro development project near China Camp State Park. For over 6 years, developer West Bay Builders has proposed to build 12 homes and 2 second units on the 5-lot property at 650 NSPR and is asking the County to rezone and subdivide the property to suit their plans. The public hearing was to determine if the Planning Com-mission would approve of the EIR and recommend it to the Board of Supervisors for certification, which would move the project forward and closer to approval. After several hours of public testimony, which included a handful of members of the Santa Venetia community who spoke about the flaws in the EIR, such as incomplete analysis and inadequacy in responding to community concerns, the Planning Commission did not get enough votes to approve the EIR. Instead, the Commissioners asked that several problems with the analysis and project presentation in the EIR be corrected before it will be reviewed again by the Planning Commission.

Special thanks goes to everyone who attended the hearing, and in particular to Mary feller and robert dobrin who worked long hours to produce and make a presentation at the hearing of our worsening traffic situation on North San Pedro Road. After the six-minute pre-sentation, two of the Commissioners thanked the community for this presentation in helping them understand our traffic issues.

The Marin Community Development Agency anticipated that the Planning Commission would vote to recommend the Final EIR and even scheduled a workshop to review and discuss the next steps of the project the same day. Instead, the public hearing calendar for this project is currently on hold, but that does not mean the developer or project is going away. Our community must be more diligent and ready to work together in assessing and agreeing on what is the best use of this beautiful, rural property on the edge of parkland, and ready to oppose any plan otherwise.

If you are concerned about development at 650 North San Pedro Road and want to donate to the legal fund or get involved, please contact Mary hanley at maryinmarin@comcast.net

Why Join the SVNA?

it's the least you can do! - MARY hANleY

MARiN COUNTy NON-EMERGENCy NUMBERS:Sheriff's (Streets/Neighborhoods) 479-2311Rangers (Parks/Marsh) 499-6405San Rafael Police 485-3000San Rafael Fire Dept. 485-3300

S V N A C O M M u N I C ATO R J A N u A R Y / F E B R u A R Y 2 010 11

Santa Venetia Crimes for November ’09Marin County Sheriff’s Department Crime Analysis Unit • 415-499-7307Prepared by susan Medina • smedina@marinsheriff.orgThis report is based on the crimes reported during the month. Please note that some crimes are not reported and some may prove to be unfounded

Not in My Neighborhood, You Don’t! If you witness someone dumping garbage or doing “donuts” in or around our intersections; too many parked and/or abandoned cars; or suspicious persons, vehicles, or activities – CALL!!!Marin County Sheriff’s NON-EMERGENCY number: 479-2311

It Takes a Village to Age in PlaceBy Elaine Reichert

As many of us grow older, we wonder if we’ll be able to stay in our own homes. Some years ago, folks in the Beacon Hill area of Boston solved this issue by creating a Virtual Village to provide

the services that enable seniors to age safely in their own homes.

This Village concept is spreading like wildfire across the country. Here in our county, the Marin Village is taking shape. For a moderate annual membership fee, participants receive access to safe, affordable ser-vices. Transportation, home helpers, social activities and case manage-ment are just some of the benefits of membership.

If you’d like to help create a Village for Santa Venetia, please contact elaine reichert, 472-6143. z

New McPhail Developments By Jonathan Metcalf, Co-Chair – McPhail’s Working Group, SVNA

Community alert! After years of little-to-no activity at the abandoned John McPhail School toward the east end of Santa Venetia, both the San Rafael School District and the Marin County

Housing Element expressed interest in new uses for the property in the Fall of 2009. First, without notice to the community, the Marin County Housing Element added the McPhail property at 1565 Vendola Drive to its list of Available Land Inventory for development of affordable hous-ing in unincorporated Marin.

A group of Santa Venetia residents attended the last Housing Element workshop with the Planning Commission in 2009 to state concerns and reasons why McPhail’s, along with 650 North San Pedro Road, and two other properties on North San Pedro Road and Roosevelt Street, should not be on the list. The housing element lists potential capacity for affordable housing at McPhail’s at 40 units, 650 North San Pedro at 12 units, the North San Pedro property across from La Brea Street at 7 units, and the property on Roosevelt at one unit. unfortunately, the Planning Commission did not agree with our concerns and instead voted to keep all properties on the Draft Housing Element, which has since been sent to the State for review. Hous-ing Element meetings will resume in 2010, so please plan to attend if you are interested.

Also in the Fall, the San Rafael School District sent out a letter to the community that they are assessing the possibility of reopening the McPhail site as a school in response to rising student enrollment. Just before Christmas, work crews arrived at the school to open

up the boarded-up doors and hauled away over 8 large debris boxes of equipment that was being stored inside. A group of concerned residents sent notifications to the SRSD, which responded that no decisions have yet been made, but they are working to clean out the buildings in preparation for repairs and hazardous waste removal in February, 2010. For this reason, if you live or travel near the school, or have children that play in the area, take extra precaution if you see work crews present to avoid exposure to any harmful products, such as asbestos or lead.

As you remember, the community was working with Marin Parks & Recreation and WildCare of San Rafael to provide a permanent location for WildCare at McPhail’s. While those plans have not been completely abandoned, the possibility of seeing WildCare in our neigh-borhood is dimming due to these new developments. We will continue to work with Supervisor, susan adams to first remove the McPhail property from the Housing Element list, especially since the SRSD is assessing the re-use of the site and therefore McPhail has no reason to be on the list, and second to work with the SRSD to develop a sound, reasonable, and best use of the school site in light of our ongo-ing traffic, flooding and over development problems in Santa Venetia.

If you are concerned about these new developments and want to get involved, please contact linda levey, Co-Chair, McPhail’s Working Group, SVNA, at linda@goagil.com.. z

Nature of Crime No. Reports Street DescriptionAssist Other Agency 1 Meadow Drive Assault 2 N San PedroResidential Burglary 1 Vendola garage door priedDomestic Violence 1 N San PedroDrugs 1 AdrianDanger to Self 3 Vendola; N San PedroMiscellaneous Penal Code 1 N San Pedro knife found on personTheft 3 N San Pedro; Adrian from locker room locker; iPhone from school, stereo from vehicleVehicle Abatement 1 Rincon WayVandalism 1 Rosal Way convertible auto roof slashedVehicle Code Violation 1 N San PedroStolen Vehicle Recovered 1 N San Pedro

McPhail’s School Cleanup - top. Note gas masks in use - bottom.

J A N u A R Y / F E B R u A R Y 2 010Santa Venetia Neighborhood Association P.O. Box 4047, San Rafael, CA 94913-4047 • www.thesvna.org

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Join the SVNA Today! Membership and Newsletter Subscription Regular $30 per year • Senior $15 per year. Power in Numbers!

neighborLy notes

Compiled by Linda Levey

from linda leveyGaspare’s Pizzeria is the Place to Go… for a wonderful meal AND to benefit the SVNA for “ANYTIME DINING — any day, any night, lunch, dinner, to go — whatever!” The next time you are too tired to cook, need a special night out, are ready to celebrate, and/or have a yen for some excellent Italian food or pizza: order in or order out at Gaspare’s Pizzeria. And remember, mention the “SVNA” and they’ll donate 15% of your meal ticket to our neighborhood. A big THANK YOu to Gaspare, robin and danny!Jessie Feller is off on a dancer’s journey. She wrote that we can follow her on her blog: http://eatdancelove.blogspot.com. “Keeping you connected first on the journey through Latin America, and then on to Asia.”

from norma novyQigong continues indoors, meeting every Thursday morning from 10-11am. Cost is $10. Say hello to your SV neighbors while gently energizing your body, mind and spirit! We are moving indoors while weather is cold and wet. Call Norma at 499-9409 for info and indoor rain location, or email her at normanovy@comcast.net.

Vendola neighbors Mary carol Winkler & Jon curtis did a 6-week bicycle tour from Vienna to Amsterdam last Fall. Check out their web-site to follow their trip in a photo/map essay, www.joncu@roguenet.org. They've been seeking out other Class One Off Road Bicycle Paths in the Bay Area to continue the adventure. Mary Carol offers therapu-tic massages and facials at her studio on Vendola Drive.

from rev. John surinchakThe Lord’s Supper. Join RevJohn for services on the 1st & 3rd Saturday evenings at Santa Venetia Ministries. For location and more information, call rev. John surinchak 246-1114.

from Vicki sturialecoyote sightings in SV. I am not sure if there has been any "buzz" about this, but there have been sightings of a coyote on Vendola and in Castro Field. With all of our wonderful pets roaming around, especially the cats and smaller dogs, we need to be careful. To be safe, bring your pets in at dusk and keep them in during the night.

from Mark Wallacecoyotes are all over! One barked at my daughter and I as we were hiking behind the Santa Venetia Swim Club today. There are three sib-lings about two years old that spend a lot of time in Oxford Valley and the open space behind the Swim Club and JCC. They wander into the neighborhoods at night. I see them a lot, hear them every night and actually recognize their voices now. z

Take Time to Be a FriendBy Alison Fuller, Friends of the Civic Center Library

How many quotations about friendship can you think of? “A friend in need is a friend indeed” comes readily to mind, and it certainly applies to our local library, the Civic Center Branch of the Marin

County Free Library. It is there when you need its resources for home-work help, job hunting, information or entertainment, and, as the name suggests, it’s all free.

With state and local budgets in meltdown, however, library services are under constant threat, and the roles are reversed: Our library is in need of friends, and you can easily become one by joining the Friends of the Civic Center Library. I’ll tell you how in a minute.

The Friends of the Civic Center Library was organized 10 years ago this May in response to a proposal to close the branch. Since then. through our dues and fundraising, we have contributed over $40,000 to our library to purchase books, periodicals, CDs, videos and DVDs, historical documents for the California Room and much more. In addition, we make possible special events such as children’s entertain-ments and teen workshops. The recent puppet show was paid for by a donation from one very generous Friend, but most of our funds are raised from our modest dues ($15 and up) plus our members’ work at the annual Super Sale of used books and our monthly staffing of the Book Place in Novato.

By joining the Friends you can become “a friend indeed” to your li-brary. And by volunteering a bit of your time, you can also be a much-needed friend to the Friends. Here’s a list of ways to help:

Design and maintain our bulletin board in the library. »Write text for the website for Friends of the Civic Center Library »and keep it up to date.

Write a Friends newsletter; fold and label newsletters for mailing. »Help recruit new members at library events or through groups you »belong to.

Help with phoning to current members and volunteers. »Help with publicity and/or fundraising. »Volunteer to work at the Super Sale in the Armory the last weekend »in March.

Volunteer for one three-hour shift per month at the Book Place. »Whatever your level of Friendship, we welcome your contribution. You can pick up a dues envelope in the library (on the shelf on your right as you enter from the elevator, below the bulletin board that needs someone’s TLC) or contact one of us: cathy lynch, 507-0634, calynchcpa@comcast.net or alison fuller, 492-3439, alisoncfuller@gmail.com. Help us make 2010 a Year of Friendship for our Civic Cen-ter Library! z