I've been helping to fight the city council's plan to convert 1400+ acres of restorable wetlands in Redwood City. As a fly fisher and supporter of the environment, I am appalled at the level of greed and short-sightedness being demonstrated by my city. We don't need more condos, we don't need more development, and we certainly don't need any of it here, on the banks of the bay. What we need HERE are wetlands, protection from floods, habitat for wildlife and a healthier ecosystem for our damaged watershed.
Even if we didn't need all of those things, which we do, we simply cannot afford the water and electricity needs of such a massive project. Remember the electrical shortages that resulted in brown-outs? Would you welcome water rationing? You might not think about it now that it's fall and the rainy season, but come summer, we will all remember what that pain feels like.
The city is chasing money, pure and simple. Cargill and the developers won't be around later to reap the ecological rewards of such a misguided plan, and even if they are they'll be too busy counting their money to care.
For a while, it seemed the misinformation campaign they were running was winning, they won at the ballot box by confusing the voters. But now people are discovering how truly awful this plan is and they are starting to do something about it.
I am, and you can too:
Spread the word.
Dear karen,
We are glad to report that there is a growing rebellion against Cargill's plan to build a city in San Francisco Bay. We wanted to update you on these developments and ask for your continued support in protecting the 1433 acres of restorable wetlands in Redwood City.
In an important opinion piece in the Palo Alto Weekly, Palo Alto City Council member Yoriko Kishimoto calls out Cargill's plan as a grave threat to the Peninsula's future: "A proposed development in Redwood City so breathtaking in its size and misguided in its scope that nothing of its kind has been seen in half a century." She points out that "this is not an infill site and this is not the place for housing."
And the Redwood City Daily News recently reported that the Menlo Park City Council is moving to declare the project an environmental hazard to the region. Menlo Park Council Members Kelly Fergusson and Andrew Cohen agree that "the current Cargill/DMB development proposal seeks to reverse long-standing regional and local policies to protect the Bay and its wetlands."
Meanwhile, in an opinion piece published in the Redwood City Daily News Redwood City resident Marsha Cohen expressed concern that the city "is stonewalling requests for public records." She points out that the mayor works for business lobbyist SAMCEDA, a strong public supporter of the Cargill development. Ms. Cohen wants to know what advice was given to the mayor about the conflict of interest.
You can join these Peninsula leaders in the battle to save the Redwood City salt ponds. Please write letters to the editor in response to these pieces, expressing your own opinion:
letters@dailynewsgroup.com
Palo Alto Weekly letters can be sent to:
letters@paweekly.comCurrently, the Redwood City Council is spending hundreds of thousands of dollars to determine whether Cargill's application should move forward. Clearly, many leaders on the Peninsula have found a much cheaper answer: It should be dead on arrival.
Go to www.savesfbay.org/redwoodcity for more information and to sign our petition, and stay tuned for more interesting updates.
Sincerely,
Stephen Knight
Save The Bay Political Director
510.452.9261
We saved our vacation until the very last possible minute, less than two weeks before the girls had to go back to school. by waiting so long we also shortened it, but we still managed to 1) see places we'd never seen before and 2) spend quality time with my wonderful sister.
We decided to take Gringo with us this time, which added a little complexity, but not nearly as much as we'd feared. He's great in the car and in the hotel room too. He was just happy to be with us.
The full Flickr set is here. The pictures of the kids are protected but if you're my friend, request to see them and I'll let you!
I can't believe my little baby is in first grade! I still can't wrap my mind around having her gone all day every day! It is going to be an adjustment for everyone. I know Tyler and Sophie will miss her as much as I do.
We met her teacher at back to school night and it was terrific (see note and candy from her teacher below)! Meeting her, picking her seat, meeting some of the girls from class all changed Emma from a once reticent and nervous girl into an excited and enthusiastic "big" girl.
I felt strange packing her lunch this morning. This will be the first time she will be in charge of her own eating. No one will be there to make sure she eats her sandwich and carrots before she eats all the Pirot's Booty! But I am taking a deep breath, hoping/knowing that it will be fine. Whatever happens, she will be fine. I have to believe it. It is only 8:30 and I miss her already! Ok, now I am sad.
Here she is on the bus this morning with her friend and 3rd grade neighbor, Jenna!
It is too sunny! - And maybe she is a little overdressed for the 57 degree morning - but I didn't want her to be cold on the bus!! It is going to be in the 80s today, so hopefully the coat will come home in her backpack!
Have a good day, baby! I love you!
My grandmother (Memaw) just turned 90. It is amazing to think that she was born in 1919! The things she has seen: the people, the wars, the technology... the journey is incredible to imagine. She has been either very lucky (or very unlucky - I can't decide) that her mind has remained very sharp through the years. The girl remembers everything!! She used to love to tell stories of the past and we would all hang on her every word, knowing she was the only person in the world who could tell that story about our family. When she is gone, so will her stories be...forever gone. It is sad to imagine.
So on this momentous occasion, Dave, the kids, my sister, and her kids made the trip to Utah where Memaw and my dad live to visit her and take her out on her big day. It was great to see everyone.
Although in some ways she is still herself - in many ways, she is not. Her vision has deteriorated to the point where she can only see shadows. Her hearing loss makes it difficult to participate in fluid conversation. Her body has weakened to the point where she needs a full time wheelchair and oxygen. It was hard for me to engage, but I did my best. But while I struggled, I was surprised to see how Sophie managed to break in and seemed to just steal her heart. Ever the charmer, she hung out with Memaw a lot - playing with her hands, her jewelry, her wheelchair, and playing simple body part naming games. I know it made Memaw happy and it made me happy too. Children are such an amazing gift!
At the end of our weekend, we were puting Memaw back in the car. As we were saying our goodbyes, I could see that she was starting to cry. She looked at me with her foggy, teary eyes and said "I have a good family." I agreed, and felt the happy sadness she felt. I love her. Happy 90th Memaw!
This year we had planned to stay close to home for our vacation. Not really by choice, but as dictated by the economy. It was the prudent thing to do. But as the time got closer to us picking our destination, we couldn't help but be drawn back to the idea of the beach, the heat, and the fun of Mexico. As we began looking at vacation packages, it became evident that there was, indeed, an upside to the H1N1 virus: vacations to Mexico had become very affordable; it was almost cheaper for us to be there than at home! We booked 7 nights in the Riviera Maya, an hour south of Cancun. We stayed at the Grand Paladium White Sands, which was beautiful. The atmosphere was great, the pools were great, the beach was great, and the food was terrific. It was an all inclusive - so the kids and I got to fulfill our dream of desert with every meal!! Thankfully, the property was huge, so we walked off all of the extra calories. We had a terrific time!
I posted most of the picts on Shutterfly. http://kapolnekvacation2009.shutterfly.com/
Can't wait to go back!!
I've been talking and Twittering and Facebooking quite a bit lately about my summer project, a rewards site I've been building with some friends. Now that it's alive and working, I want to share it with you and get your feedback.
If you've never used a rewards site in the past, you really should give it a try. I didn't know this until recently, but rewards sites can do a good job of aggregating some of the best deals on the Internet. With the economy the way it is, it seems that suddenly I'm paying very close attention to the price of every little thing. Using rewards sites, especially ones that offer coupons in addition to cash back, has saved my family some real money. Just the other day I saved over $300 buying business cards for the fly shop and that doesn't even count the reward money I earned in the process.
LiliDeals is the newest and most exciting (I know, I know, I'm officially going over the top now but I can't help myself, I'm excited about my little project) entry in the rewards business and I hope you will give us a try and let me know what you think. Feedback is very important at this stage and while I've learned some good things from a few insider friends, I need to open the circle, so the rest of you can open my eyes even wider. You can leave your feedback through the site, as comments to this post, or by private Vox messaging. No matter what form your feedback takes, please know that I am grateful to you for taking the time to check out LiliDeals and give me your opinion. Thank you!
Cassandre lost a tooth at fish camp and came home with it in her pocket. Juju lost her second tooth today. Which makes it a busy week for the tooth fairy and it's costing me a bundle.
I have a checkered career as a tooth fairy. I don't make a very good Easter Bunny or Valentine, either. Thankfully I'm not a bad Santa Claus or there'd be no good holiday around here. It's not hard to be a good Santa as long as you bring presents. While the job sometimes requires assembly, it also requires cookies and milk. It's hard to complain about cookies and milk even at 2am on Christmas Eve.
But to be a tooth fairy requires skill.
The first is memory, something that fades over time, just when you need it the most. Not only do you have to remember that there is a tooth under a pillow somewhere, but you have to remember it during the day so you are sure to have $5 in hand for later. Then you have to remember again that night, after the little children and your obligations have you exhausted and wishing only for sleep. Finally you have to remember which child actually lost the tooth.
You need cat-like stealth. Children who have lost a tooth do not sleep soundly. They are determined to catch the tooth fairy in the act and make sure that, contrary to what their friends have said, the tooth fairy is not you. Any movement, like say a hand sweeping under their pillow looking for a tooth or leaving money, is likely to rouse them from a dead sleep.
Which leads to stamina. In order not to be caught you will have to stay up late, because little children who have lost a tooth cannot be trusted to sleep, even when they look like they're sleeping. They close their eyes and fake it so they can finally witness the magical exchange of teeth for money.
You need to be creative in order to answer questions like "Why does the tooth fairy want MY teeth anyway? What does she DO with them?" Later the questions get tougher: "Why do you have teeth in your jewelry box? Whose tooth IS that? IS IT MINE?" That's right, little children love to snoop and little girl children love nothing more than to snoop in their mama's jewelry box.
Last night's tooth fairy mission was a total FAIL. Cassandre put her tooth under her pillow and the tooth fairy forgot to come. Cassandre woke up, grabbed the tooth, wiggled it at me and announced with a big smile "You owe me five bucks." Underneath that statement was the understanding that Juju could never find out the truth. I say when you're old enough to blackmail the tooth fairy you're old enough to do laundry and get a real job.
Tonight the stakes are even higher than usual. First because of the previous night's failure, and also because Juju did a test run with the tooth fairy last night in the form of a written tattle. She left a note for the tooth fairy letting her know that her friend Midori left a paper cutout of a tooth under her pillow and the tooth fairy left money for her the next morning. This has offended Juju's sense of right and wrong and her note said:
Dear Tooth Fairy,
Do you know that Midori tricked you?
From Juliette
This morning Juju awoke to a note from the tooth fairy effectively telling her (nicely) to mind her own business. This afternoon the tooth that's been dangling from her gum finally fell out.
Wish me luck.
