Monthly Archives: February 2018
NEXT MEETING: March 2, 2018Richmond Art Center: Past, Present and Future
Ric Ambrose, Executive Director of the Richmond Art Center is back to talk about the progress and community impact the Art Center has made over the past five years and its plans for the next five years. For over 80 years the Richmond Art Center strives to be a unique place “where one can rekindle the youthful discovery of art making; where lifelong learning is the norm rather than a privilege, and where one finds an emerging environment to expand one’s horizon and have fun”. MEETING OF February 23, 2018WelcomeSid Chauvin’s Thought for the Day…”There is not a right way to do a wrong thing”. President Connie Treat presided over the meeting. She invoked attendees to call out the Rotary four way test:
Visiting Rotarians and GuestsShana Bagley welcomed her friends Kimberly Paternoster and Pam DeWitt, who came to hear Bruce Bayaert’s report on the Bay Trail. AnnouncementsStacey Street has been the Program Chair for four years, arranging the weekly speakers Rotarians and guests that all of us enjoy hearing. She thanked Rotarians who’ve contributed ideas for speakers. But despite the valuable help from other members, sometimes she faces gaps in the speaker schedule. Therefore, she again encourages Rotarians to submit ideas to her for future speakers. Darlene Drapkin will be assisting Stacey to provide a well-rounded program throughout the year. RecognitionsHappy and Sad DollarsNorm’s NonsensePROGRAM
Richmond has 34 miles of Bay Trail in place, representing almost 10% of the 350 miles completed of the 500-mile path. Richmond has the most waterfront miles of Contra Costa County. There are great sites along the trail, including Rosie the River Museum and Marina Bay. Despite having more Bay Trail completed than any other city in the nine-county Bay Area, 8.5 miles of gaps remain. Nine projects are underway with a promise to complete more than five miles of new Bay Trail in Richmond by the end of 2018, as well as 4.3 miles across the Richmond/San Rafael (RSR) Bridge. This one is controversial because it removes car lanes. Advances made during the first half of 2017 include: 1.9 miles of trail built, 1.7 miles under construction, 2.5 miles being designed, $976,000 grant awarded for construction. They continue to apply for more grants to add to the Bay Trail to hopefully complete by 2020. On the upcoming ballot, you’ll be able to vote on two measures that support the Bay Trails. - Darlene Drapkin, “Rotating Editor” |
NEXT MEETING: February 23, 2018Rolling out the Bay Trail in Richmond!
Richmond now has 34 miles of Bay Trail in place, representing almost 10% of the 350 miles completed of the 500-mile path. Despite having more Bay Trail completed than any other city in the nine-county Bay Area, 8.5 miles of gaps remain. Nine projects now underway promise to complete more than five miles of new Bay Trail in Richmond by the end of 2018, as well as 4.3 miles across the Richmond/San Rafael (RSR) Bridge. Advances made during the first half of 2017 include: 1.9 miles of trail built, 1.7 miles under construction, 2.5 miles being designed, $976,000 grant awarded for construction. To download a high-resolution version of the map on the right, visit http://www.pointrichmond.com/baytrail/ MEETING OFWelcomePresident Connie Tritt welcomed the group. Henry Moe led the Pledge; Herb Cole led the invocation with a prayer for peace, freedom and justice on Earth. Sid Chauvin’s Thought for the Day…”If you think healthcare is expensive now, just wait until it’s free!!” (Just to set the record straight, nearly 3.4 million previously uninsured Californians now have health care coverage through Covered California. Think about that the next time you need to see a doctor. – N.D.) Connie tested the Club’s knowledge of the Rotary Four-Way Test and we passed with flying colors. Visiting Rotarians and GuestsTamara Shiloh, the owner of Multi-Cultural Children’s Bookstore, a soon-to-be Richmond Rotarian, was the guest of Connie Tritt. AnnouncementsThe Second Annual RotaCare Bowl-A-Thon, will take place Saturday, May 12, 2018, from 5:00 pm to 7:00 pm at Albany Bowl, 540 San Pablo Ave., Albany. All proceeds will benefit RotaCare (Richmond). Jon and Darlene are planning to attend, and hopefully Pam and Neville. Would love to see a couple of teams from Richmond Rotary supporting this great cause. We need Club Members to support our team with per-pin pledges and/or fixed-amount pledges. Aaron Gobler, of the Albany Rotary Club, is the main coordinator for this event. Aaron’s mobile phone number is 510-928-3662. Email Aaron@pagepoint.com . RecognitionsHappy and Sad DollarsNorm’s NonsensePROGRAMThe Everyday Tragedy of Human Trafficking
Today’s speaker was Rodger Freeman, Anti-Trafficking and Outreach Specialist in the Sacramento office of the International Rescue Committee. The IRC, we learned, was established in l933. Albert Einstein was one of its original founders. It started in Europe and is now working in over 45 countries, including 25 offices in the U.S. Albert Einstein observed that ”Only a life for others is a life worthwhile.” Einstein also asserted that “our task must be to….widen our circle of compassion to embrace all.” The IRC responds to the world’s worst humanitarian crises, paving a path for victims that leads from harm to home. Rodger described two categories of this crime against humanity: labor and sex trafficking. Labor trafficking entails recruitment, harboring, transportation, and/or obtaining a person for labor or services, through force, fraud or coercion for the purpose of involuntary servitude, debt bondage, or slavery. Sex trafficking entails commercial sex acts induced by force, fraud or coercion, or in which the person induced to perform these acts is less than 18 years old. The A-M-P model helps define sex trafficking. The acronym refers to: How do identify possible victims of human trafficking? How does the IRC help? What are countries of origin of victims of trafficking? You can contact Rodger Freeman at Rodger.Freeman@Rescue.org. National Hotline Number – (888) 373-7888 or call Local Law Enforcement - Rotating Scribe Darlene Quenville |
NEXT MEETING: February 16, 2018Anti-Human Trafficking and the IRC
Human trafficking occurs in all 50 states but California leads the nation with a staggering 17% of all reported cases. Our region of the state has individuals being exploited daily, but resources are available to both survivors and service providers. The International Rescue Committee (IRC) is one of those resources that provide comprehensive services to survivors of human trafficking in 30 Northern California counties. Components of the Anti-Human Trafficking training include:
MEETING OF February 9, 2018WelcomePresident Connie Tritt welcomed the group; Dan Tanita led the Pledge; Stoney led the invocation with a prayer for peace, freedom and justice on Earth. Visiting Rotarians and GuestsIskander Zanullin, a guest of Dan Tanita, was originally part of a Russian Dentists Delegation two years ago. He loved California so much that he recently moved his wife and daughter to Richmond. A possible future Richmond Rotarian. Announcements
RecognitionsHappy and Sad DollarsNorm’s NonsensePROGRAMBuddhist Economics
On this day we welcomed Clair Brown, Ph.D., a professor of economics at UC Berkeley, and director of the Center for Work, Technology, and Society, and past Director of Industrial Relations at the University of California, Berkeley. Clair has published research on many aspects of how economies function, including development engineering, high-tech industries, the standard of living, and discrimination. Today Clair works on how our economic system can provide comfortable, meaningful lives to all people in a sustainable world. Her graduate students in Development Engineering work on technologies to improve people’s lives in low-income regions. Her undergraduate students apply Buddhist economics to evaluate financial risk of fossil fuel companies in order to push for fossil-free public pension portfolios. Clair and her students have developed a holistic measure of economic performance based on the quality of life. This index integrates inequality, environmental degradation, nonmarket activities, and consumption to provide an inclusive measurement of sustainable economic performance. The Labor and Employment Research Association honored Clair with the Lifetime Achievement Award for her contributions to improving workers’ lives. She practices Tibetan Buddhism. Learn more about Clair and listen to podcasts on Buddhist Economics at www.buddhisteconomics.net. You will find her latest book, “Buddhist Economics”, in libraries and in bookstores. Clair has great respect for what Rotary Clubs do to help the people in their communities and globally. She especially supports the work for children, their education and building of schools, and improvements in child care, health care, water and basic needs. - Rotating Scribe Darlene Quenville |
NEXT MEETING: February 9, 2018Buddhist Economics
Clair will address the question, How can our economy provide the quality of life we want? The answer takes us to the heart of the difference between free market economics and Buddhist economics: focusing on well-being and not only income. According to Buddhist economics, people desire to live meaningful and worthy lives, where people care for themselves and family, the community, and the environment. In free market economics, people push ahead to maximize their own income and fancy lifestyle. These two models lead to very different ways of structuring our economies to maximize social welfare. MEETING OF February 2, 2017WelcomePresident Connie Tritt welcomed the group; Erle Brown led the Pledge; Herb Cole led the invocation with a prayer for peace, freedom and justice on Earth. Sid Chauvin provided the thought for the day… “If I cannot drink bourbon or smoke cigars in Heaven, then I shall not go!!” (Mark Twain). With this Flywheel we welcome a new scribe into our hallowed circle of scribblers, Darlene Quenville. As you read, you’ll she is a competent and accurate writer and—icing on the cake—sent the Flywheel notes several days before the deadline. When you see Darlene at the next meeting, be sure to thank her for stepping up. Visiting Rotarians and GuestsWe welcomed a visiting Rotarian from Pomona, CA today, Grace Sanchez. Special EventsOur Annual Crab Feed was a huge success this year. Treasurer David Brown reported this event in the past has made between $3,500 and $4,000 but this year had a profit of $6,500. Great job to all those who made it a really great Crab Feed. AnnouncementsJust another reminder that our meetings now start promptly at 12:00 noon (not noon-ish). See you then.
RecognitionsHappy and Sad DollarsNorm’s NonsensePROGRAMIn Search of the Great Paraiba Catfish
Past-president of Richmond Rotary, Alan Blavins and his son, Joshua, enjoyed another fishing expedition in the area of Manaus, Brazil in November of 2017. They were flown via small plane into a remote area on a river 50 miles off the Amazon River and stayed at the Picaupau Lodge, which consisted of four cabins built on stilts as the river can rise 10 feet. They were located in a rugged remote area, hundreds of miles away from anything. Breakfast was at 6:00 a.m, they left at 7:00 a.m. and fished until 5:00 p.m.for six days in 90 degrees heat. Lots of bees, insects, parrots and howling monkeys to keep them company. Each day their guide would search for small berries, which were used to catch bait fish. The bait fish were used to catch what they were looking for “Paraiba Catfish”. Alan and his son caught several smaller catfish with weights of 10, 50 and 60 lbs. (not that I’d call those small). But it was Alan’s son, Joshua, who finally hooked the big one — a 150 to 170 lb., 7-foot long “Paraiba Catfish”! It was approximate 2 years old. Alan shared amazing trip pictures of the fish caught, videos reeling some of the fish in, and beautiful scenery. A special thank you to Alan for sharing this amazing trip. Darlene Quenville, Rotating Scribe |
Bruce Beyaert, Chair of TRAC, the Trails for Richmond Action Committee, shared the tremendous progress that’s been made in recent years completing a 500-mile walking and cycling path encircling San Francisco and San Pablo Bays.
