NEXT MEETING: March 29, 2019

County Supervisor John Gioia

Supervisor John Gioia is presently Chair of the Contra Costa Board of Supervisors. First elected in 1998, John has been overwhelmingly re-elected five times. He’ll provide updates on issues he’s working on, to include Air Monitoring AB615, children and youth policies, illegal dumping, North Richmond, Housing, Homeless Services, Health Services and more.

MEETING OF March 22, 2019

Welcome

On a soggy Friday, Prez Jerry called the meeting to order with Norm Lundberg leading us in the Pledge, Herb Cole offered a moment for peace, freedom and justice. Sid Chauvin offered: “It is nice to be important, but it is more important to be nice.”

Visiting Rotarians and Guests

Prez Jerry’s guest was Frances Smith; visiting Rotarian Grier Graff has as his guest Mariana Day visiting from Mexico; Mac Lingo was visiting from Berkeley; and Cecilia Orozco brought her daughter Ruby.

Announcements

• Incoming Prez Jan Brown provided the Club with an update on our Centennial Project. The Board held a plebiscite (n. a direct vote of all the members of an electorate on an important public question…yeah, I had to look it up!) vote and decided on a project at the new Mira Flores Development in Richmond. If you want details you can check with Jan and Josh Genser, but short take is that it has a number of ties to our Club (ie. past Prez David Ninomiya) and we will be doing signage and planting…this sounds like a great project.
• Darlene Drapkin reminded all about Chavez Service Day tree planting along 23^rd Street on 3/30 from 10am-2pm.  Meet at Portumex on 23^rd Street
• Jan Brown also passed out Rotary Calendar of Events.

Recognitions

Happy and Sad Dollars

Norm’s Nonsense

PROGRAM

The Data Behind the Climate Crisis

Mark Howe introduced out speaker Scientist Eric Arens, a member of Citizen’s Climate Lobby, who presented information regarding climate change that is happening right now and not sometime in the future. Eric presented a number of graphs and data indicating that there is spike in heat waves, number of extremely hot weather days, and that the Poles are heating up with tundra’s melting and producing more methane. This is all due to the abundance of CO2 in the atmosphere. If you would like to see Eric’s complete presentation. Click on the link below:

https://richmondcarotary.org/wp-content/uploads/2019/03/RichmondRotary_ClimateChange_prsntn_Arens-3.21.2018.pdf

NEXT MEETING: March 22, 2019

The Data Behind the Climate Crisis

Scientist Eric Arens will present data that convinces experts that climate change is happening—not in the future, but now.

While it is true that the Earth has cycled between colder and warmer climates, the present spike in average temperatures worldwide is clearly correlated to the abundance of CO2 in the atmosphere. Eric will explain the correlation between greenhouse gases and rising average temperatures. He’ll look at the main lines of evidence for today’s changing climate and review some of the steps that must be taken to restore the climate.

MEETING OF March 15, 2019

Welcome

President Jerry Feagley clanged the meeting to order at 12:35, nearly deafening the scribe for the day, seated a few feet from the huge bell. If we’ve missed something, blame the bell-ringer.

Nick lead the group in the Pledge of Allegiance. Alan Blavins called for a moment of silence for peace, justice and remembrance for those killed in a mosque in New Zealand a few hours earlier.

Sid offered the thought-for-the-day:Success consists of going from failure to failure without loss of enthusiasm.”

Rotarians with Guests

We welcomed Zelpha Chauvin, Sid’s wife [who must be a person of immense forebearance. -Ed.]

Visiting Rotarians

Terry Kotsatos of the El Cerrito Rotary Club visited us today.

Announcements

Darlene Drapkin invites us to pitch in for the César Chavez Day of Service, March 30th, from 10 to 2. Meet in front of Portumex, on 23rd Street. We’ll plant trees, paint and beautify, and enjoy being together as a community making a difference in one of the most vibrant parts of our city. Register here to get a commemorative T-shirt, while supplies last.

Recognitions

Happy and Sad Dollars

Norm’s Nonsense

PROGRAM

Impacts of Gun Violence

Our speaker was former Oakland Chief of Police, Howard Jordan. Mr. Jordan reviewed the current statistics on gun violence, leading with this halting fact: every day 318 people in America die from gun violence, including both homicides and suicides.

Here in Richmond, homicides have been declining over the past 10 years. Compared to other large cities, Mr. Jordan told us, Richmond is relatively safe.

On the more troubling side, gun sales in California have increased by a factor of 2.5 over the last ten years. What’s more, although California has the strictest gun laws in the country, our state has a higher incidence of violent crime, per capita, than the national average. The reason for this may be the higher percentage of Californians who live in major cities, where homicides are more prevalent, compared to the rest of the country.

A major issue that stymies gun control are gun shows, where 20% to 40% of all firearm sales take place. In most states, background checks are not required for purchases at gun shows.

Mr. Jordan cited several factors which are empirically determined to correlate to higher levels of gun violence:

• Easy access to both legal and illegal firearms.
• Widespread gun ownership. In the US, 43% of households have at least one firearm.
• A lack of meaningful deterrence to gun ownership by those who should not have them.

NEXT MEETING: March 15

Gun Violence in America

Gun violence can tear apart a community by creating fear and preventing community members from thriving. Citizens should be informed about what’s happening at the national level, and what they can to do help their local agencies address the problem.

Howard Jordan, owner of Jordan Consulting, has a background in police practices. Mr. Jordan will discuss the impact of gun violence in our country today, and what our role can be in helping to reduce it.

MEETING OF

Welcome

President Jerry Feagley welcomed all to the Richmond Rotary Club and the Club was led in the Pledge of Allegiance. An invocation was made for peace, freedom and justice on earth. Sergeant-at-Arms Sid offered: “You are never too old to learn something stupid.”

Visiting Rotarians and Guests

Josh Genser invited his friend Mike Caldwell, the owner of Mike’s Barbershop, to join us today.

Announcements

• Jan Brown in absentia prepared a Club Activity Calendar for the next six months (it was pointed out that the Board of Directors meeting date on the calendar is wrong).
• Oscar Garcia announced that Rotary is sponsoring a tree planting along 23^rd street on March 30.
• Josh Genser announced an activity on April 6 in connection with the protection of oak trees on the Richmond Parkway. Coffee and donuts will be provided.

Recognitions

Happy and Sad Dollars

Norm’s Nonsense

PROGRAM

Pierre Thompson introduced our speaker Darryl Henline. Darryl’s professional contributions to Richmond include serving as General Manager of Bridge Storage and ArtSpace, Vice President of the Santa Fe Neighborhood Council, and now harbormaster of Point San Pablo Harbor. Darryl described Point San Pablo Harbor as an eighty-year-old startup! He shared with us the history, location, challenges, and vision for the property.

Point San Pablo is located on San Pablo Bay, directly across from China Camp. It is the official embarkation point for East Brother Island Lighthouse. Darryl regaled us with historical trivia: Point San Pablo was the site of the nation’s last whaling station, which burnt down in 1989. The harbor was created by beaching steamships to break the bay waters. The whole peninsula includes historic Winehaven, a large wine repository that became defunct after Prohibition. The Point Molate area was then sold to the U.S. Navy as a fuel depot. The film Blood Alley starring John Wayne was filmed at Point San Pablo Harbor and China Camp; in fact, Hollywood sank a boat off the coast at the harbor and left it there!

Directions to Point San Pablo Harbor: take the last exit off 580, then drive past Point Molate and Winehaven. 1958 Stenmark Drive marks the start of the driveway leading to Point San Pablo Harbor. This long and winding road, which runs across an easement of Chevron, has many potholes (and will eventually be replaced within a year or two). Don’t forget there is another entrance by water!

Point San Pablo Harbor is often confused with the Point San Pablo Yacht Club. The former is a fishing harbor (and more!), whereas the latter is a sailing club. The Point San Pablo Yacht Club was originally known as the Sportsmen Club, before parting ways with the harbor.

Visitors to Point San Pablo Harbor are greeted by a restaurant, a bed and breakfast, and a Harbor Club which hosts events such as jazz and swing dance. Darryl was very proud of the restaurant, Café Nobilis, which opened last year as a fine diner after being defunct for 12 years. The word “Nobilis” was part of the original decor, and it means “someone who becomes aristocratic through their own efforts”. Café Nobilis is open Wednesdays through Fridays, as well as weekends, and the patio is a nice, dog-friendly place to enjoy food on the harbor. They also purchase locally from Golden Gate Beef and East Brother Beer Company. (Our resident food critic Josh Genser offered a strong review of the restaurant!)

Point San Pablo Harbor is currently home to about thirty people (including Darryl himself) who make use of ten floating homes. The area is fifteen minutes away from Richmond Fire Department services and is indeed closer to Chevron’s Fire Department (with whom they have a Mutual Services Agreement). Darryl is in the process of establishing a volunteer fire department at Point San Pablo Harbor because the Richmond Fire Department does not consider the area to be fully accessible. Sewage is another challenge: the harbor uses a septic system which aggregates and pumps the sewage into leach fields. Point San Pablo harbor uses goats for vegetation management, and we learned that Tom Butt donated a few goats for this cause!

San Pablo Bay is much cleaner now, and the harbor is testimony to the thriving ecology. There are river otters, sea lions, and many kinds of fish. Point San Pablo Harbor is partnering with PROP SF to provide water transportation for people who wish to visit the harbor.

Darryl stated that the vision of Point San Pablo Harbor is “to be a hearth with heart”, striving for small-scale hospitality. They are currently seeking permission to host larger events on the property such as weddings and music concerts. They already received permission from the City of Richmond to build yurts. Darryl introduced concepts that may have been new to some of us: “Glamping” (glamorous camping) and “Boatels” (boat hotels). Overall, maintaining the harbor is a challenging business, but Darryl noted that it is very rewarding to invite people there and to be their host!

NEXT MEETING: March 8, 2019

Refashioning Point San Pablo Harbor

Point San Pablo Harbor, located at the end of Stenmark Drive past Winehaven, has remained virtually unchanged through most of it’s 90 year history. Daryl Henline will discuss the history of the harbor and the changes taking place under new ownership, including the newly reopened Nobilis Cafe and the Point San Pablo Harbor Club. Head on over to check it out, but drive slowly after leaving Point Molate.The road is a little rough.

MEETING OF March 1, 2019

Welcome

President Jerry Feagley called the meeting to order at 12:30. Mike Winter lead the Pledge of Allegiance and Herb called for a moment of reflection on the values of peace and justice.

New Member

We were pleased to welcome our newest member to the Richmond Rotary, Chad Works-Wright. Please make a point of going up and introducing your self to him.

Announcements

Oscar invited us to roll up our sleeves and pitch in for the Cesar Chavez Day of Service. The work will include planting trees, painting and decorating, and other beautification projects. The event takes place on Saturday, March 30th, from 10AM to 2PM. Meet at Portumex Restaurant on 23rd Street. For more information, visit www.23rdstreetrichmond.com.

Josh Genser reminded us that the club will undertake a tree protection project for the Harbor 8 Volunteer Day. Bring work gloves. If you’re not into physical labor come anyway. You’ll be asked to serve up coffee, donuts and moral support. That’s Saturday, April 6 at the Harbor 8 Park.

Recognitions

Happy and Sad Dollars

Norm’s Nonsense

PROGRAM

March 1, 2019

Darlene introduced Jeff Wright, whose father owned Bridge Storage for many years. When Jeff took over the business he began searching for ways to make the space more interesting by attracting Richmond’s creative community. Thus began an evolution that required new permitting, refurbishing about one-quarter of the storage spaces, and installing equipment and facilities that would draw artists, craftspeople, filmmakers, cooks and more. About one-quarter of the Bridge Storage space has been converted to support those activities: a wood shop, metal working shop, film screening and video production area, a sewing room, and a commercial kitchen. These are co-work spaces can be rented on a per hour or monthly bases.

Jeff’s presentation stirred up a lot of conversation because of its unconventional nature and its potential for helping to revitalize the Santa Fe area. We’ll all keep a close eye on it to see what develops.

To learn more about Bridge Storage and ArtSpace, visit their website.