Yearly Archives: 2019
NEXT MEETING: April 12, 2019Richmond Main Street Initiative
MEETING OF April 5, 2019WelcomePrez Jerry rang the bell and called the meeting to order with Oscar Gracia leading us in the Pledge, Herb Cole offered a moment for peace, freedom and justice. Sid Chauvin offered: “Seconds count, especially when you are dieting!” Visiting Rotarians and GuestsTamara Shiloh introduced Prez Jerry’s guest, Nakele Rechenauer. Announcements
We’d love to, but…We’d love to share the results of our Online Communications survey with you—what our members most value in the Flywheel, how they use the website—but we can’t. Not yet. We need another dozen of you to take a couple minutes to take the survey before we can claim the results are significant. So please, if you haven’t taken the survey yet, please do it now. It only takes about 3 minutes. Your responses will give us a better idea of what we should strengthen and what we can let go. When the survey form opens, click OK to begin. RecognitionsHappy and Sad DollarsNorm’s NonsensePROGRAMThe Read-Aloud Program in Richmond Schools
Prez Jerry introduced Gabriella Bracamontes from Read Aloud who indicated that the program started in 1995 at E M Downer Elementary School, has 112 volunteers and has given away 91,000 books and other reading material. Gabriella introduced Executive Director Crystal Merrill, who told us that the program is a relationship-based program and not a tutoring program. Students are referred to the program by teachers and require parent consent for the student to participate. The program is now available at Downer, Coronado, Dover, Montalvin and Washington Elementary Schools. This summer the program will be available at Booker T Anderson Recreation Center. The 3,500 students who have participated in the program attend a 30-minute session once a week. Support for the program includes: volunteering time to work with a student; volunteer at book giveaways, book sorting, technical support, fundraising; donate books; and tax deductible contribution. For more information, please visit http://read-aloud.org The Menehune, Rotating Scribe |
NEXT MEETING: April 5, 2019The Read-Aloud Program
This presentation will provide a general overview of the Read-Aloud Volunteer Program and our work in five underserved elementary schools in Richmond, San Pablo, and Montalvin Manor. We will discuss volunteer recruitment and elaborate on the successes of the program. Read Aloud is a well established non-profit organization working in the district since 1995. MEETING OF March 291h, 2019WelcomePresident Jerry welcomed everyone to the “friendly Richmond Rotary Club”. Sid announced that “the work of the world does not wait to be done by perfect people.” Visiting Rotarians and Guests
Rotary pennants from around the world—collected by our members during their travels over the years— were hung in honor of our special guests: 9 teenagers from Shimada, Japan (Richmond’s Sister City) and their chairperson. They ranged in ages from 14-17 and each was from a different school in Shiamada. Each of them introduced themselves, told us their age, and what school they went to. They were: Eri Yamada
Sana Amano Kakeru Tanimura Mio Sugimura Yuta Sugimura Kosei Morishita Naho Otsuka Kaon Muramatu Kunihiki Iwamoto
Co-Chair of the Shimada contingent, Evan Sirchuk spoke briefly on behalf of the group, and photos were taken with the speaker, Supervisor John Gioia. Also in attendance at this meeting was Fran Gallati—a guest of Jerry and Tamara, John Tysell, a guest of Don Lau’s and Steve Kirby of the Hercules Rotary Club. Announcements
Flywheel and Website SurveyWe are considering making changes to the Flywheel and this website. Our goal is to make it unnecessary to have scribes take notes and later write finished versions of the Flywheel. At the same time, we want to maintain or even increase attendance at our meetings. To help us evaluate our options, please take about 3 minutes to complete this survey. RecognitionsHappy and Sad DollarsNorm’s NonsensePROGRAMCounty Supervisor John Gioia
Today’s speaker was John Gioia, the current chair of Contra Costa County’s Board of Supervisors. He began by noting that this was the most partisan and difficult time of his 21 years on the Board. His secret – listen to everyone so they feel heard. His presentation focused on these 5 initiatives:
In a Q&A session, Sid when we would get another hospital in West County. Mr. Gioia reported some statistics related to the County Hospital that closed. 80% of the patients had been on MediCal or Medicare. Only 10% were covered by a commercial payor and 10% were self-pay (uninsured). Since MediCal reimbursements fall short of covering the cost of services, the hospital was losing $20 million per year. Evan Sirchuk asked about the Ryse Center (where the teens had visited earlier in the day). He had heard the good news that the Center now own that property they occupy and intend to use it as a hub for other non-profits. Mr. Gioia reported that he was very proud of the work that was being done at the Ryse Center. - Connie Tritt, “Rotating Editor” |
NEXT MEETING: March 29, 2019County 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, 2019WelcomeOn 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 GuestsPrez 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
RecognitionsHappy and Sad DollarsNorm’s NonsensePROGRAMThe 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:
The Menehune Rotating Editor |
NEXT MEETING: March 22, 2019The Data Behind the Climate Crisis
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, 2019WelcomePresident 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 GuestsWe welcomed Zelpha Chauvin, Sid’s wife [who must be a person of immense forebearance. -Ed.] Visiting RotariansTerry Kotsatos of the El Cerrito Rotary Club visited us today. AnnouncementsDarlene 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. RecognitionsHappy and Sad DollarsNorm’s NonsensePROGRAMImpacts 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:
-Nick Despota, Flywheel Editor |
NEXT MEETING: March 15Gun Violence in America
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 OFWelcomePresident 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 GuestsJosh Genser invited his friend Mike Caldwell, the owner of Mike’s Barbershop, to join us today. Announcements
RecognitionsHappy and Sad DollarsNorm’s NonsensePROGRAM
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!
-Pierre Thompson, Rotating Scribe |
The Richmond Main Street Initiative is dedicated to revitalizing historic downtown Richmond as a vibrant, pedestrian-friendly urban village. That means offering products, services, arts and entertainment that reflect our community’s rich and diverse heritage. Its programs and events are a vital part of the urban village concept. Richmond Main Street sees new businesses coming to our downtown in the near future, and Amanda Elliott, its Executive Director will tell us all about it.
