Yesterday several of us on the Board of the Humane Society of the North Bay (please donate at HSNB.org) received a generous beneficiary check from the Vallejo Waterfront Weekend, as did numerous other local charities. Go Vallejo!
Category Archives: Activism
Foster Snoopy Arrives
Found wandering around Vallejo with no microchip and no collar, Snoopy came across as a senior with his white whiskers, mangy hair, and a disheveled look. I didn’t really like him at first especially because he would dart out the door and at one point I had to run after him in slippers. He did not know his name. That was before we had him microchipped and neutered, and also before we put an external gate on our front porch.
I named him after a similarly-colored dog that my grandfather had when I was very young. My grandfather was a big fan of Charles Schultz’s Peanuts comic strip.
Adoption Event at Mare Island Brewery
White Card – Community Theater
My friend, neighbor, and fellow Humane Society of the North Bay volunteer, Carlene Coury, directed a staged reading of The White Card, written by Claudia Rankine, at the Pinole Community Theater. In the audience were some activist Vallejoans I was able to introduce her to. After the reading, we got to discuss the multi-layered script with the cast and director. It was quite a moving and timely experience for Black History Month.
New Volunteer Gig!
I’ve been doing activism against Big Tobacco for years as a volunteer. This week I got my official title as a Co-Chair of Tobacco Free Solano (TFS), a program of Vibe Solano (the Solano County Department of Health). It’s a two-year volunteer term. The picture below is a little gift package they sent which is very sweet. Little do they know I have no intention of watching the Super Bowl, but instead will be going to a play for Black History Month in Pinole, which was directed by my friend.
Monthly Mixer at the Lodge at Glen Cove
Attending a taco mixer with residents and various other businesses in the area at The Lodge, where we had our Vallejo Chamber of Commerce event a few months ago. I wore my hat as President of GCCA and went with one of my neighbors and HSNB volunteers, Carlene, to also represent the Humane Society of the North Bay. It was wonderful connecting with and hearing from staff and a few residents who joined us.
Attended Business Safety and Security Town Hall
My councilperson Mina Loera-Diaz had this great town hall about the thefts downtown. I’m in the audience and was concerned not only for my city, but also specifically for the break-ins and thefts we’ve suffered at the Humane Society of the North Bay. Many of you know I’m on the Board and currently the Board Secretary. We’re working on getting much better cameras and lights, but we have been victims of people violating the space where we’re just trying to find homes for animals in our community. Here is the video link:
Betty White 101st Birthday Fundraiser
Benicia Chamber Event
Went with fellow Humane Society of the North Bay volunteers Carlene Coury and Linda Overton. Linda is also on the Board with me. We got to see a lot of people we knew and schmooze with many of the Solano County movers and shakers.
The Benicia Chamber of Commerce, which HSNB has been a member of for 27 years, hosted the event in an amazing space called the Benicia Clock Tower. There are a bunch of art galleries in the area which appears to have been an old military complex and still serves as a shipping yard for big ships that deliver freight, including private automobiles, with its port at the mouth of the Sacramento Delta at the beginning of the Carquinez Strait.
Attended Measure P Budget Town Hall
My friend, neighbor and fellow activist Miguel Castillo joined me at this town hall. While I voted “No” for the regressive nature of this measure, it did win. I will always support spending money in my city and otherwise spending locally, but when I voted for it, I had no assurance of its proportion, planning, prioritization or accountability. This meeting addressed some of that, and I know my councilperson Mina Loera-Diaz wants the same transparency I do about the estimated extra $18M in revenue that the City of Vallejo is likely to get as a result of this measure’s passage.
