Category Archives: Activism

Humane Society North Bay Good News

We had a lot of good things going on in February with the Humane Society of the North Bay shelter!

We were given a check from the Vallejo Waterfront Festival as one of the non-profits that benefitted from this two-day event in 2022. Photo courtesy of Vallejo Times Herald.

Volunteers from Cal Maritime Academy here in Vallejo came to volunteer with us, as they regularly do.

My friends and fellow volunteers, Linda Overton and Carlene Coury take two seniors to the wonderful Muttville facility in San Francisco.

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.

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:

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.