Are you a board member looking for more information on how to do your job?  Are you a nonprofit member who’s interested in governance? 

The Center for Excellence in Nonprofits (CEN) presents "Boards: Are We There Yet?" Wednesday, July 23 at 4pm. The program features guest speaker Molly Polidoroff, Executive Director of CEN and Janice Fry, Past Board Chairman and current Board member of CEN.
This session will provide insights and specific practices that will move boards (in partnership with their executive leadership) to be more productive and engaged in ways that further the work of their organizations. Board members will get a chance to work with each other and share best practices.

When: Wednesday, July 23; Time: 4-4:30 p.m. networking and refreshments, 4:30-7 p.m. program
Where: Senior Coastsiders, 535 Kelly Avenue, Half Moon Bay, 94019
How much: $25 single attendee of a CEN Member organization, $40 per person for Non CEN members

To register, please visit www.cen.org or email Monique Schulter at [email protected] with first & last name, organization, phone number & extension, e-mail address and billing address for each attendee, or call 408-945-4500.

CEN (Center for Excellence in Nonprofits) fosters highly effective leaders and vibrant nonprofit organizations that transform the quality of life in our communities. CEN provides the nonprofit community of Santa Clara and San Mateo Counties with in-depth leadership development and continuous improvement programs. CEN plays the role of catalyst in our community of nonprofits, building collaboration between organizations and their leaders, sharing and supporting exemplary leadership models and practices to transform our communities into the leaders of nonprofit excellence. The result of CEN’s work is improved leadership, better systems and, most important, improved services for the clients and communities aided by our member nonprofits.

Coastsiders will get to vote this year for the member of the Midpeninsula Regional Open Space District who represents the Coastside from Half Moon Bay to Monatara.

The November election will include Wards 3 and 4 (both in Santa Clara County,) and Ward 7 in San Mateo County.  Ward 7 covers portions of Redwood City, Woodside and San Carlos, as well as El Granada, Half Moon Bay, Montara, Moss Beach, and Princeton. Ward 7 is currently represented by Ken Nitz.

Individuals interested in running for seats on the Board of Directors can pick-up nomination papers at the District Clerk’s office beginning on Monday, July 14 and must file with the District Clerk by 5:00 p.m., August 8, 2008. The deadline will be extended for five days to Wednesday, August 13, if an eligible incumbent does not file or fails to qualify by August 8, 5:00 p.m.  Candidates must be at least 18 years of age by the election date and must be residents and registered voters in the ward in which they seek nomination. Nomination forms and other necessary documents are available at the District office. Interested individuals should contact the District Clerk for more information. Candidates elected in November will serve four-year terms beginning in January 2009.

Created by voters more than 35 years ago, the Midpeninsula Regional Open Space District has successfully protected and managed more than 57,000 acres of open space. The public enjoys the District’s diverse and beautiful preserves 365 days a year. The District is an independent, non-enterprise, California special district whose mission is to acquire and preserve a regional greenbelt of open space land in perpetuity, protect and restore the natural environment, and provide opportunities for ecologically sensitive public enjoyment and education.

Recycle your old electronics on Saturday, July 19, from 9am to 1pm at the Pescadero Transfer Station on Bean Hollow Rd.

In an effort to get green, and because grants have been made available, San Mateo County has hired a permitted hauler/recycler to take unwanted tires of any size, with or without rims.  At the last event, they took over 800 tires from the Coastside, and I’m sure there’s more out there…ask a friend. 

There’s a lot happening in Pescadero lately, visit us on the web to find out about the details…http://PescaderoCouncil.org

Thanks,

Jackson Robertson

Well, Marketeers,

I don’t know about you, but I for one am going to forgo any aspirations I may have had for hosting barbeques this summer.  Given the number of fires peppering the state and the amount of smoke in the air, I am thinking that adding to it is just plain a bad Idea. Which is OK, because I have a really good idea for you if summer entertaining is on your horizon.

Last week I found myself in the delightful and frightful position of hosting an intimate summer supper, and the guest list featured a dangerously handsome artist that has had his work installed in the White House.  What does one serve a person with a resume like that, I ask you?  Don’t ask me, go up to the harbor and ask a local fisherman.  If you are lucky, he’ll turn you on to halibut cheeks, and then my friend, you are golden.

Most of the rest of what you’ll need to produce a truly noteworthy supper you can find at the Market.  I discovered to my delight, and that of my guest, that when armed with few of the seasons first truly ripe tomatoes, a handful of spring onions and the tiniest bit of first, cold pressed olive oil, a bundle of rainbow chard that I could produce a glorious summer supper worthy of an engraved invitation, and without the benefit of a Webber.

Peninsula Open Space Trust (POST) announced Thursday that it has surpassed its fund-raising goal of $6.9 million to save Mindego Hill, 1,047 acres of open ranchland near La Honda on the San Francisco Peninsula. More than 1,300 people contributed $7.2 million to POST’s GoMindego campaign, launched in October 2007 when POST purchased Mindego Ranch from private owners.

POST transferred the land Thursday to the Midpeninsula Regional Open Space District (MROSD) for permanent protection. The property, which provides extraordinary recreational opportunities and wildlife habitat, is poised to become part of MROSD’s Russian Ridge Open Space Preserve.

POST originally bought the land for $28.5 million and has now sold it to MROSD for $22.5 million. Of this amount, MROSD paid $15 million plus $7.5 million it received from the California Coastal Conservancy towards this purchase. The $7.2 million raised by POST’s campaign covers the remaining balance and provides additional funds to expedite public access to the land, for a total of $29,755,766 for the protection of Mindego Hill.

The fires in Big Sur have reignited a battle over whether the Coastal Commission should protect "maritime chaparral", reports the Capitol Weekly.

Angry local property owners, who have long chafed at the authority of the California Coastal Commission, contend that state rules protecting maritime chaparral have placed homeowners at risk and exacerbated the fire danger.

The commission flatly rejects that assertion, and notes that property owners sometimes insist on building in high-risk areas with protected habitats. But the dispute has gained momentum as locals were forced to flee the fires that raced across the parched hills.

The familiar chaparral—brushy thickets that thrive along the foggy coast between Santa Barbara and southern Mendocino County—is prime fuel for fires. In fact, experts call the chaparral "fire dependent," which means the shrubbery requires fire over time to keep the species healthy.

...

Estimates vary wildly as to how much maritime chaparral is really out there. Long-time locals say people literally trip over the ubiquitous shrub that blankets 1.3 million acres across the state, or more. But others, including an expert from the state Department of Fish and Game and those who have analyzed the issue for the Coastal Commission, believe it is closer to 20,000 acres but that it may appear far more widespread because other varieties of plants are mixed in.

...
"The central message here for us is that the maritime chaparral, like the San Diego coast sage shrub, are not just fire-prone, they are fire-dependent. They have evolved over a millenium to require fire to regenerate. They have to burn, they will burn," said Coast Commission spokeswoman Sarah Christie.

"When people build in those kinds of habitats, you have to expect that there are going to be wildfires. When a wildfire is raging out of control, it’s not reasonable to expect that you would be able to clear enough vegetation from around your house to keep it from harm’s way. People are emotional distressed and they are looking to lash out. Those fires were caused by natural forces. The Coastal Commission can’t control the lightning."

A 43-year-old parolee plead guilty to killing an Oakland college teacher found in his car at Montara State Beach, reports the Chronicle.

Thomas reportedly wanted to take over Dennis’ identity, live under his name and take control of his assets, including his house and car.

Authorities said Thomas went to Dennis’ home in the Sequoyah Hills neighborhood of Oakland on Feb. 9. Thomas told investigators he shot and killed Dennis later that day and drove the body in the victim’s car to Montara State Beach in San Mateo County.

A sheriff’s deputy found Thomas sitting in the car about 11 p.m. with Dennis’ body under coverings in the backseat. Oakland police sent to Dennis’ home found evidence of a bloody struggle.

Thomas told investigators he met Dennis when he was 13, when Dennis mentored him in a program for disadvantaged youth.

Suppose you were a school board member required to make "fundamental reforms" at Cunha Middle school through "major restructuring" of the school's governance. What would you do? The Cabrillo Unified School District's board was faced with just that question at its June 26 meeting. It's answer: create a committee. The district might reasonably be presumed to already have a sufficiency of committees, but the board's decision to create one more has the virtue of not making a bad situation worse.

Last year was the sixth year that Cunha Middle School failed to make Adequate Yearly Progress (AYP) as defined by the No Child Left Behind Act. Consequently this item appeared on the school board agenda: 10.a. Review and approve plan for Alternative Governance of Cunha Intermediate School as a Year Four (Restructuring) Program Improvement Site. It begins:

Background Information

Under No Child Left Behind (NCLB), Cunha Intermediate School is in Year Four Program Improvement (has not met AYP [Adequate Yearly Progress] for six years). Year Four Program Improvement School Requirements dictate that the District and Cunha:

…prepare a plan for alternative governance of the school by selecting one of the following options:

1. Reopen the school as a charter,
2. replace all or most of the staff including the principal,
3. contract with an outside entity to manage the school,
4. state takeover (not available in California), or
5. any other major restructuring.

Cunha is the first of CUSD's school sites to reach the six-year NCLB milestone (Hatch is not far behind). The general idea is that a school that has failed to meet its academic performance goals for six straight years needs to be shaken up. The board was understandably reluctant to convert Cunha to a charter school, contract out its management, or replace the staff, and "other major restructuring" sounds nearly as ominous. What to do? Easy:

6. Create a committee.

Well, not quite; there is no Option 6. The board instead chose Option 5 ("any other major restructuring"), and simply defined "creation of a committee" to count as "major restructuring". The plan as presented:

A District Liaison/Leadership Team (DLST) comprised of Cunha staff, parents, District staff and community representatives selected Option 5: Implementing any other major restructuring of the school's governance arrangement that makes fundamental reforms and leads to improved student achievement. The DSLT determined that the formation of an Alternative Governance Board for the purpose of providing shared leadership, collaborative decision making, and a focus on strategies to improve student achievement would support this option. The Superintendent has reviewed and approved this option.

Create a committee, call it a board, appoint the usual suspects, and we're in business:

Neil Merrilees’s excellent series is reproduced with permission from Montara Fog.

The greatest resource we have on the coastside is the quality of our residents. This video highlights locals who are experimenting with green technology, at their own expense, in order to find a way to live more sustainably. Some of these experiments will be successful and become mainstream practices. Some may prove too expensive and need revision. These community members are blazing the trail and making it easier for the rest of us to learn from their experiences.

There are many more of us out there who are concerned with saving energy. If you are interested in learning more about green building or are interested in sharing your own experiences—whether successes or failures—contact Darin at Montara Fog—and he will forward the e-mails to me.

Introduction by Neil Merrilees

LED Lighting with Patrick Melley

Residential Gray Water Recycling with Andy Geiser

AND MORE: There are four more videos in this series. Click below to watch them all.