may marin history museum comes to santa...

MARK YOUR CALENDARS Santa Venetia Neighborhood Association May/June 2013

dMay5/17-8/17 – County working on SV streets. Ghilotti Bros. offers discount on sidewalk work. Call for estimate.27 – Memorial Day30 – The Marin School Neighborhood Get-Together with SV neighbors. Dessert, coffee 7-8:30pm. RSVP [email protected] – Neighborhood Pool Party, 2-6pm, Northbridge Pool3 – Gasparé's Pizzeria 6th Annual Golf Tournament. 4 – SVNA Community Meeting 7pm, Tues., Korean Presbyterian Church, Adrian & Rosal. Marin History Museum presentation on Santa Venetia.6 – Gallinas Watershed Council meeting. Thursday, 7-9pm, Northgate Mall, Community Room, 2nd fl, next to MarinLink offices.8 – 2nd Sat. Medians Workday, 9am-noon. Call Nanni for meeting location, 472-3269.JUly3-7 – Marin County Fair 11am-11pm3 – Fireworks Viewing Party, Sunday, 8pm, Santa Margarita Island Bridge. Hot cider.4 – 4th of July13 – 2nd Sat. Medians Workday, 9am-noon. Call Nanni for meeting location, 472-3269.SEptEMbEr2 – Labor Day Picnic

The Earth Thanks You• Jackie Garcia, SV Social CommitteeThank you to all the families that participated in the first annual SVNA Earth Day Event. We had a great turn out in the park, around the neighborhood, and even on the creek. Neighbor Carri Abrahms won the coveted raffle prize, a cer-tificate donated by Gasparé’s Pizzeria. I’d like to recognize the generous sponsors that made it all possible: Gasparé’s Pizzeria Ristorante, Marin Sanitary Service, Realtor Melanie Morris, and the SVNA. Also, thank you Mary Hanley and Linda Levey for taking the lead on N. San Pedro Road and for hauling the trash to the dumps. Editors NotE: Thanks to Jackie Garcia and our SV Social Committee for organizing this wonderful event. More social events are scheduled throughout the year so join in when you can. Also, I'd like to give a special shout out to Maria Garcia Mendoza who joined us in cleaning up on NSPR. She saw us cleaning, came out to join us, and worked hard! v

Santa Venetia Social Events• Nicole Cibellis-Andrews, Chair, SV Social CommitteeWe are excited to bring you many fun community-building events this Summer and below is just a sampling of a few. We will continue to meet in the neighborhood parks for pizza on Friday nights. Look out for our emails to find out where and when they will be held.SVNA and Northbridge Pool PartyWhen: June 2, 2-6pm • Cost: $10 per family at the doorWhere: Northbridge Pool, 160 Madison AvenueJoin us for fun, sun and neighborhood cheer! Pool access, lifeguard/s, snacks and non-alcoholic beverages will be provided. BYOB welcome. There’s a refrigerator to keep it cold! The Firetrail Pizza truck will be available from 3:30 -6pm to purchase dinner. RSVP to [email protected] with the number of kids and adults attending so we can confirm lifeguards and inform Firetrail.Fireworks Viewing PartyWhen: July 3, 9pm • Cost: FreeWhere: On the Bridge at Santa Margarita Island (off Meadow at Vendola)Come celebrate the start of the Marin County Fair and Fire-works with your neighbors. Every year the bridge to Santa Margarita is filled with neighbors viewing the fireworks from the fair. This year we thought we would make a party out of it. Bring your own drinks and snacks. The SVNA will be providing Hot Apple Cider. No RSVP required. v

Marin History Museum comes to Santa Venetia!

Tuesday, June 4 Take a walk through the past. Join the SVNA, on Tuesday June 4, as we host The Marin History Museum at our next Community Meeting. Marcie Miller, the Museum

Manager, is hard at work with volunteers, including our friend Ray Lorber, working on their PowerPoint presentation. Expect to hear about our past from the Miwoks in the 1800s to Timothy Murphy, Indian Agent, the powderworks, goldmines, and the 1900s.

Paramedic budget–good news for SV!SVNA Past President Mark Wallace, our CSA #19 AB Chair, reports that he spoke with SRFD Chief Chris Gray, who was happy to say that the paramedic program has been operating well within its budget and San Rafael will not need to put any adjustments to the special paramedic tax on the ballot this year.

SVNA coMMittee coNtActS

President NORMA NOVY [email protected] 499-9409

Vice-President GINA HAGEN [email protected] 377-3377

Secretary DENNIS BORTOLI [email protected] 479-0167

Treasurer LINDA LEVEY [email protected] 499-3411

Past President ROBERT DOBRIN [email protected] 259-4049

RUSS GREENFIELDNORMA NOVY

DENNIS BORTOLI

LINDA LEVEY

NICOLE CIBELLIS -ANDREWS

2 S V N A C O M M u N I C ATO R M AY / J u N E 2013

RUSS GREENFIELD [email protected] 491-1540

NICOLE CIBELLIS-ANDREWS nicolecibellis_andrews @yahoo.com 225-6115

RICH MCGRATH [email protected]

Board Member Emerita NANNI WURL 472-3269

SVNA BoArd officerS SVNA BoArd MeMBerS

•SVNACommunityPlan–GISELLE BLOCK, [email protected]•NeighborhoodBeautification& Medians – NANNI WURL and DENNIS BORTOLI•Newsletter–LINDA LEVEY•Membership–LINDA LEVEY•SocialActivities–NICOLE KLOCK, [email protected]•Watershed–RUSS GREENFIELD •SVNA Land Use – TBA•MarshSteward,JULIANNA OLATE, [email protected], 479-9292

AdViSory BoArdS•Dredging(CSA#6)CHRIS DEIBEL, 479-9013, [email protected]•Parks(CSA#18)GINA HAGEN, [email protected]; NANNI WURL•EmergencyServices(CSA#19) MARK WALLACE, NANNI WURL•FloodControlZone(FCZ#7) MICHAEL PERANI

Santa Venetia Neighborhood Association PO Box 4047, San Rafael, CA 94913-4047www.thesvna.org

GINA HAGEN

ROBERT DOBRIN

The deadline for submissions and ads for the July/August issue is July 1, 2013. Email text to Linda Levey at [email protected], 499-3411. Put SVNA in the subject line of the email.

Paid SVNA residents can introduce themselves to the community and support The Communicator by buying a 3-5/8” x 2” ad. The big Jan/Feb issue is $50; the other 5 issues $25 each. Pay one issue at a time or get one free issue by paying year in advance. Only $150 for the whole year, 6 issues, and receive FREE 4-color on the SVNA website and in the display case. For ad specs, contact Norma Novy: 499-9409, [email protected]

NewSLetter SuBMiSSioNS

Santa Venetia Neighborhood Association Mission StatementTo preserve and promote the quality of life of the Santa Venetia community. This is achieved through encouraging healthy social interaction; facilitating the flow of information; and protecting the natural beauty and economic well being of the community.

RICH MCGRATH

From the President

Photo credits: Jackie Garcia, Nicole Cibellis-Andrews, Carla Koop, Mercedes Carino, Linda Levey,NormaNovy,SueMace(TheCreekwalker),BonnieMonte•ThankstoAnnThomp-son for the Communicator masthead design, to Jok Church for original SV logo design. andtoJoelLauforrevisingit.•Articlesinthisnewsletterrepresenttheopinionsandideasof the authors, and may not reflect the views of SVNA or its board. While this newsletter aims to best represent information that is useful to the community, please note that SVNA reserves the right to edit submissions for both accuracy and clarity.

Dear Neighbors,A big thanks to our departing president, Robert Dobrin, who did such a wonderful job shepherd-ing the SVNA since 2010. His intelligence and his deep knowledge of and commitment to our com-munity will be missed. We hope he will resurface to work on future community projects. Welcome to two new board members (see page 3 to read their bios), Nicole Cibellis-Andrews and Rich McGrath. Nicole is a mom and a food writer who loves to bike in Santa Venetia, and has bound-less energy to create fun and inclusive social activities here. Rich is a Marin Center volunteer who takes care of 8 flags that are donated and maintained by the Marin united Veterans Council. You can read his in-spiring story on page 7. Rich’s wife was one of the founding members of the SVNA.As the new president, I find that there’s plenty to do. High on my list is bringing together all the people who live in the diverse geography of Santa Venetia—flat lands, hillsides, marshlands, watershed—and show-ing off our community to its best advantage! Fixing curbs and streets, encouraging neighbors to repair existing sidewalks or put in new ones, and cutting back vegetation from sidewalks will all improve the “look” of Santa Venetia. See page 4 for offer from Ghilotti Bros. contractors.Speaking of neighborhood beautification, the Earth Day clean-up crew of Santa Venetia volunteers did an incredible job! Lots of trash was removed from our beautiful community. And the coffee/pastries in the park after cleanup was a classy touch. Thanks to all who partici-pated and to Jackie Garcia for organizing. And thanks to Nanni and her dedicated crew for the ongoing median gardening work.Thank you to Barbara Brown of The Marin School for their presen-tation at our last community meeting. They should be all moved into their new digs by now. I look forward to seeing everyone at the next Community Meeting on Tuesday, June 4, 7pm, featuring a presentation by the Marin History Museum about the history of Santa Venetia. I’d love to see all of our local history buffs in attendance. A group of us met with Supervisor Susan Adams recently to discuss the state of Santa Venetia. In attendance were board members Linda Levey, Gina Hagen, Rich McGrath, and I, Norma Novy. Susan has a depth of knowledge about Marin County and Santa Venetia that is astounding. She can recall technical information that she stored in her brain five years ago. I learned creative ways to deal with problems and come up with solutions. We are grateful for her expertise.I had the honor of being interviewed for this issue’s Notable Neigh-bors by board member Russ Greenfield, and you can read his short bio of me on page 5. Russ—many thanks for a flattering review.Summertime is a wonderful opportunity to get involved with neigh-bors and make new and lasting friendships. Come to the June 2 Neighborhood Pool Party, 2-6pm at Northbridge Pool, or drink hot apple cider with us on July 3, 9pm at the Fireworks Viewing Party. Yes, it gets really cold at 9pm on that bridge. I wear my heavy coat, sweater, socks, gloves and hat and will be grateful for a cup of some-thing warm to sip. See page 1.Finally, I planted both my front yard and back yard gardens this last week and what a job that was! Twelve tomato plants—mainly paste tomatoes for sauce—squash, beans, cabbages for sauerkraut, broccoli, onions, carrot and beet seeds, hot peppers for my husband, and a new-to-me vegetable—kohlrabi. the Communicator welcomes reports on your vegetable gardens, as well. Write and tell us what you're growing. Happy Gardening—

NANNI WURL

S V N A C O M M u N I C ATO R M AY / J u N E 2 01 3 3

County Update• Supervisor Susan L. Adams, RN, PhD, 1st District, County of MarinHousing and land use continue to be the hot topics in Marin. Nothing gets people more ex-cited than a good discussion about development.

There are a few big issues that are coming together all at this same moment in time and each one topic by itself is complex and can be confusing… Plan Bay Area’s regional draft EIR, unincorporated Marin’s Housing Element, and a possible specific application for the redevelop-ment of the Marinwood Plaza are hitting the streets at once. They are separate and unique processes, although there are interrelationships with how we view our future development in Marin. Protecting our open spaces, agricultural lands and community separators have been important to those of us who live here. But equally important are questions about how we grow, where we place jobs and housing and how we maintain community character with a diversity of housing op-portunities while looking at how we best utilize limited funds. Each of these issues has been through a lengthy public process and there has been no shortage of opinions expressed and ideas shared.We are a great community with many busy people who take time to educate themselves on the issues and engage in the public process. I cannot represent every person’s position, but our Board’s best deci-sions as policy-makers are with the benefit of many different perspec-tives and experiences. SV Citizen Storm Response Pilot ProjectIn addition, the Flood Control and Water Resources Division is very active in District 1. At the January 14, 2013 Zone 7 Advisory Board meeting staff was asked to come up with a Santa Venetia Citizen Storm Response Pilot Project where a group of residents would be trained to operate the portable pumps in Santa Venetia. A summary plan has been developed and will be considered at a future Advisory Board meeting. As a backup plan this past winter, after the Zone 7 AB meeting, staff implemented a system with Building Maintenance to man the Estancia pumps during large magnitude storm events until this volunteer program is in place. Due to the dry winter no support was required for this activity this past winter.Regarding Estancia, a cost estimate was prepared for a local infra-structure alternative to include Estancia road storm drain system im-provements, a float operated portable pump at the end of Estancia and the installation of a larger vault at the end of Estancia to serve a pump wet well. The preliminary cost estimate for this work is $270,000. The watershed storm drain modeling work currently underway would provide valuable information in siting and refining design of these improvements. As usual, staff will be doing a fire fuel reduction cut-ting in the Estancia ditch by Aug. 1 and then returning in the fall (prior to October 15) to do a pre winter vegetation removal to free flow obstructions from the creek. The Board agenda (cyberagenda) is available Thursday prior to Tuesday meeting at http://www.marincounty.org/depts/BS/meeting-archive.Aides Rick Fraites and Susannah Clark and I are here to serve you. Website: http://www.marincounty.org/depts/BS/district-1/home. v

Supervisor’s Corner

• Linda LeveyChanges in the Board of the SVNA are always a mixed blessing – a sad time and a happy time. And as hard as changes are, sometimes very good things come from them. But they are still changes!So it was very disheartening when we learned in April that Robert Dobrin would be stepping down from the Board. He has served on the Board with us for many years (since 2005) and has been our fearless leader since July 2010. That’s a long time to dedicate to any com-munity. He’s given his all and has the honors and the bruises to show for it. He may have stepped down from the Board, but I know Robert – you will continue to see him out and about at land use meetings, schmoozing with the mucky-mucks, and visiting coffee shops and local businesses. And maybe soon, after he’s had a break, you will see him back on the Board – we can only hope. Thank you, Robert, for your great leadership. We will miss you.But then there’s the good side… Norma Novy has been preparing the SVNA newsletter for just shy of 10 years and formally joined the Board in 2008. Since joining, her input is fair and balanced as she sees ev-eryone’s side of the issues. So we were excited to learn she was willing to “take the reins” and at our May meeting, Norma was unanimously voted in as our new SVNA President. So far, she has impressed us all with her ideas and vision. And more good news, we have two more Board Members! see their stories below. Nicole Cibellis-AndrewsI am a mom and food writer. Originally from South-ern California, my husband and I came to San Fran-cisco in 1997. We thought we would be here for just 2 years but fell in love with the Bay Area and have never looked back. upon finding out I was pregnant in 2007, we bought our first home here in Santa Venetia, because we loved the location and the proximity to China Camp—we are avid mountain bike riders, and love to play outdoors.It was just after our son’s birth that a group of parents met in Pueblo Park for a Sunday picnic, and we could all get to know one another. This picnic has spawned all kinds of family events, camping trips, and get-togethers that have made our neighborhood such a wonderful home. I truly value that Santa Venetia is a place where kids can safely run down the street to their friends’ houses to play, and that our children will grow up together with parents who enjoy peace of mind knowing and trusting our neighbors.I feel truly blessed to have such down-to-earth and fun neighbors, and I am excited to give back by focusing on community-building and to be one of the many neighborhood voices for families and children.Rich McGrathI was born in Providence, Rhode Island, the only child of an Army family. My childhood years were spent in Ohio, Virginia, Kansas, Pennsylvania, New Jersey, and four years in The Hague, Netherlands.After serving in the Air Force I met and married Shirley and moved to Marin in 1969, along with our daughter Kelly. We bought a home in Santa Venetia in 1973. Our son Tom came along a few years later. Both Kelly and Tom attended local public schools, and have gone on to successful careers, but return to visit often. They both remember Santa Venetia as a great place to grow up.Parenthood meant serving as assistant Little League coach and assis-tant Scoutmaster. I proudly volunteered with the Marin County Search & Rescue team for eight years. I retired from a 36 year railroad career in 2004. Shirley and I celebrated our 40th anniversary in Ireland in 2008. I’m looking forward to working with my friends and neighbors on the SVNA board to keep our neighborhood the special place it has always been, and to improve it where and when we can. v

SVNA Board Updates

Join the SVnA toDAY! Power in numbersRegular $30 • Seniors $15 includes one-year member-ship and subscription to the Communicator Newsletter!


• Judy Schriebman, Gallinas Watershed Council– On May 1, GWC held a presentation on Healthy Marin Creeks at SR City Hall, hosted by Damon Connolly. Laura Chariton presented on the main topic and inspired people to see water and watersheds and planning in a whole new way. Gordon Bennet presented the draft Marin County Streamside Conservation Area ordinance. It is up for comment until it goes to the Board of Supes on June 18: www.co.marin.ca.us/depts/CD/main/comdev/advance/SCA.cfm. This ordi-nance will apply to all unincorporated Marin County creeks, including ephemeral streams. And Isaiah Thalmayer of the STRAW (Students and Teachers Restoring a Watershed) gave us hope for the future, with all the students STRAW has trained to be excellent watershed restorers and environmental stewards. The Q&A period went on for 45 minutes. We thank all three presenters for sharing their expertise with us. – If you missed the Reflections on Water show, you can now view Creekwalker’s beautiful photos at the Alain Pinel Real Estate office. see story at right. If you have would like to help GWC continue to exhibit these photos, contact Joyce Clements at 499-1477. Thank you Carolyn Lenert and Alain Pinel Realty for this venue.– GWC and hydrologist Rachel Kammen led four informative water-shed hikes in four sections of the watershed over the past four months. The third one saw hikers down in the ditch and envisioning what a fully restored Gallinas Creek could be. The last one was of Santa Venetia, around the marsh area at the end of Vendola. We are fortunate to have Rachel leading these hikes and she does another set later in the year. – GWC will again share a space with Marin County Open Space at the Marin County Fair on Wed., July 3. We could use additional volun-teers to fill in the schedule. Benefits include a free pass to the fair in exchange for one 3-hour shift. Contact Russ Greenfield at 578-2580.– McInnis Marsh Habitat Restoration: County Parks’ Elise Holland will be appealing to the State Coastal Conservancy for grant funding to study restoration of McInnis marsh, south of the LGVSD ponds. Re-storing this area would increase habitat for the Clapper Rail and other species that will be impacted by the airport sports complex AND it will bring additional marsh buffering for sea level rise protection to homes and businesses upstream. We have a sample letter of support you can send to will help secure this much needed funding: http://www.ga linaswatershed.org/letters-of-support-restore-mcinnis-marsh.html– Our monthly meetings are now on the 1st Thurs. of every month (except July, when the meeting on Wed., July 10). Community room, Northgate Mall, 2nd floor above the food court and next to MarinLink offices, 7-9pm. All are welcome. www.gallinaswatershed.org v

Watershed Works

Join us at the Community Meeting Marin History Museum • Tuesday, June 4, 7pm

Korean Presbyterian Church

Gallinas Creek Photographs on view in Mill Valley• Lucy ReidReflections on Water, a photographic exhibition highlighting the life and beauty of Marin’s creeks, is on view in May at Alain Pinel Realty, in downtown Mill Valley, 32 Miller Avenue. Twenty-five framed color images by Creekwalker, local photographer Sue Mace, are being shown as part of the Gallinas Watershed Council’s outreach effort to increase interest in our watersheds. Individually printed art cards are also available. The realty office is open 10am to 4pm, seven days a week. It is located kitty-corner from the Book Depot.

Watershed model commissioned• Carla Koop, Gallinas Watershed CouncilThis past April GWC received a small grant from the San Francisco Estuary Partnership to advance community-based watershed pro-tection. The grant will help fund GWC’s public outreach, education and stewardship efforts, including watershed walks, bike rides, and cleanups. A special purchase made possible through the grant is an educational watershed model, which demonstrates the sources and solutions to pollution entering local creeks and the bay from human-generated activities. The model will be available for loan to educators and watershed groups. The grant will also fund GWC’s initiative to promote collaboration among watershed groups across the county to address common concerns, share resources and increase effectiveness of efforts to protect and advocate for watersheds.With the help of Mill Valley-based Floating Records, GWC is seeking original water-inspired songs from musicians for a CD compilation that raises awareness of local creeks. To submit a song or for more information, please contact Carla Koop at [email protected]. v

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Swing By After the Show!• Delicious Food & Great Prices • Family Style Dining

• Thin Crust Pizza • Extensive Italian Menu• Happy Hour 4:30-6:30pm Complimentary Appetizers• Dinner Sun-Thurs 4:30-10:30pm, Fri & Sat 4:30-11pm

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Time for Sidewalk ImprovementIn case you haven’t heard, the county will be repairing various roads in Santa Venetia from 5/17 through 8/17.THIS JuST IN: you don't have to be on a street with roadwork – all of Santa Venetia can take advantage of the cost savings. While Adrian Way and other streets in the neighborhood are being repaired, Ghilotti Bros. is giving free estimates for many types of concrete work such as fixing sidewalks, curbs, gutters, driveways, and more. Because they are already working in our neighborhood, the work will be discounted.NOW IS THE TIME: Always wanted new sidewalks? Do you have holes in your sidewalk? Do you have a broken curbs? Did you know you are responsible for the sidewalks in front of your house?ACT NOW! Contact Al Dalecio at Ghilotti Bros., 415-454-7011 x2252, [email protected]

Notice to Property Owner This notice is to inform you that Ghilotti Bros., Inc. will be performing work in your neighborhood. If you are in need of any work listed below please contact us for a free estimate. Giv-en that we are in your neighborhood there will be a cost savings for you.Sidewalks, Curb and Gutter, Demolition, Driveways, Park-ing Lots, Patios, Pools and Decks, Retaining Walls, Sports Courts, Stamped Concrete, Residential & Commercial Free Estimates


• Russ GreenfieldYou all probably caught this. But in case not, we have a new SVNA president—Norma Novy. Norma has been a SVNA Board member the last seven years, but she tends to be quieter than most. Let’s find out a bit more about her.

Norma grew up in a suburb outside of Chicago Illinois. She attended Grinnell College as an art major before transferring to the university of Iowa to complete her education. upon graduation, Norma found herself in the world of graphic arts and publishing, working for magazines, advertising agencies, and the like in Chicago. Graphics have always been part her life. Norma uses her skills to layout the SVNA newsletter of which we are all so proud.In 1976 Norma was visiting her sister in Sausalito and met a man and decided to move to California and start a relationship. The relationship did not last long, but the California living took root in San Francisco. She took up a special way to paint called “unconscious painting.” The idea is to create a painting without an end result in mind—this frees the mind and allows you to face any fears possibly restricting you in some way. At the same time, she got involved with comedy improvisa-tion and performance for many years. In 1986, to explore her physic abilities, she settled down in San Rafael to start three years of classes at the Berkeley Psychic Institute.In 1994, Norma met a wonderful guy, Hank Levin, and they settled into 37 Vendola, an apartment at Keelin and Joseph Pohl’s house. When a For Sale sign appeared on 33 Vendola Dr., they immediately put in an offer. They moved in December 1995 and married in 1996. Both Hank and Norma love the area.Norma has lots of interests. She practices Qi Gong with a local group on the Island and is an accomplished belly dancer. Along with her sister, a certified landscaper, they created Soil Sisters (now Sisters in the Garden), to raise vegetable, CA natives, and flower plant starts (baby plants). She graduated in 2005 from the Marin master gardener program, and has taught courses at the College of Marin. She hopes to write a book on her specialty—growing tomatoes. You can tell of her gardening expertise by looking at the cute home she lives in at 33 Vendola. Beautiful plants are all around.Norma believes that Santa Venetia is a great place to live. Being unin-corporated, Santa Venetia has a character of freedom that she loves. She likes the diversity of Santa Venetia and believes that it is filled with some wonderful people. We have lots of creativity taking place here and people using imaginative ways to problem solve. Neighborhood pride is her #1 priority and hopes to bring this awareness to the entire neighborhood.Norma, with her Norwegian heritage, has what I call “Viking Spirit”— a simple desire to explore new places and ideas, and is not held back by much of anything. As our new SVNA president, we should expect her to set Santa Venetia’s sails. Welcome aboard mates! v

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The SV Community Plan • Bonnie Monte, Santa Venetia Community Plan CommitteeThe Community Plan Advisory Committee had its first meeting with senior planner Christine Gimmler and planner Suzanne Thorsen on May 2. The committee is made up of members from all regions of our neighborhood — from the hills to the flatlands, the President Streets to the marsh. Our aim is to submit a plan to the Board of Supervisors for approval in August 2014. The community survey that so many of you participated in was key in determining the issues to address in the plan, and the committee will continue soliciting further input from Santa Venetians throughout the process. Our desire is to give all residents a chance to be heard.The County is setting up a web page for us to find relevant docu-ments: www.co.marin.ca.us/santavenetia. Expect it to be up and running by early June. Also note that the County will host a neighbor-hood meeting in July 2013. Come and make your concerns heard! We’ll post the date, time, and location on the County web page, the SVNA website, and on the Yahoo! eGroup.Editor’s NotE: Thank you so much to our neighbors who are serving: Jane Brand, Jackie Garcia, Russ Greenfield, Mary Hanley, Roger Heller, Tamara Hull, Jack Liebster, Greg Martinez, Bonnie Monte, Gary Robards, and Giselle Block, Chair. v

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Academic achievements• Laura Daniels, Venetia Valley PTA & VVEF Board MemberAs we wrap up the school year, we have lots of exciting news to share about student achievements at Venetia Valley School. My Favorite Teacher Contest WinnersTwo of our middle-school students submitted winning nominations for the My Favorite Teacher Contest sponsored by Barnes & Noble. Carla Acevedo wrote about middle-school teacher Ray Slater, and Natalie del Carpio nominated retired Venetia Valley teacher Suzanne Logan. Submissions were judged on criteria such as the compelling nature of the teacher’s qualities and the sincerity of the student’s ap-preciation. Ray Slater was named the local winner of the My Favorite Teacher Contest, and Suzanne Logan received special recognition. Congratulations to our amazing teachers, and to our students for their well-written essays!Tech Trek Every year, Venetia Valley teachers nominate five 7th-grade girls for a chance to attend the weeklong Tech Trek science and math camp held at Stanford university in the summer. All girls who are accepted attend Tech Trek camps on scholarships provided by the American As-soc. of univ. Women (AAuW). This camp is specifically targeted at girls entering 8th grade who have a strong interest in science and/or math. Students go through a competitive qualification process that includes filling out an application, writing an essay, and getting interviewed.This year, AAuW received 32 nominations from seven schools through-out Marin. Of those 32 nominations, seven girls were chosen to attend Tech Trek. We are proud to announce that Venetia Valley 7th-grader Vivian To was selected and will attend Tech Trek this summer at Stan-ford with a full scholarship!As always, Venetia Valley School appreciates the support and friendship of our Santa Venetia neighbors! We wish you all a terrific summer!Editor’s AdditioN: From Marin iJ, In Your Town, 5/11/13 Venetia Valley Principal Honored Principal Juan Rodriguez has been honored as a Latino community member of the year by the 10th District Democrats and the Democratic Central Committee of Marin. Rodriguez, 43, has been an educator in San Rafael schools for more than 12 years and has been at Venetia Valley School since late 2012. He was previously principal at Bahia Vista Elementary School. He was previously named as the 2012 Marin County educator of the year by the Marin County Office of Education.

• Collecting box-tops We are still collecting Box-tops for Education from General Mills products and Campbell La-bels for Education. The box-tops are worth 10 cents and are used to fund the 5th Grade Outdoor Education Program. The Campbell Soup Labels are used to obtain PE and playground equipment for

Venetia Valley School. Contact Tess Robards, 507-0375

• Cash for trash Yes, Cash for Trash is continuing. Tad Inouye, 847-0215, will collect all your aluminum cans and

all California Recycle Value (CRV) bottles every Thursday morning in front of your home. You need to let Tad know that you will be participating in this good cause and leave your address. Empty out all liquids. Your support pays for Art and Physical Education

at Venetia Valley School.

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The Marin School joins our ’hood• Barbara Brown, Head of SchoolDear Santa Venetia Neighbor: I am writing to you from our fabu-lous new campus at 150/160 N. San Pedro Road. We moved in over Spring Break and I am grateful that the move went so smoothly. We really hustled to get the classrooms, offices, Internet, and all services running smoothly by our starting day, and we did it! Now that we are settling in, I am so happy that the students seem to love the new campus. The faculty members are happy that their rooms are more spacious. The campus has room for us to breathe. We are enjoying the green space that surrounds us, and are so thankful to be here and a part of your beautiful Santa Venetia Neighborhood.We would like to invite all of you to visit our school and take a tour of our campus. We hope you can join us for one or both of these events.May 30 – Neighborhood Get-Together with our Santa Venetia neighbors. Dessert and coffee will be served from 7-8:30pm. Please RSVP to Sierra Antonio ([email protected]).We look forward to getting to know you! In the interim we invite you to find out more by visiting www.themarinschool.org. Please contact me with any questions/concerns at [email protected]. v

A HIGH SCHOOL THAT FITS YOU.Proudly located in the Santa Venetia Neighborhood150 N. San Pedro Road | San Rafael | CA 94903 www.themarinschool.org

ViSit our webSite: thesvna.orgGet the latest info on what's up in Santa Venetia!


Reading is so delicious• Alison Fuller, Friends of the Civic Center Library, 492-3439Just a reminder that the Summer Reading Program at the Civic Center Library, entitled “Reading Is So Delicious,” begins on June 8. When you come in to sign up, please bring a canned food to donate to the Marin/San Francisco Food Bank.As our Librarian, Eva Patterson, reported in the March/April Com-municator, every adult who signs up can choose a cookbook donated by the Book Place, the Friends’ used bookstore. We will also donate 50¢ to the Marin Food Bank for each review posted by an adult, up to $500. Children earn rewards for every week that they read for 3 hours or more. Teens earn an e-ticket for every book they read and submit an on-line review. The e-ticket is an entry in a weekly drawing as well as for the grand prize. For more information visit the website at www.marinlibrary.org or call 473-8058. v

Library Beyond WallsSanta Venetia resident, Carole Sherick, wants all residents to know about a free library service called Library Beyond Walls, offered by the Marin County Free Library. If you are unable to visit various library locations in person, Library Beyond Walls staff and trained volunteers will deliver and pick up library materials from your home.Carole has been volunteering for four years and loves the friends she’s met and the pleasure she derives from helping others. The library has a variety of materials: large print books, dvds, tapes, and audio books. If you could use this service, know of someone who might, or if you want to volunteer, call 663-8818 or visit the website: www.marinlibrary.org/using-the-library/outreach-services/library-beyond-walls. v

Friends of the Civic Center Library Avenue of the Flags• Rich McGrathAlong the northern boundary of the Civic Center campus is a long, straight boulevard appropriately named Avenue of the Flags. Where it intersects Civic Center Drive there is a small plaza with several monuments honoring those Marin County residents who gave their lives serving their country during two World Wars, and in Korea, Viet-nam, Iraq and Afghanistan. There is a statue of a jaunty World War I Doughboy, another of an eagle, and a third depicting two seemingly exhausted Vietnam era G.I.s leaning on each other for support. Listed on various plaques, or engraved directly into the granite are the names of 249 young Marinites killed in action.Above the monuments are two tall flagpoles. Atop the first fly two flags, the American flag, and the black POW / MIA flag just below it. They are illuminated at night, and fly 24 /7. The second pole is for the California state flag, which is raised and lowered every day by a county employee.Further along the Avenue are eight more flags, that, as a Marin Cen-ter volunteer, I have been given the honor of caring for. These have been donated and maintained by the Marin united Veterans Council. These eight flags provide a simple visual chronological history les-son of the united States. The first, closest to the monuments, is the Grand union flag of 1776. It features the British union Jack in the canton, and a field of 13 red and white stripes honoring the original 13 colonies. The second of the eight historical flags is the Betsy Ross flag, with a circle of 13 white stars in the blue canton. Third is the famous Star Spangled Banner, which flew over Fort McHenry during a British naval bombardment in the War of 1812, and inspired Francis Scott Key to write the poem which became the words to our national anthem. It has 15 stars (Vermont and Kentucky had joined the union by then) and, uniquely, 15 red and white stripes. Fortunately Congress realized that adding stars AND stripes every time a new state was admitted would make for an unwieldy design, and voted to honor the original 13 states by keeping that number of stripes, while adding one white star to the blue canton as each additional state was admitted.That decision is reflected in the designs of the subsequent flags along the avenue, displaying 20, 25, 45, 48, and finally today’s 50 star flag. At the base of each pole is a small plaque, showing the dates that each design was used, the name of the organization that donated the funds to install that particular pole, and the year it was dedicated. It is a quiet, dignified place of honor. The views of the surround-ing hills, and especially Mount Tamalpais are beautiful. It’s a great place to spend a few minutes, not glorifying war, but reflecting on the sacrifices of so many young Americans who, as is engraved on one of the monuments, “gave all of their tomorrows..”.Commencing at 9:00am on Memorial Day, Monday, May 27th, the Marin united Veterans Council will conduct remembrance ceremonies that begin indoors at the adjacent Marin Veterans Auditorium, then move outdoors for wreath laying at the monu-ments. The public is invited. Spending a few minutes of a holiday morning attend-ing this event would be an excellent reminder of the true meaning of Memorial Day. v

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• Norma NovyPresident Robert Dobrin called the meeting to order and introduced Barbara Brown of The Marin School. They were spending their last 60 days at their old school in Sausalito and estimated their move-in date to Santa Venetia’s Blessed Sacrament Church Bay Marin, 150 N. San Pedro Road as April 1-15. They showed a film about their faculty and staff that was created with the help of their students. They now have a total of 65 kids, with a class size of 7, but the enrollment could grow to as many as 140 over the next few years. The Marin School will begin accepting applications for a Santa Venetia scholarship in the fall of 2014, so if you have high school-aged kids, please consider applying. The tuition is $38,000 per year and 47% of students are on financial aid. On May 4 from 10am-12pm they showed prospective family tours of the campus and on the evening of May 23, they showcased their student jazz band at the Festival of the Arts. Soccer (Nighthawks), basketball, archery, football and baseball are all sports that The Marin School offers. For more information, go to TheMarinSchool.org. v

Community Meeting 3/22


Land Use Update 2013Keep an eye on the santa Venetia eGroup for up-to-the-minute info.This is a list of current and ongoing projects that we are aware of in Santa Venetia. Now is the time to get involved, before the projects are built, not after. If you have an interest in the outcome of any of these building projects, and you should, please contact the SVNA Land use Committee and/or the appropriate parties: don’t wait until it’s built!2012 Draft Marin County Housing Element-6/24/13 A hearing will be held by the Planning Commission on June 24 regarding the Final Supplement to the 2007 Countywide Plan Environmental Impact Report for the 2012 Draft Marin County Housing Element (Final SEIR), project merits of the 2012 Draft Marin County Housing Element, amendments to the Countywide Plan related to housing, Zoning Map amendments and Development Code amendments related to housing, definitions, and development. For more information: www.co.marin.ca.us/depts/CD/main/housing/housingelement.cfm

650 North San Pedro Road. 10 units approved–will they be built? Marin County Contact: Jeremy Tejirian, Planner. SVNA Contact: Mary Hanley, [email protected]. Thank you to Supervisor Susan Adams, the 650 Committee, the 650 Working Group, and all the neighbors who for many long years attended meetings, wrote letters, read emails, and responded. A compromise was reached and after almost 10 years, the Planning Process finally came to an end. Neighbors now are looking at options and avenues to save this property. How can you help? Save Heron Hill, in cooperation with the Marin Community Foundation and Marin Open Space Trust, is currently raising money to purchase Heron Hill and the adjacent properties. We welcome your time and/or financial contributions to ensure that this incredible Marin County treasure remains open space for future generations of people and wildlife to enjoy. For more information: www.saveheronhill.org McPhail‘s School Site. SRCS Contact: Chris Thomas, CBO, cthomas @srcs.org. SVNA Contact: Linda Levey, [email protected]. The San Rafael School District has once again indicated plans to surplus the school site. The McPhail's Working Group remains dedicated to keeping this site and field as a neighborhood park and resource, as well as protecting the seasonal wetlands. If you are interested in being apprised/updated on this property, contact [email protected] to be added to our email distribution list.

Osher Marin JCC - Use Permit. Marin County Contact: Curtis Havel, Planner. Preliminary information indicated an application to update the use Permit. They are finishing up the required traffic study and parking requirements should be satisfied with the addition of the new lot. According to a recent San Rafael City Schools bulletin’s Superinten-dent’s Report, “Superintendent Watenpaugh met with representatives of the Marin Jewish Community Center to look at collaborative solutions to address traffic concerns on North San Pedro Road.”

Oxford Valley Site. Marin County Contact: Neal Osborne, Planner. SVNA Contact: Mark Wallace, [email protected]. Last we heard, the Marin Montessori School had put the property back on the market. We will continue to post any new information as received on the eGroup.

San Rafael Airport/Soccer Complex/Recreational Facility. San Rafael City Contact: Kraig Tambornini, Planner. SVNA Contact: Mary Hanley, [email protected]. Thank you to our many neighbors, along with many other concerned Marinites, who put up such a valiant effort in opposing this project. Despite these efforts, the Airport Recreation Facility project was approved by the San Rafael City Council on December 17. A lawsuit challenging this approval has been filed by the Gallinas Defense Council. v

No owl boxes for our parks• Ed Hulme, Park Superintendent, IPM CoordinatorDear Advisory Board Members: The department received your request for installation of owl boxes in the Santa Venetia parks with the expressed goal of having the owls assist in the control of rodents. We have conducted a thorough review of the potential for the sites and of the possible impacts. We requested that the local experts on owl boxes from the Hungry Owl Project visit each of the parks and determine if they were suitable for the installation. Our natural resources and man-agement staff provided additional insight.Specialists from the Hungry Owl Project determined that only Pueblo Park had a location that would be appropriate for installation of an owl box. Adrian Rosal Park was considered too small and Castro Field Park did not have a suitable location that was quiet enough. Concern was raised about the potential use of toxic rodenticides on adjoining private property and the potential secondary impact on the owls. We have no control of the type of rodent control used nearby and could not guarantee the owls would be safe from its use. Owl boxes are gen-erally recommended for larger, more rural areas like farms, vineyards, ranches, golf courses etc. use of owl boxes in urban areas needs to be done in conjunction with IPM methods of exclusion, prevention and trapping.A second and very important concern raised was that by artificially increasing the number of owls in the area, there would be an unin-tended adverse impact on the federally protected salt marsh harvest mouse that inhabit the nearby marsh. Both park staff and staff from the Hungry Owl Project agree that if the owl box at Pueblo Park was used, the owls would most likely hunt in the’ marsh. Based on these assessment and concerns we will not allow owl boxes to be installed in the Santa Venetia parks. v

• Gina Hagen, CSA #18 Advisory Board ChairCandy’s Park - The plans to renovate Candy’s Park are coming along quite nicely. Marin County Parks (MCP) Planners Steve Petterle and Nancy Peake have been working hard to create a beautiful place for neighborhood kids to play and learn! The design is in the process of being finalized, and construction is likely to happen this summer. There will be an opportunity for “handy” volunteers to contribute during the installation of the structure.Castro Park - There will be a chance for folks in the neighborhood of Castro Park to weigh in with MCP planners about renovation plans. Date TBD. If you’d like to be notified of updates regarding either of these projects, please contact Steve Petterle at 415-473-6394.Join the advisory boardEditor’s NotE: There is now an opening on the CSA #18 Advisory Board (Thank you to Barbara Tannenbaum for her service). If you have an interest in Parks and Open Space and would like to service on this AB, please contact Susannah Clark, Aide to Susan Adams. v

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Second Saturday Medians


• Nanni WurlMarch was again the time to work on the longest median. Our weed-whacker shared my feelings (enough is enough!) and decided to take some time off. We did the best we could, pulling the weeds by hand. Working were Carolyn Byrne, Dennis Bortoli, Maggi Garloff, Kurt Huget, Wayne Lechner, and Carl & Helen Sitchler. We always love to see Carl since he handles the clean-up around the medians. Laurie Steese again donated towards our lunch. Many thanks, Laurie!In April, we returned to the same median. Dennis had done some repairs and he was able to weed-whack while the rest of us pulled weeds. We did not want to prune the Pride of Madera since it was in full bloom. It will be done after we work on the medians that can be watered by hand (from Meadow to The Rafael). We all had a wonder-ful surprise when Rich McGrath joined us. It is great to have a new volunteer to join our small group. Carolyn and I put in extra time every so often. The team consisted of Carolyn Byrne, Dennis Bortoli, Kurt Huget, Wayne Lechner, Richard McGrath, and Carl Sitchler.The regulars would like to thank Hank Franzini for donating tomato plants for all the median volunteers. Mine, accepting my Spartan treat-ment, is doing quite well. We enjoyed our first picnic of the year at Candy’s Park after the hard work on the medians. I received a call, too, from The Rafael letting me know that the Pride of Madera in front of their place was causing a problem. I talked to my dependable sidekick, Ms. Carolyn, and we agreed to work on 4/27. Carl Sitchler was so kind to help with the pruning and to take some of the weeds. While Carolyn and I worked, our savior Rich McGrath pulled up and helped us to weed in front of the three homes. Carolyn and I were elated. I did not ask any of the other volunteers to help. Rich drove by, saw us, stopped, and the rest is history.Last Minute Addition: After our work on 4/27, someone else came by and chopped away at the plants in front of the three homes – that was not us. The Median Volunteers want to distance themselves from the butchery on this median. We consider plants living beings, not decora-tions. v

Sara Jones Named Director of Marin County Free Library• Eva Patterson, Civic Center Library Branch ManagerSara Jones the former director of the state library in Nevada and cur-rent director of the Carson City, NV library system has been selected as the new director of the Marin County Free Library. She is the successor to retired Gail Haar and is a nationally known innovator and skilled fundraiser. The Board of Supervisors was looking for a director with a proven track record of engaging both staff and the community about the importance of library services and how libraries contribute to the quality of life of our residents.An Idaho native, Sara is highly respected in her profession for her in-novative ideas, fundraising skills, collaboration with community groups and ability to inspire staff. She was the state of Nevada’s co-Librarian of the Year for 2012.“I am thrilled with the opportunity to lead the library system and pro-vide the residents of Marin County exceptional resources and service,” Sara said. “Public libraries are more important than ever in our lives. They give a safe and trusted place for learning, provide recreation and, perhaps most importantly, connect people and ideas.” “I can’t believe how lucky I am to be moving to such a beautiful, diverse and community-centered county,” she said.Sara earned an undergraduate degree from Boise State university in Interpersonal Communications and a master’s degree from Syracuse university in Library and Information Science. She anticipates comple-tion of her Ph.D. in Library Science later this year from the university of North Texas.Sara started her library career as a youth services librarian in Elko, NV, and served more than six years as the library’s director. In addition to her duties as a librarian, Sara has been an adjunct professor of library science at North Texas and at San Jose State university. She has helped raise more than $15 million as a grant writer and served on the boards of several library associations. Sara will start on July 8 but will make a few visits to Marin in the intervening months. v

From the Stacks

Gaspare’s Pizzeria gives back...• Linda LeveyGaspare’s Pizzeria is the place to go for a wonderful meal AND to benefit the SVNA — any day, any night, lunch, dinner, to go – whatever! So, the next time you are too tired to cook, need a special night out, are ready to celebrate, and/or have a yen for some delicious Ital-ian food or pizza: order in or order out at Gaspare’s. And remember, mention the “SVNA” and they’ll donate 15% of your meal ticket to our neighborhood. A big THANK YOu to Danny, Gaspare, and Robin! v

...and keeps on giving!Gaspare's Pizzeria Ristorante 6th Annual Golf Tournament When: Monday, June 3rd • Time: Check in at 10:30am-11:45 Every-one tees off at 12:00 Shotgun Start, Scramble format. • Deadline: Payment must be received by May 27th to reserve your tee time. Where: Peacock Gap Golf Course • After Dinner Party: Gaspare’s Pizzeria • Price: $100 fee includes golf, box lunch, dinner party at Gaspare’s, & raffle ticket • Prizes: Raffle prizes, winner prizes, contest, longest drive, closest to the pin • Benefiting: Marin Advocates for Children and Marin Food BankWe would like to thank everyone who participated in last year’s tournament. From your purchases of raffle tickets, tee signs and prize donations, we raised $3,500 for the Marin Advocates for Children and the Marin Food Bank.

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The Marin County Sheriff’s Department Emergency number ................................................................................................911Emergency from a cell phone .............................................................. 472-0911Non-Emergency (24-hour Communications) ................................ 479-2311Crime Prevention ....................................................................................... 499-7263Victim/Witness ............................................................................................ 499-6450City of San RafaelEmergency ..................................................................................................................911Emergency from a Cell Phone ..............................................................453-1515Non-Emergency Fire Dept. ..................................................................... 485-3300Non-Emergency Police Dept. ................................................................ 485-3000San Rafael Emergency/Disaster Info Hotline ..................................485-5070Flood Control/Clogged DrainsWorking Hours ............................................................................................ 473-6528After 5pm/Weekends .................................................................................473-7513Community Development Agency/PlanningFront Information Counter .................................................................... 473-6269If you see dumping (get license #) ...................................................... 479-2311To request dumped stuff pick-up ....................................................... 473-7388PG&E underground Alert ..............................................................800-227-2600PG&E Electrical Outage ..................................................................800-743-5002

Community Compass


“Don’t Forget the eGroup” Join our Neighborhood eGroup to share info and to join in group discus-

sions. ALSO...post and hear about: Coyote Sightings, Missing Dogs or Cats, Stolen Bikes, Repair Referrals, Bird Identifications, Break-ins, Garage Sales,

Special Sales to the Neighborhood, and much more.

http://groups.yahoo.com/group/SV-Community

Join us at Community Meeting Tuesday, June 4, 2013 • 7pm • Korean Presbyterian Church

SVNA Membership

Your Ticket to a Better Community

• Linda LeveyWe are the SVNA and it’s a great organization. If you haven’t joined or renewed your 2013 membership, I hope you will soon. And for those who have, Thank You.

MORE MEMBERS = MORE COMMuNICATION = MORE POWER AS A COMMuNITy.

A warm Santa Venetia welcome to new SVNA members: Tim Kocee & Kathleen Leake, Christopher & Crystal Sokolov, and Angela & Mike Steiner. And thanks to those neighbors that have donated extra: Bill & Mary Barker, Edgar & Carol Bryant, Beverly Busher & Bruce Laing, Pat Fedorchak, Phyllis Fleming, Kerby Ann Gleeson & Howard Behle, Lisa Goldfien, Roger & Sally Kirk, Mike & Jan Lopez, Cathy Lynch, Richard & Shirley McGrath, Sarah Mollison, Nancy Murphy, Mary Phillips, Gary & Tes Robards, Ian Robertson, and Jackie & Gary Watson. Santa Venetia is a great place to live and we want to keep it that way! If you have an interest and/or talent – join your neighbors and volunteer on one of the many SVNA/Community projects. If there is a issue you have an interest in, a committee you would like to serve on, or anything you have to say – speak up! Come to a Community Meeting! Join the SV eGroup! Or send us a letter—we are waiting to hear from YOu. We heard from Pat Fedorchak – “60 years at same address on Galerita Way! It would be interesting to know how many original owners there still are in ‘Gallinas Village.’” Does anyone have an idea how to get that information? If this is of interest. We also heard from Phyllis Fleming that she recently turned 90 years old! Congratulations to you Phyllis!!!

Kurt Huget, Singer/songwriter June 9: Jazz/rock group, Namely us, will be performing at the Fairfax Festival. June 29: Country-rock with Moonlight Rodeo at the Old Western Saloon in Pt. Reyes Station June 30: Classic rock group, The 7th Sons, will be performing at the Summer Music Series at the San Rafael Elks Club. July 13 & 14: Two benefit concerts called “A Musical Tribute to The Beatles” at Creek Park in San Anselmo. Contact: [email protected]'s Cafe is open for breakfast and lunch 7 days a week and offers music 6 days a week from 11:15am-2pm during lunch. Sandy Bailey, a talented ukelele player from Hawaii plays customer favorites.The Marin JCC events will start their Summer Nights outdoor con-certs under the stars on July 13 with Hot Buttered Rum. v

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Update On 1600 Los Gamos—Emergency Operations Facility• Mary Lou King, Marin Civic Center Vision Committee The Emergency Operations Facility (EOF) is a tremendous undertak-ing by the County of Marin. Much thought by the members of the Board of Supervisors and staff have brought the project to this point.A year has been spent on designing and developing plans for applica-tion to the Community Development Agency for necessary building permits. Construction could then begin for “building it back”.February 2013 demolition began in the interior of 1600 Los Gamos. This was the first step to prepare the building for seismic upgrades and mechanical systems for the new EOF. This demolition phase is now two months from completion, and mid-summer should see the “moving forward” of construction. Jeanne Miche’ of the Department of Public Works, Capital Proj-ects Group, is overseeing the EOF design and construction in conjunc-tion with the County administrator’s office. HMC + Beverly Archi-tects is the lead design firm.To quote Jeanne Miche’, “the project is on budget and on schedule to complete the construction, test equipment and move in Sheriff personnel and Information Services and Technology data center equip-ment in the summer of 2014.” It will be a wonderful time for Marin to celebrate this momentous achievement!For ongoing updates, please go to this web page: www.marincounty.org/depts/pw/divisions/capital-projects/emergency-operations-facilityv


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Community parks Medians, neighborhood beautification Labor Day Picnic Other _____________

advertising: (See page 2.) Paid SVNA members can introduce themselves to the community and support The Communicator by buying a 3-5/8” x 2” ad. The big Jan/Feb issue is $50; the other 5 issues $25 each. Or save and pay only $150 for the whole year, 6 issues, in advance, and receive FREE 4-color on the SVNA website and in the display case. For ad specs, contact Norma Novy with your info: 499-9409, [email protected]

Renew or start your SVNA membership Make check payable to and send to: and newsletter subscription today! SVNA, PO Box 4047, San Rafael, CA 94913-4047

would you like to help? Check your areas of interest. Write in your suggestions after "Other."

SVNA Board Membership Committee Newsletter Attend meetings Flood Committee Land use and development Community/Vision Plan Social activities Civic Center Library Neighborhood safety Flyer distribution Phone banks Marsh, creek or neighborhood clean-ups Transportation/traffic

SVNA Membership Form $30 regular/$15 senior

YES!Signmeuptodayatthefollowingyearlyrate(checkone): $30 regular household $15seniorhousehold(65yrold+)

Additional contribution:$_______ Neighborhood Beautification Fund$_______ DisasterPreparednessTeam(DART)$_______ General Donation

Name(s) ________________________________________________

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Address ________________________________________________

City/State/Zip ____________________________________________

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From Mercedes SchockemoehlFlorence Runge Cariño (1913-2013) passed away on Thursday, April 18, 2013 in her home on Vendola Drive surrounded by her children and family members after a week’s hospital stay for aspiration pneumonia. Some of you may have known her by her colorful afternoon wheelchair “walks” in Santa Venetia with a daughter or caregiver, and dog Bailey several times a week.Born on Aug. 29, 1913, Florence was one of four sisters and a brother of the late Katharine and Adolph Runge, and raised on Pine Ridge Farm in Concordia MO. She graduated at the top of her class from Central Missouri State u, and taught at Concordia College in Ft. Wayne. In 1948 she married Melchor Cariño in Chicago, IL and raised three children. She worked as a lab techni-cian, and then as a blind rehabilitation specialist at Hines VA Hospital, where she wrote the manual for methods of teaching the blind in daily living skills. When Mel passed away, she moved to Hawaii to help with the Lutheran Mission for ten years, and then in 1988 she moved to San Rafael, CA to be closer to her children. She moved in with her daughter’s family, and lived in an in-law unit for 25 years. Her passions were sewing, doll-making, quilting, good nutrition and living the simple life. She was also very involved with her Trinity Lutheran Church family. She is survived by her children Katherine Williams, Mercedes Schockemoehl (husband Jim), and David Cariño; three siblings, four grandchildren and six great-grandchildren.Reprinted from the Marin Independent JournalJohn Paul O’Hara (1930-2013) passed away peace-fully at his home in San Rafael on April 2, with his sons at his side. Born in Miller, South Dakota, to Ellen Anna (Burns) and James Joseph O’Hara, Paul was the youngest of six siblings. When he was six years old, the family moved to Valley Home (near Stockton), then to Sausalito, and finally to San Anselmo where they settled. Paul attended St. Anselm’s School where he excelled in football and developed life-long

friendships. He served honorably in the Marine Corps and Coast Guard, and like his father, became a carpenter. In 1956, Paul married the love of his life, Jean Walker of Exshaw, Canada, and together they raised four boys in Santa Venetia. Paul was active in the Gallinas Val-ley Little League, serving as President in 1972. He coached his sons’ baseball teams, including the 1969 Marin County Little League cham-pion Magicians. He was a passionate San Francisco 49ers and Giants fan. Paul is survived by his sister, Marguerite Kelly; his three sons Timothy (Joanne), John (Lynne), and Kevin (Nancy); his daughter-in-law, Vicki; and nine grandchildren. Paul was predeceased by his wife Jean in 1995 and son Michael in 2006.

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MARK YOUR CALENDARS Santa Venetia Neighborhood Association May/June 2013

• Compiled by Linda LeveyFrom Linda LeveyFuton Mary Celebrates 30 years. I was honored to be included on the guest list to help neighbor Mary Hughes celebrate 30 years in business. Friends participated in a Roast or Boast and the finale was a group of singing, high-kicking women (hats, tails, and all), with the perfect tribute and an impromptu performance by Mary herself – who knew she could kick that high? It was a great party for a great woman.Otter lovers links. As you may know, we typically see otters in Las Gallinas Creek. Frances Nunez forwarded me the following links that may be of interest to other otter lovers. Thought I’d share… » http://www.marinij.com/sausalito/ci_23235603/marin-group-

shines-light-return-river-otters-county » http://www.riverotterecology.org/ » http://www.riverotterecology.org/otter-spotter-interactive-map-of-

bay-area-sightings.html

Marin County Fair winners… Don’t forget—our next issue is July/August. If you, your family, or friend wins a ribbon or award at the up-coming Marin County Fair, let us know. We love to publish good news! From John Surinchak+Garage Sale donates to St. Vincent's. I’d like to thank the organiz-ers of the Santa Venetia garage sale last week. The books, magazines, clothing and miscellaneous items were distributed to the grateful recipients at the St. Vincent’s Dining Hall. Go santa Venetia!From Norma NovyQigong on the Island meets every Thursday morning at 10-11am, just across the bridge under the big oak tree. Cost is $10. Say hello to your SV neighbors while gently energizing your body, mind and spirit with Qigong group with leader Denise Aubin. The weather is lovely now, so join us! Call Norma at 499-9409 for info and rain location.Our new barber. Hello to yosepi at 294 N. San Pedro Rd., between C & C Automotive and 7-Eleven. He designs and cuts men's hair, fades, tapers and also gives straight-razor shaves. Contact [email protected]

Neighborly Notes

Support Our Advertisers 7-Eleven • Bogie’s Cafe • C&C Automotive • Chalet Basque • CMS Audio Visual Rentals • EMFSolutions.Info Gasparé’s Pizzeria • Geo's Tree Care • Integrity Electric • JAMAKU Bartending Services • James A. Walsh Real Estate • Marin Ace Hardware

Paradise Construction • One Foot at a Time • Technomaven–Computer Housecalls • The Marin School

Fire season is here! George from Geo's Tree Care is working with Mike Long of Reed Tree Service in Mill Valley on large tree trim-ming and brush removal jobs designed to reduce the risk of fire. From Sandra FawnCongratulations! Orion Weinstein-Atman, a 16-yr old senior at Terra Linda High School, is a winner of a Gates Millennium Schol-arship, one of 1,000 winners out of more than 54,000 applicants. He has been accepted to Dominican university and plans to major in Bi-ology and Environmental Sciences. The scholarship is funded through the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation. From Tad InouyeA great big THANKS to all SVNA neighbors who contribute to the Venetia Valley Recycling Program. If you would like to participate, please call Tad Inouye at 847-0215.Swimming in Santa VenetiaThe Santa Venetia Swim Club is open for the summer. For more information, call Sue Wilkinson at 454-8568. The Northbridge Swim Club is open for the summer. Please con-tact Barbara Perkins for more information at 479-2544.

A little good news from our neighborhood and another reason we love our deputies here. there’s a video on the iJ web page, too, so you can see mommy and babies reunited.Deputy sheriff saves ducklings from Santa Venetia water grate, reunites them with mother

• Megan Hansen, Marin independent JournalA Marin County sheriff’s deputy rescued six ducklings after they fell into a storm drain late Tuesday evening on Mark Twain Avenue in Santa Venetia. San Rafael businesswoman Celeste Parcell said she was walking along the roadway when she noticed that six duck-lings had fallen through the drain grate and were making tiny quacking noises. A seventh duckling and the mother duck were nearby. Parcell flagged down sheriff’s Deputy Joe

Meesey, who happened to be driving by, and asked if he could help. Meesey removed the grate, assessed the situation and went to a resi-dent’s house, asking for a shoe box. He then rigged a duckling rescue device. “He cut it at one end and wrapped a strap around it and then he lowered it into the hole,” Parcell said. “The hole was about 3 to 4 feet deep.” One by one, the ducklings jumped into the box and Meesey raised them to safety. Each quickly ran to be reunited with their moth-er. “He was just so wonderful,” Parcell said of Meesey, who could not be reached for comment. www.marinij.com/sanrafael/ci_23210827/deputy-sheriff-saves-ducklings-from-santa-venetia-water

may marin history museum comes to santa...

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