Question One - A Question For California?

Local Civil Rights Group On Watch Today

2009-11-03T15:59:29Z

Sacramento, CA – Today is election day across the nation and members of Equality Action Now, a local volunteer grassroots organization are watching three key areas who’s outcome could impact the struggle of the LGBTQI (Lesbian, Gay, Bi, Transsexual, Questioning, Intersex) community here in California.

While Tina Reynolds, co-founder of Equality Action Now, and her army of volunteers are preparing for tomorrow’s “One Year Ago” rally and march at the state capitol to call attention to California’s gay community and their own struggle to overturn Prop 8, they will be paying close attention to elections in the states of Maine, Washington, and the city of Kalamazoo Michigan.

The first and most important battleground for supporters of is in the state of Maine. Mainers will be the first in any state with the chance to repeal or uphold a law passed by their state Legislature and signed by their governor, legalizing same-sex marriages. The ballot measure, Question One, results from Maine’s provision for a “people’s veto”, which means any newly passed law can be subject to repeal by voters if enough signatures can be obtained to trigger a referendum. Last minute polls indicate that support of same-sex marriage is squeaking ahead but it is still too close to call.

The state of Washington is a voting mail-in state so while their Referindom 71 has already been decided, the results will not be in until later today. Referindom 71 would expand the rights, responsibilities, and obligations accorded state-registered same-sex and senior domestic partners to be equivalent to those of married spouses, except that a domestic partnership is not a marriage. The bill reads that same-sex couples, or any couple that includes one person age sixty-two or older, may register as a domestic partnership with the state. Registered domestic partnerships are not marriages, and marriage is prohibited except between one man and one woman. This bill would expand the rights, responsibilities, and obligations of registered domestic partners and their families to include all rights, responsibilities, and obligations granted by or imposed by state law on married couples and their families.

Today the citizens of Kalamazoo Mishigan will be voting on the Kalamazoo “Non-Discrimination Ordinance”. The City Commission passed the inclusive non-discrimination ordinance on June 29 after five public forums were held to hear comments about the ordinance. The final ordinance, which simply adjusts current employment and housing/accommodations law to protect gay and transgender people as it currently protects people based on race, gender, and religion, includes revisions proposed during the public forums. If passed, the city ordinance could be a template other cities could adopt in the future.

All three elections may or may not have an impact close to home here in California. In any case gay and civil rights activists across the state have already been actively supporting the three other elections by fundraising, phone banking, and as with the all important Maine vote, sending trained organizers to key cities to lend support on the ground. This is a good indication that activism is growing and many individual organizations, big and small are pooling their resources to support common issues.

Here in Sacramento, Tina Reynolds, fresh from attending the National Equality March in Washington DC is reflective and defiant saying,“November 4 will be the one year anniversary when California’s LGBTQI (Lesbian, Gay, Bi, Transsexual, Questioning, Intersex) community lost our equality and it will be the day after the vote in Maine, Washington and Kalamazoo. We will stand on our own state capitol steps in solidarity with our brothers and sisters fighting for their civil rights everywhere. We will celebrate with them or join arms and continue to gain strength to fight on a national level with them!”

Whatever the outcome in other states, it is likely that California will continue to be an important battleground for gay rights and same-sex marriage.

The Center For Land-Based Learning Hosts Author David “Mas” Masumoto

2009-09-01T00:55:14Z

On Sunday, September 20, 2009, the Center For Land-Based Learning is hosting the 5th in its series of “Author Gatherings” at the Farm on Putah Creek in Winters, CA. Past authors have included John Scharffenberger, Michael Pollan, David “Mas” Masumoto, and Alice Waters. Mas Masumoto is once again visiting the Farm to talk about his latest book, Wisdom of the Last Farmer: Harvesting Legacies from the Land.

David "Mas" Masumoto is an organic peach and grape farmer and author of Epitaph for a Peach (1995), Letters to the Valley, A Harvest of Memories (2004), Four Seasons in Five Senses, Things Worth Savoring (2003) and Harvest Son and Planting Roots in American Soil (1998). His new book, Wisdom of the Last Farmer: Harvesting Legacies from the Land (Free Press August 4, 2009) is touted as an “eloquent and moving memoir”.

The day with Mas will begin with a very special Writing Workshop taught by the author for anyone wanting to sharpen their skills writing about nature, food, farming, or just how to write so your reader will become more involved in what you are trying to convey. Masumoto is unique in the way he describes his life on the farm and the “fruits” of his labor. His skill of framing a sentence into a sensory event for the reader is nothing short of poetic genius. The workshop will begin at 11:00 am, last 2 hours (lunch included), will be limited to only 20 people and will cost $50.00 per person. Mas will take you through a series of lessons and exercises in an intense and intimate small group learning experience. This writing workshop will be very popular so get your reservations in early!

If you are not able to get a reservation for the workshop, you can still enjoy visiting with the author by attending a public reading and book signing of his recently published book, Wisdom of the Last Farmer: Harvesting Legacies from the Land. In addition to talking about his book, Mas will lead a general discussion concerning sustainable food and farming. This event will be held from 2:00-5:00 p.m. and will include a light snack. The cost to attend this event is $10 per person and his book will be available for purchase.

For more information about the author visit: http://www.masumoto.com

The Farm on Putah Creek Is located at 5265 Putah Creek Road, Winters, CA 95694 near Davis, CA. For more information about the Center and its mission to help educate and guide students to become future farmers and stewards of our land and for directions visit: http://www.landbasedlearning.org.

To reserve a place for you at the farm to enjoy a “Day with David Mas Masumoto” email info@landbasedlearning.org or call (530) 795-1520. This event is a fundraiser for the Center for Land-Based Learning and is fully tax-deductible. Masumoto is gracefully donating his workshop fees and a portion of his book sales to the Center and to their exciting educational programs.

One Year Ago – A Day of Smiles - A Day of Tears – A Day of Action

2009-10-08T06:59:47Z

A year ago on November 4, 2008, Proposition 8, a California ballot proposition passed in the November general election. The measure added a new section (7.5) to Article I of the California Constitution. The section reads: “Only marriage between a man and a woman is valid or recognized in California.” The proposition overturned the California Supreme Court’s ruling saying that same-sex marriage is a constitutional right, by restricting the definition of marriage to opposite-sex couples. California’s State Constitution put the measure into immediate effect the day after the election.

On November 4, 2009, Equality Action Now, along with members of the Sacramento LGBTQI (Lesbian, Gay, Bi, Transsexual, Questioning, Intersex) Leadership Coalition will lead a rally and march at the California State Capitol Building to highlight the fact that the fight for civil rights for all citizens is not over. The rally will begin at 5:00 pm with sign making for participants, followed at 6:00 pm with a few speakers. At 6:30 pm Equality Action Now will lead a march around the capitol grounds.

Equality Action Now, a grassroots all-volunteer civil rights organization was born literally moments after the November 2008 elections. The award-winning group of activists lead by Tina Reynolds, co-founder and owner of Uptown Studios now serves as Sacramento’s premier civil rights organization. Even though the same-sex marriage issue is still an important focus of the organization, members have also spent their free time collecting food for the poor marched in step with other organizations such as the labor union and the Martin Luther King Jr Day parade Members also was instrumental in supporting SafeGround Sacramento, fighting for the homeless and helpless.

The Sacramento LGBTQI Leadership Coalition was formed just prior to the recent California Supreme Court decision to uphold Prop 8. Along with leaders of Equality Action Now, this group meets monthly to share information from other local grassroots and statewide organizations on preparations to overturn Prop 8.

The November 4th rally will serve as a reminder to the public at-large that the LGBTQI community, along with their many straight, political, and religious allies will not give up the fight for full equality until their rights are fully restored. While the decision of when to place this issue back on the ballot (2010 or 2012) is being decided, organizations such as Equality Action Now are continuing to mobilize, motivate, activate like-minded individuals and educate opponents who may have heard only one side of the issue.

The California State Capitol Building is located at 10th and L Street, Sacramento, CA. The rally will begin on the west steps at 5:00 pm and will conclude at 6:30 pm with a march around the capitol grounds. For more information visit Equality Action Now’s web site at: http://www.EqualityActionNow.org. or events@equalityactionnow.org or phone (916) 446-1082.

Uptown Studios Leads the Way for Other Companies to Go Green

2009-09-24T17:53:47Z

More then 20 years ago computers began appearing on office desks everywhere. Soon after the idea that we could eventually have a “paperless office” sprung forth. Today we are nowhere near completely cutting out the use of paper in our work place even though an increasing number of workers are socially aware enough to want to do something about it. In a recent Harris Interactive poll, of 1,569 U.S. and Canadian office workers, almost 40 percent of U.S. respondents claim to be “irritated” when co-workers print unnecessary junk pages.

Uptown Studios, known as “Sacramento’s graphic design firm with a social conscious”, is announcing that they are “moving to greener pastures – in print and the way we operate our business.”

Tina Reynolds, owner of Uptown Studios began running her own design firm since 1976 and created Uptown Studios in 1992. Reynolds built a truly socially conscience company out of her talented and highly creative staff. Her clients are a “who’s who” of large and small companies, government organizations, and non-profits with a strong reputation of their own. Clients such as California State Parks, El Dorado County Visitors Authority, Horwitz, Horwitz & Associates (Chicago, IL), Iron Workers Local 118, Jane and Jane Magazine and Center For Land-Based Learning are just a few that depend on Uptown Studios for their web site design and development, graphic designs, print production, video, multi media, photo research, and social marketing.

Realizing that a company or even a small business cannot realistically go entirely paperless, the creative staff at Uptown Studios brainstormed a revolutionary program that promises businesses to reduce their printed materials by 25 percent, “while improving results by utilizing effective, alternative green production methods.”

Reynolds and her staff transformed their own business to serve as a successful example. Uptown Studios has cut down on print by utilizing electronic tools such as interactive PDF and created an exciting new web page that will serve as a marketing tool without a large print run. They are constantly searching for new ways to turn what was thought to be only viewable in print, to something refreshingly seen by a much wider audience.

So what about the paper that is still necessary to run an office? Uptown Studios recently completely reverted to using FTC (Forest Stewardship Council) Certified Paper, or 100% recycled paper when FTC is not available. They also use printing companies that use certified FTC materials. Also, using inks that are vegetable-based with the lowest VOC (Volatile Organic Compounds) rounds out a truly “green” office strategy.

Utilizing state-of-the-art graphic and print tools and making sure printed materials are recycled or their decomposition properly takes place if it ends up in a landfill, distinguishes a business in the community as being socially responsible to future generations. Uptown Studios is making other Sacramento companies “green’ with envy.

For more information and tips on making your office a little more greener, call or email: Uptown Studios, 410 Alhambra Blvd - Sacramento, CA 95816, (916) 446-1082. Email Tina Reynolds: tina@uptownstudios.net Website: http://www.UptownStudios.net

Maine’s Question One – A Question For California?

2009-10-13T15:56:08Z

On the evening of November 4, 2009, members of civil and same-sex marriage rights organizations will stage a rally at the California State Capitol to protest the passing of Prop 8 exactly one year ago. Roughly three thousand miles away in the state of Maine, Question One will have been answered for citizens hoping their state is the next state to legalize same-sex marriage.

Maine is the latest battleground for supporters of same-sex marriage. On November 3, they will be the first in any state with the chance to repeal or uphold a law passed by their state Legislature and signed by their governor, legalizing such marriages. The ballot measure, Question One, results from Maine’s provision for a “people’s veto”, which means any newly passed law can be subject to repeal by voters if enough signatures can be obtained to trigger a referendum.

Back here in California, supporters of same-sex marriage are cautiously hopeful for a landmark victory that they believe would have an impact here. If the law is unhealed it could help with a positive momentum many believe is happening in California. The real question is how would a defeat, Maine voters repealing the law; affect California in overturning Prop 8?

“I don’t think anyone really knows for sure,” answered Tina Reynolds, co-founder of Equality Action Now, a grassroots civil rights organization based in Sacramento and organizer of the California State Capitol protest. “Maine is our sister state fighting the same lies and distortions created by the religious right to repeal their same sex marriage laws. The radical right is using fear in the same manner as they used against us in California.”

Reynolds goes on to say, “November 4 will be the one year anniversary when California’s LGBTQI (Lesbian, Gay, Bi, Transsexual, Questioning, Intersex) community lost our equality and it will be the day after the vote in Maine. We will stand on our own state capitol steps in solidarity with our Maine brothers and sisters. We will celebrate with them or join arms and continue to gain strength to fight on a national level with them!”

Whatever the decision of Maine voters, knowing the track record of California gay rights activists who seem to have the resiliency to press on year-after-year, the fight for same-sex marriage will continue to move ahead until it is settled for good. While Maine could provide a boost or depression, it is likely to have a short term affect to the efforts here in California. One good indication could be the attendance and the mood of participants, both for and against gay marriage, who show up on the west steps of the California State Capitol Building, November 4th at 5:00 pm. It could be a defining moment with national implications.