Newest articles on The Sacramento Press tagged as "grassroots"

Kim Mack jumps into City Council race with both feet

2011-10-27T01:11:41Z

Kim Mack said she decided to run for City Council District 2 because she saw a need that hasn’t been filled in her North Sacramento community: responsive leadership.

That isn’t necessarily a dig at the current council member for the district, Mack said Tuesday – it’s a statement of purpose.

Mack, 49, has a long career in government service under her belt, including campaign experience as a field organizer for Barack Obama’s 2008 presidential campaign where she was responsible for campaign activities from Bakersfield to the Oregon border.

Mack also worked on local campaigns including Ami Bera's recent run for the 3rd Congressional District and Richard Pan’s successful run for Assembly.

“I believe deeply in grassroots organizing and grassroots activism,” Mack said. “Working on those campaigns proved to me that I was right to believe in that. It showed me that with a little bit of leadership, we can achieve a lot.”

Now, Mack said, it’s her turn to jump into the political arena with both feet.

Although Mack was born in Sacramento, she moved with her parents to Redding as a teen. Mack moved back to Sacramento in 1992 and has lived in District 2 for 13 of the last 19 years.

Vince Mack, Kim’s husband of six years, is a middle school science teacher at Norwood Junior High school who has been teaching in the district for 23 years.

Incumbent Sandy Sheedy will face off against Mack and former Midtown Business Association Executive Director Rob Kerth in the coming City Council election – and more candidates may still enter the field.

“There’s a lot of people that see a vulnerability on Sheedy’s part,” Mack said. “She has not done a lot for the whole of the district. The majority of the district feels neglected, and now there is a resurgence in city activism.”

Mack said grassroots activism is her specialty, and she intends to engage fully in the district to bring people together to discuss community problems and deal with them.

“I am giving full-time focus to my campaign,” Mack said, “and I will be a full-time council person.”

Mack said she thinks it’s important to not be distracted as a council member, so she doesn’t plan to hold another job or serve on other boards or commissions during her time in office, if she wins the election.

“She really knows her community,” said Kimberly Durson, a legal clerk in Grass Valley and a former co-worker during the Obama campaign. “She is emotionally invested in Sacramento and in her neighbors.”

District 2 has large populations of Russian, Laotian, Hmong and African-American families, among others, Mack said.

With so much diversity in a single district, Mack said she feels it is “the responsibility of a leader to create understanding between people in all parts of the community.”

Mack said she wants to go into the community, connect with community leaders and get their input on how they see diverse cultures coming together.

“I want to have an understanding of each culture myself to become a pathway for bringing people together,” Mack said. “I’m not going to presume to know everything about everything.”

Mack said she has strong feelings about some of the policy issues that Sacramento has struggled with recently, including regulating medical marijuana dispensaries, redevelopment, and the recent Occupy Sacramento movement that has been active in Cesar Chavez Plaza for more than three weeks.

“I support the Occupy Sacramento movement,” Mack said. “General citizens need to be given the same consideration as banks have been given.”

However, Mack said she would like to see the movement have “a little more direction,” and for protesters to articulate exactly what they want to accomplish.

“The momentum (the movement) has gained warms my heart,” Mack said, “but now let’s use this strength to make something happen – let’s have a clearer end goal.”

Durson said setting goals and meeting them are Mack’s specialty.

“She is a really good organizer,” Durso said. “She runs a clean campaign – never disorganized or hard to understand what she’s trying to convey.”

Durson said Mack’s ability to work well under pressure will be an asset to her during the upcoming election.

“(Mack) digs in and works through challenges,” Durson said. “She’s been through hard times – her son in the military was deployed to Afghanistan, and she struggled with that. Some things are mind over heart, and she puts her head down and works hard to get through tough situations.”

When it comes to medical marijuana, Mack said she supports the voters’ decision to make it legal in California – as long as decisions about locations of dispensaries are well thought out.

“I support the law, but let’s be smart about it, and let’s be safe about it,” Mack said. “Industrial areas? Fine. Near schools and homes? No. We can be smart about how we approach it.”

Samantha Corbin, a friend who worked with Mack on local campaigns for Ami Bera for Congress and Dr. Richard Pan for Assembly, said Mack is “unique” in her commitment to finding “real solutions to real community problems.”

“She has a skill for helping voters find and tell their stories that makes her a perfect candidate for local office,” Corbin said. “She is a true community advocate.”

Mack said her fundamental priority – outside of restoring pride and empowering the community – is restoring city police and fire departments.

“Public safety is the top priority of municipalities,” Mack said. “I can tell you with 99.9 percent accuracy that I will never vote to lay off police officers and fire personnel.”

“Ordinary people doing extraordinary things.” Mack said that’s her favorite Obama quote – and it is exactly what she sees as the future of District 2.

“It might take more than four years; it might take more than eight years,” Mack said, “but you will see noticeable difference with me in office because there will be someone in the community, working for the community. Good or bad, I‘m not afraid to walk on those streets.”

Melissa Corker is a staff Reporter for The Sacramento Press. Follow her on Twitter @MelissaCorker.

Pace Bathrooms presents a “No-GMO” night

2011-07-07T00:08:29Z

On Saturday, July 2, Pace Bathrooms hosted a fun informational evening filled with movies, guest speakers and delicious, fresh food.

The purpose of the evening was to raise awareness about GMO’s and the “Truth in Labeling” initiative slated for the 2012 ballot.

Metha Pace, the hostess, did just that by slyly employing the audience’s senses.

First on the program was the eye-opening movie “The World According to Monsanto”. The movie was meant to introduce the audience to who Monsanto is (an agricultural biotechnology corporation) and what exactly GMO’s are (a genetically modified organism).

Monsanto is the chief producer of genetically engineered seeds with approximately 90% being used in the US. While over 30 countries require labeling of their GM food, the US does not. When asked how to ensure one is not buying GM food, Metha passed out a brochure with a handy shopping guide. (www.nongmoshoppingguide.com)

After the movie came a thrill for the taste buds with the sampling of various dishes made with fresh produce supplied by Organic Jack. Among the colorful spread there was blueberry cobbler, mango salsa with jicama, roasted root vegetables and fresh fruit.

Organic Jack Hertel, guest speaker, is Farmer in Chief of Foothill Organic Growers. Foothill Organic Growers, located in Newcastle, is a group of local farmers that offer and deliver fresh organic fruits and vegetables such as bell peppers, peaches, beans, Asian pears, among other delicious produce, to over 300 families a month. Metha Pace is also involved in FOG, she describes it as “having a kind of co-op mentality”, in which one can just simply order a box or can go up to the farm and help out.

With stomachs full, the audience went back to their seats to listen to the guest speakers which included the aforementioned Organic Jack and Valerie Ozsu.

Ozsu was a nurse practitioner for 30 years when, due to health problems within her family, she decided to “take a step back and re-evaluate her health and that of my family”. Due to her own research and findings Valerie started the Natural Health and Wellness Center, located in Vacaville, where she teaches “Let food by thy medicine and let thy medicine be food” in the form of evaluating a client’s eating habits and helping them replace those processed foods with more fresh choices. Ozsu is all about the “you are what you eat”, where if one makes wise eating choices one can be more healthy and vice versa.

With sight, sound and taste taken care of, Metha passed around free organic soap and bath salts that were a feast for the nose with such scents as Lemon, Rose and Patchouli to choose from. Pace, herself, is the maker of these delightful soaps and the proprietor of Salty Horse Bath Products, which offers natural bath goods.

Metha Pace concluded the evening by passing around a sign-up sheet for anyone who was interested in joining this grassroots movement towards getting labels on all GMO foods. Needing 1.4 million signatures by September in order to make it in time for the 2012 ballot, Pace has a few tricks up her sleeve planned for the upcoming months, including a book club, petition signings and more.

Those who are interested in fighting alongside Metha Pace in this grassroots movement can find contact her at methasaysnogmo@gmail.com or find more information at www.labelgmos.org.

Youths will report on South Sacramento community

2011-06-28T06:55:07Z

A group of South Sacramento teens will get the chance this summer to learn the ins and outs of basic news writing and reporting. The goal is to get the youths to become advocates for their community and to give voice to the issues that are particular to South Sacramento.

The Neighborhood News Bureau was established by a partnership between Access Sacramento, a nonprofit organization that provides access cable television, and the La Familia Counseling Center to teach approximately 20 teenagers, ages 14 - 18, grassroots, community-based journalism.

La Familia is one of five community centers that Access Sacramento has partnered with to develop Neighborhood News Bureau sites. Other sites include Asian Resources, Florin Creek, Pannell Center and Valley Hi-North Laguna Library.

“One of the critiques is the only time you hear about South Sacramento is when there’s a murder or a violent assault. There’s a lot of good, and the good far outweighs the negative reception that has been placed around this area,” said Vidal Gonzalez, universal youth specialist at La Familia. “By giving the kids the tools to put those positive issues forth, it’ll help to shape that perception of their neighborhood.”

According to Gonzalez, Access Sacramento is providing the NNB at La Familia with two Flip cameras, a PC with Vegas video editing software and technical support workshops.

Isaac Gonzalez, local writer and community advocate enlisted by Access Sacramento, will serve as a mentor to the 20 core youths participating in the La Familia Neighborhood News Bureau.

“Me and my father didn’t get along so I found myself as an adult aways looking to mentor figures and I feel this the part of me giving back to that. To mentor kids is a huge opportunity for me to do the same favor that other men did for me,” Isaac Gonzalez said. “To help a kid out and to give positive constructive criticism – I owe it.”

During the summer, Isaac Gonzalez will be working with youths at La Familia to help them focus their ideas and to frame the stories for their community. The story concepts and the writing will be provided by the youths, but Gonzalez will be editing the submissions and uploading the stories onto www.accesslocal.tv.

At a June 24 meeting, the NNB convened and was still in the beginning stages of developing story ideas. Each of the youths have been enlisted to develop their own story ideas. One of the youth wanted to write about the death of her 3-year-old cousin who died in an alcohol related crash.

“The inability to think about the consequences on other people when you are having fun can have dire consequences,” Isaac Gonzalez said.

High school senior Ramon Castellanos, 18, is writing a piece about juveniles on death row and he explained that the frontal lobes of young people are not fully developed.

“A lot of these youth have very real experiences in their communities - very harsh experiences and sometimes their minds are more open to things because of what they’ve been through,” said Apolonia Cortez, a youth leadership coordinator at La Familia. “I just believe they have completely different perspectives and they should be heard.”

Despite the dismal job setting for teens this summer,Vidal Gonzalez said he sees opportunities for youths participating in NNB. Statewide, the public school system has reduced summer school course offerings and La Familia has reduced teen job programs.

“I think a lot of youths are upset that there aren’t jobs out there – that there aren’t enough activities and programs for them. The majority of parks have been closed. A lot of pools are on very minimal schedules. The kids don’t have a lot of good, positive things to do and speaking to the youth, they want to express that,” Vidal Gonzalez said.

The Neighborhood News Bureau is part of Youth Voices, a program made possible by funding by the California Endowment.

#HereWeBuild is calling all professionals

2011-04-03T18:41:47Z

If you have been following the news, or driving along any freeway in Sacramento the last few days, you have likely seen the hash tag #HereWeBuild. If you don't know what it is all about, refer to my article from a few days back for the details.

For a grassroots movement that just started Tuesday, #HereWeBuild has raised more than $400,000 dollars. No money has been collected, but the committed individuals behind the movement are taking this Twitter campaign to the next level.

In a statement released by idea man Carmichael Dave on the #HereWeBuild website, a team is being formed to take this groundswell of Twitter pledges to a viable donation campaign. "Version 2.0" as Dave calls. #HereWeBuild is looking for a Financial Institution, Legal Team, Accounting Firm, Public Relations representative, Web Design team, Product Distributors and additional merchant services. All services come in the form of a donation to the cause. For a business, you really can't find a better way to align your product with positive vibes in this community.

For anyone who is capable, qualified and willing to donate their time and services to the #HereWeBuild movement, contact ~~HereWeBuild@hotmail.com.~~ Carmichaeldave@hotmail.com

From HereWeBuild.com:

"Win or lose, succeed or fail, I believe we are well on our way to showing not just our city leaders, but the entire nation that the people of the Sacramento region will not go out quietly, and will not roll over without a fight."

-Carmichael Dave

Attention all Local Sacramento Artists. We Need Your Support!

2010-12-17T07:38:11Z

My name is Aaron Myers, I am the Sacramento area director of an arts organization called RAW:natural born artists.

RAW showcases emerging/underground artists in film, fashion, music, art performing art, hair, makeup, photography and performing art. We do this on a local level through monthly multi-faceted arts showcases that showcase all of these forms of art together in one event.

I'm writing to introduce myself and RAW to you!

RAW is based in Southern California, but we currently operate in 6 cities across California and are launching in Sacramento for the first time in February! We are launching nationwide to an additional 21 cities as well.

We'll be hosting our monthly showcases at The Momo Lounge in Midtown. I'm looking for good samaritans with grassroots ways of helping us get acquainted with the city.

I wanted to send you a few things to get you acquainted with RAW as well. Below are two links to both a mini documentary (5min) and our website.

It would be great to find out more about getting the word out to Sacramento's creative community.

Thanks so much in advance.

VIDEO: http://www.youtube.com/RAWartistsTV#p/u/67/vua0g7X9HtY
WEBSITE: www.RAWartists.org

Sister and brother filmmakers work to make second film in Placerville – Utilize new fundraising site for grassroots artists

2010-11-03T17:38:43Z

Honored at film festivals nationwide, the independently produced and locally filmed “Elsa Letterseed,” has far exceeded its modest beginnings.

Gathering up no-longer-needed clothes, books and other items collecting dust in closets, Northern California sister and brother duo Sarah C. Kreutz and Paul A. Kreutz funded their first film project’s tiny budget on garage sales.

Over the course of two years, the funds needed were raised while filming took place in Placerville over three-day weekends.

“Garage sales are probably not the most conventional way to fund a film, but we were eager to get the project off the ground, and the timing was right. We had to get creative to raise money,” Sarah Kreutz said.

Six years later, the Kreutzes are gearing up to make their second film – a ghost story called “Gardner & Wells.” Inspired by Alfred Hitchcock’s philosophy “You can get an audience worried terribly without any violence,” Sarah Kreutz said she wants to make a “classic gothic ghost story.”

“I think I speak for a lot of people when I say that I want to see a ‘frightening’ movie, but I don’t want to see blood and gore,” Sarah Kreutz said.

As with the first film, the Kreutzes have chosen Placerville, a town with many of its own ghost stories, to be the filming site. Sarah Kreutz said independent filmmaking in the Sacramento region is unique: “People here are not jaded by movie-making. The process is still fresh and exciting to them. From acquiring locations to getting permits, most everyone is so very helpful.”

But when it comes to funding this project, the Kreutzes are going a different direction this time around. Like many grassroots artists, they are utilizing social media and the threshold-based pledge website kickstarter.com.

Kickstarter facilitates the gathering of funds to back a variety of creative arts projects through a new type of fundraising platform dubbed “crowdfunding.” The project creator determines a target minimum of funds and a deadline by which the funds must be raised. People who want to support artistic endeavors pledge whatever amount they choose.

If the project creator’s target amount is not reached by the set deadline, no money is collected or distributed. According to the Kickstarter website, the “all-or-nothing” funding approach involves less risk for everyone involved and motivates people to work to get their projects funded.

"We know there’s a chance we will run up against the deadline to fund the project, but we want to spread the word about our feature film to a large audience because we know this is a fun ghost story they'll want to see. This was the way to do that,” Sarah Kreutz said.

To date, more than 3,000 projects have been funded through Kickstarter. One example of local success: In September, Walking Spanish, a Sacramento-based independent rock band, funded its second album by raising $10,405 – 104% of its goal.

The Kreutzes need to raise $12,500 to subsidize the creation of “Gardner & Wells.” They’ve raised 91 percent of their goal and have 11 days left to raise the remaining $1,045. Their deadline is 4:56 p.m. Nov. 14.

“I grew up watching spooky movies and love watching ghost stories on a rainy afternoon, but there are very few modern stories available. I really believe there is a huge audience out there hungry for what we want to give them: a classic gothic ghost story,” Sarah Kreutz said.

For more information on “Gardner & Wells,” click here. To learn more about Kickstarter, visit kickstarter.com.

SSF Keynote “Why The Climate Crisis Can Only Be Solved By Citizen Lobbyists” May 20, 2010

2010-05-25T03:36:41Z

"Why the Climate Crisis Can Only be Solved by Citizen Lobbyists”

Sacramento Sustainability Forum is a monthly venue for connecting businesses, non-profits, government and interested citizens in the Sacramento region in order to promote sustainability, share insights and resources, and support movement toward a more sustainable future. The May SSF event was held at SMUD Auditorium Thursday, May 20.

Approximately 65 attendees filled the auditorium, including interested citizens and students as well as members of the business, nonprofit and government communities.

The Keynote topic was called "Why the Climate Crisis Can Only be Solved by Citizen Lobbyists", presented by Mark Reynolds, Executive Director - Citizens Climate Lobby. Mr. Reynolds has been working with organizations and individuals for over thirty-one years to empower them to make a difference in their world. Much of that time was spent in the public and corporate world providing training programs he designed and led on effective communication, leadership, team building and time management.

The purpose of Citizens Climate Lobby is to create the political will for a sustainable climate and to empower individuals to have breakthroughs in exercising their personal and political power. Citizens Climate Lobby is a national, non-partisan, grassroots organization founded in early 2007. It organizes and trains people by congressional district throughout the country how to educate Congress to enact effective climate legislation. The organization is based in Coronado, CA, and can be found on the web at http://citizensclimatelobby.org.

Mr. Noss began the evening by reviewing that this was an extraordinary week on many levels. At the Mayor’s Green Initiative Kickoff, Mayor Johnson, Maria Shriver and the Governor spoke about what they are trying to do here in Sacramento. The authors of Cradle to Cradle were present to launch an institute here in California- The Green Products Innovation Institute (http://gpii.com). The keynote focused on climate change and what citizens can do about it.

There are now over 400 who "like" SSF’s page on Facebook. Jacob Griscom introduced the sponsor program, saying that SSF aims to evolve the collective consciousness of the inside of the community. They want to focus on food, water, green jobs, he said. The community wants our region to be about more than just cleantech. The organic way they approach creating growth has attracted other organizations to help spread the word. They aim to have 250 attendees per month at events.

Griscom says that the keynote speaker has been inspirational to him, as he teaches each of us to influence policy in our community. It’s scary to look into the face of climate change and feel the full magnitude of it is terrifying because it is transformative. You must be accountable for your part in our future.

After Mr. Reynolds is introduced, he gave a very enthusiastic and audience-engaging presentation. He said there are over 2,300 paid energy/climate lobbyists in Washington, four for every one member of the House of Representatives. Most of these lobbyists are paid for by big coal and oil, and even if all of the green organizations in the country pooled their resources it would not match one month's quarterly profit from Exxon. If we leave the future of the planet up to paid lobbying we have a predictably bleak future, he said.

He went on to say that money has enormous influence in Washington DC. North Dakota is afraid to make the transition from coal to something else. 2009 was the first year that there were more wind jobs than coal jobs in the country. There has been a failure of citizens to generate enough will to influence the decisions of the politicians. Mr. Reynolds said that we need to do something useful and he wants to prepare attendees as if they were having a meeting with Senator Boxer to discuss climate change.

For 20 years CCL founder Marshall Saunders had spent time generating micro credit loans in third world countries. He went to the poorest of the poor. He lent women small amounts of money ($100 or less) to buy something to create a business in their village to lift them out of poverty. 99 percent of those loans were repaid. He has only lent to women and it has been extremely successful.

He considered the question “Did you do something useful with your life or do you just take up space?” He saw the movie An Inconvenient Truth. The climate issue always seemed too big to him. He said he tried to ignore the problem. After Marshall saw the movie he decided would have to throw himself into the climate issue the same way he had thrown himself into the poverty issue.

One question that was asked to the audience was, "What something does the person close to you have that has been important?" Reynolds had the audience pair up with someone near them, and discuss this with their “partners” in earnest.

Reynolds says that Citizens Climate Lobby exists to create the political will for a sustainable climate. Whatever they do is based upon whether or not it helps create sustainability. They also want to empower the community.

They create political will by getting as much time as possible with members of Congress, he said. They say you can meet with a staffer. If you consistently do that as a group and you are useful and create a partnership you will eventually get to meet with Senator Boxer. It will take a partnership to get this done.

The first thing a Congressman does each day is read the letters to the editor section of the paper.

“When we go to their office we show them letters to the editor from people who want things to change,” Reynolds said. This is used as a way to reach them. They go to members of every group and train people how to get press, to work to get time with Congressional members, get published regularly, and work to build a coalition of leaders to show Congress that if they do the right thing people will get behind them.

At this event, Reynolds focused only on the face to face time. The website has sample letters to leaders explaining why they should do the right thing and how to get to members of Congress.

Reynolds walked attendees through CCL’s meeting template. They don’t meet with anyone until they know what they admire and respect about them. They’re looking for common ground to work with them. They take the steps they can. They’re always looking for where they can find common ground with everyone. Carbons will kill us guaranteed. Nuclear power might. He says “We want you to research the crap out of people before you meet with them. Find out what is really interesting to them and what they have accomplished”. They practice all the time, and have a conference call once a month to try to expand members knowledge so that when they meet with the member of Congress they are giving them the most current accurate info. They practice how to speak about the issue. Having the facts is not always enough.

There are at least two camps on how you reduce emissions. One camp is “cap and trade”- you can trade your permits to other organizations. This has always included offsets. How are you going to manage that? Instead of setting up a managed system, CCL wants to put a fee at every oil well and coal mine, and keep increasing the price annually. Instead of buying permits you would get a rebate. Under any plan the price of energy has to go up. You can rebate a monthly dividend check that is greater than their increased energy cost. They are for 100 percent recycling of the revenue so all people get a bigger dividend then you pay for energy.

Next Reynolds went through how CCL members conduct meetings. They take the road of respect with the members of Congress: Tell them your purpose is to find out what their priorities are with energy and climate in the U.S. What do they like about it? Reynolds said he looks for where there is common ground and where he can make a few key points. Get a few points in while they are talking inside of what they are committed to doing with common goals.

Reynolds added that you have to be really good at listening. Listen, practice speaking effectively and take a course of options. 10,000 hours is the number of hours needed to be an expert at anything, although Reynolds said he doesn’t expect anyone to put in that amount of time toward this process. Congressmen don’t care about emails. Politicians are most impacted by handwritten letters. It makes a big difference. Ask for face-to-face time.

Reynolds closed by saying the world is looking at California as representative of America’s future. When we have AB 32 on the block, that will speak loudly to the world and the rest of the country. If we can’t hold that down then we’re in trouble, he said.

The 2006 law, known as AB 32, seeks to reduce greenhouse gas emissions in California and imposes new requirements on power plants, manufacturers and other businesses. A coalition of business groups headed by Tesoro Cos. and Valero Services have turned in signature petitions for a California Jobs Initiative for the November ballot that asks voters to consider putting the brakes on what the Associated Press calls “the nation's most far-reaching global warming law.”

The evening ended with some final announcements, including that the next Sacramento Sustainability Forum event will be on June 17, and will be held at Hot Italian in Sacramento, with three speakers talking about local food.

****

About Sacramento Sustainability Forum:

Leaders include Jacob Griscom, the Western Regional Manager for BetterWorld Telecom, a nationwide, carbon-neutral, full-service voice and data telecommunications carrier, Richard Noss, who co-founded Sacramento Green Drinks and is CEO of GreenVision, a company that provides environmentally responsible branded presentation packaging, Ben Phillips-Lesenana, Co-Founder and Managing Partner of eGreenItems, an eGreenPlanet, Inc. Company delivering eco-friendly and green solutions, and Jon Haas, the Sacramento Area Farmers' Market Manager for Healthy Gardens, a family run certified organic wholesale nursery.

Supporters include City of Sacramento, Environmental Council of Sacramento, SSB, Green Drinks Sacramento, AEP, Green Capital Alliance, Valley Vision, Sacramento Tree Foundation, Professional Environmental Marketing Association Sacramento Chapter, Business Alliance for Local Living Economies, The Green Office, Green Sacramento, SARTA CleanStart, Kenyon/Yeates, Sacramento Business Journal, Solar Power, Michael Brandman Associates, Sacramento State College of Continuing Education, Marketing by Design, Business Council on Climate Change, The Urban Hive, LPA, Uptown Studios, Coalition on Regional Equity, CA Business Alliance for a Green Economy, California Product Stewardship Council, Verde Group, Ubuntu Green, downtowngrid.com Sacramento, Eco-Chic Design, Aztec Solar Inc., Cassia Communications.

Local Company - Waste Connections Steps up to the Plate

2009-12-15T03:44:24Z

During these tough economic times it is refreshing to see a company not only donate money but continue leading the way in ensuring that important non profit services are not interrupted in their communities. A service company, Waste Connections, is embedded in their neighborhoods and has been supporting more than fifteen local charities for many years. Their grass-roots outreach has proven to be the most effective and cost efficient. It works! Many local nonprofits have been struggling in this downturn to stay afloat and Waste Connections has come to their aid - very quietly, but consistently. Government agencies, local governments, please take note. Local grass-roots efforts are the most effective way of reaching and helping people (on Main Street and in rural areas), during this downturn and that includes job creation and important necessary services. The "culture of giving" and community service starts at the top with management, and Ron Mittelstaedt is a leader to watch. Waste Connections is having a huge impact on El Dorado and Sacramento county communities. Let’s all learn from their example and pitch in - our work has just begun!

Marriage Equality Rally and March at the Capitol

2009-11-06T22:16:36Z

Over 200 people gathered Wednesday night]at the California State Capitol for a rally and march which marked the first anniversary of the passage of Proposition 8.

The event, “A Day of Smiles, Tears and Action,” was led by Equality Action NOW, a grassroots civil rights organization, along with several supporting organizations. The event also followed relevant elections in Maine and Washington on Tuesday.

In Washington, voters approved Referendum 71, keeping a law that expanded state benefits to same-sex domestic partners. In Maine, voters rejected a law passed by the state's legislature and signed by the governor that would have allowed same-sex marriages. Maine is now the 31st state to reject same-sex marriage in a popular vote.

Proposition 8 amended California law to recognize marriage only between a man and a woman.

Last year was not the first time that California voters were presented with a vote to narrow the definition of marriage. In 2000, Proposition 22 passed, approving the same language, “Only marriage between a man and a woman is valid or recognized in California.”

During his speech at the event, EAN volunteer and Camp Courage representative Chris Hauck pointed out the positive difference between the two propositions. While Proposition 22 won by over 22 points, Proposition 8 won by less than five points. Hauck also noted that Proposition 8 was not supported by a majority of voters in areas like Santa Barbara and Irvine, areas where an overwhelming majority supported Proposition 22 almost a decade ago.

Proposition 22 was eventually overturned by the California Supreme Court, allowing gay marriage for approximately five months before the passage of Proposition 8. Proposition 8 was upheld in the California Supreme Court last May in Strauss v. Horton.

As the ongoing judicial and legislative battle ensues, national groups including the American Civil Liberties Union are discouraging further legal action, saying it could do more harm than good. Instead they recommend making changes at the ballot box.

Jennie Reiken, Sacramento field manager for Equality California, strongly encouraged attendees to start canvassing. She encouraged people to educate those around them by having one-on-one conversations about their relationships.

“While the event was held to commemorate the passing of Proposition 8 and the resulting year of inequality, the rally was held to encourage people to get involved in any way they can and provide ample volunteer opportunities," EAN spokesperson Hilary Hodge said after the rally.

Following the march, several organizations made sign-up sheets available to participants. EAN recognizes there is a difference of opinion between marriage equality activists on whether to try voters again in 2010 or 2012. Whenever the issue returns to the polls, Tina Reynolds, co-founder of EAN has stated, “(EAN) does not take a stand one way or another since choosing a date has worked to polarize our community. We will be there whenever a rally, a vote, a stand needs to be made, and we will support all of our brothers and sisters in solidarity.”

In the near term, grassroots efforts in Sacramento continue, including an intensive two-day training called Camp Courage Sacramento this Saturday and Sunday. The training is designed to teach community organizing skills for marriage-equality activists. Registration information is available here. A fundraiser for Camp Courage will be held this tonight at Head Hunters located at 1930 K Street in midtown Sacramento.

A brief timeline:

March 7, 2000 – Proposition 8 passes in the Primary Election

May 15, 2008 – Proposition 22 overturned by California Supreme Court (in re: marriage cases)

Nov. 4, 2008 – Proposition 8 passes in the General Election

May 26, 2009 – Proposition 8 upheld by California Supreme Court (Strauss v. Horton)