Foothill Collaborative
For Sustainability
Summer Celebration
Mark your calendars now for Saturday August 11, a fun day in
the sun and shade with a swimming pond, food and music stage.
FoCuS is hosting this season's gathering for both relaxation and
to make and keep the connection with inspired folks envisioning
a sustainable future for themselves and the planet. Look for
more details in
future e-bulletins.
FoCuS Representative Report on
County General Plan Process
FoCuS is
preparing a background report to be submitted to the Board of
Supervisors that will assist them in considering the different
aspects of creating greener, more sustainable and livable
communities in
Calaveras
County. The first
stages of a multi-year process are underway and need our
attention.
Important
Community Meetings for the
Calaveras County
General Plan Update
The
Calaveras County Office of Community Development and Mintier and
Associates, the consultants hired to initiate the County General
Plan Update, are hosting the first round of community meetings.
These are both informational, giving an overview of the General
Plan process, and the first attempt to gain public input. Each
meeting includes a process of identifying the strengths and
problems of the county as well as the particular community in
which the meetings are held. Three meetings have taken place to
date: San Andreas, Murphys, and Copperopolis. Dates for the
remaining meetings are:
June
12, Independence Hall,
Arnold
June
13, Railroad Flat
June
21, Elementary School Multi-Purpose Room, Valley Springs
All meetings
are at 6:00 PM and last a couple of hours.
Community
participation in this process is crucial and we urge you to
attend one of these meetings and share your views and visions.
More information on the process can be found on the county
website:
www.co.calaveras.ca.us, the Calaveras Planning Coalition
website:
www.calaverascap.com, or by contacting FoCuS member Mickey
Williamson: mickeyw@goldrush.com.
First Public Event for the
Arnold Rim Trail
Join in on
the fun of a day on the trail Saturday June 23. The Arnold Rim
Trail is proposed to be one of the most unique mid-elevation
trails in the Sierras with over 35 miles that link the scenic
and natural wonders of the area from the giant Sequoia's to
lakes, streams, waterfalls and vistas making them more
accessible to hikers, mountain bikers and equestrians living in
adjacent neighborhoods or visiting the area. You can help
inaugurate what will be one of the first segments on national
forest land. Come with a bag lunch to the Calaveras Ranger
District Office on Highway 4 in Hathaway Pines, meet the
community volunteers who are hosting the event, listen to a
short informational presentation and then get escorted to the
trail for some light trail work and a look around. Sunscreen,
hat and gloves recommended along with bag lunch.
Event begins
at 8:30am with bagels, fruit, and hot drinks served. E-mail
Randy Crutcher for more info, rama50@comcast.net
Sierra
Nevada
Alliance
Annual Conference-Focus on Sustainability
Sierra Nevada Alliance is hosting their annual conference at
King's Beach, Lake Tahoe this
year with a focus on sustainability in our beautiful range of
light. August 3-5
Some FoCuS board members and associates are already
registered. Come join us. Make motel arrangements within a
block of the conference now. For more info:
FoCuS
Center for Sustainable Living - The Vision
We are looking
for land and capital to create a unique learning
and living center in the Central Sierras that showcases efforts
in our region to transition gently to a sustainable future. The
vision is to create a model farm, renewal energy and waste
treatment projects, conference and retreat center with housing
for staff, guests and more. If you or anyone you know has
access to resources that would help this dream come true please
e-mail
Focus@goldrush.com with information.
FoCuS
Needs
All FoCuS events/activities/communications are currently
facilitated by a small group of board members. There is a need
for a coordinator and income to pay staff that can expand the
ability of FoCuS to respond to and assist the growing movement
for sustainability in our region.
Needed: Coordinator, Grant Writer/Fundraiser, Ongoing website
Developer
FoCuS TRANSPORTATION REPORT
Governor
Schwarzenegger's proposed state budget would cut $1.3 billion
of public
transit funds, primarily by redirecting spillover funds.
More
information is available at transcoalition.org.
The agency
responsible for transportation planning in
Calaveras
County
is the
Calaveras Council of Governments (CCOG). Merita Calloway
serves on
the CCOG.
Bus service
in Calaveras
County
is funded by a sales tax. The primary
mission of
the county bus system is to provide transportation to
transit-dependent people.
Bus
ridership is increasing, and Calaveras Transit is in the process
of
purchasing four new busses. Several bus shelters will be
constructed in the near future. Schedules will be changed in
June; hopefully connections between the
Arnold corridor and the rest of the
system will improve. Service to Copperopolis will begin in
June. The current outlook is that the
system will
eventually provide more frequent service and will thus be
useful to
more folks.
Calaveras
Transit currently provides bus service to and from
Lodi.
There is no
current plan to extend service to
Stockton--
meaning it is
nearly
impossible to travel to and from the bay area using public
transportation (Amtrak trains to the bay area go through
Stockton,
not
Lodi;
San Joaquin
County
bus service between Lodi and
Stockton is
poor).
Ridesharing
is currently the most viable option for people who want to
reduce
automobile use now, both for daily commutes and occasional
trips. We
can all participate in ridesharing. Here's how:
Foothill
Commuter Services is an online service serving
Tuolumne,
Calaveras
and Amador
Counties. The service will match
people with
others
interested in sharing a ride to work or school. (877)
538-8937,
foothillrideshare.com.
Ebbetts Pass
Rides is an online group for people in the
Arnold-Dorrington-Bear
Valley
areas who occasionally want to share a
ride to or
from the bay area, the central valley, or elsewhere.
Several
members live in the bay area and have vacation homes in
Calaveras
County.
Simply post a notice if you need a ride or can
offer a
ride. There is no obligation.
Search for
ebbettspass rides in yahoo groups and click on join, or
contact
Sandy Kasten at aldebki@yahoo.com.
WHAT ELSE
CAN YOU DO?
Complete the
surveys regarding bicycle and pedestrian needs are on the
CCOG web
site at calacog.org.
Participate
in ridesharing.
Walk,
bicycle or use public transportation when possible.
Contact your
county supervisor and ask him or her to vote for the
resolution
supporting the maintenance of public transit funding in the
2007-2008
state budget:
Tom Tyron
ttyron@co.calaveras.ca.us
Bill
Claudino claudino@sbcglobal.net
Steve
Wilensky sph@volcano.net
Merita
Callaway merita9@comcast.net
Russ
Thomas rthos2020@caltel.com
If you would
like to receive a more detailed report on transportation
issues in
Calaveras County,
or if you would like to work on
transportation issues (including alternative fuels and bicycle
and
pedestrian
corridors), please contact Sandy Kasten at
aldebki@yahoo.com.
WIND MAPPING
Hi
everybody, this is Yoni. I would like to
find a
few windy places in our counties,
then set up instrumentation to log wind speeds in these places
in order to assess wind energy potential in our region. Know of
such a place?
yonifish@yahoo.com
Also, I will
need a few
old laptops-
Windows 95 or better. Thanks, Yoni.
Foothill
Collaborative
for Sustainability