Plan Bay Area meeting in Corte Madera on Saturday June 4, 2016

Vote NO on Measure AA-The first Bay Area Wide Tax Read more here "Bay Area Squeeze" One Third of Residents Want to Leave Area Read article here (Everything below the *** is MTC propaganda) ********************************************************************* Join us as we host spring Plan Bay Area open houses in each of the Bay Area's nine counties! Help chart the path for your community by participating in this critical, collaborative planning process. Plan Bay Area is a roadmap to help Bay Area cities and counties preserve the character of our diverse communities while adapting to the challenges of future population growth. Our upcoming open houses will provide context for this vital planning effort and seek your input to help shape the future of your county and the Bay Area as a whole. For more details, contact info@planbayarea.org or call (510) 817-5757. For transit information, visit 511.org. Marin County Saturday, June 4, 2016 8:30 am to 1pm. Corte Madera Community Center 498 Tamalpais Drive Corte Madera

Get Involved:  Do NOT let the sun set on LIBERTY in the SFBAY AREA

George Lucas and his Lawyer Threaten Marin County if Scenic Road is declared

Editor's Note: 6/2/2016:  The Tree Trimming along Lucas Valley Rd. appears to be the County fulfilling Gary Giacomini's threat.  County crews have radically clear cut vegetation next to the road for the FIRST TIME in FIFTY YEARS!   As residents pointed out in the meeting with Supervisor Connolly ,  the crews have greatly exceeded the requirement of ordinary clearing for "road safety and fire protection".  In my view, they are changing the landscape so it can no longer be considered a "scenic highway" and conflict with Developers plans.  They also may be planning to widen the road for greater traffic flows.   

I don't trust the county.  They are on a mad development push for housing in Lucas Valley.  We will fight back. We will Save Marin Again!




Beautiful Lucas Valley,  a tiny 6 square mile community is being targeted with over 70% of all affordable housing for the entire 859 square miles of Marin County.  The area was settled in the 1950s and set aside vast areas of open space paid for by tax dollars so the community could maintain its rural/suburban charm.  Now developers represented by millionaire lobbyist and lawyer, Gary Giacomini want to bulldoze acreage to build high density apartments.  The infrastructure and community costs of these Tax Subsidized developments are to be inflicted on the we the middle class homeowners.  The projects under development proposals now will DOUBLE the population with no additional TAX base.  Rich developers, lawyers and banks profit while the local community pays the costs.

We appreciate that George Lucas wants to build affordable housing and would appreciate it if the burden could be shared throughout Marin, not just concentrated in a mere pocket community so that wealthy Marin can be spared from taking their fair share of housing.

Novato Murder Suspect is MS-13 Gang Member (The story Marin IJ didn't Publish)

VIDEO: Fourth wanted suspect in Novato High School student murder case has criminal background
By Brittany Brown, KRONPublished: June 1, 2016, 4:18 pm Updated: June 1, 2016, 10:30 pm



NOVATO (KRON) — Following the murder and injury of two Novato High School students, three suspects have been arrested and authorities have been actively searching for the fourth wanted suspect.

The fourth teen in the investigation, Javier Guevara, 19, was in a Marin County courtroom on May 20th, five days prior to the murder on May 25th.

Before the murder, Guevara was to face charges of battery causing serious bodily injury for a November attack. He was also charged as a member of a criminal street gang.

Guevara did not enter a plea. The case was continued to May 27th, and prosecutors requested a bail of $100,000, but court documents indicate the judge denied the request and released Guevara on his own recognizance.

On May 25th, Guevara is alleged to have taken part in the attack of two Novato High School students. Guevara did not return to court on May 27th. A warrant has been issued for his arrest.

On Wednesday, March 25th at approximately 4:51 p.m., two juveniles, both students of Novato High School were viciously attacked.

Edwin Josue Ramirez Guerra, 17, of San Rafael, was shot, stabbed with a machete, and killed on a public Novato trail within Open Space near the end of Fairway Drive.

Llefferson Diaz, a juvenile, was shot and stabbed with a machete but was able to escape and call 911. He is currently in the hospital recovering from his injuries and is expected to survive.

A restraining order to protect Llefferson Diaz against all three suspects in custody has been issued, officials told KRON.

Javier Guevara is wanted for his involvement in the homicide, sheriff’s officials said. He is a brother of Edwin Oswaldo Guevara, one of three suspects in custody, according to Marin County Sheriff’s Department Lt. Doug Pittman.

Edwin Guevara, 16, and Juan Carlos Martinez Enriquez, 17, were arrested on Thursday after police performed multiple high-risk tactical raids.

They will be charged as adults with murder with special circumstances in the death of Edwin Josue Ramirez Guerra and for attempted murder of a second Novato High student.

According to court documents, Enriquez was allegedly the trigger man in the murder of Guerra.

Elmer Machado-Rivera, 20, of San Rafael, was arrested Sunday in connection with the shooting, according to the Marin County Sheriffs Office. Court documents allege that Machado-Rivera aided Henriquez last Wednesday following the shooting is has been charged with being an accessory the after the fact.

During the past eight days, Sheriff’s investigators have been working an overwhelming number of clues, tips, and leads in pursuit of those responsible for this attack.

On Wednesday morning, Marin County Sheriff’s Office released information on the manhunt for the fourth suspect for the murder of a Novato High School student who was not located when a search warrant was served but Guevara was not located.

A fourth high-risk tactical operation was conducted earlier this morning pursuant to a Search Warrant at 15 South Norfolk Street, San Mateo. This was conducted with the assistance of the San Mateo Police Department and the San Mateo Regional Special Response Team. No suspects were arrested and no details of any evidence, clues or leads developed during the execution of the Warrant will be released at this time.

Javier Guevara is a known member of street gang Mara Salvatrucha (MS-13) and is considered armed and dangerous. Guevara is wanted on a $100,000 Felony Warrant issued for his arrest.

Anyone who may have information related to this investigation is encouraged to call the Marin County Sheriff’s Investigations Unit at (415) 473-7265.

Anyone with knowledge of where Suspect Javier GUEVARA may be located is asked to call 911 to their local law enforcement agency or the Marin County Sheriff’s Office at
(415) 472-2311.

Anyone outside of law enforcement is asked not to attempt to contact suspect Javier Guevara as he is considered to be armed and dangerous.

Is Kate "No Ears" Sears listening to you?

Kate Sears is feeling pretty dreamy about the urban Marin she is helping to build while ignoring the Citizens demands for less traffic, sensible housing growth, realistic pensions and No glyphosate pesticides. Is she listening? Vote for Change June 7th

K-K-Katie Rice's Special Interest Donations

City’s vision for a carless Seattle doesn’t match reality

City’s vision for a carless Seattle doesn’t match reality

Originally published May 23, 2016 at 4:35 pm Updated May 25, 2016 at 3:38 pm
Traffic on the Aurora Bridge in January ( Steve Ringman / The Seattle Times)

Seattle Mayor Ed Murray’s proposing a radical new way to measure street performance. It’s not what you’d expect.

Seattle can no longer deny it’s engaged in a war on cars.

Mayor Ed Murray’s new growth plan is a shock-and-awe campaign targeting anyone who dares to drive in, through or around Seattle.

Over the next 20 years, Seattle will aggressively convert street right of way to non-vehicular use, discourage creation of parking capacity as the city grows, and minimize parking at public parks, limiting their accessibility. It may also toll streets to pay for such improvements.

But the most radical change is Murray’s plan to stop using congestion as the criteria for whether streets are performing.

Under a novel standard proposed by Murray’s transportation department, street performance will be ranked by how many single-occupant vehicles (SOV) are using them.

Streets with fewer cars will be ranked as the best performing, because Seattle’s priority going forward is to reduce car usage.

“The performance of the overall system will be measured in relation to the reduced share of SOV travel,” the proposal says, adding that its method “encourages travel modes other than single-occupant vehicle, especially in peak times.”

So a street may be ranked as performing well, even if it takes an hour to drive a mile, as long as it has a good mix of buses and bikes.

If approved by the City Council, this approach will influence decisions on where to improve or reduce street capacity for cars. It will also affect the city’s negotiations with big developers, to mitigate the effect of their projects.

Most of all, this shift gives the finger to those who drive cars, meaning nearly all residents and businesses.

The vast majority of travel will continue to be done by car because driving in Seattle is an unavoidable part of work and life for most people in the region.

Seattle needs to think bigger. As the state hub of commerce and culture, its streets are critically important to millions of people, most of whom don’t have the option of riding a bus or a bike instead.

Personal cars were used for 82 percent of trips in the Puget Sound region in 2014, down slightly from 86 percent in 1999, according to the Puget Sound Regional Council.

City Hall’s plan doesn’t reflect that reality. Nor does it fulfill promises made to city dwellers by the state Growth Management Act of 1990 — the original grand bargain. In return for accepting density and preserving rural areas, urban residents were promised infrastructure that would keep up with the growth.

To ensure streets aren’t overloaded, cities must use level-of-service standards to grade performance. If streets fail, cities can limit development until improvements are made.

The act also authorized cities to collect impact fees for upgrades, so growth paid for growth. But Seattle officials scoffed that such tools were for lowly suburbs. That policy decision favored developability over livability.

Still, Seattle measured streets’ performance, counting traffic at key points. It will continue but the counts will be fed into a model that estimates the ratio of trips made with cars. The city theorizes this ratio indicates congestion, because it believes cars are an inefficient use of streets.

Why not model the ratio for informational purposes, but use traffic volume and speed for the performance standard? That’s what most people equate with congestion. That also makes it a priority to reduce driver delays.

The federal government estimates travel delays cost people $17 to $24 per hour. King County consultants estimated additional rush-hour delays of 1.5 to 14 minutes downtown would cost drivers and bus passengers $75 million a year.

Then there’s the cost to industry, from shipbuilding to exporting produce from farms across the state. More than 21,700 jobs and $3.6 billion in economic output will be lost if congestion increases 20 percent in the central Puget Sound region, according to a 2014 state study.

Congestion also hurts Seattle’s cultural vitality. Arts organizations are losing patronage as people give up trying to drive and park in the city.

There aren’t enough close-in residents to support all the arts, clubs and eateries. They must draw people regionally.

Because Seattle streets are of statewide importance, other governments should keep the city focused on actual congestion. Don’t count on it, though.

“We don’t have authority over that — state law is very vague,” said Charlie Howard, PSRC transportation director.

The state Department of Commerce helps cities write growth plans but can’t reject them. It advises cities that service standards are meant to translate public expectations for street performance into measurable goals, while accounting for the impact of growth.

Street standards need to evolve. A 2005 growth-act update encouraged new standards factoring transit. But it says growth hubs must still measure streets’ level of service.

Proposed federal standards will measure greenhouse gas emissions, in addition to actual travel times, congestion and reliability.

Seattle’s going its own route. It says single-occupant vehicles are inefficient so reducing them improves level-of-service. That’s debatable.

Worst of all, City Hall’s assuming that driving is optional — a lifestyle choice — and it can force people to change how they live. Ugh. Seattle’s better than that.

Take Courage Marin Voters! June 7th is time to vote for Change!

Vote for Candidates for change in Marin County

Al Dugan  District Four

Susan Kirsch District Two

Kevin Haroff District Three

Caltrans Staff interviewed about New Vehicle Miles Traveled Tax.

Vehicle Miles Traveled is not just about road taxes. It is about behavior modification.  They will base your tax on the type of car you drive,  what time you go to work and your fuel efficiency.  See the "Future of Tax Regulations" video  especially the first two minutes by a tax expert.  BTW, all of these industry folks seem to be excited about this as a BENEFIT to their business.  I expect most of them do not work at the 85% of small businesses that employ all people.

Time is running out for Katie Rice

Memorial Day Reflections- Why I am a Community Advocate

A few days camping in Northern California refreshes the spirit

Earlier this week, I took a few days to camp in a beautiful state park in Northern California.  It afforded a bit of solitude and no internet access.  I was alone with the sound the creek and my thoughts.

Needless to say to those following this blog,  I have had to deal with some very negative people recently who seem to be intent on destroying my reputation in any way possible.   A former friend and political ally has launched a venomous attack on my character in the press in an attempt to silence me.  Another cowardly individual attacks me on NextDoor neighborhoods in the full knowledge that I cannot respond.  The NextDoor neighborhood lead has crippled my account to prevent me from posting because he considers my opinions "dangerous".

Why be a community advocate only to take this abuse?

In my case, it boils down to a few simple ideas of keeping our land,  the community and our future beautiful.   Like many people, my relatives before me were veterans in various wars and causes.  They lived in much more difficult times than me and actually dodge bullets, landmines,  enemy planes on behalf of our country.   I have been the BENEFICIARY of their bravery and dedication to liberty.  

If I have to dodge a few insults, lies and innuendo to stand fast to the basic principles of democracy and liberty, it is THE LEAST I can do to honor our brave veterans.  I never served in the military but I will continue to serve the community.  Will you join me in advocating for our liberty?

Happy Memorial Day!

Deceptive Video Editing by Katie Couric and a response.

Be sure to check out the Reason.TV clip :)