Where are the graphine inventions?

Citizens are 100% opposed to the Marinwood Maintenance Compound approval.

All  speakers at the September 11, 2018 CSD Board meeting were opposed to approving the massive Marinwood Maintenance Compound before we hold a public workshop. We need to analyze  alternative designs with budget and size constraints.  The CSD board completely disregarded the public concerns from the 2017 workshop and doubled the size and cost of the current facility.  Former Marinwood CSD Director, Bill Hansell was quietly chosen as the principle architect..  The Hansell Design blocks the walking trail and is four times the cubic volume of the current maintenance garage.  The drive through design wastes 1/3 of the interior volume and will force parking, material and landscaping debris storage outside the facility. 

Why the Online Trolls Troll

Jesse Fox Ph.D.

Better Living With Technology
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Why the Online Trolls Troll

8 reasons why some people feel comfortable posting the most offensive comments.

Why do people think it’s okay to say racist, inflammatory, or otherwise socially inappropriate things online? Research in communication and psychology has investigated people’s perceptions, rationale, and behavior and identified several factors that determine the likelihood that a given individual may post offensive content.

Following are eight:

1. Anonymity. Some people are under the impression that you can say anything online and get away with it. Online forums, the comment sections of news media sites, and sites such as Reddit and Twitter allow people to make up screen names or handles that are not linked to their real world identity. The online disinhibition effect suggests that this anonymity may drive more deviant behavior, because it is easy to avoid consequences.

This is one reason some online news sites now require users to sign in and comment using Facebook. Facebook’s user agreement requires the use of one’s real name, and so the other sites hope that people will be more conscientious about what they post via Facebook given that it’s tied to their true identity. (This is not to say people don’t make fake, pseudonymous Facebook accounts, but rather that this is the guiding logic.) The problem with that is…

2. Perceived obscurity. Even if people are using their own Facebook accounts tied to their offline identities and know they are not anonymous, they may still have feelings of obscurity. That is, they believe that their expressions are still relatively private. If Henry is commenting on the site of his small hometown paper in Kentucky, for example, he may feel less obscure than if he comments on a story on the Washington Post site. Even though both comments are tied to his name, the poster thinks the people that matter in his life won’t really notice the Post comment, and that the people who do see it comments are just faceless masses he'll never encounter offline.

3. Perceived majority status. The spiral of silence theory suggests that when people think they are in the majority in a certain setting, they will more freely express their opinion than those who see themselves as in the minority, and may fear social ostracism if they express an unpopular opinion. Thus, although individuals may not make sexist or racist comments offline, they may feel it’s okay to do so in a particular online setting because they think their opinion is the prevalent one there.

4. Social identity salience. The social identity model of deindividuation effects, commonly referred to as the SIDE model, suggests that, online, social identity sometimes means more than our individual identity. Sarah might be a nice, civil person offline, but when she goes online to talk about her favorite soccer team, she may behave like a hooligan and hurl insults at opponents and their fans. This is also often seen in political discussions, in which people start responding like a group member based on political, national, ethnic, religious, or other identity or affiliation. This process of deindividuation is known in more extreme forms as “mob mentality”—you stop seeing yourself as an individual and act more in line with the group. As a result, the group’s behavior can become more extreme than it would have been, as everyone shifts to conform to the group even if they’re not as passionate or opinionated as others in it.


5. Surrounded by “friends.” On sites like Facebook, people may perceive their online environment to be full of people like them, because they are part of the same social network. Thus, individuals feel confident self-expressing because they anticipate support or agreement from their network. John might post an angry, vitriolic political message because he assumes that his network members feel the same way. He might even do so to earn “likes” or other expressions of agreement from his friends. But our social media networks are often more heterogeneous than we think. Privacy settings determine how broadly our posts may be read, and sometimes they reach to “friends of friends”—people we may not even know. Further, our comments can easily be shared outside of our immediate network. Thus, although we feel we are surrounded by people who agree with us, there actually may be many who disagree or find our comments hurtful, insulting, or offensive.

6. Desensitization. Over time, we may get desensitized to the online environment. Whereas once we would have thought about the consequences of what we posted, now we just spout without thinking about it. We may see so many nasty comments that we think making one ourselves is no big deal. If we get used to using a certain social media site like Facebook to express our daily experiences and frustrations, we start to lose our filter. It is also easier to type something offensive or mean into a screen than to say it to someone’s face.

7. Personality traits. Some individuals are outspoken by nature. Others tend to think that they are morally superior to others. And some just enjoy making other people uncomfortable or angry. Any of these traits may drive individuals to express themselves online without a filter. Personality traits such as self-righteousness and social dominance orientation (in which you think some social groups, typically yours, are inherently better than others) are related to expressing intolerance. Others are “hard core” believers who will express their opinions no matter what, because they believe their opinion is infallible.

8. Perceived lack of consequences. Social exchange theory suggests that we analyze the costs and benefits in our communication and relationships. All in all, these factors precede the belief that the benefits of expressing oneself outweigh any costs. Anonymity and obscurity suggest you won’t be personally responsible. Perceived majority status, social identity salience, or being surrounded by friends means you believe that even if some people are upset or angry, you have more (or more important) people on your side, so you are winning more friends than you’re losing. Personality traits and desensitization may making offending or losing friends not seem like a real consequence, because those friends aren’t really "worth it" if they can’t handle the “truth,” or they aren’t really friends if they don’t agree with or tolerate you.

 Editor's Note:  NextDoor is a toxic soup of trolls.   We have been viciously attacked daily by a few unhappy people who do not want to be "neighborly". We will continue have dialog with people who abide by rules of simple civility.   Life is too short to deal with trolls. 

Marinwood, San Rafael closing in on fire service deal

Marinwood, San Rafael closing in on fire service deal

By ADRIAN RODRIGUEZ | arodriguez@marinij.com | Marin Independent Journal
September 12, 2018 at 8:37 pm

After studying the costs and benefits, Marinwood and San Rafael fire departments could soon be operating under the same chief — if a new five-year agreement gets a thumbs-up.

The Marinwood Community Services District this week agreed that the fire department should expand its shared services with San Rafael in lieu of hiring a new fire chief. The district board voted 3-0, with directors Leah Green and William Shea absent, to go ahead with that plan.

Now the San Rafael City Council is now poised to authorize the agreement, which would mean that San Rafael’s fire chief officers would oversee administration and operations of the Marinwood department.

“From the options on the table, this made the most sense,” said Eric Dreikosen, Marinwood district manager. “We’ve had a longstanding relationship with San Rafael, and I expect it to go seamlessly.”

The Marinwood Fire Department is among a handful of other agencies that recently explored the benefits of expanding shared services, including plans between Southern Marin and Mill Valley, and a recent chief sharing agreement between Ross Valley and the county.

The move would amend a shared services agreement between the two departments that was first established in 2014. It would put the community services district on the hook for $96,320 annually to be paid to San Rafael to provide fire chief oversight for the Marinwood department.

At the end of each year, that service fee will increase by 3 percent. The five-year contract could be canceled with a 90-day notification.

The San Rafael City Council is expected to consider the amendment at either its Oct. 1 or 15 meeting, City Manager Jim Schutz said.

“San Rafael and Marinwood have a long history of working collaboratively to provide the best service possible, and this could be another great example of that,” Schutz said.


The Marinwood Fire Department began exploring options for a new chief last year when fire Chief Tom Roach announced that he would be retiring. The department has 10 firefighters and a $2.6 million budget.

Roach, who is 50, has spent 27 years with the department, 15 years as chief. He earns $170,000 annually and is expected to retire Oct. 31. See full article HERE

Irv Schwartz "Apparently " Forgets Prior Business with Marinwood CSD and approves design 9/11/2018

Irv Schwartz makes suggestions for improvements to the Hansell "White Elephant" Maintenance Compound which are helpful.  "Apparently" he forgets that his firm was the previous land surveyor for the Maintenance Shed initiative in 2010.  The effort was suspended when the CSD Business Manager discovered a $300k accounting mistake  which surfaced prior to the implementation of the previous design.  Irv Schwartz was also the developer in charge of the installation of the modular office in 2001.   He suggests an absurd proposal as the only alternative to the Hansell design and uses it as his reason to support the Maintenance Compound.

I like Irv and will be sorry to see him leave the Marinwood CSD board.  He is logical and provides insightful analysis at times.  In this case, Irv has abandoned common sense and is going along with the crowd despite the obvious problems with the Hansell design.  

The public supports a modified version that Irv suggested in 2017 known as Option 3 (below).  It should be moved further east to abut the modular building.  Fenced in storage can be placed on the western end of the building and employee parking can remain on the street.  This minimizes the footprint of the building, provides better access and is lower cost.

I hope Irv changes his position and applies his keen intellect for the sake of our community. If not, he will allow the most expensive and over designed landscaping garage to be built in Marin county history in his name.  Lucky Marinwood.(ugh)

Option #3 is the only design that does not block the path.   
It should be moved next to the modular office for maximum
clearance from Miller Creek. It is the environmentally preferred alternative.

Dixie School Name Change Public Comments (full video)

Five Modular Accessory Buildings in metal

 This humble building has interesting interior customization. HERE

"Why don't you appreciate our dedication?"

Isabela Perry, Marinwood CSD Director asks, "why don't you appreciate our dedication?" after overriding the public concerns about a massive new Maintenance Facility for Marinwood Park (aka, White Elephant).  Marinwood Park is enjoyed by hundreds of daily walkers and the Marinwood CSD has plans for a 4400 sf Maintenance Compound and work yard on the banks of Miller Creek.  It will block access to the nature trail and blight the bucolic setting.  The citizens are ready to approve a smaller project that was offered in 2017 but instead the Marinwood CSD hired a former politician and the project doubled in size and cost.  The CSD has refused to meet with the public in an open forum to discuss alternative designs or provide detailed budget for their design.  Unfortunately, they do not appreciate the value of public input to improve a project and would rather try an end run around any criticism.  


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Email to sent Isabela Perry, Marinwood CSD Director 9/13/2018:

Subject: Significant misunderstandings remain about the Maintenance Project. Can we clarify?

We love Marinwood park.  Our requests are reasonable, environmentally responsible and financially prudent.  It is sad that you think otherwise since we are ready to fully support the rebuilding of the Maintenance facility.

Your speech supporting your vote contained significant misunderstandings of the public and if you care to clarify, I am available to discuss.

Unfortunately, the format of the public meeting does not allow open conservation which is why the misunderstanding is occurring.  If we can simply dialog, we can identify the problems quickly.

You misstated positions of the people at the meeting and those who want a more prudent plan for Marinwood park.

Our petition keeps growing and despite the belief of some, we are ethically presenting the facts and want the CSD to do the same. We can start with an honest exchange of facts. There is no need to take a highly contentious path which may doom the entire project and leave a wound for years to come.

We owe it to ourselves, our children and neighbors and our beautiful Marinwood Park.

I sincerely believe you want the best for the community, too.

=================

No response was received from Isabela Perry....again.  CSD Directors are known to ignore people with whom they disagree. What a strange idea they have of democratic leadership for Marinwood.

Marinwood CSD can order their Maintenance garage from Home Depot

Here is an example of a modular garage that is sold online. It is 3760 square feet including a second story loft for $43k plus site improvement and installation costs.  There are thousands of other examples of modular buildings that are low cost and in every style imaginable. Virtually every other government agency uses modular buildings to reduce costs.  They are not interested in wasting resources.  Marinwood CSD only has 1765 homes that fund our property tax revenues.  We have multimillion dollar pension obligations,  a pending pool restoration and other capital commitments.  The Marinwood CSD refuses to discuss the projected budget for the Hansell "White Elephant" maintenance compound. A modular building like this can save Marinwood CSD hundreds of thousands of dollars and we can invest the savings elsewhere.



https://www.homedepot.com/p/48-ft-x-60-ft-x-20-ft-Wood-Garage-Kit-without-Floor-Project-08-0602/300225583

48 ft. x 60 ft. x 20 ft. Wood Garage Kit without Floor


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Includes total building footprint
Features enclosed overhangs, commercial-grade entry door and more
Can be customized to fit your specific needs
$41,999.00/each

Does not include concrete slab, plumbing and electrical.

Jeff Naylor insults Marinwood Citizens who criticize his plans

At 10:40 pm on September 11, 2018 Jeff Naylor insults all citizens who dare criticize the Marinwood Maintenance Shed Compound. This was every citizen in the room. No supporters spoke in favor of the project despite desperate pleas to wait to approve until the community is informed and we have a public forum. He insists that we must approve it prior to knowing the projected cost. He demeans people who want a public process and alternatives before surrendering Marinwood Park for the massive design. (When have you heard a politician say that? How did it work out? )

Who does he think he is fooling?

Here is our petition:

Petition to keep Marinwood Park Beautiful

We the under signed, want to keep Marinwood Park beautiful.   We want a “right sized” maintenance shed replacement that won’t block our nature trail and Miller Creek watershed.  The proposed Marinwood CSD plan is too big, too expensive and will block access.  We want a smaller alternative design.  Show us the size with story poles and tell us what you plan to spend before the project begins.  Let’s have a real public forum so that you understand our concerns and let’s vote on the best option.

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Sounds like a rowdy bunch of troublemakers doesn't it? 

Sign the Petition HERE 

The Bird is the Word; Freebird; Whipping Post

Man urges higher consciousness and wants Dixie School District name change