Your house is trying to tell you something.
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gasoline became even more expensive? When Americans think about gasoline prices their only concern is, “Oh, no. I’m not going to be able to drive my car. How am I going to get to work?” But it’s not just about getting to work. It’s about the whole transportation network shutting down. We haven’t reached that [level of] consciousness yet. The most difficult part is coming to terms with the fact that our society is changing and we are going to have to change. But [if it came to it] the thing that would be hardest for suburbanites to supply for themselves would be water. One of the least predictable suggestions you make is for everyone to start a home library. We live in the kind of society where we don’t have teachers. Not teachers in the
school sense [but teachers of tasks that could help us become self-sufficient]. Do you know how to split wood? Can you put food in a jar and make it safe to eat? Do you know how to sew clothes? Can you butcher an animal? We need to make sure we have that kind of information somewhere. If the country were to experience a depression, how do you think suburbia would fare? We may lose money perhaps, but life doesn’t have to be all about money. It can be about all of the other wonderful things that we have. I’m not suggesting that we need to revert back to the Dark Ages. We can still have abundance without having money. But we’ll have to be willing to do a little bit more work. ✹ It’s your county, speak up at ›› pacificsun.com
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Sausalito resident to fill McGlashan supe seat Kathrin Sears was appointed by Gov. Brown last weekend to the seat on the Marin County Board of Supervisors left vacant following the March 27 death of Charles McGlashan. The 58-year-old Sausalito resident had been serving in the state Department of Justice as a supervising deputy attorney general in the consumer law department, where she fronted the public rights division. The Tam High grad—and Harvard Law grad—has been active in the Sausalito community for years, having served on the planning commission from 1993 to 1997, as well as chairing the Sausalito Public Safety Facilities Steering in 2002 and the Sausalito Parking Policy Task Force in 1999. Sears, a registered Democrat, also served on the board of directors of the Marin Conservation Corps (now known as the Conservation Corps of the North Bay) from 2003 to 2007. The new 3rd District supe will receive $97,739 a year for her troubles. —J W Water district splinters over rate increase Water at the Marin tap just got a bit pricier—4 percent in fact, as the Marin Municipal Water District on May 23 approved its fifth rate hike in as many years. This increase would average out to about $4 every two months for Marin water users south of Novato. Lower usage rates, plus a fee hike from the Sonoma County Water Agency, which pipes through about a quarter of MMWD’s water, are among the primary reasons for the increase, say district officials. The district also cites the costs of the purchase of water, electricity and treatment chemicals, as well as employee costs such as retirement and health insurance. In an effort to keep “expenses below revenue,” the district has cut $18 million from its fiscal budget in 2011, according to district officials. The fact that the district raised rates—as was expected—was far less surprising than the vote from the often-unified board.While board members Armando Quintero, Cynthia Koehler, Jack Gibson and David Behar voted for the increase, Larry Russell flabbergasted his colleagues with a nay—suggesting that another rate increase sends a message to its nearly 200,000 customers that the district is saddling them with the fiscal pains of the recession. A dismayed Behar questioned why Russell hadn’t brought up his qualms about the rate increase prior to the vote. The rate increase takes effect June 1. —J W Nine housing sites targeted by Novato group A Novato affordable-housing working group has identified what it believes are nine suitable sites to fulfill state-mandated lowincome housing requirements in the town of nearly 51,000. According to the group, the favored sites met such self-imposed criteria of spreading the housing throughout city neighborhoods, are accessible to amenities by foot or public transit, can support a mix of socioeconomic levels and family sizes, and are currently properties that are vacant or underutilized. The selected sites are at 1901 Novato Boulevard (at McClay); 1787 Grant Avenue; 495 San Marin Drive (at Simmons); 102 Hill Road (behind the Ford dealership on Redwood); 7506 and 7530 Redwood (to the northeast of Trader Joe’s); 7533 and 7537 Redwood Boulevard (near