The union of chronic protesters (Local #94952) - AKA Occupy Wall Street / Petaluma franchise - were assembled last Saturday at Penry Park. The Argus stated that there were 150 in attendance. From what I saw, that would have meant counting everyone at least twice. The most charming sight was a about 6 people marching in a tight circle carrying protest signs - a sight that was clearly visible to nobody but the six.
After seven years of wooing Petaluma, Lowes threw in the towel. I guess the additional and unnecessary EIR's required by the city in the hopes of forestalling the blackmail, I mean frivolous litigation, threatened by the anti-growth gang finally wore Lowes down. So, who do you think is publicly chortling that Lowe's departure gives us "time to rethink the project?" The same bunch who will obstruct the next iteration of the project, and the one after that. And in the process, these self-righteous bullies continue to cost the city sorely needed tax revenues, and the citizens jobs.
Petaluma's an historic city, but the Adobe may be our last remaining truly historical site that has been preserved to study and enjoy. Given all of the local progressives who seem to passionately worship Petaluma's past over the present, surely some can tear themselves away from blocking anything new to to save something old.
The "jewel" of Petaluma's parks has been covered in bird poop for quite some time. Of late, however, our empoverished town has been forced to cut back in maintenance with the result that Lucchesi Park is beginning to resemble a landfill...with the added nonsense of inappropriate public demonstrations of passion around the edges. I think it's time to cry "fowl!"
Kids are a joy, they're frustrating, they're awesome, and they're aggravating. All that said, I believe that raising a child to the point where he or she can leave home and lead an independent life is the most important work that most of us, including me, will ever do. If you're a parent and you disagree, then God help your kids.
Don’t you just love “Progressives?” Well, in Petaluma they actually do love Progressives, but I digress. Perhaps the most salient feature of a Progressive is his or her desire to tell everyone else how to live, without them actually having to do whatever they recommend. Occasionally, when they do walk the talk, they are shocked, SHOCKED I TELL YOU, to discover that their theoretical mandates for social (ecological, political, economic) behavior come with real-world consequences. Witness the complaints by some progressives living in Petaluma’s much touted mixed-use neighborhoods about the noise created by...the mixed-use. One problem that Progressives have with prescribing behavior for others is that most progressives (as self-anointed intellectuals, philosophers, artists. spiritualists, healers, poets and freelance Internet marketing consultants) have only a glancing awareness with what it’s like to live in the real world of feeding a large family on a small paycheck, keeping a business in the black, building a structure, running a farm, or working two jobs while going to school to get a degree in something more practical than Post-Modern Feminist Environmental Philosophy. Or, for that matter, running an ice cream company.
Stop the presses. Petaluma leaps into the forefront of eco-piety. Great idea if you're a single person picking up the evening's dinner, but if you're a working mom who goes to the store once a week to feed three kids you'd better bring a whole bunch of cloth bags. BTW -the bags will have to be washed, mended and replaced when worn out. Good thing those working mom's have so much extra time and money to tend to someting that used to be free.
Even as it widens the roads north and south of the infamous Novato Narrows, CalTrans adds to the sclerosis in the remaining two-lane artery.
I've observed a feature common to local citizens oversight groups: a significant portion of the membership is there not to add value, offer creative input, or support the stated purpose of the group. These participants join the group just so they can veto whatever irks them or their cronies. I suggest renaming the Planning Comission to the Planning Omission.
Petaluma has once again been touched by the loss of a young life.