Kicking For a Cause Get your kicks at this Saturday’s United Studios of Self Defense’s Grand Opening party.  They will be doing a kick-a-thon with the proceeds going to St. Jude Hospital.  To date, USSD has raised over $8500 for St. Jude; the goal this year is another $5000.  The kick-a-thon starts at 10 a.m.  People are encouraged to come and kick for an hour and donate based on the amount of kicks they can do or just a flat donation is great too.  They will also be having a bounce house for the kids, a barbecue around the noon hour and they will be offering great deals on karate programs …

Where’s the Pizza? Round Table Pizza has officially closed its doors as of Sunday evening, and it happened so suddenly and without any warning I couldn’t even write about it in The Scoop on Monday. Their phone goes un-answered (sometimes) and the official website has deleted the address. It now only shows that the next closest location to San Anselmo’s zip-code is out in Terra Linda.  While the pizza shop was leaving the shopping center with the revamp, we don't know why it happened earlier than planned. Was it the construction? Did it stem from the bankruptcy filing in February? I But, we …

Free Stuff Simply Disappears We’ve been doing a major clean out of our house in preparation for getting it on the market for the end of the month and I have been putting things like terra cotta pots, baskets, white boards and other miscellaneous things out on our sidewalk throughout the week with a big FREE sign next to it all. It is amazing how everything disappears and so quickly! I do love seeing things that we no longer need being spared from the landfills. (Editor's note: Building Official Mark Lockaby actually notified Patch today that there have been a high number of complaints about …

TCBY For Sale I spoke with the owner of TCBY after seeing a Craigslist ad that it was for sale. (Patch actually tweeted and facebooked about the ad after finding it, so don't forget you can get more info about San Anselmo and Fairfax by following us on facebook at San Anselmo-Fairfax Patch or @rossvalleypatch on twitter.) Business faltered a little with U-Top-It opening up, but faithful customers came back to the shop proclaiming their preference for the country’s best yogurt -- so lack of business isn’t the reason he is selling, as some may believe.   It is actually because he and his family…

Christmas Is Just Around the Corner Well, not really, but auditions for Stapleton’s performance of Charles Dickens' Christmas Carol the Musical will be held tomorrow, Thursday, and Monday, Aug. 29 at 6:30 p.m. at the main studio. The best part is that everyone who auditions will be cast and all parts, except for Ebenezer Scrooge, are open. The actual performances will be Thursday through Sunday, Dec. 15-18, so save one of those dates!  If you are interested in trying out, please see Stapleton’s website. First Days It was wonderful seeing our Ross Valley School District’s Superintendent Eileen…

Hitting the Lottery I feel like we’ve hit the lottery after just looking at the proposed map of streets that will be slurry sealed this fall in San Anselmo. Our street is one of the lucky ones. The map of various streets that will be topped up with a special black coating to keep roads lasting longer can be viewed on the town website.  The project isn’t due to start until after Sept. 13 and every effort will be made to keep road blockage and parking limitations to a minimum, but it will entail some closures and detours. The best part though is that slurry seal dries quite quickly and things …

Finally In Process A friend of ours, whose son is going into his junior year, spent a big part of his elementary years working with the Wade Thomas Parent Association and the town to install proper sidewalks around the school.  One would think that ten years of planning and preparing might have allowed for the work to be done in the middle of summer, but things are only now getting rolling and the work will go through into October. The entire surrounding area of the school along Woodland, Sunnyside and Ross Avenues will be blocked up with work vehicles, noise, dust, dirt and some crazy …

What A Great Evening For date night last Friday my husband and I decided to paint the town, so to speak, and we thoroughly enjoyed sharing a table at the Picnic on the Plaza with San Anselmo Council Members Jeff Kroot and Kay Coleman, along with Kay’s husband. We listened to a wonderful band and were later joined by another Council Member, Mayor Ford Greene, who kindly finished what we couldn’t so that our picnic basket was much lighter and cleaner for the trip home.   Still wishing we could have stayed and listened to Kroot and Greene talk politics, but instead we wandered down “main street…

Skyping from the Mountains for Meetings We weren’t the only ones who headed up to Tahoe this past weekend and into the week, San Anselmo Council Member Tom McInerney actually had to Skype over the mountains into last night’s Tuesday evening town council meeting. The wonder of technology made it sound like his voice came of nowhere. Hope the horse he found himself on yesterday morning treated him well. Calling All Seniors I am wishing I was one, a senior that is, because the next Ross Valley Senior meeting on Aug. 4 includes lunch, bocce ball, card and board games, along with a historical talk…

Take Out More Trash Absolutely thrilled with the new Marin Sanitary District plan to accept food scraps for composting in our green bins and to pick up the green cans every week. Not thrilled about the greater than 30 percent rate hike, but, happy for something. So, save your disposal and fill up your bucket with banana peals, egg shells, uneaten burgers, and all the tofu you can’t stand and let it become one again with the earth. Take Me Out to the Ball Park Right next door in San Rafael, please! Gotta agree with Council Member Tom McInerny and his comments on facebook this afternoon: “What …

Back Yard Wildlife A few weeks ago, early in the morning, we came across a beautiful grey and brown fox visiting a neighbor’s front yard. Two weeks ago, my husband rescued our chickens from a bobcat, who wasn’t very scared off as it remained on the fence for quite some time afterwards looking down upon my husband and the fowl. (He was probably waiting to see if the chickens would be allowed back out of the coop and run, but no such luck that morning.) This past weekend, we heard a ruckus around midnight and dashed out in our pajamas to see what all the fuss was about. My husband discovered a …

Taking It All In Not being one for rides and crowds, I took the opportunity to wander the crafts and art exhibits at the Marin County Fair Monday. While walking into the art area I overheard a gentleman say to his wife: “OK, so, the object is to look at every piece.” I took it as my own personal objective and was so glad I did.   I made a point of truly looking at each and every piece of artwork on the walls and on display and I am so very glad I did. Having recently had the honor of spending time in our nation’s Capitol and taking in both the east and west art galleries, I am so incredibly …

Things I Miss We’ve been on the east coast for a week now and have a part of the week left and it is an absolutely fabulous trip so far. The city (D.C.), sun, surf, sand, family and fun, but there is no place like home. Soft serve ice cream out here is custard, which is sickly sweet and thick; I miss TCBY, U-Top-It yogurts. However, fries on the boardwalk are incredible -- grease meets salt, yum, there is nothing like it in healthy Marin. Firm and Fit Speaking of healthy, we live in a bit of a bubble here in San Anselmo and Fairfax. There are a whole lot of large and extra large folks …

Out of Town About Town Today’s About Town comes to you from Seattle, Washington, on a layover to our flight to Washington, D.C. to spend a few days in our nation’s capitol before enjoying a family reunion on the Shore. The Atlantic Shore, that is. According to our mother, there really was no other shore. For me it is a tough call, the wide open beaches and slightly warmer water is a draw, but our coastline here is so incredibly rugged and beautiful it is simply breath-taking at every turn along Highway 1. Swim With Sharks If you do head to the beach this week here on our side of the country …

Did You Get It?  Did You Get It? I’m talking about the guide to the Marin County Fair. It came in the mail this week and thankfully we fly back from the east coast late on the 3rd, so we can go on the Fourth of July -- the last day. And who knew the Golden Gate bridge was 75 years old? Learn something new every day, and from the coolest sources too. Actually everyone can learn a whole lot more about the bridge and it’s beginnings at one of the special exhibits at the fair. Whole Lot of Help Wanted On my run this morning through the towns -- well, all of San Anselmo and the first bit of …

Changing Handlebars The Marin County Bicycle Coalition, whose main offices are in Fairfax, will be moving some things around in-house. Andy Peri will be taking over as the advocacy director, and he should fill the peddles quite well having been a part of the advocacy staff since 2006.   Deb Hubsmith, who has held the director’s position for the past 13 years, will be stepping into another bike lane to work with and focus on Safe Routes to School, the organization she helped found six years ago. Hubsmith has been a part of MCBC for many years and was the coalition’s first executive director …

Monsters In Fairfax Fairfax Theater Company will be wrapping up its production of Frankensass, a “Mobster Monster Fest,” which is a brand new musical set in the 1930s written by Sam Perry. Audience members are encouraged to dress in 30s clothing so they can be fully immersed in the hilarious time to be had by all. This is a family friendly play and, with adult tickets costing only $15, seniors and students $12 and  kids six and under $5, it is a great way to enjoy local live theater at the Pavillion Friday and Saturday night at 7 p.m. and a matinee show at 2 p.m. on Saturday June 4. Just In …

Get Out the Gear Is your camping gear aired out from last year? Have you polished your boots for the parade? Is the grill ready for burgers? What will you be doing to celebrate the three day weekend?  I just learned from a friend recently back from Israel that they celebrate Memorial Day and Independence Day simultaneously in two days there. I also learned that the entire country stands still for two minutes when sirens go off across Israel at 8 p.m. the evening before Memorial Day (Jewish holidays begin at sundown the day before) and again at 11 a.m. on the day of in honor of not only …

International Day Kids around San Anselmo have been studying different cultures and countries and this Friday the students at Wade Thomas will be sharing their new skills in dancing at the annual International Day event. Each class or grade dances a traditional dance for all to observe and enjoy; then there is a grand feast for lunch where delicious food from around the world is shared with everyone. It is a magical day, keep your fingers crossed that the rains hold off! It’s Buggy Out There This is sweater and soup weather we are having instead of sundresses and salads. And while enjoying an…

How ‘Bout Those Boundaries The Ross Valley School District board faced a huge challenge in determining the best boundaries for the restructuring of our four elementary schools to K-5 and I would just like to thank each and every one of them for spending so much time analyzing, researching, discussing, listening and finally making the very best decision possible. Unfortunately, no decision was going to make everyone happy, but I do hope folks realize that this will all be for the very best in the end and no matter what school our children attend they will be getting a fabulous education. Did …