In Marin, Many Compostable Materials Go Straight to Landfill

Despite proliferation of biodegradable foodware, those products aren’t being composted at the two waste management facilities in Marin. As a result, people’s choices might not be as eco-friendly as they think.

Greenwood School 8th grader Leyla Spositto and her classmates knew something was amiss just a few weeks into the school year when they saw the trash piling up. Greenwood administrators had chosen San Ramon, Calif.-based Choicelunch as the school’s new lunch provider largely because nearly all of its packaging was made of compostable materials – from corn-based bio-plastic cups to potato-based “spudware” forks and spoons – and therefore would be diverted from the landfill. The move fit with one of the school’s core values of environmental stewardship. But when Greenwood environmental science teacher Julie Hanft told the students that so-called bio-plastics weren’t being composted in Marin, Greenwood’s 7th and 8th graders, who handle the …

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Board of Supervisors Recap

What happened at last week's Marin County Board of Supervisors meeting. No meeting this week.

  Upcoming Items There is no Marin County Board of Supervisors meeting this week. The next meeting is Feb. 28. Wrap Up What happened at the last Board of Supervisors meeting on Feb. 14 1.       Designation of San Quentin as a “Priority Development Area" Voted Down  2.       Fee Increases for Medical Marijuana ID Card  Put on Hold 3.       County Dissolves  Redevelopment Agency and Approves a Successor Agency 4.       Allocation of One-Time Funds for Roads, Reserves and Replacement Vehicles Approved 5.       Two  Parks & Open Space Commission Vacancies Filled 6.       Reduced Planning Fees – Board Approves Proposal  Check out the Cyberagenda for copies of these reports and others. 1. Designation of San Quentin as a “Priority Development …

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San Quentin Protest Draws Hundreds

Event that organizers say has brought the Occupy movement and the prisoners' rights movement together seeks a number of prison reforms.

  Hundreds of people have gathered outside San Quentin State Prison Monday afternoon for a protest that organizers are calling historic because they say it merges the Occupy and prisoners' rights movements. Between 600 and 700 demonstrators were protesting peacefully outside the prison's East Gate as of 3 p.m., according to the Marin County Sheriff's Office. The protest began at noon and was scheduled to continue until late Monday afternoon. A prison spokesman said San Quentin is on lockdown and that prisoners are being kept in their cells. Organizer Barbara Becnel said the protesters are calling for a number of reforms, including the elimination of solitary confinement, the death penalty and California's "three strikes" law, and an end to…

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Scott

12:51 pm on Wednesday, February 22, 2012

Utterly irrelevant. Very few, if any, San Quentin residents are there for doing what Obama, Bush and Clinton said they did.   more ›

Bay Bridge Reopens Early

Early end to closure provides respite to Golden Gate Bridge travelers who saw a surge in southbound traffic heading into San Francisco.

The Bay Bridge's westbound upper deck will reopen this evening, more than 24 hours ahead of schedule following a planned holiday weekend closure for demolition and construction work. With all planned demolition and maintenance work completed, California Department of Transportation Officials said they will begin removing cones from the bridge and approaches around 7 p.m. The first vehicles are expected to cross the bridge around 8 p.m., Caltrans spokesman Bart Ney said. Motorists passing through the toll plaza are asked to drive carefully, since the merge will be different. While 20 lanes will still merge down to 5, they will curve slightly to the south, Ney said. California Highway Patrol officers will escort the first drivers across and …

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Schools Likely to Ask Voters for Tax Renewal

District considering putting parcel tax extension on June ballot.

The Ross Valley School District will likely ask the voters in June to renew a $309 per parcel tax that raises $2.3 million per year for the district – money it says it desperately needs. “We have excellent schools, great teachers, amazing parents,” said Superintendent Eileen Rohan. “It’s important that the community supports education.” If Governor Brown’s tax ballot measures don’t pass in November, the district will lose $800,000, said RVSD Business Manager Jim Cerreta. Because the vote on those measures will come in the school year, the district would have to dip into its reserves – leaving a structural deficit of over $1 million. “If [the parcel tax] is not renewed,” said Cerreta, “we have another $2.3 million to cut” – out of an $18 …

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Locals Run for Congress, Superior Court, and Sanitary District

Lots of Marin races lining up for this year.

Fairfax Bookmobile Driver is Employee of Year

Terry Jones operates the Bookmobile all over the county.

  The Marin County Board of Supervisors Tuesday honored long-time Fairfax resident Terry Jones as the County of Marin 2011 Employee of the Year. Terry, a Community Librarian Specialist who drives the Bookmobile for the Marin County Free Library, was previously recognized as one of 12 “Employees of the Month” this past year, but was given the top award for her outstanding service to the public. “Terry was awarded this honor because she demonstrated a consistent level of excellence, enthusiasm, innovation, commitment, and willingness to go the extra mile. Terry stands out as an exemplary Employee of the Year” said Marin County Board of Supervisors President Steve Kinsey. Jones, who has worked for the Marin County Free Library for the past …

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