COUNTY OF MARIN District 1 Newsletter July, 2009 In this issue: to children from low-income families and From the desk of… their parents. • From the desk Amy Reisch, Executive Director of First 5 of… Susan L. Adams Marin Children and Families Commission, qualities of leadership, respect, and individual • Valuable resource I had hoped that last year’s Summer Solstice would be the last time we had to raise money and community empowerment with vision fro Marin’s busi- for Children’s Health Initiative (CHI) as there and enthusiasm. She has ensured that Marin ness owners was positive movement on the state and fed- protects and promotes the health and well- eral level that appeared to be going in the being of all children by leading community • The Grady direction of fully committing to provide ac- initiatives such as the Children’s Health Initia- Ranch, Part II cess to healthcare for our children. But we tive by funding the county-wide outreach, were disappointed yet again to see the dra- enrollment and utilization effort; the Chil- • Marin Transit- matic slashing in the state budget cutting sup- dren’s Oral Health Project serving children in new fare policies port for CHI as well as other services to the child care and family day care settings; Special poor and needy at the very time more people Needs Mental Health Initiative in coordina- • Pueblo Park gets are falling into poverty. The goal of the tion with School Readiness sites; and Health Advocacy/Health Literacy Initiative to em- a facelift Marin Children's Health Initiative is to im- prove health access for all of Marin's children phasize preventive care. • Green Tip (s) and youth by finding the uninsured, enrolling Dr. Nelson Branco has contributed his con- them, linking them to services, increasing re- siderable talent and energy to improve the • Marin County tention, and providing funding to ensure our health of children in diverse settings - ranging Fair children have healthcare. from a rural site of the Indian Health Service Proceeds from Summer Solstice benefit Cali- of the Navajo Nation in northwestern New • IPM Ordinance forniaKids Healthcare Foundation, a provider Mexico to Marin Community Clinics, Pediat- and Policy for the Marin Children’s Health Initiative, ric After-Hours Clinic and Pediatric Hospital- funding services at Marin Community Clinics ist at Marin General Hospital to Tamalpais • Civic Center and Coastal Health Alliance. About 100 at- Pediatrics offices in Novato and Greenbrae in Farmers’ Market tended the June 20 event at Autodesk, and Marin County. moves out of the with the generous support of our sponsors, Also, deserving our deep gratitude are the $35,000 was raised. way of the Fair organizations that make this public private We were also able to honor three extraordi- partnership possible: Marin General Hospital, • Watershed roads nary people as CHI Champions, for their ser- Novato Community Hospital, Kaiser Perma- nente, First 5 Marin Children and Families and trails assessed vice to Marin’s children who would otherwise not have access to medical or dental care. Commission, County of Marin and Marin for erosion Community Foundation. Dr. Louis Geissberger has committed his • Calendar considerable skills and energy to improve the A big thanks to Marin Community Clinics for health of children for five decades with dental their tremendous effort. The need is great • Budget outlook practices in San Rafael and later in Larkspur; and their commitment to serve boundless. and is responsible for funding and guiding Contributions can be made to CHI through Marin Community Clinics’ Geissberger Den- CaliforniaKids Healthcare Foundation, 5200 tal Clinic which provides oral hygiene educa- Lankershim Blvd., Suite 360, North Holly- tion, preventive care and restorative treatment wood, CA 91601. County of Marin Page 2 There are satellite offices at the Chambers of Com- Valuable resource for Marin’s merce of Novato, San Rafael, San Anselmo and the business owners Marin Employment Connection. Free and low cost workshops are available to people The Small Business Development Center at Santa Rosa with no or little business experience to seasoned busi- Junior College (SBDC) provides a valuable resource to ness owners. Have an idea for a new product? Their Marin’s current and future business owners and part- Sawyer Center can advise how to turn your idea into a ners with various entities throughout the county that marketable product. Need a guest speaker? Their advi- address economic and workforce development issues. sors can talk on various business related topics. The mission of this publicly funded organization, with The SBDC also offers free career related workshops to satellite offices through out Marin County, is to help schools, organizations and agencies that work with or people who want to start a business or have a small support youth. These programs teach young people, business that they would like to grow. If you have ages 14-27, valuable employment related skills that will fewer than 500 employees, you are a small business! help youth as they enter the work world and the basic SBDC’s business advisors are knowledgeable in a of starting a business. broad spectrum of industries and aspects of business Whether you work from home, an office, a store or management. Many advisors have had their own busi- restaurant, there are a number of ways the SBDC can ness. This first hand experience is helpful in addressing help your business. To learn more visit their website, your business issues with practical advice and solu- www.santarosa.edu/sbdc or call (707) 524-1770. tions. Every meeting with the advisor is free, confi- dential, results oriented, and designed for your specific Information provided by SBDC needs. VACANCY ON THE HUMAN RIGHTS COMMISSION There is a vacancy on the Human Rights Commission representing the 1st District (Terra Linda, Lucas Valley, Marinwood, Santa Venetia, downtown San Rafael, Peacock Gap). The Commission, in its role as advisory to the Board of Supervisors, hears complaints, problems and requests for assistance involv- ing violations of human or civil rights from individuals and groups and will investigate, study and initi- ate action to resolve problems. The Commission also has responsibility for working to eliminate preju- dice and discrimination and for fostering attitudes which will lead to civic peace and inter-group rela- tions. Additional information about this Commission is available on the internet at: www.co.marin.ca.us (type "Commissions" in the search box). Persons interested in applying for this position should contact the Clerk of the Board of Supervisors, Room 329, 3501 Civic Center Drive, San Rafael, California 94903, telephone number 499-7331, to ob- tain an application form. Applications can also be downloaded from the internet at the above website. Applications must be received in the Board office by 5:00 p.m. July 28. Page 3 District 1 Newsletter ment Planning approval process, simi- proud recipients of a 2009 “Webby” The Grady Ranch By lar to the one we are now going award – presented by the International Tom Forster, Director of Commu- through on Grady, we broke ground in Academy of Digital Arts and Sciences nity Relations, Skywalker Proper- 2000 on the Big Rock facility. The Big for the 2009 People’s Voice Award for ties Ltd. Rock campus opened in late 2002, and Best Education Web Site, beating out serves as a multi-media office complex more than 10,000 entries. Part II including a main office building, We are very proud to be recognized screening room, employee dining area, In the last issue we gave a “big pic- within the County’s “Green Business” fitness center, archival storage build- ture” overview of the history of the program since 2002. Big Rock was ing, and a security entry kiosk. It was Grady/Big Rock Ranch Master Plan. designed to achieve “LEED” stan- designed in Frank Lloyd Wright prairie This article will take a closer look at dards for green buildings in many style similar to the Willits house built what portions of the Master Plan have ways, including features such as in Highland Park, Illinois in 1901.The been completed to date, and how we Marin’s largest geo-exchange field in- total square footage is 184,700 sq. ft., use those facilities for our businesses. stallation for energy efficiency on a total development area of 56 In the next issue we’ll cover more de- (www.geoexchange.org), and extensive acres, and it has an approved popula- tails about the Grady Ranch plans and restoration of wetland areas. process. tion of 300 regular employees -- but it’s important to note that our head In the next issue we’ll provide a more The unanimous approval of the Master count varies regularly due to the pro- detailed look at the Grady develop- Plan by the Marin County Board of ject nature of our business. Right now ment, and what work will be con- Supervisors on October 29, 1996 ac- we have about 150 employees based at ducted there. We are happy to visit knowledged that the Grady Ranch/Big Big Rock and that number will rise and community groups to present and dis- Rock Ranch Master Plan “…would be fall according to production cycles. cuss our plans, and the detailed plan built in given phases.” Big Rock Ranch This variation is the same at Skywalker submittals can be accessed at the was the first major phase, and Grady Ranch, and will be the same at Grady County Planning Department, or represents the second and final loca- Ranch. online at www.co.marin.ca.us/depts/CD/ tion of the original plan. Main/comdev/CURRENT/ Today Big Rock serves as the home of major_projects.cfm.