All posts by jah

Solano Pride Picnic Speech about TRL

Group photos of attendees taken with a drone!

My friend Tom Bilbo gave me a chance to talk about the activism I’m doing with LGBTQ Minus Tobacco and a coalition of other organizations at today’s picnic. The microphone was faulty, but it was a great opportunity to also talk about the Tobacco Retail License we’re working on with the City Council in Vallejo and our accomplishment last year with the Smokefree Multi-Unit Housing ordinance that passed unanimously with City Council.

UPDATE: There was an article that mentioned us in the Vallejo Times Herald on Monday, June 13. Check it out here.

A Mystery Tree Grows…in Vallejo

So under a large jade plant that came with the house, there has been a confident stem growing that looks like it wants to be a tree when it grows up. The proximity to the house made me nervous and I wanted to pull it out and put it somewhere else before the root grew out of control and killed the large jade that was mature and thriving since before we moved in. You can somewhat make out this tree before we removed it by the leaf type protruding from the narrow stem and growing higher than the window frame in these pictures:

I put the plant into my identifier application, but it doesn’t seem confident in what it found. At this stage of its growth, I’m not even sure if the identifier app can do its job. Here are the identifier results: Garden Privet

I put as much of the root as we could get into a large pot and tried to support it and put it near the side of the house where there is very little vulnerability to the high winds. Initially, it looked viable. Compare the before and after here which are about two hours apart, because almost immediately it seemed like it started to droop. Maybe I’m just being impatient?

I don’t even know if I want to keep it as it could just be a weed, but it’s a really pretty one.

Neighborhood Creek Fire

As President of Glen Cove Community Association, my Vice-President and I toured the aftermath of a fire at Newt Creek among the incendiary eucalyptus trees. We hiked the site after it had been partially cleared because soon we will meet with the City of Vallejo’s City Manager and others to mitigate the risk of a future fire in this area. The difficulty of access for the Fire Department is a challenge in this particular area, despite our association’s activism to ensure that Fire Station 26 would re-open for better response time. The depth of this ravine made it unwieldy for the firefighters to fight the fire that started at night It’s a scary thought how close residents’ homes are right up each side. The City is looking at numerous options.

Happy Pride Month 2023

Happy Pride Month everybody. It’d be terrific if people with faceless profiles didn’t dampen our pride by trying to connect with me on social media, because that’s not something I’ll ever encourage, especially in June!

I’m here for you, together with countless millions, when you need to come out, even though this is not National Coming Out Day, which is also a thing!

Meanwhile, we’re fighting for your rights every day no matter where in the world you live. Don’t let people like Rondha Insantis in his white go-go boots make you feel less than, Floridians. There are people with far more oppressive leaders, but we have to fight bigotry and ignorance everywhere, as WE are on the right side of history.

It’s already sort of a tradition to post the diversity pride flag up every June 1 in this household, but we’ll try to remember to take a portrait of us after doing so each year.
Up for all of June, although we have various other rainbow accouterments visible from the street every day, of course.
Diversity flag.