Category Archives: Activism

Activism, California

Neighborhood Creek Fire

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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.

Activism, Tobacco

High School Health Fair

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In my activism with LGBTQ Minus Tobacco, we were invited to table at the Jesse Bethel High School mental health fair as part of Mental Health Awareness Month in May.

This was a pleasant experience. The kids were receptive to us being there and asked a lot of questions, knowing in large part how harmful smoking and vaping are to our communities. As many know, the insidious tobacco industry in particular targets communities like LGBTQ and BIPOC, causing them to smoke at higher rates.

Getting ready to work the quad (as in high school quad).
Activism, Home & Garden

Giving to Humane Society of the North Bay is fun

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Here are some of the fabulous things I got in return for donations to HSNB.org. We have auctions and other events coming up where we will be featuring these items in exchange for donations. Check out our website on how to give and be informed of upcoming events!

I love thrift stores and estate sales, so I’m kind of dangerous around this kind of stuff, but there are definitely pieces that do and don’t speak to me. This time a cluster of them just happened to.

Activism

City of Vallejo Volunteer Recognition

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Got some nice swag and nice words, but most importantly it was a good night to meet other local volunteers. I met some activists I had known from online but only met in person this evening for the first time since I moved here during Covid. It feels great to be recognized for the work that we do! I know a lot of folks in this picture, but you can find Shando and me toward the right.

Activism, Tobacco

Tobacco Retail Licenses, and Why Vallejo Needs One

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I have the privilege of presenting with a coalition of organizations at the City Council meeting Tuesday night, April 25, about a very important subject that will make a difference for the future of Vallejo youth if we can get it adopted.  Last year with the same coalition LGBTQ Minus Tobacco, Bay Area Community Resources and VibeSolano, we successfully got a Smokefree Multi-Unit Housing ordinance passed unanimously. 

After Proposition 31 prohibiting the sale of most tobacco flavors in California (including menthol) passed last November, it is important that we give some teeth to the new rules that are designed to protect our youth from access to very addictive nicotine products like cigarettes, cigarillos, vapes, cigars, hookah, etc. It’s shocking how many products every tobacco retailer in Vallejo I visited in January had available.  Most alarming was that some of the delivery devices looked like highlighters and USB drives to help youth hide their tobacco consumption from teachers and parents.  This is by design.

Some of you know that I’ve been volunteering against Big Tobacco since losing my father when he was fifty due to his smoking, not to mention other family members.  I encourage Vallejo residents to speak in favor of a TRL by doing one of the following if you are so inclined.

Here is a fact sheet on TRL’s: