Daughter overslept and Shea had a meeting, so I went with a thousand other fellow Vallejoans!
No Kings Day Rally
Category Archives: Politics
Artichokes and Lemons
We had a wonderful time with fellow Stephanie Miller fan (we’re both Steph-heads), Vallejoan, and progressive activist friend Diane Hume in her gorgeous home and garden. We compared notes on several subjects and check out this beautiful haul I got from her garden! Fresh lemons and artichokes? My favorites!! Diane is another reason why I know I made the right decision when I moved to this city five years ago!
Suisun Pride 2025
Vallejo City Pride Month 2025 Proclamation
Shea (and others, including a bit of my profile) made it to the front page of the Vallejo Times-Herald! This was from the City of Vallejo proclamation recognizing June 2025 as LGBTQ+ Pride Month.
Tom Bilbo’s Vallejo Pride Proclamation Acceptance Speech
Mayor Sorce, members of the City Council, City staff, and residents of Vallejo, the proclamation just read reminds us of the importance of the alliances we foster within and beyond the LGBTQ+ community. Your allyship and friendship are essential to our collective wellbeing, especially in challenging times like these. Our community faces significant challenges, with members being targeted by political figures and individuals spreading hate. These moments underscore the fragility of our democracy and the critical need for strong alliances to protect and uplift one another. Simply living an authentic life can make us targets on both national and local levels, but having a hometown like Vallejo where we are valued and seen as an integral part of the community means the world. This year, we are proud to host over 17 events in and around Vallejo that celebrate pride and unity. From the flag raising at City Hall next Monday to Pride Night at the Museum, the Solano County Pride Picnic on Mare Island, and our celebration at the Solano County Fair, we warmly invite everyone to join us and partake in these vibrant moments.
These events are spaces for our community to come together and celebrate, and we treasure the support and presence of allies who stand with us in these spaces we call our own at this time of year. Finally, I am honored to present this new flag, which symbolizes our City’s unwavering commitment to diversity, inclusion, and belonging. Again, thank you.
Vallejo School Board Pride Flag Raising
We attended the Vallejo City Unified School District (VCUSD) 2025 Pride Resolution and Flag Raising this evening. We joined the LGBTQ Community as the Vallejo City Unified School District made a resolution to recognize June as Pride Month, and raise the LGBTQ Pride Flag ceremonially. The flag will fly at the school district office for the month of June. We brought our dogs Bonnie and Snoopy together with the two fosters, Penny and Jonah. Great minds think alike because Peter brought his sweet dog (also a rescue), named Harlem.
Afternoon Tea with United Democrats of Solano County
Italian Citizenship
I think my mom would be very proud that my daughter and I have started the ball rolling to pursue our Italian citizenship. By extension, that also means European Union citizenship. I was inspired by friends and family who have pursued this themselves. I probably should have started the process long ago. I did have a couple of false starts with the Italian Consulate in San Francisco, which wasn’t very communicative. The momentum is here now as I’ve signed a contract with a reputable organization that can make this dream come true. Many people don’t know that I grew up in Italy and Spain in part, even though I was born here in California, as my father was. My mom was from Italy herself, and my first language was Italian when I was growing up in Sardinia, where my little brother was born. I’ve owned property in Italy for years now in Calabria, where most of my family continues to live. I do plan to continue living in my home in Vallejo indefinitely (the one that I’m waiting to move back in after it’s renovated). Backward American politics certainly has something to do with this decision, but there are several pragmatic reasons also. My mother had acquired dual citizenship herself long before she died.
Glen Cove Community Association’s Spring 2025 Meeting
GCCA hosted another successful community meeting, which focused on safety. We had the wonderful IHART program representatives explain what they are doing for our city, including outreach, with the hopes that the program expands. We also had the Deputy Police Chief speak for a while on updates for the understaffed Vallejo Police Department.
We had the honor of the mayor of Vallejo, Andrea Sorce, and the President of the Vallejo City Unified School District, John Fox, speak at the event, as well as representatives from the Cultivate Community Food Cooperative and a representative from SolTrans about the bus routes that are very likely going to be changed, including the 8 line which comes through Glen Cove.
Our microphones lasted right until the last few minutes. Thanks go to Shea for recording this session so that we could live stream it on Facebook and then save the recording here.
Vice Chair of United Dems of Southern Solano
I have the honor of succeeding our Vallejo mayor Andrea Sorce as a Vice-Chair for United Dems of Southern Solano as of our meeting this past week. Hopefully I can help to make a difference in this way with this local Democratic club. Understandably she’s a little busy with her mayoral duties, so I’m glad that I can step in. She, like so many others, were there for me when the horrible house fire happened last year. She was also on the curb of my house with Slater as it was still aflame to hug me while I awaited the fate of my dogs. I think most of you know, many did not survive. The mattress Shea and I sleep on every night, my home office desk and some of the shelves I have were donated from these great friends and neighbors. I knew she’d be a great mayor when she called me a few years ago and asked what I thought of the idea of her running. Here’s to a brighter future locally even if the chaos is still unfolding in DC for now.
MLK Jr. Holiday 65 Degrees in January
Spending some extended time in the sun today was good to get my mind off the shit show in DC. I was able to use my day off to work on plants and outdoor decor. I know the dogs appreciated the sun and warm outdoor furniture with me.
There’s a lot going on in this video. I was in the garden with the dogs today as we had 65-degree (F) weather in January! I’m proud of this globe I painted, which is on a solar spinner. It survived the fire and was previously located at “ground zero” where the fire reportedly began. Still no explanation except “electrical anomaly.”
Front yard blossoms:
By the way, that is NOT poop that Hobbes is chewing on. It’s pineapple or bark.
I worked on my plants, thinking about what I’ll do with them and the outdoor decor from this rental when I move back home in a few months. I think about the move back all my waking hours at this juncture.
I put together a very utilitarian table out of repurposed, broken parts, which I’m very proud of. I love practical furniture.
The dogs bring me such joy, as does the sun.
Enjoying the warm weather with the dogs and Shea and appreciating what a great man this holiday is in honor of. I’m not watching the travesty in DC and do not want anything to do with people who are normalizing it. I pity this country and rejoice that I can pursue my EU citizenship, even though I’ll stay and still do what I can, more on the local level in the foreseeable future, to make life better even for those innumerable fools who vote against their best interests.
I will actively seek to disconnect from fascists and I will also make it quite clear that they are no longer in my life, especially the ones I’m not related to and have no reason to stay connected to. There are enough toxic people in the world already that I have to deal with, and the political ramifications of their existence and corruption.
Bonnie and Calvin evening wrestle. This is why most people can’t believe Bonnie is completely blind. For those who don’t know, her eyes were surgically removed to reduce pain after she went completely blind in August.