People came with anxiety, fear, and a craving to be with others. At a special Third Friday heart and soul session, attendees got a chance to speak of their feelings, what’s been hardest since the election, what they’re doing for personal care and the care of others, and what each of us can do to as a positive step (personally, for others, in our community, and beyond).

At the end, I read excerpts from “We were made for these times,” an essay by Clarissa Pinkola Estes, as an inspiration to move forward. Click to read a version of the essay.
–Barbara Weinstein

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NOTE THE LOCATION AND DATE CHANGE FOR THIS MONTH

If you feel shaken, discouraged, frustrated, angry, or despairing about the election, you’re not alone. Many in our community feel that the ground has shifted out from under our feet, and there’s no safe place left to stand.

At a time like this, it’s essential that we come together – to grieve, reflect, commiserate, and figure out how to move on. Because we must – that’s how we affirm our humanity, our love for each other, and our love for life on this exquisite planet.

Please join us for a special THIRD Friday heart and soul session. Let’s draw strength from each other and find ways to foster hope. As Victoria Armigo wrote to me this morning, “Let’s find a way to not choose the path of cynicism. Just one small step in the loving compassionate direction,  just might light our way…”

Friday November 18, 7:30pm
Los Altos Public Library
13 S. San Antonio Rd, Los Altos 

The election’s over, and now the work begins (should begin!). A few years ago, Joe Simitian, then a California State senator, started ‘There oughta be a law,’ a contest to encourage California citizens to propose legislation to improve quality of life in California. Current State Senator Jerry Hill now sponsors the program. Senator Hill writes:

The contest is open to all constituents of the 13th Senate District and allows residents to submit their ideas for improving the quality of life in our community and/or the state of California. Ideas can vary from local community improvements to statewide reforms. Applicants can create new laws or repeal / revise laws already on the books. I will select a winner in February and work toward implementing the reform during the legislative session. Applications can be submitted online and are due by January 15, 2016.

Do you have an idea for a law?   The TPA steering committee would love to work with you on a proposal. Please share your idea by sending a message to transitionpaloalto@gmail.com. We’ll get in touch with you to follow up. We’ll also be announcing the contest at TPA events in November and December.

To learn more about the contest, go to http://sd13.senate.ca.gov/submit-bill-idea. To help inspire you, the page includes a description past contest winners.

Submitted proposals:

• Darshana Maya Greenfield:
  • So much of U.S. legislation / propositions cover more than one thing.  Usually one part is a good idea, and another part is not so useful.  Or the idea is good, but the implementation is not.I think our laws should (by law!) just cover one thing, so that people / legislators can vote for what is good, and not have a bunch of bad stuff come along with it.
• Peter Ruddock:
  • Imbalance of jobs and housing is the leading cause of traffic, which releases Greenhouse gases and other pollution, and wastes vast amounts of commuters’ time, among other things.  Palo Alto has approximately 60,000 residents and approximately 200,000 jobs, and so is the center of predictable traffic jams every weekday.  The Association of Bay Area Governments (ABAG) tries to address this problem by setting housing and business targets in areas that are out of balance, but with limited success.  The state can add teeth to this effort, by mandating balance for each city, with penalties for those jurisdictions which do not show progress in addressing the issue.
• rani’s son:
  • All poor people should get at least a tiny house or some kind of shelter.
• rani’s daughter:
  • People should say only friendly things to each other except to bad guys.
• Paul Higgins
  • There oughta be a law regulating homeless encampments. It is obvious that shelters and indoor living are not a solution for every homeless person, given the diversity of mental illnesses, and the safety issues with many shelters. There seems to be a ‘war on the homeless’ currently. Many recent laws criminalize homelessness, and every time a encampment springs up, police wait until it is well established and then tear it all down and clear it out- and to what end? Where are these people supposed to go?

    We should enact a law that legalizes a regulated homeless encampment. This could use vacant/blighted parcels, and designated camping spots, and be monitored by community police or liasons. It would also include facilities such as trash cans/ compost piles, portapotties/compost toilets, potable water fountains, showers, and sheet-mulched areas for camping. The area could be re-mulched every so often. This could fall under the purview of parks/public works/sherrif/health system, or more sensibly be a combined effort with some capacity/staff time given by each department.

• Tom Kabat
  • To meet our greenhouse gas reduction targets we to need to transition from gas water heating to new electric Heat Pump Water Heaters (HPWH) that efficiently use electricity to capture ambient heat to for water heating.  HPWHs also allow the deployment of additional renewable energy to the grid since they are a controllable load that can charge up a tank of water when the grid has excess electricity and can coast across the electric tight periods.  Installing the HPWH in retrofit cases currently requires licenses in two areas (an electrical license and a plumbing license or a full general contractors license.)  To meet the need for jobs and a low cost installations a new simple license should be created.  HPWH installer license ( trained and tested to remove gas water heaters, cap gas lines, install electric conduit and a simple 240 volt circuit and install the HPWH and the associated condensate drain line.  The licenses could be called “Electrification License” since a subset of the skills needed would also allow the installation of home Electric Vehicle chargers ( level 2 or level 1 ).
    Also a law should encourage local building departments to develop a simple conforming building permit category (not separate full electrical and plumbing permits) for HPWH with a single inspection of the installation.  The permit should be available online and in a post installation mode as many water heaters need to be replaced as they fail before offices open.

Thanks to all who brought excellent questions and thoughtful answers to the Fourth Friday election roundtable October 28.

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Thanks to the October Share Faire and Costume Swap, local kids of all ages are now ready for Halloween. It’s the sharing community at its best – kids who want to look their best (or scariest) on Halloween matched up with grandparents cleaning out their old stashes of costumes and families with kids who’ve outgrown their garb from previous years.

Kids also got a chance to exercise their creative spirit by making masks at the craft table.

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It’s a BIG election coming up. With all the attention on the presidential race, many folks don’t realize that the California ballot will be packed with 17 initiatives on critical issues that range from corporate power to plastic bags, the death penalty, taxes, marijuana, and more. Local measures affecting land use and housing are also on the ballot.

Come to Fourth Friday October 28 for a roundtable on the issues and how you can help inform others. We’ll share more details a bit later in the month.

And click here for some local and state ballot measure recommendations by some other organizations with Transition-like values. We’ll be updating the list as we get more information during this month. Last updated 10/16/2016.

And please don’t forget to VOTE! Every vote matters!

Fourth Friday, October 28, 7:30pm
Fireside Room, Unitarian Universalist Church of Palo Alto
505 E Charleston, Palo Alto

Bart Anderson has been a big part of the local Transition community since the beginning.  He helped start TPA, has served on the steering committee, and continues to help manage the website and mailing lists. In recent months, Bart has started to refurbish old computers as a way to help others while reducing waste and saving resources.

Bart writes:
I have Eitan Fenson to blame for the piles of old laptops littering our living room.  He’s the one who  started me on a voyage of discovery about how to reduce the environmental impact of computers.  And how to get unwanted computers into the hands of people who can use them.

Two years ago, he told me how he used dozens of old laptops to set up a phone bank for a local political group (the name of which begins with “D”).  Most of us think that a computer built five years ago is “old,” but Eitan showed me that even computers 10 years old have a lot of life left in them.

When I showed interest, Eitan gave me a sample laptop – a Dell D620, a business laptop from 2006. As a former computer tech writer, I was impressed with how well it was built. Not only was it solid as a tank, but it ran flawlessly and was easy to fix.

In the Transition spirit, I began refurbishing laptops myself, converting our dining room table into a workshop.

So far I’ve saved 39 (update: now 68) laptops from the landfill and given them to individuals and groups. Many more units are in the pipeline.

Here’s the story of an old duffer who’s been an inspiration to me … and he seems to be having fun too:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=66wxCOCYt5Q

Keeping old computers alive is good for the environment. As Jim Lynch of Tech Soup (San Francisco) points out, extending the life of a computer saves 5 to 20 times more energy than recycling it. (“Environmental Case for Refurbished IT Equipment” http://forums.techsoup.org/cs/community/b/tsblog/archive/2009/02/04/environmental-case-for-refurbished-it-equipment.aspx)

For more background, see this video by Annie Leonard (“Story of Stuff”):
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sW_7i6T_H78

You can drastically reduce the impact of computers by making them last as long as possible.  Taking care of your computer means protecting it from liquid spills, physical impacts and, above all, HEAT!  Periodically clean the dust from inside your computer, and avoid putting your laptop on fabrics which will restrict  the air intake.

When you are finished with your computer, try to pass it on to someone who will use it. Consider giving it away, reselling it, or donating it to someone who will refurbish it.

As a last resort, recycle it. Palo Altans are lucky because electronics can be recycled by putting devices in a recycle bin. Whatever you do, don’t put it in the trash. Electronic devices are full of toxins.

There are many other ways we can make a difference. I hope to be writing more about them in the future. For example:

• Computer self-help groups. We’ve been floating ideas about a computer Google group, or evening computer clinics
• Linux and “free” software. These make it possible to keep old computers alive. Also, learning about Linux is a big step away from being a passive consumer, and taking control of your computing life.
• If anyone is interested in the details of refurbishing or a refurbishing program, contact me. Free Geek, headquartered in Portland, is a source of inspiration for community-based programs.  https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nSFOmYPeBqE

Photo
Navy technician Latarsha Young displays one of many computers damaged by floodwaters in Millington, Tenn. (2010)

MORE!
David Herron of TPA also refurbishes computers – in his case, MacBook Pros. See his article “Save money and the planet, repair/upgrade your old MacBook Pro rather than tossing it to buy a new one.”

UPDATE (October 28, 2016)
An expanded version of this article was posted on the sustainability site, Resilience.org:
http://www.resilience.org/stories/2016-10-27/breathing-new-life-into-old-computers

UPDATE (November 1, 2016)
A local television station, KTVU, reported on call centers for the presidential elections. Many of the laptops shown are ones that Bart refurbished and Eitan deployed. The relevant part of the video starts at 1:00 in:
http://www.ktvu.com/news/215029405-story

Excellent film and discussion at the September 30 UNAFF cafe showing of Inequality for All at the Los Altos Library. United Nations Association Film Festival founder, Jasmina Bojic, stopped by to talk about the film and the festival, while everyone munched cookies and watched the show. Afterwards, attendees reflected on how the film made them feel, how they would describe it to others, and how to turn the sobering message of the film into positive action.

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Come to this special event, organized by Palo Alto Forward and co-sponsored by TPA.

Soaring property values, displacement, and homelessness require new solutions to providing sustainable housing for every member of society. Join us for a presentation and conversation on how communities can expand their housing toolkit.

Alternatives to traditional affordable housing approaches can include community land trusts, real estate investment cooperatives and permanent real estate cooperatives, as well as creative ways to finance these projects. These alternatives can also ensure long-term affordability and empower residents by ensuring residents have democratic control over their land and housing. Examples of how cities can support these models of sustainable housing development will be provided.

RSVP: https://expandingourhousingtoolkit.eventbrite.com

with Sara Stephens + Cameron Rhudy
of the Sustainable Economies Law Center
www.theselc.org
WED. SEPTEMBER 7, 2016 6-8P
1001 Emerson Street (enter on Addison)
Palo Alto, CA 94301

Co-sponsored by: Palo Alto Forward, League of Women Voters of Palo Alto, Peninsula Interfaith Climate Action (PICA), Transition Palo Alto

In an epic road trip, political comedian John Fugelsang retraces the journey of Alexis de Tocqueville, whose study of our young country in 1831 came to define America as a place where anyone could climb the ladder of economic opportunity. Following in the Frenchman’s footsteps, Fugelsang speaks with fast-food workers and retirees, prisoners and entrepreneurs, undocumented immigrants and community organizers about their hopes, dreams, and daily struggles. Dream On explores whether the optimistic spirit of the American Dream that Tocqueville observed is alive and well in the twenty-first century, or whether George Carlin was right when he famously quipped “It’s called the American Dream because you have to be asleep to believe it.” View the trailer…

September 23, Meet and greet, 7pm, film starts at 7:30, conversation follows the film
Fireside Room, Unitarian Universalist Church of Palo Alto
505 E Charleston, Palo Alto
FREE