PLEASE bring back Lalita's tamale cart!

Does anyone know where Lalita & her tamale cart have gone? I desperately crave those tasty, savory morsels. She usually dishes them out in front of Dennis Judd's Rusky Rika Dachas affordable housing project (formerly known as "that crappy-looking housing complex") on River Road every day, starting around lunch time until they sell out. Alas, I haven't seen Ms. Lala since February when Mr. Judd began improving the property, which he purchased in Fall 2009.

Did he kick her out? Or did Ms. Lala flee because the ridiculously named "Rusky Rika Dachas" made it impossible for her to serve tamales with a straight face. Actually, she's been visiting her grand children in Southern California a lot & maybe she's moved down there permanently. Sigh. Lalita, PLEASE COME BACK!

Spring has sprung!

“Life is like a rainbow. You need both the sun and the rain to make its colors appear.”

-- Anonymous proverb

Rainbows … Today’s crazy weather – blue skies and warm sunshine one moment, glowering gray clouds and torrential monsoons the next – brought rainbows galore! This evening, students and staff from the Guerneville After School program paused from the evening rush to gawk at the vibrantly-hued rainbow arching over the misty, redwood-forested hills – with a second, fainter rainbow echoing above it – and take snapshots with their cell phones and digital cameras. Five minutes later, my daughter and I pulled into the Safeway parking lot to find folks marveling over the same twin rainbows. I hope they bring us some luck, better times, and maybe even the proverbial Leprechaun’s Pot O’ Gold!

Spring has sprung in Rio Nido: Neighbors have been enjoying the warm weather, sunshine, and the pungent aroma of freshly-mown onion grass. Yep, we’ve got lots of onion grass here in Rio Nido. And if you’ve been walking by the Post Office and Fire Station on warm evenings, you may have noticed Kelsey practicing with her flaming hula hoop. The Rio Nido Community Garden continues to flourish, and several new members signed up at the annual spring meeting on March 13^th. The local canines are getting frisky at the adjacent Dog Park, and they’re not the only ones … Love is in the air. At least two new romantic couples have formed amongst our neighbors since our last Rio Nido Home Owners Association event!

Speaking of interesting new couples … Dennis Judd and Vince Walsh were reportedly seen having a late-evening tête-á-tête at the Rio Nido Road House. Oh-la-la! And who exactly are Dennis Judd and Vince Walsh, you may ask? Mr. Judd is a local developer who purchased the decrepit remains of the historic Rio Nido Lodge last November. Mr. Walsh is the owner of various trashy, derelict eyesores … oops, I meant to say “vacant, buildable lots” … adjacent to the Lodge. Sigh … [cue: mooney eyes and tiny bubble hearts floating around in the air] … sounds like a match made in heaven.

Alas, not all relationships last … newly-elected RRROC members abruptly resign: Elio “Buck” Sierra and Chris AuZsten resigned from the Russian River Redevelopment Oversight Committee (RRROC) only two months into their four-year elected terms. In an email to his constituents, Mr. AuZsten cited “health reasons” causing some of us to surmise that carrying out his RRROC duties placed him in mortal danger of being bored to death. This is a danged shame, as both Mr. Sierra and Mr. AuZsten have lots of energy, experience, and interesting ideas.

PSSST! In case you’ve been noticing the sudden epidemic of stylin’ manicures … the ladies are getting them at Fulton Nails on 2550 Guerneville Road, Santa Rosa. Which employs a new “nail gel” technology which costs $35, takes less than an hour, and lasts for 4-6 weeks! Woo hoo! No more ratty fingernails for the Rattina!

BIG Rio Nido Meeting: Judd not lest ye be judded, part 2

Actually, the subtitle should be "Judd not lest ye be judded, part 4" because our fourth meeting in as many months is coming up (see previous post). However, River Rattina has been too busy avoiding phone calls from bill collectors while sitting on her porch with a shotgun "jes' in case them danged bankers come round agin" to write up the last two meetings.

The second meeting was held on December 12th 2pm inside the Rio Nido Lodge. And Lo and Behold! The first sight which greeted us as we approached the former hotel lobby was the huge gleaming edifice of a relic from glory days past ... the beautiful, antique, redwood bar which had been stolen from the Rio Nido Lodgea few weeks before! And was found and reported to the Sheriff by an observant neighbor -- in some crankster's pickup truck hack-sawed into three jagged pieces. This was a supreme vindication for Brad Metzger, owner of the Rio Nido Roadhouse, who had been implicated by some bizarre rumor.

The bar had been carefully restored by skillful hands and stood stolidly as though it had never been removed. As JRR Tolkein's hero, Aragorn, declared about the once-broken sword of Isildur, "It has been remade." More brownie points for new Rio Nido Lodge owner Dennis Judd, who now looks like the judicious custodian of this precious artifact from Rio Nido's history. Which basically comes down to ... a bar? Um, let's not go there. *Hic*

Chaired by newly elected RRROC member and long-time Rio Nido resident, Chris Auszten, the meeting was attended by over 50 people, including Mr. Metzger from the Rio Nido Roadhouse (which currently serves as our beloved neighborhood hangout, restaurant, bar, music venue, community center, pool, etc.), Mr. Judd, his representative Steve Radjelic, Doug Meisner and others from the Rio Nido Home Owners' Association, 5th District Supervisor Efren Carillo, Mark Krug from the County Development Commission, Tom Lynch from RRROC & the Zoning Board, Sergeant Kevin Young from the Sheriff's Department, Vesta Copestakes from the West County Gazette, Amber Twitchell RRROC member elect and Economic Recovery Director for California Human Services, Karen Kopp from the Guerneville 5&10, Joe Feladjic from GoLocal Coop, local blogger Steve Gladfelter, and many others.

Rio Nido resident Rebecca Ford kept things on track with her calm, professional demeanor, along with a timer to keep things moving at a reasonable pace so we could leave before midnight. Elena Chronis was kept busy furiously jotting down the minutes. Local resident and writer Justin Raimondo and others served as the obligatory anti-development hecklers until others urged them to pipe down and listen to what The-Powers-That-Be have to say. Domenic Farnocchia, the unofficial but de-facto Mayor of Rio Nido was, alas, nowhwere to be found.

Mr. Raimondo squeezed in one last expression of his suspicions regarding Mr. Judd's motivations, only to have Mr. Auszton lose his temper and thunder out, "THIS IS NOT A DEMOCRACY!" Dang! So much for any political prospects he may have enjoyed beyond RRROC. Such a shame, he ran such a good campaign. Thankfully, the One Who Has Innumerable Political Prospects, Efren Carrillo, later gently chided, "Actually, this IS a democracy."

Mr. Judd once again reiterated that he has no specific plans for the Rio Nido Lodge property (affordable housing -- Sonoma County Department of Subliminal Advertising), wants to hear what we folks from the community have to say (affordable housing -- Sonoma County Department of Subliminal Advertising), believes we should unite as a community (affordable housing -- Sonoma County Department of Subliminal Advertising), and wants to work with us towards common goals (affordable housing -- Sonoma County Department of Subliminal Advertising).

As you may have guessed, I do believe that Mr. Judd sincerely wants to work with us towards creating something totally fabulous in keeping with our fabled history, but I also believe that the County's objectives combined with our arcane zoning codes and permit requirements/procedures will make it absolutely impossible for any property owner to make money -- or just break even -- unless they build "affordable housing". Personally, I would love to see more affordable housing in combination with mixed commercial use so we can also have a grocery store, laundromat, coffee shop, theater, the restoration of our once fabulous beach, a dock for boats, a bait & tackle shop, & other amenities. Orrin Theissen ... where ARE you?!

Numerous ideas were exchanged. The energy was amazing. Representatives from our distinguished theater group, Pegasus, expressed hope in finding a new home here. Ms. Twitchell energetically stated the need to use available funds towards creating jobs so people can afford to live here and urged us to "Please think beyond this moment towards what's sustainable." Mr. Feladjic from GoLocal offered "a helping hand" to local businesses ... which currently consists of the Rio Nido Road House & whatever Mr. Judd winds up doing. Rio Nido resident Jennifer Ostrom distributed a handout on potential uses for the space and things we can do towards the beautification of Rio Nido. Mr. Meisner said that running the Rio Nido Homeowners' Association is "like herding cats."

In the end, a sign-up sheet was passed around for those interested in forming a Rio Nido Task Force, and a meeting was set up for January at the Rio Nido Fire Station.

JANUARY 9, 2010 MEETING -- Apparently, Rio Nido was QUITE the happening place back in December. The following meeting on January 9 was well-attended with about 25 neighbors present, but not nearly as crowded and contentious and vibrant as the previous one. Mr. Auszten was facilitating the meeting until ... suddenly, he didn't want to any more. I don't get it ... we ornery, obnoxious, & digressive Rio Nido folks seemed to be on our best behavior that day. Dang, we DO seem to chew through so many of those poor meeting facilitators. Luckily, local resident and business consultant Kim Holliday stepped in and orchestrated some key agreements on what we should focus on: Safety/security, beautification, infrastructure, business development, and internal stuff (how we're organized, how we make decisions, how we work together).

So now these five major items are slated for the upcoming meeting agenda. The meeting is scheduled for Saturday February 13th, 10am, at the Rio Nido Road House. With all the opening and closing stuff, we have 12 agenda items. That means 5 minutes per agenda item. That means we'll need to split off into committees so we can have more detailed discussions & start accomplishing things. Please come, and please also WISH US LUCK!

BIG Rio Nido meeting! Judd not, lest ye be judded ...

BIG RIO NIDO MEETING,
Saturday December 12th at 2:00pm
Rio Nido Lodge

Dennis Judd and the Rio Nido Home Owners Association have organized a town meeting to discuss plans and ideas for the Rio Nido Lodge property (recently purchased by Mr. Judd). The meeting will be facilitated by Rio Nido's unofficial mayor, Domenic Farnocchia. Panelists will include major local players, such as Mark Krug, community development manager of the Community Development Commission; 5th District Supervisor Efren Carrillo, RNHOA board member Doug Meisner, Planning Commission member Tom Lynch, local resident, Russian River Redevelopment Oversight Committee (RRROC) candidate Chris Auzten, and others.

Guess what? Some folks out here in Rio Nido -- including yours truly -- have tentatively decided to drink the Dennis Judd Koolaid. As improbable as it may seem, big things may be in the works for our poor, beautiful, eclectic and neglected little town. An unidentified source of mine believes that Mr. Judd is serious about building his healing retreat for cancer sufferers on the Rio Nido Inn property, and gotten the above-listed big kahunas' attention. There even appears to be some consideration being given to yours truly's fantasy about sprucing up the drab parking lot at Rio Nido's entrance and restoring "boulder beach" (which was destroyed years back during the landslides). Though that sounds like a major undertaking.

So it seems that many of us have made unfair assumptions about Mr. Judd's intentions, and we need to start being constructive, giving him the benefit of the doubt and working with him. We're danged lucky that this venerable but recently distressed property has been purchased by someone who actually cares about our community and what we think of him. Because, when push comes to shove, Mr. Judd's the 500-pound gorilla who can do whatever he wants.

New Rio Nido Lodge owner meets with neighbors

November 7 2009, Rio Nido -- 25 Rio Nido residents gathered on the site of the former Rio Nido Lodge (also known as the Rio Nido Inn) at 11:30am to meet with the new property owner, Dennis Judd. After a series of informal conversations with board members from RNHOA, the Sebastopol-based developer and owner of Cipora Properties invited everyone to a meeting so he could introduce himself and address concerns about his plans for the site.

This was definitely a good move on Mr. Judd's part, considering recent problems with the Rio Nido Lodge property itself; ongoing drug, crime and quality of life issues associated with other multi-unit dwellings in the area; and the fact that Mr. Judd's company specializes in affordable housing and recently obtained Russian River Redevelopment Oversight Committee (RRROC) approval for redevelopment funds for a nearby complex on River Road. For indeed, some neighbors did come with metaphorical torches and pitchforks in hand.

As people arrived, Mr. Judd and Stephen Radeljik (also from Cipora Properties) passed out fliers with an endorsement from local activist and West County Gazette publisher Vesta Copestakes vouching for Mr. Judd's care for the communities in which he builds on one side and yours truly's Top 10 possible uses for the Rio Nido Inn on the other side. (Flattery will get you everywhere!)

Mr. Judd described how he has worked with communities towards "transforming properties" and has been brainstorming with the Community Development Commission about possible uses. Many Rio Nido residents assumed that Mr. Judd intends to build another low-income housing complex. Instead, Mr. Judd stated that he really doesn't know "where to go with this property," and that he wants to work with us on "not just this property, but the whole community." He pointed out that since purchasing the property -- which has caused major problems due to neglect by the previous owner -- things have already gotten better. Mr. Judd also mentioned that the squatters are gone and "now it's cleaned up." He added that "this sends a message that we're a beautiful community & we're not going to put up with this crap any more."

With apparent sincerity, Mr. Judd restated that he hasn't made a decision on what do do with the Rio Nido Lodge and is open to suggestions. He even mentioned that his first choice would be to build a "healing retreat" for people suffering from cancer. Mr. Judd mentioned that he has also discussed the possibility of a specialty grocery store with the owner of a small, local chain. Amazingly enough, it appears that even real estate developers are capable of idealistic dreams.

Ironically, previous Rio Nido Inn owner Jim Friedman had also purchased the now-notorious Faerie Ring Campground in Guerneville back in 2001 with the intention of transforming it into "a healing retreat." Matthew Hagan wrote a flattering article, "Lord of the Faerie Ring", in the December 2004 issue of the North Bay Bohemian. Quel ironie. Then again, Mr. Friedman is a prison psychologist at San Quentin who rented out his various local properties to people just getting out of prison and recovering (or NOT recovering) methamphetamine addicts. So what would you expect?

Following Mr. Judd's presentation, a heated discussion followed. Rio Nido resident and writer Justin Raimondo (whose vituperative response to a conciliatory piece Mr. Judd wrote for the the West County Gazette will appear in next week's issue) adamantly warned Mr. Judd that "We WILL oppose affordable housing." (Not River Rattina -- the way things are going, she might actually need one of those units soon!) Others expressed similar levels of skepticism.

"I don't think you know what we're going through. We have three section eight houses which are drug houses," exclaimed second-generation resident Amy Merkel Rose. A discussion of problem properties throughout Rio Nido ensued, with one neighbor adding, "When the roach motel closed, the roaches scattered but they didn't go away." and another chiming in, "Some of them live next door to me." Dennis Judd responded, "You're fighting an issue that isn't real. I'm not saying we're going to do low income housing. We're still investigating." Justin Raimondo shot back, "You mean you bought a building for $250K without knowing what you'd do with it?" Another neighbor agreed, "That seems suspect."

Sonoma County Planning Commission member, Tom Lynch came to Mr. Judd's defense, explaining that the previous two owners did not have sufficient resources to maintain the Rio Nido Inn. "Dennis Judd has resources to wrok with the community. He fixes up and cleans up neighborhoods. You can't stereotype the tenants ... Can't we get some more positive energy to move forward?" Tom Lynch is also a local resident, member of RRROC, and the owner of a construction company. He is also a long-time friend of Mr. Judd who has worked on projects for him.

Domenic Farnocchia, RNHOA board member, Russian River Parks & Recreation board member, and unofficial Mayor of Rio Nido, inquired of Mr. Judd, "Are you willing to be part of this neighborhood and do a neighborhood watch with us?" The meeting wound down as local resident Randie Johnson asked, "How can we -- as your neighbors -- help you to come to a decision?" Tom Lynch stated that the next steps would be to hav a larger neighborhood meeting with more advance notice and someone from the Community Development Commission present. A tour of the vandalized and gutted -- but now clean -- interior followed.

The next meeting will be held Saturday December 12 2009, 2:00pm at the Rio Nido Lodge and facilitated by Mr. Farnocchia. Panelists are to include: Mark Krug, executive director of the Community Development Commission; 5th District Supervisor Efren Carrillo, RNHOA board member Doug Meisner, local resident and RRROC candidate Chris Auzten, and others.

RRROC approves $400K loan for affordable housing complex in Rio Nido

The man who recently purchased the Rio Nido Inn for $250K recently received approval for a $400K loan from RRROC to develop a previously purchased Rio Nido property as an affordable rental housing complex. According to Frank Robertson's October 28 article in the Sonoma West Times & News, RRROC's approval of this loan to Sebastopol developer Dennis Judd "raised some eyebrows."

Although the Board of Supervisors hasn't written any checks yet, the County rarely -- if ever -- denies funding for an RRROC-recommended project.

Folks here in Rio Nido have already started grumbling about the "Ruska Rika Dacha rental housing compound" on River Road and Mr. Judd's intentions for the Rio Nido Inn. But I'm still on the fence. After all, if the job market doesn't improve soon, some of us might need to live there. (Psst, Tom Lynch ... can you please send me an application?)

SO ... gee, now that we know the identity of the developer formerly known as "Mr. X", I wonder what Mr. Judd wants to do with the Rio Nido Inn?

I'm still crossing my fingers & hoping we can persuade Mr. Judd, RRROC, & other People With Money to restore the Inn & turn it into some fabulous, historic high-end hotel. They could even buy the enormous & adjacent parking lot fronting River Road (also for sale), restore the old fountain, & landscape a lush garden like the one at the Coronado Hotel in San Diego.

Didn't I once hear something about Mike Reilly and others floating around the possibility of a luxury resort at the entrance to Rio Nido? This would have the advantage of providing jobs within walking distance to all those folks living down the street.