The low-down on Low-Flow

For those of you who are unfamiliar with Low-Flow issues on the Russian River, here are some links:

• Russian River Low Flow protest: Brenda Adelman's article from the West County Gazette provides an overview of the Low Flow issue.
• On the Russian River -- Oh no, it's Low Flow ... again!: Don McEnhill's article on how low water levels lead to algae blooms, poor water quality, and pre-dawn suffocation for fish.
• Russian River low flow proposal -- Bad science!: Russian River Dogs explain the flawed reasoning behind permanently lowering our summer water levels.
• Russian River Sisters say "Low Flow" means "No Cash Flow": The Russian River Sisters of Perpetual Indulgence's press release from 2004 still holds true today.
• Russian River Instream Flow Restoration page: Sonoma County Water Agency's attempt to explain the rationale behind their recommendation for permanent Low Flow on the Russian River. For those of you willing to slog through it, here's a link to Entrix's Biological Assessment. Entrix is an environmental consulting firm located in Michigan. Gee, couldn't SCWA at least hire LOCAL people to recommend ruining our river and totally wrecking our economy?

See, I'm trying to be balanced and provide links to pro-Low Flow as well as no-Low Flow pages. Alas, my Google searches have failed to turn up any other pro-Low Flow sites because Low Flow totally SUCKS.

Low Flow protest deadline pushed up to May 13th

Good news for slackers like me who missed the recent Low Flow protest deadline (April 12th) ... The State Water Resources Control Board (SWRCB) has extended the public comment period to MAY 13th 2010. For more information about Low Flow, please read Brenda Adelman's article in the West County Gazette.

For folks with no time to read, here's the long and short of it ... unless you WANT the Russian River to be shallow, algae-clogged, and totally GROSS (like last summer) every single summer for the rest of our lives, regardless of rainfall levels, PLEASE help stop low flow by doing the following:

1. Download the Low Flow protest form from the West County Gazette
2. Fill it out (it's really short)
   
3. Write a heart-felt letter about summers on the river or how your business depends on tourism, etc.
4. Make two photocopies, &
   
5. Mail the three documents by MAY 10th (to allow for mail delivery time) to the following addresses:

STATE WATER RESOURCES CONTROL BOARD
DIVISION OF WATER RIGHTS
P.O. BOX 2000
SACRAMENTO, CA 95812-2000

Sonoma County Water Agency
C/O Grant Davis, General Manager
P.O. Box 11628, Santa Rosa, CA 95406,

AND ...

Russian River Watershed Protection Committee
P.O. Box 501
Guerneville, CA 95446.

Please note that you MUST mail these things by May 10th because the Water Agencies have NOT joined the 21st century & do NOT provide email addresses or Web forms. Actually, since they also don't provide a FAX number, they haven't even joined the 20th century!

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!