Guess what's back on my radar screen? Citizen journalism! I was in the process of reading, "The rise and prospects of hyperlocal journalism" by Jan Schaffer, director of the Institute for Interactive Journalism's J-Lab in College Park, Maryland, at the same time I was discovering that many of the visitors to my Petaluma360 blog site, get there as the result of using a search engine rather than logging in with the site's official URL, http://www.petaluma360.com

Since the mass media has made such a splash about Earth Day, I feel compelled to supplement yesterday's blog with a second part. Did you notice the number of public events listed in the S.F. Chronicle (4-21-07, A9)? N= 42. Then, in Sunday's Press Democrat, an entire section called "Green Living" was included. We have certainly come a long way since the first Earth Day in 1970.

Please forgive me for ignoring our "Web of Life" theme for so many months; but, the fact that "Earth Day - 2007" is today, I feel compelled to reflect on what my professional life was all about, prior to retiring to Petaluma in 1993. Long-time readers might recall that "Web of Life #2" was titled, "Earth Day, 2006." My closing paragraph for that particular blog, is reprinted below -

Whew! I'm glad that's over. I just completed my income tax forms for 2006. Yep, I still do mine the "old fashion" way - by hand. I haven't been posting many blogs lately, except for "Emergency Preparedness" news. BTW, next Wednesday is the 100^th anniversary of the 1906 S.F. Earthquake. Look out for the media blitz that will strike us. Hopefully, this entry will play "catch up" on a few of my other themes.

Earlier this week, the Argus-Courier featured Westridge Knolls in its neighborhood series and what the current residents think about living there. It was exactly one year ago that this same neighborhood made the news; but, as the "birthplace" of the Petaluma NERT (Neighborhood Emergency Preparedness Team) initiative. The headline read, "Preparing for crisis together." This pilot project was launched by concerned citizens because of the lack of communications along the Gulf Coast, following Hurricane Katrina. That event clearly illustrated that government agencies couldn't do it all. Individual citizens need to "Be Ready" and "Be Prepared" to take care of themselves in the event of an extreme disaster, such as a tornado, flood or earthquake.