For the past couple of weeks, the Press Democrat has been running an ad for the North Bay 2006 Technology Conference that will honor Don Green, the "founder" of Telecom Valley on October 3^rd. Among the corporate executives that will tell stories about the early days of this new North Bay development will be George Hawley (founder of Diamond Lane Communications) and John Webley (Founder of Turnin Networks). Although this blogger is not a techie, he did mingle (just like Bill Soberanes) with the founders of these early Telecom Valley companies and others that followed. Many of these executives were most supportive of the community events initiated by PetalumaNet and the Petaluma CyberCity Roundtable in the late 1990s.

IMHO, it's great to see these companies sponsoring this 2006 event in order to recall and reflect on the historic beginnings of an industry that has greatly impacted the economic life of the North Bay Region. A few years ago, a proposal was made by PCMG.TV to videotape an interview with Don Green that would be part of a series titled, A River of Change. This initial show was designed to document Don Green's reflections about the early days of Optilink, the first Telecom Valley company to be located in Petaluma, in 1987. Unfortunately, that particular interview never happened.

All was not lost, however, an interview with Chet Stephens, one member of the original team that came to Sonoma County with Don Green was interviewed and is in the archives of PetalumaNet. It was viewed by the participants at the Annual North Bay CyberCity Symposium, held at Sonoma State University in 2002. So, all was not lost. Now that Telecom Valley is coming back to life, perhaps there will be renewed interest in recording the thoughts and memories of these pioneers before it is too late. I hope that this conference on October 3 will be recorded. Stay tuned.

I can't believe it! It'd been over a week since I posted my last blog. I hope my regular readers didn't think I was ill, or lost in Cyberspace. Actually, they may have welcomed this period of "silence" and none of my "talking the talk." As I have been preaching, sooner or later you have to "walk the walk" and "put your money where your mouth is," or all that huffing and puffing is just plain fluff. I didn't have time to write five separate blogs, so I have posted this GLOB to make up for lost time.

Then & Now - The Petalumans of Yesteryear have been one busy group of historical enthusiasts. They did their thing at the Adult School's Super-Saturday with a program that presented a snapshot of Petaluma history that included the River, the Town, and the People. In addition, the Chambers Leadership Class and Channel 5 ("Eye on the Bay") walked the town with Mrs. Addie Atwater and Mr. William Howard Pepper. This Sunday, the Petalumans will make an appearance at the Historical Museum's 100^th Year celebration of the Carnegie Library building.

Our Community - You may have missed it due to the early hour, but the Community Health Foundation of Greater Petaluma kicked off its fund raising campaign to help meet the current needs of our Health Center. This vital community asset serves over 18,000 patients, annually, and that number is increasing by 400 new patients each month. The Health Center serves mostly people who are underinsured or do not have any health care coverage. Its dedicated staff certainly exemplifies the spirit of our community at it meets this critical health care need.

Emergency Preparedness - Both the City Council and the Petaluma School Board got a verbal reminder during their Public Comment session about the fact that the question about a major disaster is not a matter of IF, but WHEN? The acronyms NERT - CERT - ALERT & STAR were articulated for clarity and understanding. The South County VOAD included the local NERT-CERT leaders in their recent community workshop that included several Voluntary Organizations Active in Disaster. Petaluma's third CERT training class will start next Thursday, September 28^th.

Our Cyberplace - In spite of periodic computer glitches, I still like to explore Cyberspace and stay informed about this and that. The latest Petaluma web site to be created is http://www.PetalumaNERT.org Tiffany Renee, a local web site designer has volunteered her time (she is also a CERT graduate) to create a community portal site that will contain the latest information about NERT-CERT-ALERT and STAR programs.

Our Web-of-Life - Have you heard that "Green Building" is coming to Petaluma? Get ready for a week of daily programs (October 2^nd to 7^th) that will describe how you can "build it green from the ground up with smart solutions." Check out the City's Community Development Dept's Build It Green web site at http://petalumabuilditgreen.org

There is so much going on in our city. I'm certain that Bill Soberanes (remember him?) would love to see and hear what's going on in his favorite River Town. It's time to get back to walking the walk. Please remember that our actions speak louder than our words. Stay tuned.

Earlier, this morning, I attended the fund-raising kick off event by the Community Health Foundation of Greater Petaluma that will benefit the Petaluma Health Center, as well other local health care initiatives. The number of people who showed up for the 7:30-8:30 a.m. program and tour was much fewer than expected. Was it the cold weather or the early hour, or the fact that folks are just so busy? Some observers might raise the question, "Do Petalumans really care about the health care services provided for their community?"

Wait a minute, let's not get carried away. Didn't I just read on yesterday's Argus-Courier front page, an article titled, Fund-raising campaign to benefit health center: Vital but beleaguered facility serves 18,000 people per year." http://www1.arguscourier.com/apps/pbcs.dll/frontpage

Moving on to page A16, the editorial caption read, Home-grown solutions to health-care crisis," plus the "Guest Commentary" on page A17 by Bob Curry, President of the Board of Trustees for the Foundation titled, Petaluma Health Center play vital role." All of these articles total 47 column inches of text. "So what?" you ask.

All these words (I didn't count them) represented the greatest coverage of a local need or concern that I've seen in one issue. The overall health care message and the description of services, current and proposed, was crystal clear for those who took the time to read those 47 inches of text or to attend the event. There isn't enough room in this blog to cover the details, sufficiently, but here are a few of my thoughts as I reflect on the comments made by the dignitaries who spoke:

#1- There is a national health care crises, costs are rising, and it won't be fixed soon.

#2- Several South Sonoma County medical and health care groups are struggling, as best they can, to provide adequate and affordable services; but -

#3- There are thousands of uninsured and underinsured people who would not receive adequate care if the Health Center didn't exist.

#4- The Petaluma Health Care Center, established in 1994, is currently meeting the needs of 18,000 people, but there are many others not being served.

#5- If the community does not raise the funds necessary to cover, not only current expenses, but projected costs to cover future expansion plans, a health care "earthquake" will strike Petaluma.

My hunch is that many Petalumans are not aware of the hundreds of people, both volunteers and professional, that are presently working to deliver the best health care and medical services possible. Their combined efforts represent a dedication second to none. It is this commitment that places Petaluma high on the list of cities with a true sense of community.

For additional information, take a look at the Argus-Courier for September 13-19, 2006 and bring up http://www.chfpetaluma.com on your computer screen. This campaign is just getting off the ground. Here is an opportunity for the citizens of Petaluma to "step up to the plate" and show that they DO care about health care - for all! Stay tuned.

You might recall that I "Talked" about the Press Democrat's recent article and editorial the impact of Katrina on communities "Getting Ready" in EP Blog #1 (9-7-06). You might also recall that in spite of wake up calls like Katrina and the 1989 Loma Prieta earthquake, one statement said, "no one has given much attention to NERT - Neighborhood Emergency Response Team" training.

Guess what? In yesterday's PD, my "Letter to the Editor," titled Get Ready was published. The letter described briefly how volunteers have stepped up to the plate and are now in the process of organizing neighborhood teams in ten areas of the city in order to be ready when (not if), the next "big one" strikes.

Regular readers of my blogs will discover that over this past year, I have posted over 20 blogs, under various headings, that comment about the Emergency Preparedness events and training that have taken place in Petaluma using acronyms like NERT - CERT - ALERT - STAR.

Another "Public Comment" appearance before the City Council was made last night. (You can watch it on the City's granicus video system.) Tonight, it will be the Petaluma School District's Board of Education turn. Stay tuned.

As the "King" said, "It's a puzzlement!" My last blog, just 24 hour ago, mentioned some strange letters showing up on many of my posts ... both new and old. They are not there, now. What happened?

Was I seeing things? (No, because a fellow blogger reported that he saw them too.) You don't think it was a "squeaky wheel" comment that got the situation corrected, do you? Whoever did something to "fix" things, please explain what happened.

I'm so surprised, I'm "speechless." I don't have anything else to say at this time. (Which, as many of my friends tell me is a rare occasion.) Oh well, I will sleep better tonight, knowing that Our Information Highway has had its electronic "potholes" fixed, and that life in Our Cyberspace and for viewers in Petaluma, Our Cyberplace, will return to normal.

I might add that, "It was just in time," because this month ... being Emergency Preparedness month ... will have many entries related to CERT, NERT, STAR, and ALERT. Stay tuned.

As you view some of my blogs, and look at the headings (regardless of category), what do you see?

Hmmm, it looks like some strange new language that I do not recognize. I don't remember keying in these letters. Is my typing that poor? Did I fall asleep at the keyboard? What's happening?

Stop and think about it. It's a form of digital "trash" or "tagging" that is littering our Information Highway and must be cleaned up. If anyone can come up with an answer, please let me know ASAP.

Our Information Highway - Our Cyberspace -and Our Cyberplace must be kept open, available, and "clean" so that the "greatest good for the greatest number of people" may continue to be served. Stay tuned.