January 2023 Edition

Edition 1 January 2023

In This Edition
  1. FOR CONSIDERATION
  2. HOUSING
  3. Social Justice
  4. CLIMATE AND ENVIRONMENT
  5. COMMUNITY UPDATES

Calendar of Events

MON 1/23 7PMCity Council, Council Chambers
SUN 1/29 2 PM Gallery walk & photographer talk, FogFest photos, Sanchez Art East Gallery
MON 2/6 7 PMPlanning Commission, Council Chambers
FRI 2/10 6 & 8:30 PM
16TH annual fundraiser surf movie. See post. Advance tickets.
SUN 2/12 3:30 PMArtist & curator talk, Elaine Badly Arnoux, Sanchez Art Main Gallery
MON 2/13 7 PMCity Council, Council Chambers
MON 2/21 7 PM Planning Commission, Council Chambers
MON 2/27 7 PMCity Council, Council Chambers

Pacifica Voice is eager to receive articles on issues important to our community. Please send them to editors@pacificavoice.us for consideration.
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FOR CONSIDERATION

Keep it a Secret Pacific Beach Coalition Movie Night

A new year has dawned and with it powerful waves, torrential rains, and unexpected challenges. King Tides, flooding, sand covered streets, landslides, rock falls, floating logs and trees, upended picnic tables and benches all show the power of nature. Climate change, oh climate change. Yes, we are understanding more about climate change but are we cutting our use of plastics and fossil fuels? Are we demanding different, more sustainable products from our producers? Are we fighting for, supporting, and demanding more change? I hope so.

One of the tenets of the Pacific Beach Coalition is to give people experiences that help them understand the problems, the need for change, and the power we have to use our voice and create that change right here at home. Our team thanks each and everyone of you who have supported us with your time, your talents, and your money. We thank each of you who teach your children and support their passion to help the earth and ocean. We thank each of you who keep your neighborhood clean, increase the native plants in your yards and our open spaces, who share your knowledge and set examples for being kinder, gentler on our one and only planet.

As the new year begins the Pacific Beach Coalition is in need of your help so that we can continue providing 11 cleanup and hr events a month, leadership for scores of corporate team cleanup events, school outings and education, and educational programs for all. If you have a passion to help the earth, we need your talents. Could you lead and support cleanups, organize events, serve as a board member, create communication for volunteers, write stories, take photos, create videos, manage financials? All of these things can increase the capacity of good and grow the impact of the PBC.

And if time, talents, abilities do not allow, please consider supporting us by joining our surf movie fundraiser, or making a donation so that others can meet the growing demands of picking up litter, restoring habitat, and engaging citizens to do so and to learn! 

Keep It A Secret is a surf story that bring us back to the early 1970s where the world-class waves of Ireland were uncharted waters for the international surfing communityText Movie Nite.

Register on Eventbrite

Storms impact the most vulnerable on our coast – Joanne Rokosky, Coastside Faith in Action

The series of atmospheric weather storms beginning on New Year’s Day have been challenging for many on the Coastside. Thousands in the unincorporated areas of the Middle and South coast lost power, some only for a day and others for over a week. Downed trees and flooding have intermittently closed portions of Highways 1, 92, and 84, impacting commutes and travel for needed services.

Although the entire Coastside has been impacted, those lacking resources or already struggling financially, have been devastated. In Half Moon Bay, the overflow of Pilarcitos Creek necessitated evacuation of a nearby homeless encampment. According to Eric DeBode, Executive Director of Abundant Grace Coastside Worker, occupants of the encampment were temporarily housed by the County in hotels on the Bay Side of the Peninsula.

The Oak Street area of Half Moon Bay flooded and is primarily home to Latino families. Belinda Arriaga, Executive Director of Ayundando Latinos A Sonar (ALAS), reported at least 10 Oak Street families lost beds and furniture, and five cars became inoperable. Although families were safely evacuated to local hotels, they were unable to cook or transport themselves to work.

Portions of Moonridge, a low-income farmworker housing complex operated by Mid-Peninsula Housing and located just South of the Half Moon Bay city limits, also flooded. In addition to structural damage, families lost bedding, blankets, clothing, and household supplies. All told, 23 families were evacuated to hotels. Those relocated “over the hill,” cannot get to work or get their children to school, due to poor transit options and road closures. 

San Mateo County, the City of Half Moon Bay, ALAS, and other local organizations provided emergency support. The Half Moon Bay City Manager and council member Joaquin Jimenez were on-site, along with San Mateo County Supervisor Mueller, staff from ALAS, and community volunteers. Mid-Peninsula Housing provided meal vouchers for their residents temporarily living in hotels and had crews on site to repair damage to flooded homes. Local restaurants contributed meals, and the Mariners Church coordinated with ALAS to provide multiple meals for those housed in local hotels. Additional meals were provided by the County and by World Central Kitchens. Individuals throughout the Coastside have generously provided food, new blankets and clothing, gift cards, and Uber rides. 

Judith Guerrero, Executive Director of Coastside Hope, estimated that 25- 50 households have been impacted by the loss of both wages and household/personal items. Guerrero stated that, thus far, the requests for help have been for vehicle repairs and furniture.

According to Rita Mancera, Executive Director of Puente, residents of Pescadero and other South Coast communities were impacted by loss of work as well as by damage to their homes. Few people had to evacuate. Puente staff estimate that spoiled food alone, due to the power outages, affected about 300 families who now need support to replace their groceries. Puente launched a fund to support the impacted people and is offering financial assistance to repair home damage, replace home essentials, and replace lost wages. Puente plans a food distribution event and distribution of Safeway gift cards.

Recovery for these impacted families will be a long-term process. Families are devastated by lost income and lost work hours. ALAS board member, Luis Enrique Bazan, described the “sense of desperation” that many feel because they already live paycheck to paycheck.

Abundant Grace Coastside Worker – abundantgracecw.org
ALAS – www.alasdreams.com
Coastside Hope – coastsidehope.org
Puente – mypuente.org

Pacifica Resource Center (PRC): Neighbors Helping Neighbors 

Reprinted from the Pacifica Tribune with permission of the author, Marj Davis, and the Pacifica Resource Center 

Pacifica is a beautiful and unique city. We are a community of caring and compassionate people that is demographically, socio-economically, and geographically quite diverse. And, the needs of our community are as varied and diverse as the population itself. 

For example, more than half of Pacifica families earned less than $149,100 – the US Department of Housing’s low-income threshold for a family of 4 (source: U.S. Census Bureau’s 2016-2020 American Community Survey). As a result, Pacifica Resource Center (PRC) has seen a 274% increase in service requests. 

Our team of staff, board, volunteers, donors, and supporters work together to support our community – all in our own way. Through skill, organization, and hard work, and with grace and compassion, our staff provide groceries, Back to School programs, tax preparation, holiday programs, housing assistance, and more. Through financial and in kind support, and with their time and talent, our donors, volunteers, and supporters provide the resources and partnership we need to maintain and expand our vital services. 

Together last year, PRC provided groceries to benefit nearly 104,000 (duplicated) Pacificans – a 418 percent increase from last year’s nearly 25,000 Pacificans; prepared taxes for 202 households, generating over $340,000 in refunds and saving taxpayers over $43,000 in tax preparation fees; delivered holiday joy to 160 children and Thanksgiving assistance to 481 Pacifica families and older adults; prepared 159 Pacifica youth for school with backpacks, PPE, and gift cards for school supplies; provided 284 showers to unhoused Pacificans, helping them prepare for work, job interviews and housing search; prevented homelessness by sheltering 412 Pacificans; and, helped 56 (or 36%) of the unhoused individuals served by our Unhoused on the Coast Outreach return to housing or enter shelter. 

PRC’s Board of Directors, composed of a cross-section of Pacifica residents, is thankful for the support that comes from everyone in our community. The ongoing trust and confidence of our neighbors throughout Pacifica and along the coast truly make our work possible. We look forward to 2023 as we implement a new strategic plan and respond to the evolving needs of our community with you. 

Marj Davis, PRC Board President

HOUSING

Alternative view: the real cause of the homeless crisis – Suzanne Moore

In a recent op-ed in the Pacifica Tribune, Dan Walters from CalMatters opined on causes of homelessness. I suggest alternative insights. I believe California critically lacks low-income and supportive housing. We don’t need reduction of environmental and community control, we need policies and incentives which create what we, again, desperately need – low-income and supportive housing. Here’s why.

An historic perspective

We cannot afford to repeat tragic mistakes from the past. In an article entitled, Homeless and Helpless: How the United States has Failed Those With Severe and Persistent Mental Illness, Ashley Gorfido describes how “The modern era of homelessness began in the early 1980s… (with) (g)entrification of the inner city, deinstitutionalization of people suffering from SPMI, and other major forces contributed to the complexity of homelessness…(a)n inadequate supply of affordable housing options, and deep budget cuts to the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) and social service agencies in response to what was then the country’s worst recession since the Great Depression”

Gorfido provides additional thoughts: “In 2015, the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development conducted the most extensive survey ever undertaken regarding homelessness, and found that at a minimum, 25% of Americans are homeless. Of homeless Americans, 45% are mentally ill. Americans endorse holding stigmatizing beliefs regarding people who have mental illness – (s)pecifically, beliefs that mentally ill people are dangerous, incompetent, punishable, commit crimes, and that they are shameful and blameworthy. With these beliefs in combination with the overall American perception of homeless people being deviant, it is no surprise that the United States does not have or has not chosen to implement better policies to help this population.” 

So the past, including our recent past, contains errors like deinstitutionalization, failed systems, and American perceptions that remain potential barriers to solutions.

A current picture

The COVID economic downturn has disproportionately impacted the poor: Legal Aid reports evictions are 60% higher than pre-COVID numbers, the President of the Pacifica Resource Center reports a 418% increase of Pacificans served as compared to 2021, the One Day Homeless Count showed an increase of Pacifica’s unhoused living in cars and vans, and a recent National Association on Mental Illness survey relays concerns from aging caregivers for their children with Serious Mental Illness.

Our State has identified funds for homelessness, and our County stands committed to functional zero homelessness. Individual communities have stepped up to the plate and collaborated with the County to create both interim and permanent housing as well as a homeless navigation center. Our communities are in the process of drafting Housing Elements which could reflect ways to protect against displacement, preserve existing low-income housing, and build low-income and supportive housing.

What remains resistant to change is public opinion: of the unhoused, of those with mental health issues, of anti-displacement prevention. Pacifica struggled to establish a modest Safe Parking Program which has already successfully placed some participants in permanent housing; community members continue to harass program participants on Lundy Way. Redwood City and Half Moon Bay had residents who vehemently opposed homeless housing programs, and leaders from those communities courageously pushed forward for the greater good of the community. A Pacifica tenant protection ordinance in 2017 was opposed by $500,000 of specialty PAC funds – 40% of Pacificans are tenants and face displacement and homelessness due to increased housing costs. 

Actions

  1. Support those institutions which currently are the safety net for vulnerable Pacificans:
  2. Participate in Pacifica’s Housing Element and advocate for policies to protect from displacement, preserve existing low-income housing, and prioritize production of emergency interim housing, supportive housing and permanent below market-rate housing.
  3. The Pacifica Collaborative is addressing intolerance in our community through unity projects: research, media, special events. Stay tuned.

I’M ALONE. THERE’S ONLY ME LEFT – Edited by Carolyn Shepard and Suzanne Moore

Survey results: A collaboration with Solutions for Supportive Homes and National Association on Mental Illness (NAMI)

“I’m the patient. I’m scared that if I don’t make enough to support myself in this area, I might be homeless or have to move.”

“We are at a loss for what will happen to our adult son when we’re gone.”

“I fear what will happen after my death. Expenses are so sooo high… I fear he will become homeless after my husband and I are gone.”

“IM ALONE. THERE’S ONLY ME LEFT.”

These are some of the comments in a survey, conducted over a week and a half in mid November, 2022, by Solutions for Supportive Homes in collaboration with San Mateo County’s National Association on Mental Illness (NAMI). They reflect the tremendous concerns of families caring for their adult children with Serious Mental Illness (SMI). 

Carolyn Shepard, President of Solutions for Supportive Homes, a non-profit organization founded by parents whose adult children have SMI, relays that many of these adult children are being supported at home or elsewhere by aging parents because they cannot live independently as fully functioning adults. As caregivers age, their children with SMI are at risk of becoming the next homeless population in our county. These concerns have validity.

In an article entitled, Homeless and Helpless: How the United States has Failed Those With Severe and Persistent Mental Illness, Ashley Gorfido describes how “The modern era of homelessness began in the early 1980s… (with) (g)entrification of the inner city, deinstitutionalization of people suffering from SPMI, and other major forces contributed to the complexity of homelessness…(a)n inadequate supply of affordable housing options, and deep budget cuts to the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) and social service agencies…”

“Past policy makers made grave mistakes”, continues Gorfido and “attribute(d) the causes of homelessness to individual factors. This blame-shift has resulted in a failure to address the glaring issues that exist within the United States’ social welfare programs, e.g. housing and SSI and SSDI.”

Without community systems in place to support the mentally ill as they transitioned from inpatient care, many with SMI ended up on the streets. Social welfare programs were insufficient to provide basic needs like housing and food. Without social stability, those with SMI were unable to access needed mental and physical healthcare, and illnesses worsened.

Here are one parent’s thoughts in the recent NAMI survey:

“I have 2 sons needing housing, one now has an apartment but though he is disabled (physically diabetic, cardiomegaly, post orthopedic surgery with a failed stent on that leg, and mentally with bipolar disorder), the social services agency keeps denying his General Assistance and SSDI applications so he is in danger of losing his housing. My other son has PTSD was in Gulf War and Mogadishu as a USMC… lives part time with mother in law or sleeps in his car, sometimes in my garage. I am 79 years old..widowed since 48 years old. Please help them.”

Appropriate, affordable housing for those with SMI is decreasing. After deinstitutionalization in the 1980s, Board and Cares provided supportive housing for many. More of these facilities are shutting down due to the discrepancy between costs of operation and reimbursement rates. There is no reliable data source on the number of closures; but CalMatters author, Jocelyn Wiener, in her article, “Overlooked health catastrophe: Vanishing board-and-care homes leave residents with few options”, estimates San Francisco lost more than a third of licensed facilities. 

Advocates propose better data collection, increased reimbursement for operators of licensed facilities, and legislative prioritization for supportive housing. While actions are debated, aging caregivers of adults with SMI are running out of time and are desperate. Here is some additional data from the NAMI survey (103 respondents):

  • Age of caregivers: over 75% over age 60
  • Age of adult needing care: 95% between ages 25-60
  • Caregiver perceived risk for future homelessness for the adult with SMI: approximately 70% feel there is a risk of homelessness in the next few years.
  • Families provide multiple services for their impacted members with SMI. Among several services that families listed, respondents named four key areas:
    • Housing 79%
    • Financial support 72%
    • Food/shopping 58%
    • Housekeeping/laundry 50%
  • Families lack care plans for future supportive housing transition when current caregivers are incapacitated. Approximately 83% of respondents reported there is no plan and, again, 83% are concerned about future financial stability for their impacted family members.


Many adults with SMI do not qualify for disability and are, therefore, unable to tap financial and case management resources that disability affords. Of those who responded, only 11.3% of impacted family members were designated as disabled. Families who lack these resources are placed in extremely difficult positions – providing housing, financial support, and supportive services over the lifespan of the caregiver. When the caregiver is incapacitated, the family member with SMI is gravely compromised. 

How many are impacted? There is no current data. What is the outcome at this moment of transition? This is unclear.

Solutions for Supportive Homes has reached out to the doctoral program at University of San Francisco, School of Nursing, to gather data, quantify the need, review existing literature and best practices, and recommend policy changes based on research. 

The website for Solutions for Supportive Homes is www.s4sh.org

SB4: Affordable Housing on Faith Lands Act – Rev. Penny Nixon

You have probably heard of NIMBY (Not in my back yard), YIMBY (YES in my back yard). Now there is one more to add: YIGBY! —Yes in God’s Back Yard! YIGBY is the affectionate term for SB4, the Affordable Housing on Faith Lands Act. This bill would make building affordable housing easier, faster, and cheaper on land owned by faith-based institutions and nonprofit colleges. State Senator Scott Weiner is the author of this bill and he has garnered a broad coalition of support.

It is no news that the need for affordable housing has never been greater and we are far behind the state goals. This has led to increased housing insecurity and homelessness. A 2022 report from the California Department of Housing and Community Development found that we need to build 1.2 million affordable homes over the next decade to meet our housing goals. Passing this bill could be a real game changer. If this bill passes, it will open opportunities for faith communities to be part of the solution for more affordable and low-income housing. Per a study by the UC Berkeley Terner Center, there are approximately 38,800 acres of land—roughly the size of the city of Stockton—used for religious purposes that are potentially developable.

The Affordable Housing on Faith Lands Act will streamline the building process and offer new tools for neighborhood leaders to build safe, stable, affordable homes for local residents and families. This bill will allow places of worship to build 100% affordable housing projects, and create valuable options in the midst of the state’s housing and homelessness crises. It also provides significant untapped benefits for faith-based organizations – from supporting an organization’s charitable mission to providing revenue that can stabilize the organization’s finances. 

Already across California, faith-based organizations and non-profit colleges are seeking to partner with affordable housing developers to build critically needed affordable homes on their own land. These faith-based organizations are long-standing community anchors and are driven by their values to support neighbors most in need and to help address our homelessness crisis.

Building affordable housing is no easy task. Often the variety of red tape and obstacles in the way make development financially infeasible and discourage institutions from moving forward with projects that would benefit their low-income and unhoused neighbors. 

If you care about affordable housing, you can help. What we need are more support letters from local organizations and faith communities. If you are part of a faith-based organization or non-profit organization and would like to see the people who work in your community—teachers, service providers, first responders—actually be able to live here and be part of the community, please take a moment and email me. I will let you know how you can register your support.

Be part of expanding affordable housing in San Mateo County!

Rev. Dr. G. Penny Nixon (revgpn@gmail.com), Faith Director, Housing Leadership Council

Links:

HIP Housing

Please find the Home Sharing Program flyers for the month of January. Thank you for sharing the information with people who have a home to share and others who are seeking a place to live. For more information about the Home Sharing program, please visit Home Sharing Program – HIP Housing.


Some additional announcements:

  • We are actively recruiting families with children for HIP Housing’s Self-Sufficiency program, a program that assists with housing and coaching support while adults are pursuing career and educational goals. Openings in HIP Housing’s SHARE properties as well as individual housing scholarships are available. For more information, please visit Self Sufficiency Program – HIP Housing
  • Know someone who wants to join HIP? Check out our job postings at Jobs – HIP Housing

Have a safe and healthy January!

Social Justice

Thank you for Pacifica Peace People Support

Thanks to those of you who came out to support our Armistice/Remembrance Day on Nov. 11th. We appreciate your support! And thank you for your support as we celebrated the birthday of Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. on Monday, Jan 16th from 1-2 PM in front of Walgreens.

 As we stood on MLK Day, we recall the community reading of Dr. King’s speech, “Beyond Vietnam, a Time to Break the Silence” which contained the truths about war and all its destructiveness. King warned us of the devastating effects of war on, not only of those who fought and died, but of the enormous amount of money spent on war and militarism – which meant so little budgeted for needed human resources here at home. 

The War Resisters League (WRL) just sent out its pie chart “Where Your Income Tax Money Really Goes.” (warresisters.org). Currently $978 Billion goes to the military, $13 Billion more than last year. WRL also report that the Pentagon has spent more than $60 Billion on arms for the Ukraine, and Congress has added $45 Billion to next year’s military budget. 

The WRL began almost 100 years ago in 1923 and became a section of War Resisters International, a new European secular pacifist group who had connections with Gandhi and his movement. In 1969, Daniel Ellsberg attended one of their meetings which inspired him to copy and release the Pentagon Papers. 

The War Resisters say, “Non-violence is often dismissed as ineffectual, and yet it has shown its power as a tactic for resistance in many difficult circumstances. When people prepare, organize and coordinate their actions, non-violent resistance is a powerful strategy.” 

War Resisters conclude that “Our hope lies in the courageous experiments with non-violence among people who resist violence and oppression. Our hope resides in recognizing that no one person is our enemy, but war itself is the common enemy of all humanity.”

CLIMATE AND ENVIRONMENT

Pacifica Climate Committee A Small But Mighty Team – Margo Meiman

Margo Meiman is a member of the Pacifica Climate Committee and Climate Reality Bay Area

Did you know that buildings in California emit 25% of the state’s total carbon emissions, mostly from the use of natural gas in space and water heating? In order to mitigate these emissions, the City of Pacifica, along with 70 other cities in the state of California, recently passed building codes that require new residential construction to be all-electric. Members of the Pacifica Climate Committee worked hard in 2022 to ensure that these “reach codes” were passed by the Pacifica City Council.

Governments and climate organizations are now turning their attention to electrifying existing buildings. In 2023, the Pacifica Climate Committee intends to spread awareness about the benefits of going electric, especially when homeowners need to replace a water heater. 

The Pacifica Climate Committee will also be taking the following actions this year:

  • Work with the City of Pacifica to update its 9-year-old Climate Action Plan
  • Create a Transportation Plan for the City of Pacifica
  • Pursue solar installation on public schools, in partnership with Peninsula Clean Energy.


If you’d like to be part of our small but mighty group of climate champions, please join us! We meet by zoom once a month, with individuals taking on “passion projects” that the rest of us support however we can. Please contact pacificaclimate@gmail.com to find out more.

Sources:

Pacifica Transportation Program $250M – Rick Nahass

Rick Nahass is a transit advocate member of the Pacifica Climate Committee

Most cities in the San Francisco Bay Area have Transportation Programs used to support Vehicle Roadway, Bicycle and Pedestrian project funding. So… maybe it’s about time Pacifica had one as well. Click HERE to review a Pacifica Transportation Program that is purposefully contentious in order to (a) encourage citizen discussion on the policies that should drive Pacifica Transportation Projects (b) identify changes that ‘Pacificans want‘ as opposed to asking agencies such as CalTrans and SamTrans what they can give us. (c) Support and Arm our City Council Members with citizen backed initiatives to take to county, regional, state and federal agencies and leaders.

The Transportation Document has already been sent to all 5 Pacifica City Council members and US Representative Anna Eshoo. You can see Anna Eshoo’s office comments at the end of the post by clicking on this blog site.

I will add comments/feedback as I get them and will update the Transportation document in April to better reflect Pacifica citizen feedback. If you wish to provide comments you can send email to me ricknahass@gmail.com

Tree City Pacifica plants 30 trees – Paul Totah

See below for the press release that Tree City Pacifica sent out after a successful Arbor Day celebration. Thanks to all who took part in this annual event!

Click Here for More Photos

Student and community volunteers added 30 trees to Pacifica’s schools, all donated by the city as part of Pacifica’s fourth annual Arbor Day celebration, over the course of one week. The main event happened November 12th when more than 60 volunteers planted 20 trees at Oceana High School. The event began with a presentation in the school’s Little Theatre where Principal Maritza Torres welcomed volunteers and spoke about the value trees have in helping to fight climate change.

Pacifica Mayor Mary Bier then announced the winners of the student art contest: Granger Martini, Josie Toth, C J Long, Logan Weber, James Zeng, and Alex Macedo — all first graders at Ocean Shore School — as well as Dasha Kireev (Ortega 3rd), Brayden Bedient, (Ocean Shore 3rd), Marielle Moessinger (LMEC/Home School Program 3rd), Melanie Lui (Ocean Shore 4th), Abby Pang (Ocean Shore 6th), Sabrina Lui (IBL 6th), Maya Elizabeth Warner Oca (Ocean Shore 6th) and Sophia Marie Rachael, Madeline Ly (both Cabrillo 7th). The winning drawings were displayed at the Sanchez Art Center Nov. 11-13 and 18-20 in the East Wing Gallery.

“We were so fortunate to have tremendous help from Oceana High School faculty and students as well as the city’s Public Work staff,” added Paul Totah, communications director for Tree City Pacifica, which organized the event. He praised science teachers Peter Menard and Ryan Reidy, who led teams of volunteers; they prepared for the day with help from Jefferson School District grounds crew members Matt Barnes and Marcus Peppers as well as Public Works director Lisa Peterson and Public Works crew members Paul Lavorini, Mike Pham, Gino Assereto, Harvey DelaCruz and Chris McDermott. Totah also thanked three other members of the city council — Tygarjas Bigstyck, Sue Beckmeyer and Sue Vauterlaus — who lent their support and planted trees along with Mayor Bier and student volunteers.
Pacifica’s new poet laureate, Toni Mirosevich, read two poems before digging began, and Patrick Hall of the Rotary Club of Pacifica, which donated money for trees and green bags, spoke about his organization’s environmental work locally and abroad.

Earlier in the week, 10 other trees went into the ground at six schools in the Pacifica School District. Pacifica School District Superintendent Heather Olsen thanked principals and teachers for their planning, as well as the district’s maintenance and operations team for digging the holes, Public Works for delivering the trees and students for helping with the planting. “It was a true community effort,” she noted.

“The value these trees add to communities is immeasurable,” added Totah. “They help to cool cities in the summer, fight climate change, filter our air, increase business to downtowns, raise property values and enhance our biotic communities by creating homes for thousands of species of plants and animals. When we feel stressed, we walk among them to ease our minds and regain our balance.”

For more photos of the day and to learn more about Tree City Pacifica, go to the group’s Facebook page, facebook.com/treecitypacifica.

COMMUNITY UPDATES

Sanchez Art Center

Elaine Badgley Arnoux in the Main Gallery at Sanchez Art Center
+ local artists and photographers in the West and East Galleries

Sanchez Art Center begins 2023 with three noteworthy exhibitions, including paintings and mixed media pieces from artist Elaine Badgley Arnoux’s long and productive career as a painter and portraitist, teacher, and activist; the Fog Fest Photography Invitational; and a group show “Dreams” by members of the Art Guild of Pacifica. The opening reception in the galleries is on Friday, January 20, from 7 to 9 pm, with music by Blue City Jazz and screenings of “Shadow & Light, the Life & Art of Elaine Badgley Arnoux” a short film by William Farley, taking place in the Mildred Owen Concert Hall on the campus at 6:30 pm and 8:00 pm. 

In Along the Way — The Space of Remembering, works from several series by Elaine Badgley Arnoux are being presented. Pieces from the artist’s fantastic “Fables” series, created with oil on canvas, steel, papier-mâché and silk, contain the essence of nightmares and dreams. “The Fox Went Out One Stormy Night,” from the artist’s important “Once Upon A Time” series that uses Mother Goose Nursery Rhymes to examine the state of the world, speaks to people young and old. 

Over decades, Badgley Arnoux has connected with the pulse of current events, observing and translating them into her own language. Curator Susan Hillhouse Leask comments that, “Elaine Badgley Arnoux’s deep rituals of reflection and action result in work that is poignant and passionate, demonstrating her full involvement in life and all its offerings and contradictions.”

Elaine Badgley Arnoux (b. 1926) was born in Omaha, Nebraska and moved to Southern California when she was eleven years old. She received an award to study at Chouinard Art Institute, Los Angeles, and later moved to San Luis Obispo where she worked as a painter. In 1952, she co-founded the San Luis Obispo Art Association. In 1965, she and her family relocated to San Francisco where she continues to live and work. 

Badgley Arnoux’s expansive career reflects her extensive travel, and residencies abroad in Europe as well as in Mexico and North Africa have strengthened her dedication to people and social welfare.

Her work is featured in the collections of numerous museums, including the Fine Art Museums of San Francisco and Achenbach Collection; Stanford University Library Special Collections; the National Gallery of Art, Washington, D.C.; Bancroft Library, University of California, Berkeley; the Triton Museum, Santa Clara, CA; The San Luis Obispo Museum, and the de Saisset Museum, Santa Clara, CA.

As she says in the documentary “Shadows & Light, the Life & Art of Elaine Badgley Arnoux”, a short film by William Farley, “I was very old when I was young. I wasn’t young until I was old.” Two screenings of the film will be shown on opening night of the exhibition, at 6:30 pm and 8:00 pm.

For additional insight into the artist and her work, come to the Artist/Curator Talk on closing Sunday, Feb 12 at 3:30 pm.

The East Gallery presents the Fog Fest Photography Invitational, an exhibition of work by 9 local award winning photographers ( and judges Edwin Hacking and Sharron L Walker. After a two year hiatus, the widely known Pacific Coast Fog Fest returned in 2022, along with the annual Sanchez Art Center hosted photography contest. The photographers, who are rarely without their cameras and who each won awards, are able to expand both the size and focus of their works in the Invitational Exhibition. Images reflect awe-inspiring scenes of the natural environment from landscapes to wildlife including cheeky hummingbirds and black bears, scenes of Pacifica, and historic views from the 1960’s. Photographers worked in color and black and white, some using digital techniques to enhance the scene, and printing on both photographic paper and metal. 

A gallery walk and photographers talk will be held on Sunday, Jan 29, at 2:00 pm in the East Gallery.

In West Gallery, the Art Guild of Pacifica presents Dreams, a group show by AGP members. Over fifty pieces in a wide variety of mediums and styles are being exhibited reflecting each artist’s interpretation of the theme —of vision, aspiration, hope and some darkness. Artworks include Charlotte Seekamp’s mixed media piece reflecting the hope for less waste in our oceans with a piece “Fish Dreaming of Plastic-Free Oceans”. Working in oil on canvas, Kevin Daniels is showing “Sand Dreams” a painting in bold colors depicting a single female sleeping on her side on a wide expanse of beach. And a nightmare for many with looming climate chaos, Deborah Corsini’s collage represents a dark “Nightmare: Fire/Flood”. The Art Guild holds four themed exhibitions a year, plus an annual members’ show, and a holiday show and sale each December. Small works and cards are also available from the AGP Shop. 

Sanchez Art Center, a 501(c)3 nonprofit, is located at 1220 Linda Mar Blvd in Pacifica, about a mile east of Highway 1. Following opening night, the galleries are open Friday, Saturday, and Sunday, 1–5 pm, and by appointment, through Feb 12. The opening, talks, and gallery visits are free as part of the center’s focus on “Creating Community through Art” and with thanks to our donors.

Pacificans Care celebrates 40 years of service to Pacifica – Ginny Jaquith

Pacificans Care, Pacifica’s community foundation, celebrated 40 years of service to Pacifica’s social service agencies in 2022. The November open house was Pacificans Care’s opportunity to show our thanks and gratitude to all our community – friends, family, donors, business and individual partners, event sponsors, champions, and volunteers who have helped Pacificans Care. We have supported Pacifica’s core social service agencies including Pacifica Senior Services, Pacifica Child Care Services, Pacifica Resource Center, and Pacifica Youth Service Bureau since 1982.

Pacificans Care was created in 1982 by a dedicated group of citizens concerned about the impacts of Prop 13 on the City’s senior services, information and referral program, childcare, and youth counseling services in Pacifica. Our mission is to ensure that our neighbors in need succeed in developing a healthy, self-sufficient, and improved quality of life. Our mission is unchanged, and you have assured our growth – from those early days when board members sat in front of Safeway gathering donations by selling a Share of Care for a $5 donation (competing with the Girl Scouts and their cookies) to what is today a dynamic, vibrant, responsive organization. Since 1982, Pacificans Care has given over $1.2 million dollars back to the community to support Pacifica’s four core social service agencies.

Pacificans Care received celebratory proclamations from Don Horsley, President of the Board of Supervisors, Mayor Mary Bier, and Virginia Kroeger from Assemblymember Kevin Mullin’s office.

Pacificans Care shares its gratitude to Pacifica core agency clients

“Thank you so much for my puffy warm jacket, new shoes, and Target gift card. I can’t wait to spend my gift card on toys that I really want. I hope you have a great Christmas and a Happy New Year.”

That’s the response we received from one of the recipients as Pacificans Care shared its gratitude for the work of our core agencies during this holiday season with holiday gifts to two families in the Pacifica Resource Center’s Holiday Joy program.

Thanks to Grocery Outlet for their generous contributions: 120 seniors received grocery gift cards, and the Pacifica Senior Center’s New-Year luncheon (which included filet mignon and sparkling cider) was a joyous holiday celebration.

Thanks to Oceana Market for their generous contributions. Pacificans Care partnered with Oceana Market to present 70 Pacifica Child Care pre-school program families with grocery gift cards – family holiday festivities were even brighter. Pacificans Care board member Karen Ervin visited the active Ocean Shore Child Care center to present the treasure chest of gift cards to child care participants and their families.

Welcome new Pacificans Care Board members:

Evelyn Taverna is a long-time Pacifica resident, a retired Critical Care, Cardiology Clinical Nurse Specialist, and Volunteer Clinical Professor for UCSF School of Nursing. She recently retired as a member of the Pacifica Emergency Preparedness and Safety Commission. Evelyn loves being with family and friends, traveling and walking the trails of Pacifica. 

James Crowe is an active Pacifica businessman and COO of Coastside Media marketing agency (which publishes the monthly Pacifica Anchor, highlighting everything Pacifica). James is also President of the Fog Fest Organizing Group (which produces the annual Pacific Coast Fog Fest) and is board member of the Pacifica Resource Center.

Pacificans Care is the only Pacifica nonprofit organization solely dedicated to supporting social services in Pacifica from children and youth to families and seniors. Pacificans Care is an all-volunteer organization administered by an active Board of Directors comprised of community members dedicated to making a difference in our community.

For more information about Pacificans Care visit our website or email pacificanscare1982@gmail.com.

PacificansCare.com
P.O. Box 875
Pacifica, California 94044
Facebook.com/PacificansCare

Pacificans Care, EIN 77-0004308, an exempt organization permitted by Section 501(c.)(3.) of the Internal Revenue Code