The Promise of Paradise

image credit: Tara Sprickerhoff

A new book by journalist Andrew Scott called The Promise of Paradise showcases some of the unique stories British Columbia and the South Cariboo have on offer.

The book delves into the history of "intentional" or "utopian" communities throughout British Columbia, exploring their roots and the many different attempts to build idealistic colonies in the wilderness of B.C.

The Promise of Paradise is an updated version of a book by the same name, published 20 years ago by Scott. The new edition contains a chapter on the history of the Emissaries of Divine Light the spiritual community led by Martin Exeter that helped found 100 Mile House as well as how intentional communities have evolved in British Columbia.

"Quite a bit has happened in the last 20 years and nobody else has really written about it," says Scott.

Scott says it was important to include the Emissaries of Divine Light in the revised version of the book.

"They were one of the largest and most successful for a long time of communal intentional communities in British Columbia."

While the Emissaries of Divine Light were spread throughout B.C., they were headquartered in 100 Mile House for many years. Scott says they were unusual because of their size.

"They built 100 Mile House. There were hundreds and hundreds of other communal communities in the 60s and 70s but most of them might have had a dozen or 20 people. At the most, to have 100 people working together and learning together is unusual, but to have 1,000 is unprecedented."

Among other stories, the book also tells the history of the Ochiltree Organic Commune, a "rebel commune" with an interesting history that often brought meat to more traditional "hippy" vegetarian conferences and often saw themselves in conflict with other groups or local government. The group has now morphed into the Community Enhancement and Economic Development Society (CEEDS) located near Horse Lake.

The new version of the book also includes a chapter on modern day intentional communities.

"The earlier communities were often led by a single charismatic leader who inspired people and had followers. While he was leading, if he was doing a good job, some of those communities flourished."

Styles of intentional communities have since changed, however.

"Over the years what I call distributed forms of leadership became more successful," he says. "Most intentional communities are really based on developing consensus, not having a strong leader, but having everyone at once participate in the leadership."

Scott tells the stories though a combination of careful archival research and first-person accounts, where he brings the stories and people featured in the book to life.

"I generally have a lot of respect for people who have stuck out doing these kinds of things. The Emissaries of Divine Light are very much reduced in size, but they keep hanging on and I wish them well," he says.

"There have been a lot of hilarious accidents and failures over the years, but generally speaking I think people will feel inspired reading about these groups."

Read more:

The Promise of Paradise features area - 100 Mile House Free Press

Jacqui Patterson works in communities around the country to engage African-Americans on climate issues. She directs the NAACP Environmental and Climate Justice Program and helped build the program from the ground up.

"I think that the biggest thing that was clear from the beginning and continues to be clear is the need to help folks see, whether its environmental issues broadly or climate change specifically how they connect to every day issues that are in our communities. Patterson adds, How they connect to food, water, energy, basically the commons - the things to which we should all have access.

Patterson says its her job to suggest ways to shift away from practices that drive climate change, while at the same time, help prepare for the fact that climate change is already here impacting communities.

Whether its starting local food movements, community-owned solar projects, starting recycling projects helping people know how they can be part of the change that we need to make, she says.

Before Patterson joined the NAACP, her work included teaching, social and tackling a range of social issues.

"I wanted to be part of the systems change to eliminate the inequities as opposed to help people cope better within the inequities."

Every time Ive done those various things, its been clear to me that whatever kind of issue or problem Ive been working toward, theres a deeper systemic underpinning for it that needs to be addressed. Otherwise, its just a band-aid or were just making things better for people who are vulnerable, rather than removing vulnerabilities, Patterson says.

She reports that progress is being made. Were part of a group called the Climate Justice Alliance. We have whats called the Our Power Campaign and the notion is power with pollution, energy without injustice."

Patterson says throughout the country community-owned solar gardens are springing up. That have resulted in coal plants being closed or shifting away from burning coal which is so harmful to communities. We have multiple communities were working in where the communities were previously food insecure and now they have networks of gardens where they have networks of gardens.

In Milwaukee, Patterson cites the Urban Ecology Center as a model.

Seeing those centers having formal relationships with schools where theyre including in the curriculum this hands on connection with nature and our role within our role within the ecosystem, she says. We need to be active and intentional about fostering harmony with nature in order for us to have a sustainable place of habitation.

Patterson also points to community activism that helped shift the power plant in downtown Milwaukee from coal to natural gas.

(And) the situation of the lead in the water, the coalition of folks coming together from all walks of Milwaukee society, health, civil rights all coming together to protect the well-being of the community, she n says.

She calls these examples of intersecting efforts, fighting against the bad and advancing the good.

Yet, a myriad of environmental and climate justice issues remain to be conquered. Patterson says solutions need to come from within.

Patterson spent time in Flint, Michigan after its water crisis. We sat down and had a series of visioning sessions. Its not like I came in and I said, you should do this and this. They came up with all of the ideas and I was literally just the scribe. The best people to prescribe the solutions for Milwaukee is Milwaukee, for sure.

More of Susan Bence's conversation with Jacqui Patterson.

Read the original here:

National Expert Shares Thoughts on Environmental Justice - WUWM

by Heather Walker Peterson

When I mentioned to a friend that I was interviewing Rod Dreher about his book The Benedict Option, my friends response was that Dreher struck him as reactive. Since then, Ive read the book and multiple reviews. In light of my background and career, I believe that Dreher is being pro-active not reactive as long as direct measures are taken to avoid some of the sins of the kingdom building of past fundamentalists.

A driving force behind The Benedict Option as a response to liquid modernity or Moral Therapeutic Deism is the U.S.s cultural movement toward a full embrace of nontraditional sexual ethics. This embrace is not just the Supreme Courts ruling regarding marriage but the social expectations of open affirmation of diverse sexual mores in the educational and corporate spheres.

For my own setting, my ears are deaf to accusations that Dreher is fearmongering regarding the loss of job and educational opportunities for conservative Christians. I work at an evangelical postsecondary institution, and among such universities we are currently planning for not if we lose our accreditation or our students become ineligible for state and federal loans but when in respect to our institutional stances on traditional sexual ethics.

When recent alums have talked to me about career aspirations as faculty in conservative Christian universities, I have praised their desires but told them that they may need to consider one of the parallel structures that Dreher writes about: Christian study centers near major public universities. Perhaps more shocking, a friend of mine is reconsidering his option to send his graduating high schooler to a prestigious evangelical institution because hes concerned his child will have less job opportunities with that institutions name on her resume.

Like many evangelical reviewers, my initial reaction to the idea of the Benedict Option, a strategic withdrawal, was that it smacked of the separatist, fundamentalist cultural ghettoization of my childhood, a bunker mentality. In the cultural wars, we lobbed critiques at contemporary thought with no regards for its grains of veracity or the individuals behind the ideas. We labeled social justice as liberal and focused on Bible studies instead. It seemed that truth, disregarding our limited interpretations of it, was more important than love.

Can the Benedict Option be different? How do proponents, as a church, community, or other organization, not relive the sins of the fundamentalist movement that began in the 1920s?

In his book, Dreher is direct about the need for Benedict Option Christians to work with their hands as much as their minds. Many monks take care of the basic need of their monasteries along with their intellectual studies. Therefore, an intentional part of Benedict Option organizations has to include hands-on ministry to help evangelicals pull themselves out of a mind-only, bunker approach. It could be soup kitchen volunteering or as simple as my local Christian study center, which has a coffee time with refreshments available for the international students who need a place to hang out.

Dreher touches on this with his comments on the thoughts of Reformed theologian Hans Boersma. Dreher, rightfully I think, insists on the need for liturgy to restore Christians collective memory. However, as Ive become more immersed in churches with historical liturgies, I can vouch that liturgy may aid but doesnt make worshippers view the world sacramentally, what Dreher calls real participation in the eternal, echoing Boersma.

In his book, Heavenly Participation, Boersma writes about the sacramental quality of the world, the created order as all being a gift from God. To avoid the nonsacramental views of the world that many Christians have now (Catholic and Protestant, according to Boersma), the parallel structures of strategic withdrawal will have to include intentional teaching on sacramental ontology. In viewing the world as gift, members of Benedict Option communities must be trained to love not only the natural world around them but also to love those not like them but still made in the image of God.

To study sacramental ontology contextualized, one must study church history.

Dreher relies on the historical church in following Benedicts rule in approach to culture, but will those who branch off into their own Benedict Option also do so?

Im somewhat tentative about the ability of many evangelicals to set up intentional communities. These will be evangelicals who are responding to what they see as the downslide of Western culture. Theyre from a subculture focused on interpreting Scripture for oneself (and who also have a tendency to just pick and choose a historical tradition here or there without a full understanding of its context).

Gods Word is authoritative, but as Vanhoozer has noted almost twenty years ago in Is There Meaning in This Text?, fundamentalism teaches the authority of the text but practices the authority of the interpretive community. Scandals in megachurches have shown us that leaders with charismatic personalities can become untouchable. The leader who interprets Scripture can become more authoritative than Scripture itself.

Members of the Benedicts Options parallel structures will need to rely on the history of the church to understand varied interpretations of Scriptures in their engagement with culture. They will also have to be intentional about an openness to critique within and outside of their structures.

After quoting Dietrich Bonhoeffers book Life Together, Dreher writes, a community that cannot face its faults and love each other through to healing is not truly Christian. He wisely points out in the chapter The Idea of a Christian Village the dangers of idolizing community or of excessively controlling it to make it perfect.

In my mind, an important book for those with plans for a Benedict Option church or community is Andy Crouchs Strong and Weak to understand how healthy vulnerability in power relationships leads to flourishing. I believe that any community who wants to grow needs to have intentional places and times for critique. Making ourselves open to critique is hard, but this vulnerability is central to transformation as Christians, whether individually or collectively.

Ultimately, Dreher is making a call for faithfulness in resistance to cultural assumptions we as Christians have been habituating. As we become disillusioned with our culture, I pray we also become disillusioned with ourselves, even as we create new Christian community. As Bonhoeffer wrote, it is when we experience the disillusionment of our close fellows and ourselves that true community can happen.

Heather Walker Peterson is a writer, mother, assistant professor and department chair. She also writes at humanepursuits.com

Read more from the original source:

Why We Need the Benedict Option and How It Doesn't Have to ... - Patheos (blog)

Two of 14 tiny homes that will soon populate a city-owned lot in Kenton. This was taken in December, while they were under construction. Karney Hatch

At some point, probably next month, 14 homeless women will move into 14 tiny homes not far from the heart of Kenton.

On one level it's such a small thingless than 1 percent of the city's unsheltered residents finding temporary homes, while hundreds of others see no end in sight.

On another level it could not be larger.

This new village, informally okayed in a 178-75 vote among Kenton residents Wednesday evening, might ultimately represent a new chapter in how Portland works to ease this growing crisis.

Where for years officials have grappled with whack-a-mole camps or retroactively worked with unsanctioned organized communities after they'd taken root, the city and county are for the first time partnering with grassroots homeless advocates, social service workers, local designers, and others on establishing a new kind of intentional community.

Which means the Kenton Women's Village (a temporary name) is now under pressure. With the hard-won nod of Kenton neighbors and businesses, officials now need to deliver, showing the new community will be what they've envisioned: a welcoming, aesthetic new development that fits well into the fabric of the neighborhood and helps women find permanent homes.

If they can do that over the course of the year-long pilot project set to begin in April, the village model could proliferate in other neighborhoods throughout the city.

"As far as Im concerned, no neighborhood is going to be exempt from this conversation," Commissioner Chloe Eudaly said at the Wednesday evening meeting, parrying concerns that Kenton was being picked on and hinting she was working up plans through the Office of Neighborhood Involvement, which she controls. "What you don't want is the kind of camps that emerge because no one will say yes."

"We can learn a lot from this project," Mayor Ted Wheeler said after her. "This will serve as an opportunity for us to learn, for us to try it." (One woman told me after the meeting Wheeler's brief speech is what sold her on the plan.)

The village, at 2221 N Argyle, will feature 14 innovative tiny homes designed and built last year through the efforts of the Village Coalition, a grassroots network of homeless residents, activists, advocates, designers, architects, and more. At the time we first wrote about that city-funded effort, there were no indications that the "sleeping pods" had a home.

Marc Jolin, director of the county's Joint Office of Homeless Services, explains the village concept on Wednesday. Dirk VanderHart

That changed quickly, with outgoing Mayor Charlie Hales anxious to see progress on a village concept, which he'd pushed for a while. Officials and advocates held their first meeting with Kenton neighbors in mid-December to pitch the ideaessentially: pods surrounding structures that include laundry, showers, restrooms, and a kitchen, with social services on site.

But people wanted more details, kicking off a months-long process that culminated in last night's vote.

The meeting shook out as the vote suggests. Most Kenton residents spoke in favor of allowing the homeless village for a year-long pilot, while a dedicated and vocal group near the back of the room would not be moved from their opposition.

Most interesting were the people who'd seen their positions evolve since Hales' office first proposed the project in December.

"I came to my first meeting not in favor," said Sheila Mason, a Kenton resident who wound up serving on a committee that studied the proposal. "As I was listening to my own voice asking my questions [at the meeting] I actually could hear my bias coming through, and these assumptions I was making about people that I really don't know."

Among the things that changed her mind in the intervening months? "These women are already our neighbors. Theyre already living here."

That's trueat least in theory. Catholic Charities, which will hold a contract with the county to provide services on the site and will help place its residents into permanent housing, has pledged to prioritize women who've been displaced from housing in Kenton for the 14 homes. The agency has an 80 percent success rate at keeping women in housing, according to its housing program manager, Margi Dechenne.

Under a tentative good neighbor agreement between the city, the county's Joint Office of Homeless Services, Catholic Charities, the Village Coalition, and Kenton neighbors and businesses, Catholic Charities is responsible for the bulk of the work at the village. The Village Coalition will chip in by hosting "social and cultural" events and monitoring the area for "unsanctioned camping," the agreement says. City and County officials are pledging to scour the city to find a new home for the village when its time in Kenton is over.

The ballot

As it happens, there may be a hard deadline for the women's village to leave its upcoming home. The Portland Development Commission, which owns the land, is in talks with Transitions Projects about building 72 units of affordable housing on the site. That could begin next year, officials said Wednesday, offering an organic end to the village's time on the lot.

All of this assurance wasn't enough for some. Concerns persisted that the city would keep the village in Kenton longer than indicated, though officials said they'd ask for neighbors' blessing before that happened. Some residents complained about messy camps that have shown up in the area for years, and said the city wasn't accountable for cleaning it up.

"The current condition of our neighborhood and Portland as a whole is embarrassing," said a man named Larry Mills, who's lived in Kenton for decades and was by far the loudest opponent to the new village. "This city has been burying their head in the sand for decade or more. It's time to draw a line in the sand."

He was met with others speaking forcefully the other way. One notable example was Jessie Burke, owner of Posies Bakery & Cafe in Kenton, and also a partner in the Society Hotel in Old Town. Burke spoke about her love for Kenton and ongoing efforts to make it a fun, welcoming place. And she talked of her experience in Old Town, working with city officials to solve a homelessness issue that presents no easy fixes.

"Ive been trying to talk to the city for three years, trying to kickstart this issue," Burke said. "These are hard problems to solve. It's really easy to complain, but it's really hard to solve a problem."

The vote Kenton residents took Wednesday had no legal teeththe ballot itself even included a disclaimer noting the vote "will not necessarily determine the final outcome" of the proposalbut officials had pledged not to press forward without the neighborhood's consent.

That the coalition working on the village was able to win that consent is hugely important. If all goes well, this pioneering community might well pave the way for others.

And of course, that the city and county insisted on winning over residents, whether than merely pushing forward with the camp, counts for something, too.

"That just doesn't happen," Kenton Neighborhood Association Chair Tyler Roppe told audience members Wednesday. "I can't emphasize that enough."

Read the original:

A New Kind of Homeless Village is Coming to Kenton. It's a Big Deal. - The Portland Mercury (blog)

When the St. Paul police department put out a call late last year for licensed officers, Ehdoh Ezekisoe showed up at an informational session ready to join their ranks.

But the St. Paul resident who immigrated from a Thai refugee camp to the United States in 2005 didnt have the schooling or licensing required to apply for the police academy. St. Paul police Sgt. Pamela Barragan, a member of the departments community engagement unit, saw potential in Ezekisoe and stayed in touch with him; thered be an opportunity opening up soon.

On Wednesday, St. Paul police unveiled its first ever Law Enforcement Career Path Academy, a program aimed at mentoring recruits from diverse backgrounds who face financial, educational and employment hurdles.

I related a lot to him because I moved [to St. Paul] from Ecuador, Barragan said. He doesnt have a traditional support system.

For Ezekisoe, 22, who is Karen, its a chance to move beyond years of restaurant work and a short stint as a contract carpenter. Hes been working as a security guard since late 2016.

I want to have a career that I can be proud of, said Ezekisoe, who plans to apply. I think I can be a role model.

Between 20 to 25 participants are expected to enroll in the 2-year program that starts in April. A combination of private and public funds will help pay the recruits a stipend of $10.50 an hour while they are in class at Century College working toward their law enforcement degree. Senior Cmdr. John Lozoya, head of the community engagement unit, said the stipend is only for classes this summer, and that the department is working with Job Corps to find recruits employment afterward as they continue their education.

Although the program is aimed at diversifying the department and fostering interest among recruits between ages 18-24 from underrepresented groups, anyone of any age who faces financial and educational barriers will be considered, Lozoya said.

Community Action Partnership of Ramsey and Washington Counties, a private nonprofit, will also assist recruits with access to educational programs, transportation and employment.

The program was created because traditional recruitment efforts, such as job fairs, werent reaching underrepresented communities. Of the departments sworn staff of 619, about 25 percent are officers of color. Meanwhile, about 40 percent of St. Paul residents are people of color.

That really wasnt meeting the needs of our community, Lozoya said of traditional recruitment efforts. We are very intentional about recruiting from our own community and surrounding communities.

Recruits will be expected to volunteer 40 hours per week with the department this summer, and continue working with a St. Paul police mentor throughout their participation, helping with youth programs and outreach, and going on ride-alongs.

The program ultimately aims to act as a pipeline for new hires in St. Paul, but Lozoya expects that some recruits might change their minds and shift out of law enforcement, and completing the program doesnt guarantee anyone a spot with the department.

The bigger goal, Lozoya and Barragan said, is to create a diverse pool of educated and licensed officers ready to apply for jobs across Minnesota. If more funding is secured, Lozoya said, the department would consider starting another class next year.

We help each other, Barragan said. We rather have diversity across all law enforcement not just in St. Paul.

Applications are being accepted through March 31 at http://www.stpaul.gov/jobs.

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New St. Paul police program aims to mentor recruits - Minneapolis Star Tribune

Some residents across the North Olympic Peninsula are considering downsizing their homes as the tiny house market slowly makes its way here.

For those unfamiliar, tiny houses are a movement where individuals or even families choose to live in a custom home typically 200-1,000 square feet. They can be mobile or permanent.

The concept has been put in the mainstream with television shows and growing media coverage.

Jefferson County and Olympia currently are the closest efforts to develop tiny houses as affordable housing and/or as extensions of homeless tent camps.

But in the Sequim area, city and county officials say theres only been interest as of late and no action.

Sequims Assistant City Manager Joe Irvin said city staff have received several inquiries about zoning regulations related to tiny houses and accessory dwelling units, small homes behind existing homes, but no development proposals have been made yet.

I think it is good for communities to offer a range of housing types, therefore giving our residents a choice, Irvin said. If the market exists for tiny houses, Im sure someone will try to meet the demand.

Irvin said permanent tiny houses are allowed in the R4-R8 zoning district, which is throughout the City of Sequim in residential neighborhoods. However, mobile RV type tiny homes on wheels are allowed in RV parks, similar to travel trailers.

Mary Ellen Winborn, Clallam County director of community development, said interest in tiny houses is there and planners treat it similarly to an RV when zoning it.

She said staff plan to discuss the concept for possible changes in the next six months with the countys permit advisory board.

Were more focused on safety and certification, she said. Nobody is stopping any (type of development).

To build a tiny house within the city limits, Irvin said the basic requirements include being in compliance with the International Building Code and connection to city utility services.

State law mandates tiny houses must be hooked up to a permanent septic or sewer hook-up and have a permanent water source similar to park model homes. The homes also must have at least one habitable room, a ceiling at least 7 feet high and an egress door with a single hinge providing a clear width of 32 inches.

Jeffcos tiny houses

Zoning for tiny houses already is underway in Jefferson County.

In 2015, The Port Townsend Leader reported the Port Townsend Affordable Housing Action Group built a tiny house in the hopes of building future tiny house developments in Jefferson County. The idea was for a cost-effective model of a 250-square-foot house with an estimated cost of $5,000-$6,000 to build each unit.

Barbara Morey, a housing advocate for the affordable housing group, said the organization started developing tiny houses as a solution to the housing crisis in Jefferson County.

She said her group reviewed several studies in areas of the United States that concluded villages of tiny houses of less than 250 square feet were an effective model for providing subsidized, supportive housing and a tool to address both homelessness and the lack of affordable housing.

Morey said the City of Port Townsend has permitted the building of three tiny houses on property in the Eco Village, which provides new low-income, affordable housing units in an intentional community in Port Townsend.

Potential tiny house owners are being interviewed, she said.

Tiny house owners may build or bring their homes to the sites, which cost $300 per month including utilities.

Some social service representatives say tiny houses could help combat homelessness.

Homelessness in Clallam County is rising in recent years, according to the Point in Time (PIT) count. The total of homeless individuals increased by 117 persons from 2015-2016, including both sheltered and unsheltered individuals. The number of unsheltered individuals alone also increased from 41 to 105 from 2015-2016.

During a panel discussion on homelessness in February, Kathy Morgan of OlyCAP said tiny houses would only be one solution to house homeless individuals, but it has worked in big ways in different communities that have established tiny home communities.

Kevin Harkins of Serenity House said tiny houses may only work for certain individuals, such as veterans and people who have social issues.

While staff for these entities dont have a plan in place for tiny houses, Morgan said Quixote Village in Olympia is a good example of tiny houses used to help those in need.

Once a homeless tent camp, Quixote Village consists of 30 tiny house cottages and a community center.

Community Framework, a charitable nonprofit organization that supports and develops affordable housing in vital communities, conducted a study on the village in 2015 arguing that tiny houses can be effective in combating homelessness.

The study states most of the residents in this village meet the Department of Housing and Urban Developments definition of chronic homelessness.

The 30 cottages are 144 square feet and include half a bathroom plus a closet, with a front porch and garden area. The village also has a community building with a kitchen, bathing facilities, recreational and social service space.

Community Frameworks study states most of the capital funding for a tiny house village would need to be in the form of grants instead of loans because the project would not generate enough rental income to support debt service.

As for proposed tiny houses in Port Townsend, officials with the City of Port Townsend report work continues and no building permits have been submitted for tiny houses as of March 7.

Matthew Nash contributed to this report.

Reach Erin Hawkins at ehawkins@sequimgazette.com.

Here is the original post:

Is Clallam opening the door to tiny houses? | Sequim Gazette - Sequim Gazette

A few weeks after the prairie burn. Photo by Lucas.

I love the month of March. Every year, as winter cold dissolves into spring, I find myself amazed at the sheer heartiness and determination it must take for plants and animals to survive a climate that turns against them for months on end. Im reminded of the creativity and strength of will our ancestors must have had to possess in order to survive and thrive without so many of the technological advances we enjoy today.

Lucas here, contemplating the spirit of the grass as it sprouts up through the scorched landscape of a recent prescribed burn site here at Dancing Rabbit Ecovillage.

Its odd to see the charred landscape with such a subtle veneer of green, fading in and out as I walk along the path. The black and green contrast creates a stunning effect, almost like ocean waves, washing up and down the rolling hills. Brutal destruction, softened by the presence of the next generation, an unbroken chain of survival and balance that stems back millions of years.

Of course, this particular bout of destruction is designed to have an overall positive effect for the land, boosting native wildflower populations and ensuring a suitable habitat for all the little brush-dwellers. A bittersweet prescription for the health of the system as a whole.

Therein lies an analogy. Our environment is the basis upon which we survive. Everything weve accomplished, good, bad, and in between, has taken place within a climate and environment that is stable and relatively predictable. Its important for us to gather as much information about our atmosphere as we can, and respond when the data shows trouble on the horizon. Weve done it before with CFCs in the 1980s and 90s, and now were finding out that weve been poking a bigger, badder beast, and for much longer.

The diagnosis and prescription suggested by those working in the field of climate science, taking the measurements and crunching the numbers, is also bittersweet. I count myself fortunate to have friends and neighbors who are willing to hear and respond to these warnings by adjusting how we live our everyday lives.

Unfortunately, its going to take much more than a few folks, or a few communities to tackle our dependence on fossil fuels. Its going to take the majority of us, reaching back and finding some of that collective ancient creativity and determination to carve a more sustainable path forward. I consider my time here at Dancing Rabbit to be another form of service to my country, as helping tend the flame of sustainable living until folks figure out just how vital these strategies are.

And people are figuring it outover the last couple of years Ive been here Ive had numerous conversations with not only some of the visitors, but some of my military friends as well. Ive watched as some of my friends and family have come to understand the severity of the situation, and watched opinions shift in ways I didnt think possible. As a result, Ive become more confident that, given time, the argument for sustainable living will only become stronger and more persuasive.

Im also realizing that I am not solely responsible for convincing and changing the world; I can only take responsibility for changing myself, and doing it well enough that others can incorporate those strategies when they choose to.

I have no doubt that over the course of the next few decades, demonstration projects and communities like Dancing Rabbit Ecovillage will be integral in developing and demonstrating practical solutions.

Like the brilliant green grass poking through scorched Earth.

Until then, well be here, experimenting, learning, and teaching as though our lives depended on it. Indeed, they might, soon.

Dancing Rabbit Ecovillage is an intentional community and educational nonprofit outside Rutledge, focused on demonstrating sustainable living possibilities. Public tours are offered April October on the 2nd and 4th Saturdays of the month. In the meantime you can find out more about us by checking out our website, http://www.dancingrabbit.org, calling the office at (660) 883-5511, or emailing us at dancingrabbit@ic.org.

Continue reading here:

Sometimes the Grass Really is Greener - Memphis Democrat

Stateside's conversation with Jeff Hadley, chief of the Kalamazoo Department of Public Safety.

Have you ever seen an old movie where police officers are walking the beat in a neighborhood? It turns out foot patrols are more than just a movie trope. They can actually be a way for police and public safety officers to build closer ties with the people they serve and protect.

A recent study by the Police Foundation examines that tradition of foot patrols, and how its working in four communities, including Kalamazoo.

Jeff Hadley, chief of the Kalamazoo Department of Public Safety, joined Stateside today.

The report from the Police Foundation singles out Hadleys department as taking a particularly innovative approach to build trust and enhance its relationship with the community.

Back in March 2014, the department launched its initiative by sending officers to knock on every single door in the city. Hadley said thats approximately 15,000 doors.

I mean, it was ambitious I will qualify that by saying not everybody answered the door or were home at the time we knocked on the door, but we figured wed reached a good number of our citizens, he said.

The department accomplished the task in 15 months time. Hadley said the experience was eye-opening for both the community and its officers.

"We have to humanize each other. And you cant do that on Facebook. You cant do that in a car. You have to do it connecting with people in a real way."

[Officers] really realized theres so many good people out here, in our community that support them, that need them, that want them. And, you know, that really came through in their discussions with the citizens during those contacts, he said.

This type of on-the-ground interaction with community members wasnt meant to be a one-time experience.

It really needs to be part of the everyday toolbox for any officer in any community, Hadley said. So it should become natural to them, right? Im going to get in my squad car, Im going to go to my district, Im going to answer my calls for service because thats part of what we do but in my free timeIm going to get out of my car, Im going to connect with people.

He said departments should be intentional about it until walking the beat and connecting with community members becomes part of the DNA of the organization.

We have to humanize each other, Hadley said. And you cant do that on Facebook. You cant do that in a car. You have to do it connecting with people in a real way and it has to be authentic and genuine thats what connects people and community together is their trust in you, their belief in you and their support of you. And this is just one way to do that from a grassroots organizational perspective.

(Subscribe to the Stateside podcast on iTunes, Google Play, or with this RSS link)

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By walking the beat, Kalamazoo officers nurture genuine ... - Michigan Radio

Leslie Orrantia, right, poses with a hero of hers, Supreme Court Justice Sonia Sotomayor

Leslie Orrantia, right, poses with a hero of hers, Supreme Court Justice Sonia Sotomayor

Leslie Orrantia is the director of community relations at the University of Wisconsin, a post shes held since August. She has been on campus for four years, serving since 2012 in the School of Educations External Relations office and as assistant director for the Wisconsin Collaborative Education Research Network within the School of Education. Prior to her work with UW-Madison, she served as a caseworker in Madison for nearly five years, collaborating with area nonprofits, government institutions, community organizations and local media to best address client needs. It was her work as a caseworker that really taught her the value of listening to others.

Rank your Top 5 MCs. I listen to almost every genre. My mood changes with my music and my music with my mood, so this question is a tough one. For my top MCs, Ive decided upon those who make more than good music, those who remain relevant throughout time and those who politically engage and inspire their listeners to do the same.

1. Nina Simone, the original MC 2. Blackalicious 3. Killer Mike 4. 2pac 5. Salt-N-Pepa

Which motivates you more: doubters or supporters?

Without a doubt, I need supporters in my life to thrive. I surround myself with supporters in large part because if all my time and energy are invested into building up someone who will forever doubt me, themselves, or our world, then Im wasting what could otherwise be invested into making today better than yesterday and making positive change in the lives of others. Supporters are more likely to be thought partners and we need an even playing field to truly build community, empower ourselves and one another to best contribute to the collective good, and produce the most impact and sustainable change.

I believe perspective is critical. We may not have a lot of choices in life, but each day we can choose a positive outlook. Weve all had hardship, some greater than others, but its an intentionality around reflection upon that hardship to inform who you are and who youll continue to be. I choose to be positive. I feed off of other peoples energy, so on a day Im feeling bummed, I selfishly push out good energy because I know folks will send it back my way. And on the majority of days, when Im my optimistic self, I recognize some other folks may be feeling bummed and the least I could do is make them smile, even if its limited to that moment, so I give hugs, make jokes, smile big, and ask, then listen to, how people are. Kindness, consideration, and warmth feed good energy into people and they send it back your way. Yall are feeding this in me so Im always sure to return the favor.

Why do you live in Madison?

I want to make our community better.

I grew up in a large suburb outside of Los Angeles. Although my community surely had some positives, one very big challenge I recognized in my teens was that folks simply accepted hardship with an it is what it is mentality and were often politically and civically disengaged, keeping their heads down and living their day-to-day dis-empowered.

Madison is different. More people care here and more are involved. I love the shared governance structures, community-building efforts, marches, the greater voter turnout, so many folks being the change they wish to see, and the rowdy folks that inspire others to be more rowdy than theyd otherwise be.

I believe change is made and sustained by people. And since we reside in a smaller community than others in which Ive lived, I feel that change is more viable here. Madison is smaller, smarter, and less broken in many ways than other places Ive lived and I believe all of this makes change possible, but we need to bring light to the areas that are not well-lit, bring attention to the issues and areas that arent getting any, and this starts with relationships, leverage, and intentionality. I think we have this as a community and I believe my skills, capacities, and ambitions fit Madison to aid in this change making effort.

What three leaders in Madison under 50 have impressed you the most?

Karen Menendez Coller. Karen is a good friend, an inspiration, an advocate, a team player, and most importantly a role model. Shes strategic, visionary, patient, humble, immensely kind, and endlessly supportive.

Gerardo Mancilla. Im proud to know Lalo. Hes got more grit and tenacity than most and could be anywhere making change, especially with his doctorate in curriculum and instruction, changing today for tomorrows future, and yet he has chosen to make change in our community. Hes thoughtful and strategic about how his interests and capacities align for making much needed community change, he shows up, and he delivers.

M Adams. I dont know M well, but I do know she leads without ego. She recognizes that leadership is support for grassroots organizational growth and sustainable change is a product of grassroots civic and political engagement and top-down support. Shes immensely wise and lives an important role some leaders never learn, deciphering when we pick up the mic versus when we share it with others.

All these folks recognize our youth are our future, equity needs to be our first priority, we must organize and unite for sustainable change, and the answers to our challenges exist within our communities.

Whats the biggest stumbling block in Madison to turning the corner on our racial disparities?

First, race is a complicated political construct made further complicated by distinctions across cultures, class, histories, and a multitude of other factors. Im not sure I can capture such a complex issue in a few paragraphs, but Ill scrape the surface by saying this: Race relations are quite different here as compared to other places I have lived. I believe this is in part because our community has historically been predominantly white and mostly homogenous. As our minority communities have grown rather dramatically over the past decade, the majority communitys social justice theoretical mindset is now being challenged to be applied to our new reality. Much like any transition from theory to action, this process is awkward, difficult, takes practice and intentionality. Now that issues within our marginalized communities are becoming more widely known, many across our broad community recognize the need for addressing racial disparities, but have not deciphered their individual role in facilitating meaningful collective and culturally sustainable change.

I believe this plays a role in the biggest stumbling block in Madison to turning the corner on our racial disparities. This leads to the conflation of two purposes when engaging in community dialogs to move our community forward, if and when folks intentionally engage in these spaces. One purpose is to outline where we are at present, validate the challenges of our marginalized communities, and get on the same page so we build our next steps together from a shared foundation. The second purpose is to collectively identify our individual roles and establish our shared approach to making positive change and ensuring socially just, equitable outcomes.

What are your top three priorities at this point in your life?

Be better to others than I was the day before, myself included.

Keep learning.

Choose happiness.

Name three things you miss about living in Oxnard, California.

Outside of the obvious answer, my family, I deeply miss eating oranges and avocados off trees and visiting farmer-operated fruit stands; solo drives through the desert, fields, orchards, mountains, and along the coast; and the Latino influence on mainstream culture, between pan dulce at the chain grocery stores, Spanish in your ear in public spaces, huevos rancheros at every diner, and Banda or Norteo music on the radio.

There have been numerous challenges on the UW campus. As the Director of UW Community Relations, what four things would you like the community to know UW is doing to address the brown and black experience on campus?

One of the biggest challenges I tackle in my position is sharing everything of value happening on and off campus. Whether research, outreach, teaching, inclusivity, no matter the area, UW is a community of 65,000 faculty, staff, and students doing a ton of incredible work. There are a number of efforts, both top-down and bottom-up that are in development with regards to improving the student experience, but Ill highlight the following:

1. Our Wisconsin, piloted in fall 2016, is a program designed to build reflection, understanding, and community into the first-year transition for undergraduate students. The Division of Student Life worked with leading faculty to develop curriculum prioritizing reflection around identity, equity, and inclusion. The program was successfully implemented and recent evaluation confirmed its value to our students. Results indicate that compared to those who did not participate in the program, participants showed greater interest and openness to conversations and interactions with diverse groups. As a result, this summer, the program will be introduced to Student Orientation, Advising, and Registration (SOAR) to serve 99 percent of incoming students. This effort ensures all students participate in building community and alleviates the pressure on students of underrepresented identities from bearing the burden of educating the majority.

2. Many of these issues are deeply embedded in our institutionalized structures on and off campus. In recognition of this, last spring Chancellor Blank urged all units, academic and administrative, to prioritize equity and inclusion training. As a result of this effort, a few schools and colleges are leading the development of resource creation to bolster faculty and staff support for our students. Personally, the larger unit of which I am a part, University Relations, comprised of marketing, communications, corporate and government affairs, is collectively participating in a learning community through the remainder of the year. Similarly, units across campus are developing equity and inclusion training to address this need.

3. Last week in the good company of 150 members of our campus community, I was excited to participate in the soft-opening for UWs Black Cultural Center. In addition to a space for our Black students to call their own, it is an intentional space that has been designed collaboratively to celebrate Black culture and history on our campus. The Black Cultural Center will have an official opening later this year, so stay tuned.

4. We have a number of campus-wide efforts that have been implemented over the past few years and are in various stages of development. As I mentioned before, remedying some of these issues is only half the battle. Our institution is fortunate to have extensive engagement of alumni, students, staff, faculty, and others, all invested in sustaining our institution for the long term and improving it for future Badgers. With that said, communication of our efforts is equally critical. To address this need, we have created a campus climate website to keep folks updated on the progress of these priority initiatives. Check it out at http://www.campusclimate.wisc.edu.

What song that you really love would you be embarrassed to let people know you like?

I made a decision a long time ago that I wouldnt get embarrassed anymore. Obviously, this was one of the wiser decisions in my life, because lets be real life is too short. However, I think people might expect me to feel embarrassed about Electric Light Orchestras Mr. Blue Sky.

Would you rather be rich or have a position of power and why?

Wealth may provide comforts and security, but it can also cloud our pursuit of living a robust, purposeful, and fulfilling life. A position of power has the capacity to do the same, but with intentionality and reflection, I believe it can enable long-term and sustainable change for the better and, most importantly, you can always pass the mic to others.

If we asked some of your best friends about you, how would they explain you?

So I asked and was fortunate to hear what I hoped for: genuine, intentional, passionate, energetic, fun, and hilarious.

Do you believe there is a Latino and black divide? If so, how do we address that division?

Lets say ish. I believe there are clear cultural divides, though I believe they are a product of passive circumstance in lieu of active discrimination. I believe if and where we dont interact with other people unlike us, we either dont think about what we dont know or we fill in the blanks with guesswork. The truth is, day-to-day life is hard and logistics run the show. We dont always have time, money, or energy to do something outside of eat, sleep, work, and care for our families. We strive for balance, and while striving for balance is good to keep one on track, its hard to challenge ourselves to get out of our comfort zone. So, I believe our greatest divides exist at the working-class level because folks are busy working and caring for their families, and outside of libraries and grocery stores, there arent a lot of organically diverse places for adults to meet others unlike themselves.

To address this issue, I think we need a two-generation approach. We need to create spaces for our youth in our schools to reflect on the self, our individual role in making our society a better place, engage in meaningful community building conversations and discuss these larger societal issues. For adults, I think we need to meet people where they are by building free opportunities for folks to meet in familiar spaces like libraries, churches, schools, and break bread together in community, and be intentional about building a respectful discourse.

Read more:

12 on Tuesday: Leslie Orrantia - WISC - Channel 3000 - Channel3000.com - WISC-TV3

Nick Kotsopoulos Telegram & Gazette Staff @NCKotsopoulos

WORCESTER - An independent research group is sounding an alarm about the city's long-term liability for retiree health insurance, saying its current funding system is "unsustainable."

In a report on Other Post-Employment Benefits, known as OPEB, the Worcester Regional Research Bureau stated that unless the city changes the funding system to cover future retiree costs, the problem will only grow, and could ultimately force reductions in municipal staffing and services, and increases in taxes to cover those annual costs.

According to the research bureau, the city's unfunded long-term liability for retiree health insurance is $860.8 million for this fiscal year.

It is $133 million more than what it was two years ago, and $205 million more than four years ago.

"Worcester faces an OPEB liability significantly larger than the city's entire annual budget ($611 million)," the research bureau report stated. It is unsustainable. Local government, like all governments, must adopt a system whereby costs are paid as they are incurred and not deferred to future generations.

"A defined contribution post-employment system rather than a defined benefit system is needed," the report said. "The OPEB liability will be a difficult challenge for Greater Worcester communities for decades to come. It requires intentional and strategic action today, or it will one day prove insurmountable."

The research bureau's report, which goes before the City Council Tuesday night, comes out as City Manager Edward M. Augustus Jr. is in the midst of putting together his fiscal 2018 budget proposal.

The report urges the city to take steps to reduce its current OPEB liability, such as expanding cost-sharing requirements so retirees would have higher contributions rates, and reducing the future number of eligible individuals by outsourcing or privatizing certain municipal functions.

It said the number of OPEB eligible employees could also be reduced by extending the period before an employee vests or increasing the number of weekly hours worked for eligibility (currently 20 hours, excluding teachers).

In addition, the research bureau suggested that communities work with the state to develop a comprehensive plan to eliminate OPEB, though it acknowledged that this and the one to extend the vesting period for employees would likely require state approval.

"Worcester and its neighboring communities should look at creative ways to transition from an employer-sponsored retiree health care system," the report said. "Admittedly, it is likely a long-term approach. Eliminating OPEB for new employees is a start, but it could require six or more decades to phase out current employees."

Under state law, the city is required to provide health insurance benefits for retired employees.

A city or public school employee is considered 100 percent vested after 10 years of credible service, according to state law. That means the city is then responsible for contributing to the employees and the employee's spouse's healthcare costs upon retirement for the rest of their lives.

The research bureau said the projected $860.8 million OPEB liability is generated by the city's 4,146 active employees potentially eligible for future benefits, and the 5,083 retired employees or their survivors currently receiving benefits.

Worcesters unfunded OPEB liability is equal to 6.5 percent of its total assessed property valuation for fiscal 2016.

No community in the Worcester area has fully funded its OPEB liability. In fact, the highest level of funding among local communities is less than 7 percent of the total obligation, according to the research bureau.

Unlike the city's pension system, state law does not require municipalities to address OPEB liabilities. Municipalities are required, however, to calculate and report current OPEB liability, and determine an annual payment for fully funding OPEB over 30 years.

For many years, no funding source was in place to finance the city's future post-employment health benefits. As a result, the city simply paid as it went, but as health insurance costs continued to escalate, they took up a bigger share of the overall city budget each year.

When the city adopted its Five Point Financial Plan a few years ago, it established a policy that commits 30 percent of free cash surplus funds from the previous fiscal year for deposit into an OPEB trust fund account.

In addition, Mr. Augustus took an unprecedented step in this fiscal year by setting aside $500,000 in the citys operating budget that serves as an additional OPEB contribution for the year.

The manager has acknowledged that the city's OPEB liability is a significant, long-term financial risk to the city. He said efforts have been taken each year to pre-fund the liability and, in turn, help mitigate the citys long-term-risk.

In addition, the city has taken several actions in recent years to lower its health insurance costs, which in turn have prevented the OPEB liability from increasing even more significantly.

But the research bureau pointed out that while the citys OPEB trust fund had nearly $8.9 million in assets as of June 30, it represents only 1 percent of the total liability.

As a result of its failure to systematically address OPEB, the city of Worcester is currently $281.2 million in arrears on a 30-yar program to retire its OPEB liability, the research bureau report said. With no new efforts to reduce OPEB obligations, the citys liability will reach more than $2.5 billion in 30 years.

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Worcester's retiree health costs 'unsustainable' - telegram.com - Worcester Telegram

The nearly identical acronyms for the West Virginia Board of Education, WVBE, and West Virginia Department of Education, WVDE, are not the only perplexity within educations governing bodies, according to former state Delegate and newly appointed Board President Tom Campbell.

It is very easy in any conversation to say something about the B-E when someone else says, Dont you mean the D-E?

The confusion goes beyond phonics and into function.

If the Board is doing administration, and administration is doing administration Campbell proposes, trailing off to leave the results of those overlapping roles open to interpretation.

Campbell replaces former Board President Mike Green, who resigned Jan. 31. Campbell will remain in his leadership role until June 30, after which he is eligible to serve another year if he is re-elected.

In order to make the enduring changes he envisions, he may need the extra time.

Headlines proposing elimination of Regional Education Service Agencies, or RESAs, announcing county professional and service staff cuts, questioning the effectiveness of state testing requirements and demanding the death of the A-F school rating system make calling this a time of transition a gross understatement. In order to be at the forefront of effective change, Campbell underscores the need for internal and external clarification of both the boards and the departments roles.

It is important to me that the board should be setting and reviewing policy and getting at what policies are necessary, Campbell said.

Of his vision for the board, made up of nine voting members appointed by the governor, Campbell sees a transition from running the system to writing it.

The department should be the administrative arm, he said, his strong feelings rising from experience. Not only was he the former House of Delegates Education Committee chairman, but he also served as the State Fair of West Virginia Board Advisory director.

Trimming education policy to what is essential wont be an easy task for the board, which now has a nice mix of both business and education professionals, according to Campbell.

We have 3,762 pages of policy Im an accountant, and I remember numbers, he said. A policy manual that big makes it very ineffective.

In addition to stripping policy down to what matters, relying more on communities to know what works best for their schools and students is important to Campbell, who has been actively discussing issues statewide with administrators, teachers and students. He appreciates the latter, especially for their candor on all education matters great and small, from instruction to cafeteria food.

If we can build on community and get that into our education system, if we can support the teachers by getting rid of confusion at the top and focusing on what works in the field, then we can have a stronger system, he said. The key is having effective teachers in effective environments where they are able to influence their students.

West Virginia is too diverse a state, geographically and otherwise, to respond to cookie-cutter approaches to education.

Everybody consolidates, but it will take more schools to foster a sense of community, he said. We have a school closing policy, but where is our school opening policy? There are some schools that will have to be closed just like there are churches and homes that sometimes have to be torn down, but if that is our sole focus, we have a problem.

I dont care who said it first, its right that it takes a community to raise a child.

A West Virginia University graduate, Campbell adds the disclaimer that he is both a Mountaineer and Thundering Herd supporter. He used a basketball analogy to explain the style of determination it will take to pull West Virginia out of its educational and financial slump.

Coach (Bob) Huggins knows he is not going to get the top talent, but he knows he can get a lot of pretty good talent to play all the time and press all the time, Campbell said. We have to get intentional, and thats one of the things a financial situation forces you to do.

Campbell was first appointed to the board by Gov. Earl Ray Tomblin in 2012. He was a chief financial president for Greenbrier County businessman Allen Carson, whom Campbell credits with always having encouraged his roles in public service. His love of education comes from a lifetime of being surrounded and likewise supported by educators. Campbells parents, as well as aunts and uncles, were educators, which may help to explain why he is passionate for teachers voices to be actively heard with timely responses.

What we have going for us is that we have some great educators in this state, and their stories need to be told, he said. As board president, I want to work with the other members to make the board transparent in its actions. Principals, parents, superintendents, teachers I want to hear from all of these. It is the people in our state who understand our education needs better than anybody.

Common sense often seems lost in legislation, however well-intentioned, Campbell points out. He gave the Healthy Lifestyles and Prevention America Act passed by Congress in 2008 as an example. The act prompted the West Virginia Department of Education to enact an all-out ban of any traditional celebratory snack from the classroom. A proposed change, often called the cupcake bill, is frequently introduced in the West Virginia Legislature, and is again working its way through the legislative process this year.

Campbell says its a small example of what he calls a craving for common sense.

If a teacher knows a child is diabetic, they can accommodate special needs, Campbell said, adding that a cupcake ban also sends the message that parents, along with their desserts, are not welcome in schools.

Why not have parents in schools? We havent eliminated their involvement, but we havent fostered it, either, Campbell said.

Consolidation is another way he says community involvement has been hampered.

We looked at numbers on a piece of paper and said, too many schools. Now, children have longer bus rides and those with lower incomes are treated unfairly.

When other parents can drive their children and drop them off at the beginning of class, the lower income child has to get up very early.

More distant schools also distance parents from involvement, especially those who commute to work.

We dont talk about these issues because they dont fit into that neat mathematical formula, he said. There is research that children who have longer bus rides to school are less likely to go to college than kids with shorter bus rides.

Campbell said the decision to eliminate Smarter Balanced assessments stands as another step in the direction of common sense.

West Virginia schools will follow the tests required by the federal government, but not testing above and beyond, he said. Really, a flood of information is almost as bad as none at all.

Campbell said A-F grading of individual schools also caused myriad issues and will be a topic on the agenda of the next board meeting.

The former Golden Horseshoe winner says he realizes the various moving parts or entities making decisions affecting education will not always move in unison, but he relies on his faith in the West Virginia spirit to instill hope the same spirit that caused people around the state to rally to the aid of his fellow Greenbrier County neighbors following the 2016 floods.

As a state, we need to recognize the strength of our diversity versus trying to form people into the same image, he said. We need to support our schools and give them back to our communities.

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New School Board President Believes Schools Belong to Communities - The Exponent Telegram (press release) (registration)

Since my father was told to walk the Trail of Tears our family has traveled 14,000 recorded miles through 24 states by foot and by horse. This journey started when my dad wanted to understand being American Indian (or Native American as said today) and talking with my great grandfather who said pointing out his door in Cherokee North Carolina; Walk the Trail of Tears and than you will know somewhat it is like to be Indian.

Leaving with myself (9 months old in a kids carrier backpack), my mom, and our horse Prince Hussein a retired Thoroughbred race horse packed with our minimal goods we started the walk which took 14 months helped and inspired by the good will of the people. Whenever we needed food or anything dad would offer to do a work exchange and since he was multi skilled laborer there was always work to be had. This trip started a 20 year odyssey of travel by horse. Over the years we acquired 3 more kids, more horses, and a couple of wagons. Our first upgrade was a loaner of a couple of mules and a wagon which we used for about a year. Than we got a 2 wheeled buggy (our chariot) that was pulled by Prince, which had Amish wooden wheels with a metal band around them and we made a cover using bent willow branches and canvas. We used that for quite a few years until we got our Cadillac wagon. This is a 4 rubber tired wagon which is made using the straight rear axles from a Cadillac. Such a smooth ride though we did get the occasional flat. We pulled the old two wheeled buggy behind with our supplies in it. Going by horse has its disadvantages (averaging 5 miles an hour or under 30 miles a day although our record is 76 miles on a cold upper state NY winter day when Prince just wanted to run all day), and advantages (no cost grass powered).

Sung to the clippy clopping of the cadence of the horses hooves;

The bull was looking through the fence,

He says; I seem to have lost my sense of sight,

I think I see a wagon, coming down along the road,

Sure looks like they have an easy load.

Ol Prince is clippy clopping

And ol Smokey just aint stopping

And we thank you Lord for an easy load

Popcorn popcorn road, Popcorn popcorn road, I like the popcorn road

Zoom zoom road, Zoom zoom road, who likes the Zoom zoom road?

I have heard many people say and lately have read many memes that have some version of: It is not the destination, It is the trip.

This is definitely how we went. Although we mostly went back to Alabama, or Tennessee, or once to Israel in the winter to rest up and not travel in the cold weather, we also did travel through Connecticut and New York in the winter. One Christmas we camped out on the green in New Haven Connecticut and we created a real life nativity scene next to the normal one. That was fun as I had lots of kids to play with.

I remember once on my birthday in January we were snowed in somewhere in our buggy and I was crying; this my birthday and I have stuck in this little 5 foot square with nothing to do all day. Somehow in the midst of the windy snowstorm someone saw our tiny 5 foot square buggy with our horse hunkered down nearby and knocked on the canvas. I dont know if it was when dad went out to check on and feed Prince or not, I just remember being invited to a strangers house for what turned into my birthday party. Up to that day I had not liked carrot cake but when they provided me a carrot cake with candles my joy overwhelmed my dislike and I like carrot cake to this day some 30 years later. Reflecting on this miracle, I am truly amazed by the kindness of strangers.

We usually didnt have a problem finding a place to camp, whether is was just the side of the road or in a church lot. When we wanted to rest up or stay in an area for longer than a few days we carried with us the Directory of Intentional Communities and Alternative Schools. These people always seemed up to doing work exchange for us to stay for a week while we looked for more permanent work.

When we hunkered down for the winter in Tennessee we had a truck for hauling wood but mostly for hire. We would haul, transport, drive to work in it and go to town once a month to buy food and do laundry. I got my first full-time job baby sitting or being basically a servant to an eldery man and used the truck to get to work. My first real part-time job ( I was making minimum wage of 3.25) helping Bob, a great handicapped man, with his house and raised bed garden. Since that was only 3 miles away I rode my bicycle there.

In Tennessee we were near a bicycle factory that made low quality department store bicycles and since many people in the area worked at the factory there were tons of these bicycles around. I got highly skilled at repairing them, using only the tools I had, which were a screw driver and an adjustable wrench, as they were such low quality they constantly had to be repaired. Years later, this skill came in handy when I become a manager of the Bike Surgeon bicycle shop where I was the Bike Doctor ( I make house calls) and later when I started my first full time business Alternative Transportation and Energy. Who knew that the hassle of constantly repairing low-quality bicycles would lead there? Now living in a smaller University town I find it easier and faster to get somewhere on a bicycle especially if you have to find parking. In the winter when I ride or walk to gym I always find it funny to see my neighbors who drove to the gym.

We and our society are very car dependent. I got my first car, a 64 Plymouth Valiant, when I was 14, which I loved to drive around our farm and I fixed up to sell. Growing up in rural Tennessee I was driving tractor, raking hay when I was 8. The hard thing is to try to break free from our dependence on the car to try to realize it is just a tool, not a lifestyle or whatever is marketed to us. I love my Subaru and at least once every 3 months (used to be every month) I love going on a high speed jaunt. I do tend to not use my car in town but rather walk or bicycle which is why I bought a small 300 square foot house downtown. I bought a house in town when I found myself driving to town 2 or 3 times a day almost every day for work or meetings. How can I be Living Off Grid, Really?!?! with solar for my electricity but be fuel dependent and waste all that time ( 2 or 3 hours a day) driving?

I am trying to reset my mind that the car is to be used only for travel outside of town or for on a rare occasion hauling a bunch of bulk goods. This is how I grew up but after 10 years of becoming addicted to the car it is difficult to break the addiction. My dream is to live somewhere with a lifestyle that doesnt need the cost and hassle of a car! The challenge, joy and speed of riding a bicycle around town is becoming as addicting.

I look forward everyday to the interactions I have on my Living Off Grid, Really!?!? Facebook page and hope you will join the discussion there.

Stay energized, Aur

Aur Beck has lived completely off-grid for over 35 years. He has traveled with his family through 24 states and 14,000 recorded miles by horse-drawn wagon. Aur is a presenter at The Climate Reality Project, a fellow addict at Oil Addicts Anonymous International and a talk show co-host at WDBX Community Radio for Southern Illinois 91.1 FM. Find him on the Living Off Grid, Really!?!?Facebook page, and read all of Aur's MOTHER EARTH NEWS posts here.

I put together this kids ditty was I was super young and remember it for some reason;

Popcorn popcorn road, Popcorn popcorn road, I like the popcorn road

Zoom zoom road, Zoom zoom road, who likes the Zoom zoom road?

I have heard many people say and lately have read many memes that have some version of: It is not the destination, It is the trip.

This is definitely how we went. Although we mostly went back to Alabama, or Tennessee, or once to Israel in the winter to rest up and not travel in the cold weather we also did travel through Connecticut and New York in the winter. One Christmas we camped out on the green in New Haven Connecticut and we created a real life nativity scene next to the normal one. That was fun as I had lots of kids to play with.

I remember once on my birthday in January we were snowed in somewhere in our buggy and I was crying; this my birthday and I have stuck in this little 5 foot square with nothing to do all day. Somehow in the midst of the windy snowstorm someone saw our tiny 5 foot square buggy with our horse hunkered down nearby and knocked on the canvas. I dont know if it was when dad went out to check on and feed Prince or not, I just remember being invited to strangers house for what turned into my birthday party. Up to that day I had not liked carrot cake but when they provided me a carrot cake With candles my joy overwhelmed my dislike and I like carrot cake to this day some 30 years later. Reflecting on this miracle years later I am truly amazed by the kindness of strangers.

We usually didnt have a problem finding a place to camp whether is was just the side of the road or in a church lot. When we wanted to rest up or stay in an area for longer than a few days we carried with us the Directory of Intentional Communities and Alternative Schools. These people always seemed up to doing work exchange for us to stay for a week while we looked for more permanent work.

When we hunkered down for the winter in Tennessee we had a truck for hauling wood but mostly for hire. We would haul, transport, drive to work in it and go to town once a month to buy food and do laundry. I got my first full time job baby sitting or being basically a servant to an eldery man and used the truck to get to work. My first real part time job ( I was making minimum wage of 3.25) helping Bob, a great handicapped man, with his house and raised bed garden. Since that was only 3 miles away I rode my bicycle there.

In Tennessee we were near a bicycle factory that made low quality department store bicycles and since many people in the area worked at the factory there were tons of these bicycles around. I got highly skilled at repairing them, using only the tools I had which were a screw driver and an adjustable wrench, as they were such low quality they constantly had to be repaired. Years later this skill came in handy when I become a manager of the Bike Surgeon bicycle shop where I was the Bike Doctor ( I make house calls) and later when I started my first full time business Alternative Transportation and Energy. Who knew that the hassle of constantly repairing junk low quality bicycles would lead there? Now living in a smaller University town I find it easier and faster to get somewhere on a bicycle especially if you have to find parking. In the winter when I ride or walk to gym I always find it funny to see my neighbors who drove to the gym.

We and our society are very car dependent. I got my first car, a 64 Plymouth Valiant, when I was 14 which I loved to drive around our farm and I fixed up to sell. Growing up in rural Tennessee I was driving tractor raking hay when I was 8. The hard thing is to try to break free from our dependence on the car to try to realize it is just a tool not a lifestyle or whatever is marketed to us. I love my Subaru and at least once every 3 months (used to be every month) I love going on a high speed jaunt. I do tend to not use my car in town but rather walk or bicycle which is why I bought a small 300 square foot house downtown. I bought a house in town when I found myself driving to town 2 or 3 times a day almost every day for work or meetings. How can I be Living Off Grid, Really?!?! with solar for my electricity but be fuel dependent and waste all that time ( 2 or 3 hours a day) driving?

I am trying to reset my mind that the car is to be used only for travel outside of town or for on a rare occasion hauling a bunch of bulk goods. This is how I grew up but after 10 years of becoming addicted to the car it is difficult to break the addiction. My dream is to live somewhere with a lifestyle that doesnt need the cost and hassle of a car! The challenge, joy and speed of riding a bicycle around town is becoming as addicting.

I look forward everyday to the interactions I have on my Living Off Grid, Really!?!? Facebook page and hope you will join the discussion there.

Stay energized, Aur

Aur Beck has lived completely off-grid for over 35 years. He has traveled with his family through 24 states and 14,000 recorded miles by horse-drawn wagon. Aur is a presenter at The Climate Reality Project, a fellow addict at Oil Addicts Anonymous International and a talk show co-host at WDBX Community Radio for Southern Illinois 91.1 FM. Find him on the Living Off Grid, Really!?!?Facebook page, and read all of Aur's MOTHER EARTH NEWS posts here.

All MOTHER EARTH NEWS community bloggers have agreed to follow our Blogging Guidelines, and they are responsible for the accuracy of their posts. To learn more about the author of this post, click on their byline link at the top of the page.

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Transportation/Traveling While Living Off Grid - Mother Earth News

Jim Kopriva believes the migration of youth away from rural areas isn't just a lack of career opportunity. It's a lack of habitat.

"What we see around here is land rented to the top bidder," Kopriva said. "Next thing you know, somebody from several hundred miles away is buying land right next door. The whole idea of renting for top dollar becomes like driving 40 miles to get gas for a penny cheaper."

For young people desiring to get started in agriculture, the concept of handing out land to the highest bidder becomes a challenging stumbling block.

And on the heels of a short window when high crop prices turned marginal land into farm ground, many old homesteads that could have been handed over to young farming hopefuls are now gone.

Kopriva, who farms and ranches northwest of Raymond, initially began raising livestock on a small acreage while he held a daytime job in town. Without the chance to fix a rundown acreage as payment for a place to live, he might not have had the chance to pursue his ultimate passion of raising livestock. He believes that encouraging individuals to start small by making land available for them will bring young people back into agriculture.

"They need an opportunity to try and an opportunity to get their hands on some land resources," Kopriva said. "How nice would it be if land owners would prefer to rent to young people that are beginning farmers or just trying to get themselves established in agriculture?"

Living in the country provides families opportunities to become involved in agriculture even if it's not their primary occupation. Some of the most valuable ethics can be taught on a farm, and in Kopriva's mind those lessons are best taught through stewardship of livestock.

Responsibility and commitment are quickly learned when those principles live right outside the back door for families that live in the country.

"Young people need livestock," Kopriva said. "If they don't go out and feed their bicycle nothing bad will happen the next day, but if they ignore their livestock, livestock teaches kids something they can't learn any other way."

Kopriva also sees benefits for the older generations that rent to younger families instead of holding out for the highest bidder. Younger individuals with families can tackle odd jobs to help out older neighbors while building a sense of community in the country.

"When that land owner needs a ride to town or needs snow removed from driveways, who's going to help them?" Kopriva asked. "I think it pays in a lot of ways."

The 2011 Center for Rural Affairs Census Report supports Kopriva's observation that fewer opportunities are available for young people to become rooted in small farming operations. However, South Dakota State University Extension community development specialist Peggy Schlechter notes that South Dakota communities as a whole are growing.

According to the U.S. Census Bureau, South Dakota's population swelled by 7.9 percent from 2000 to 2010. While this population boost bodes well for larger South Dakota towns and cities, it masks the 4.4 percent drop in the rural countryside and small towns seen over the past decade.

Schlechter notes that rural communities need to change how they develop opportunities for young people. Instead of providing scholarships for youth to move away and pursue an education, communities need to build more incentives that will draw back former residents, especially those who already desire to return but require economic or entrepreneurial encouragement.

Schlechter has seen interest in young people wanting to move back to their home areas. The issue becomes creating a viable habitat for young people to work and raise families in.

Schlechter believes that rural areas offer prime potential for people to play a significant role in communities. Rural communities require involvement from everyone in order for roles to be fulfilled. These communities need to become more intentional in promoting themselves as well as ensuring that everyone in the community has the chance to play a part, Schlechter said.

"In rural areas you really have an opportunity as a leader to make an impact on people's lives and make a difference dramatically."

Both Kopriva and Schlechter agree that proactive steps need to be taken for rural communities to thrive.

"How many people die with money in their account that they never used, but it crowded young people off the land?" Kopriva asked. "It's worth more to rent locally and keep people in the country than it is to seek the top dollar. To me, that's habitat."

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Renting land to highest bidder stumbling block for young people looking to start in agriculture - INFORUM

The article goes on to refer to Rod friend of this blog Drehers upcoming "The Benedict Option" book, then swings back into a lengthy piece on the good and bad points of setting up a communal life in the sticks. When I finished it, I was not convinced that this movement is a trend by any means, as the writer only cites one other community to make his case.

That community - which only got two paragraphs in the story -- is a group of Orthodox Christians who live within walking distance of St. John Orthodox Cathedral in Eagle River, Alaska.

Its a shame the WSJ writer didnt visit that group, as its a whole different scene than what he discovered in Oklahoma.

I dropped by the cathedral (pictured with this article) back in 2015 for a Sunday service and noticed the local streets named after saints and how many of the congregants lived walking distance from the church. Located a 20-minute drive north of Anchorage, its nowhere near as isolated as is the Clear Creek group.

Attention editors: There are dangers to taking an upcoming book, visiting one specific community (apparently) mentioned in the book, citing another and then extrapolating a national trend from it all.

When I came out with a book on Christian community in 2009, I was looking all over the country for likeminded communities that would welcome it. What I found was slim pickings. Id be interested in learning that a mass movement had happened in the eight intervening years, but Ive found that experiments like Clear Creek and St. Johns Cathedral are the exception.

This is also not the first time the Clear Creek and Eagle River folks have appeared together in an article. A 2014 piece in Crisis magazine cites Dreher's work and names the same two communities and is similar to the Journal piece, albeit it's critical of the Benedict Option. If you're going to profile a movement, try not to use the same two examples that other writers have used.

Its too bad more of Rods quotes on how many of these communities are out there were not included. Im curious too as to how these folks are different from the Amish, Bruderhof (some tmatt coverage here) and Hutterite communities that have been doing much the same thing for decades.

Im glad the writer found one person who disagreed with the community concept, but unfortunately, she was the wrong person to cite.

A lone fundamentalist Christian church in red-state Florida is not the same as an intentional rural community like Clear Creek. You can't just cite an independent Protestant group in criticism of hierarchical Catholic and Orthodox groups. It's apples and oranges.

If youre going to find a critic, latch onto Facebook groups of people whove lived in multi-household communities where they are geographically close to a church, have some form of income sharing or engage in a common industry. I listen in to one such group (of disenchanted Catholics whove been part of a group of Midwestern charismatic communities) whose members could have provided much better quotes.

I appreciated the piece and the effort taken to report it, but the article needed more.

What does the local bishop think of this group? How connected is Clear Creek to the Diocese of Tulsa? Yes, there are photos on the monastery's webpage of a visit by Cardinal Raymond Burke, but that says more about the community's isolation because Burke is not exactly in Pope Francis' good graces at the moment. If theres anything Ive heard from Catholics whove been members of such communities, its that they wished they hadnt veered so far from the mainstream church but had found some way of integrating more parishes into their vision.

Then again, the monastery has been featured recently by Our Sunday Visitor.Also by the Tulsa World. Can't get much more mainstream than that. But the Journal focused on the lay community near the monastery; a different kettle of fish. There's been a lot written about how even the best-intentioned communities sink into authoritarian tendencies. What steps is Clear Creek taking to make sure the Benedict Option doesn't go bad?

Those are the questions people are asking and which journalists should be answering.

Photos are by the author and from clearcreekmonks.org.

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The Wall Street Journal explores trends in Christian community life sort of - GetReligion (blog)

Carpinteria Family School representatives at the Feb. 28 Carpinteria Unified School District Board of Education meeting rebutted points in a report released last fall that affirmed the school has become an enclave of relative whiteness and wealthiness within the school district. Fashioned in the schools trademark tone of compassionate communication, CFS defended its position in the district as a progressive alternative to mainstream public education while detailing many steps it has taken to overcome its inclusivity problem.

The Family School is just one of many important solutions to education in Carpinteria. We (educate) through compassionate communication, creativity, local and global service projects, high level parental involvement, environmental awareness, student leadership and a prosperous, loving community thats open to all, said CFS second- and third-grade teacher Jan Silk.

Following complaints levied against the school district last spring, a third party investigation was conducted, and a report concluded that the district needed to correct the social and ethnic divide between CFS and Canalino School, which share the same campus. Some of the friction between the two schools is rooted in shared resources like the library and cafeteria and who pays for them.

The discussion on race in schools created ill will on the campus. Silk cited an instance of CFS being referred to as Caucasian Family School as being particularly hurtful, and more so to the many ethnically diverse families at CFS. Silk said representatives of the school all wished to put the report behind them and move forward in a way that addresses concerns but also continues to respect the schools important place within CUSD, much in the same way the new Dual Language Immersion program is an attractive alternative for many families.

Acting Superintendent Jamie Persoon, who is also Canalino School principal and acting CFS principal, described the many steps that have been taken since the report to attempt to make the CFS population reflect the CUSD population. The report did not find any intentional effort to create a less diverse school population at CFS, but the responsibility fell to the school and school district to correct the issue through outreach and greater collaboration between Canalino and CFS in regard to shared resources and a more united campus culture. It is illegal for school districts to simply shuffle students between schools to engineer equally diverse populations.

Persoon gave the example of shared student assemblies to encourage integration between the schools and a cost-sharing system of billing CFS 12 percent for shared resources, since CFS comprises 12 percent of the campus population.

Efforts to increase diversity starting next school year include prioritizing entry to CFS for students who qualify for free or reduced lunch. Each year CFS enrolls 12 new kindergartners through a lottery, and in the past, siblings of CFS students were given priority entrance before the lottery, which left significantly fewer spots available in the lottery. The school district eliminated the sibling policy and will give spaces to students qualifying for free or reduced lunch priority placement in the school before a lottery would be used to fill any remaining spaces.

In 2015-2016, the lottery for CFS included 20 white children, two Hispanics and one English learner.

Co-president of Parents for CFS Caroline Haines took issue with the way the investigation was conducted. She said nobody from CFS was interviewed as part of the investigation other than former principal Leslie Gravitz, who had been released by the school district before the investigation. She also contested the part of the report that said CFS has fewer students in its classrooms than other elementary schools in the district, stating that in fact much of the time there are more students in CFS classrooms than the average.

The differences in demographics between school populations should not be seen as intentional or desirable. As a community we wholeheartedly believe that diversity is a value to our community, Haines said.

CFS will join with other district elementary schools on March 2 at a bilingual transitional kindergarten and kindergarten information night in order to present all schools equally. All sides acknowledged through the process of the complaint and report that CFS could be more proactive in informing spanish speaking and lower income families about the school and the process of enrollment. The school was founded on principles high parent involvement and had suggested it had policies of $500 annual contributions per student and mandatory classroom time in previous materials, but that language has since been eliminated, a move that could persuade families of lower socioeconomic status to feel welcomed.

The CFS and Canalino communities are significantly divided, with the racial and socioeconomic disparity between the schools creating an unsustainable us versus them mentality that models segregation for the students, stated the report written by lawyer Felicita Torres released last fall.

Supe search on track for April 8, 9 interviews

About six candidates for the vacant superintendent position will be interviewed on April 8 and 9. Recruiters hired by the district to conduct the search said applications have been coming in and the window is open through mid March. At that point, they will take a week to scoop the creme de la creme from the top of the stack and invite those candidates for in person interviews. The recruiters held multiple community meetings to gather public feedback about the school district and what qualities will be most attractive in a superintendent to lead the local public schools.

Editors note: The author of this article has a child at Carpinteria Family School.

Excerpt from:

Family School rebuts report on lack of diversity - Coastal View News

On Thursday, the UW Alumni Association (UWAA) hosted a diverse range of panelists to speak on the topic of food from a wide variety of perspectives. Food: Four Short Talks was an event that was the first of its kind.

The event was collaboratively built with all the panelists in order to reflect the diverse and unique experiences involved with food, according to UWAA senior director Ellen Whitlock Baker.

The whole thing is new, Baker said. Weve never done anything like this.

All of the panelists for Food Talks were either UW faculty or UW alumni. Senior lecturer Anita Verna Crofts, kicked off the night by sharing her experiences as a visual communication trainer to Syrians in Turkey. The talk also showcased speakers Laurie and Leslie Coaston, restauranteurs and former owners of The Kingfish Cafe in Capitol Hill; My Tam Nguyen, tastemaker; and Branden Born, UW professor of urban design and planning.

In her talk, Crofts shared her reflections on a comparison between her breakfast in Turkey and a students breakfast in the Syrian war zone.

In extreme circumstances, meals and the mundane take on an added significance, Crofts said. Who you eat with and what you eat defines who you are, your taste, and your kinship ties. You could also see it as an act of resolve, [as in] You can bomb my city, but Im going to start my day with my tea and my wife and my two kids.

Though the training was in Turkey, her student was stuck in Syria due to closed borders. The sense of both strength and fragility from her students breakfast perfectly captured Crofts teaching philosophy of turning what is most personal into meaningful narrative.

For these visual communication trainings, my goal is to take that vulnerability and transform it into stories that show optimism and show a certain sense of resilience in what is sometimes the most excruciating, profoundly sorrowful point in a persons life, Crofts said.

While Crofts talk focused on foods potential as fodder for compelling storytelling, Nguyens talk raised pressing questions about the local food community in Seattle.

As an immigrant from Vietnam, the Vietnamese community in Little Saigon was reminiscent of the close community Nguyen experienced in her childhood. Though the Vietnamese community in Seattle gave her a sense of a home-away-from-home as a newcomer, the local Seattle Asian American community today faces some challenges.

According to Nguyen, the recent Womens March was beautiful, but it coincided with the busiest shopping weekend for Chinatown, the International District, and Little Saigon, disrupting small businesses and restaurants.

Its a moment of reflection for our community: What happens when our values clash? Nguyen said. How can we share space and build community? How can we be intentional about building these spaces together and share this community together?

Nguyen wasnt the only panelist asking difficult questions about how to sustain food communities. Restauranteurs Laurie and Leslie Coaston enjoyed close-knit ties with The Kingfish Cafes staff and patrons for the nearly 20 years it was open, but closed it in January 2015 when their rent increased by 68 percent due to the local neighborhood development.

We were always this huge family, Coaston said. It was an amazing place to be, and Id love to see those kinds of places remain in the city. But with it being so expensive, our question is, how do you do that? How do we keep those businesses, those communities strong and vibrant?

Professor Branden Borns talk about the intricacies of the global food system concluded the night, followed by a Q&A session between audience members and panelists focusing on food citizenship.

Heres the problem: The food system, that which brings that food to you and everybody else in cities around the world every day, is super complicated, Born said. Its a really complex thing, and its not working for you.

Born emphasized the importance of being informed food citizens who know where food comes from. Some practical ways for being a good food citizen he shared were to grow your own food, learn about the food that you eat, and be aware of how the food system operates. He also encouraged audience members to support local nonprofit food organizations involved in food advocacy, such as the Food Empowerment Education Sustainability Team.

The most political decision you make every day is what you eat, Nguyen said. Be active. Show up. Be a citizen with your dollars, but also with your heart, and your hands, and your feet.

Reach contributing writer Cecilia Too at development@dailyuw.com. Twitter: @ceciliatooo

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Food: Four Short Talks brings community to the table - Dailyuw

Max, Christina, and Emma singing their hearts out. Photo by Javi.

Im sure that lots happened this last week here at Dancing Rabbit, but all I can think about is singing.

Christina here, bringing news of drums, voices, and circles.

Before I moved to Dancing Rabbit, singing was barely a part of my life. Sure, I sang to the kids to get them to sleep at night and I sang in the car all the time. But Id been told sometime somewhere that I wasnt a good singer, and so I never really sang with or around other people.

When I came to my first visitor session, I was by myself. I heard that there was this thing called song circle, but I was too timid to go. I remember walking by the Common House that night and seeing people sitting around on the couches and chairs in a loose circle and singing. It looked intriguing.

I decided that it would be a good experience for the kidseducational and all that. So when I came back for my second visitor session, this time with the whole family, we decided to check out this song circle thing.

When we finally moved here, early last February, the kids and I kept showing upon Wednesdaynights at7:45, sitting in those couches and chairs, and learning new songs. The way it usually works is someone starts off by requesting a song. We all do our best to sing it, or learn it if we dont know it. We then go around the circle, and everyone has a chance to request what we sing. There are a few stronger singers, and there are some who are not always (or often) on tune. There are also a few who are good at leading and teaching new songs, and some who forget the words every week.

There wasnt any big revelation for me, or a moment when I realized how important singing had become in my life; it was more of a gradual change. But one day, I found myself looking forward toWednesdaynight, making lists of songs to request, and walking around singing the new songs Id learned all week long.

Fast forward to this past weekend. Alyssa decided a few months ago to organize a weekend singing retreat. The idea was that we would spend a day and a half learning new songs and eating together and not doing much else. Because Alyssa is a master organizer and has a great talent for making things happen, she rounded up over 30 adults and I think 11 kids, from the tri-communities as well as from La Plata and further afield. Housing was arranged, meals were coordinated, tea and snacks were set up, and chairs were placed in a circle again, this time in La Casa.

So, we spentFridayafternoon and night andSaturdaymorning and afternoonand a bonus kid sessionon Saturdaynightlearning new songs. The amazing song leaders who had traveled in for the retreat kept the energy high and the intentions focused. We sang rounds and harmonies and danced in circles and lay on the floor on mats. We learned African songs and Norwegian songs and folk songs and brand new songs that had been written by a friend of a friend. We sang sad songs and joyous songs and silly songs and hauntingly beautiful songs. We shared lots and lots of good foodso much that there was enough for an unplanned dinneron Saturdaynight. My throat was aching bySaturdaylunch, and my head was full of many many new songs.

This might sound like a lot of singingand it was.On SundayI felt that strange mental hangover that I feel after a big holiday or vacation is over.

Obviously, community can exist without singing, but Ive been told that many communities have singing traditions. Its interesting to think about why this isIm pretty sure that none of my friends back in mainstream life have anything of the sort in their lives.

For me, there are a few things I love about this specific kind of singing.

Its super cheap entertainment.In fact, its usually free. Not that I refuse to ever spend money on things that are fun, but I definitely do resent the idea that I think is pretty common in mainstream life that you have to spend money to do anything excitinggoing out to dinner, seeing a movie, even driving to a friends house all cost something. But walking over to the Common House on aWednesdaynight costs nothing but the time.

A bond is created when people are sharing their voices in song. Its partly another example of a time when we work together to achieve something. Its also the fact that theres nowhere to hideyou have to make eye contact at some point no devices or even songbooks to hide behind.

I get out of my head for the time being.It is not easy for me to stop thinkingabout what I have to do today, what I havent done yet, what I already did, what were having for dinner, or whether or not the clothes are dry yet. But when Im singing a song at song circle, I am totally there. Its enough to think about the words of a song that I silence all those other thoughts for a little while, but its not so much that it becomes a stressful task in and of itself.

Watching my kids sing is one of the greatest joys in my life.Looking over to see their sweet relaxed faces, totally focused in the moment and enjoying themselves, is really quite incredible. They are just so pure and innocent in that moment.

There are many many reasons why we moved to Dancing Rabbit, and for the most part, those reasons are still relevant to our decision to stay. But its also fascinating how many things I love about living here that I hadnt even anticipated. Singing is one of those. Im hooked now, and I dont intend on stopping any time soon. Even if I am off-key (most of the time).

Dancing Rabbit Ecovillage is an intentional community and educational nonprofit outside Rutledge, focused on demonstrating sustainable living possibilities. Public tours are offered April October on the 2nd and 4th Saturdays of the month. In the meantime you can find out more about us by checking out our website, http://www.dancingrabbit.org, calling the office at (660) 883-5511, or emailing us at dancingrabbit@ic.org.

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Drums, Voices, and Circles - Memphis Democrat

USA TODAY NETWORK-Wisconsin 4:02 p.m. CT Feb. 27, 2017

Letters to the Editor(Photo: USA TODAY NETWORK-Wisconsin)Buy Photo

It appears that Wisconsin has had negligible, if any, voter fraud for the past decades. But since the most recent redistricting after 2010, the Badger State has had colossal election fraud with huge, widespread election impacts. A federal panel of court judges has ruled Wisconsins legislative maps to be unconstitutional. This election fraud has more severe impacts on election results than almost any voter fraud could ever have.

For fair elections, Wisconsin must redistrict the state WITHOUT DELAY. An independent districting board, NOT the Legislature, must do this work using the mathematical principles of compactness and contiguity, tempered with regards for communities of interest. Transparency and intentional, active public oversight and awareness are NECESSARY! It is unacceptable to allow future elections without new, non-gerrymandered legislative maps.

Although it is not possible to quantify exactly, the Wisconsin Election Fraud undoubtedly impacted (altered, influenced) mind-boggling quantities of revenues and expenditures. Given Wisconsins state annual budget (~$37 billion), it is most probable that at least $1 billion to more than $10 billion per year were impacted by this election fraud.

Attorney General Brad Schimel and Assistant AG Brian Keenan seek to delay and soften or dismiss the ruling of the federal panel of court judges. State Sen.Scott Fitzgerald and other senate leaders have spent more than $2 million Wisconsin taxpayer dollars in legal proceedings to maintain the unconstitutional legislative maps and mapping processes.

I call for the immediate dismissals of Schimel, Keenan and Fitzgerald for their attacks on fair legislative maps, an obvious cornerstone of democracy. Furthermore, I call for legal action against committee members who fielded the fraudulent, unconstitutional Wisconsin legislative maps currently in use. And, lastly, I call for suspension of the blank-check legal proceedings initiated by Fitzgerald and other senate leaders to fight redistricting of these unconstitutional legislative maps.

Steve Deibele

Kiel

I enjoy that Sheboygan County is full of people who have lived here their entire lives, maybe even without ever going to a major city. But as the population grows, new traffic patterns have begun to emerge roundabouts, bike lanes, etc.

As a citizen who has been in many near accidents due to others not understanding these new traffic patterns, I have found myself wanting drivers in this community to take the job of driving more seriously. We need to educate on the correct way to enter and leave a roundabout. We need to educate on the purpose of a bike lane, and that it is for bicycles, not a second lane for vehicles. We need to also point out areas where speed limits have changed.

Just as there is a minimum driving age because of a teenager's attention and decision-making processes, so it should be considered when allowing the elderly to drive. I am not trying to discriminate against our senior citizens, but age causes a decline in decision making and reaction time, among many other things. I believe there should be a requirement that after a certain age, all should be required to re-test every year for a valid license. Additionally, this should be required of those who have just had a major medical procedure (regardless of age) that may affect their ability to drive.

I understand the pain that is involved with becoming more dependent as one ages or falls ill, but I think the safety of everyone should be taken into consideration.

Kellie Resnick

Sheboygan

First, I want to thank the citizens who came out and voted for me and the other candidates. It was a good turnout and demonstrates the civic interest of our citizens.

Secondly, I want to thank the other candidates for a collegial election process. I felt that we all conducted ourselves in a friendly and courteous manner.

Finally, I want to thank the staff of the City Clerks office and the poll workers. The election was run efficiently and transparently and these people do their job well. But, this is the first of two steps. Be sure to underline April 4 for the second step and come out and vote.

Henry Nelson

Sheboygan

Editors note: Henry Nelson is one of two city Common Council candidates who advanced to an April 4 election following a primary vote Feb. 21. Nelson is running for the councils sixth district seat, which represents part of Sheboygans south side.

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Letters: Dismiss Schimel, others for maps - The Sheboygan Press

NASHVILLE, Tenn. (WKRN) Cohousing communities are gaining popularity across the country, including right here in Music City.

Diana Sullivan gave our sister station in Nashville a tour of her cohousing development located in Germantown, Tennessee.

She has lived in the community for about a year-and-a-half.

Sullivan said she first learned about the concept of cohousing while attending a conference in Boulder, Colorado, in 2010.

It is an intentional community. We decided we wanted to have a community that was structured in a very high functioning way because research shows that these communities are very healthy and very thriving, Sullivan explained.

In Germantowns cohousing community, everyone buys their own home, but they share common spaces.

There is a playroom for children, a kitchen to enjoy meals together and extra rooms that the homeowners in the community can reserve for visiting family and friends.

We have community dinners a couple of times a week. A couple of households will become a cook team, will set our menu, buy our food and then host the dinner, said Sullivan.

By sharing meals the group is able to cut costs.

They are $5 or $6 a meal, and it is incredible food, said Sullivan.

Dot Dobbins also lives in the community. She said after her husband passed away in 2008 she began researching different living arrangements because she did not want to be alone.

Dobbins met Sullivan and decided she wanted to be part of the community. Dobbins told News 2 her grandchildren love where she lives and that they enjoy visiting her and playing in the courtyard.

Last spring and summer we had butterflies all over. It was great, it was lovely, Dobbins recalled.

When this community started there were 15 families interested in living in there. Now, there are 25 families in the cohousing development.

When you have housing that is constructed in a way that is supportive of people to reduce poverty, homelessness, reduce alcoholism and drug addiction and its just the housing structure and you can implement that its huge, said Sullivan.

In the United States, there are about 160 cohousing developments. The one in Germantown is the first of its kind in Tennessee.

Currently, there is a lot of momentum to build more of these types of developments in Nashville.

Sullivan told News 2 there is a waiting list of about 650 people who would like to move into the Germantown community.

She said an additional list of 350 people is interested in developing these types of communities in other parts of Middle Tennessee.

The national conference on cohousing will be held in Nashville this May.

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Originally posted here:

Cohousing communities gain popularity - WDTN

As debate rages overimmigrationenforcement, tightening the border and renegotiating trade agreements, Minnesota business leaderswarnthat a slowing of immigration will stifle the state's economy.

"Immigrants are a significant contributor to the development and growth of the state's economy," said Bill Blazar, president of the Minnesota Chamber of Commerce.

"And that's true whether you're in Minneapolis or Mankato or Thief River Falls."

A recent University of Minnesota report (z.umn.edu/immigrantworkforce) said Minnesota will need to significantly step up efforts to bring in immigrants to meet labor demands.

"Minnesota will need to attract about 4.5 times the number of new residents it currently attracts to maintain a 5 percent average annual growth in labor force," the report said.

Blazar said the aging baby boomer workforce and looming retirements are creating a major worker shortage. "One thing growing businesses have the least tolerance for is the opportunity to grow and not being able to staff up for it. They will go elsewhere in a New York minute."

He said immigrants are especially key to saving rural communities from drying up. "The '80s farm recession took a toll population-wise on Greater Minnesota. A lot of people left. Many of those communities, Worthington, St. James, Faribault, Madelia, have come back thanks to the arrival of new Americans," he said.

"Immigrants are entrepreneurs, they start businesses. Nothing could be better for a small rural community than to have someone move to town and work for someone else and then start and run a business successfully. That's a big deal."

Blazar said the current immigration system is broken and the president and Congress need to fix it. He fears the focus on enforcement and polarization over immigration will divert attention from the need for reform.

"The administration is caught up in enforcement, which is unfortunate, so I don't see them coming up with legislation. So it's up to Congress. They've had a lot of time to think about it."

The Chamber said good immigration reform would contain four elements.

The administrative practices surrounding the immigration system, including the e-verify system employers use to see who's legal to work, needs updating.

Blazar said the quotas on the number of immigrants also needs to be changed from a static number to a dynamic system. "We've had the same quotas since 1986 when President Reagan and the Democratic Congress redid the immigration system. They're fixed quotas so they're not sensitive to changes in the economy."

The group's third goal may be the most politically sensitive. "We need to resolve the status of the 11 million people who are here without authorization," Blazar said.

"We ought to create a path to citizenship with whatever requirements the president and Congress see fit. To just leave them in limbo as we have since 1990 is just cruel and unjust."

Finally, he said, reform would address border issues. "For the business community, having border security fourth on the list is intentional because we believe if we do No. 1 and No. 2 and No. 3, we'd solve most of our border issues. We have so many crossing illegally because we have a broken immigration system."

As part of its push, the Chamber is promoting a report and map system created by the New American Economy and the Minnesota Business Immigration Coalition.

The new map (NewAmericanEconomy.org) provides data on immigrant populations in all 435 congressional districts and 50 metro areas in the country. It also includes tax contributions, spending power, home ownership, and voting power, of immigrants.

According to the mapping data, the First Congressional District, which stretches across southern Minnesota, has 37,166 immigrant residents, making up 5.6 percent of the population. That's a higher percentage than northwest and northeast Minnesota. The Twin Cities districts have between 4 and 15 percent immigrant populations.

Immigrants in the district have spending power of $771 million.

Follow Tim Krohn on Twitter @TimKrohn

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Businesses: State needs more immigrants - Mankato Free Press