Martinez: A Tale of Two Cities, with apologies to Charles Dickens

It's been two months since the abrupt ending to my happily ever after fairy-tale. The pain is still fresh; I expect it will be for a long time. But causes keep me going and here in Martinez, I don't have to look too hard to find them.

If you haven't heard AOL has a hyper-local on-line presence dedicated to providing topical news top tier news outlets tend to ignore. That's an over-simplification but hey, this is my blog. Here in the City of Martinez you can find them at www.martinez.patch.com, my friend Jim Caroompas is the editor.

Ya I know, I work for the hometown print paper, shouldn't I feel threatened? No, each offers something unique but I digress. On January 30th a member of our community, Pat Keeble, posed this question on Patch, "Why don't we have a dog park in Martinez?" I responded by pointing to an op-ed I'd written for the Martinez News-Gazette August 28, 2008 and saved to my blog.  

One of the comments I captured in my dog park post highlighted a disturbing schism, half our residents don't consider themselves part of Martinez. It was local historian, Harriett Burt, who told me our city has tried to overcome the idea of two Martinez's for decades. Another comment touched on political obstacles residents seemingly face.

Everyone reading this blog (all five of you) know I extol the virtues of social media and the Internet. I imagine the idea of unfettered access to the world's information as the inspiration for the Library of Alexandria. Romantic fancy, maybe, but again this is my blog.

Another author/friend I've made as a result of Twitter, Storm Cunningham may have nailed the generational issues Martinez faces. Storm is part of the TED community; "TED is a nonprofit devoted to Ideas Worth Spreading."



Again maybe it's the romantic in me but the notion of the world's thinkers freely sharing their ideas, best practices, experiences, I imagine how it must have been to sit at the feet of philosophers like Plato, Aristotle.

The answers to healing our schisms and revitalizing our community will not be found in the individual silos (historical society, arts association, chamber of commerce, downtown association, merchant groups) we seem so fond of. Nor will they be found in the one-off (white linen eatery, marina, streetscape, low-income senior housing, cannabis dispensary) projects Martinez is famous for.

The answers to revitalizing the City of Martinez will come when people divorce themselves from their preconceptions and egos. The answers are out there, we just have to be willing to look. In the meantime, I hope you enjoy Storm's talk but more than that I hope you're inspired to take meaningful action like spearheading the creation of a dog park.

Stewardship: No it’s not just a stupid effing mouse…

For the first meeting of the general plan update task force we were each given a homework assignment: “Telling My Story” an introduction in short story form touching on; where we’re from, hobbies and interests, community group affiliations, occupation, special skills and expertise and ‘anything else that could help people get to know you better’. I think I’ve covered those here as well so I’m optimistic my choice of stewardship as a focus isn’t surprising.

Ten days ago I overheard a comment about our marina and the dredge ponds as I left Starbucks on my daily hike with my dogs Baron and Snoop. There are times when I’d love to be able to just stop, turn and say “it’s never just about one thing” instead I tossed my frustration out to the twitterverse and went about my day.

This comment stands out for me not because it was unique, negative reactions from people who perceive an aspect of the natural world as an impediment to “progress” are common, but it highlighted an ignorance of the greater than fifty year history of our dilapidated marina and pier. The current state of general disrepair and neglect was decades in the making, long before some stupid effing mouse chose to reclaim its rightful place in our marshlands and wetlands.

"Those who don't know history are destined to repeat it." ~Edmund Burke.

Unfortunately the final work product developed by the task force will have zero bearing on the development of the Alhambra Highlands project. Some very smart people have already voiced concerns regarding drainage and sluff when contemplating the removal of 650 trees and grading hill tops. I see it from a different perspective. I look at the removal of 650 live oak trees, presumably many of which are acorn granaries, as setting the stage for future human/wildlife conflict similar to what’s happened in Rossmoor.

Years from now the comment will be, ‘they’re just stupid effing woodpeckers’ and my response will still be it’s never just about one thing…