Some Great #Petaluma Aerial Videos From Local Cameraman

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John Campbell of Blind Eye Video is a local cameraman and we found some pretty great aerial videos in this week’s searches for #Petaluma content. So great that I thought I would share them with you on our site and we have added them to our Petaluma Aerial & Drone Videos Playlist on our YouTube Channel. If you have not already subscribed to our YouTube Channel please do so now as we regularly add not only videos we have created but ones others have created as well.   Click here for a full listing of our YouTube Playlists.

This is the first one we ran across that John posted just 6 days ago that is focused on the American Flag majestically waving over our historic grain mill and our beautiful Petaluma landscape.

The next capture is of our draw bridge on the Petaluma River that was first posted about a week ago.

Photographer Gary Kaplan to show #Petaluma’s Artists and Artisans

Artists and Artisans by Gary KaplanArtists and Artisans is a unique show that celebrates the diverse talent that Petaluma has to offer. Photographer Gary Kaplan visited twenty four artists where he photographed each artists in their work environment. Along with these stunning color photographs will be a piece by each participant that will be for sale. You get to see the face behind the art and where it was created.

Those being shown include fine artists, painters, metalworkers, ceramicists, violin maker, guitar maker, illustrators, tattoo artist, photographer, letter press printer, performance painter, bike maker, map maker, and a vintner.

Click here to see the Artists & Artisans Poster poster showing the subjects of Kaplan’s showing.

This show is schedule at the Petaluma Historic Library and Museum located at 20 4th St., Petaluma for the months of November and December. Opening reception is on Nov. 14th from 5 – 9:00 PM.

Viva Las Vegas: #Petaluma’s Pacific Empire Chorus Wins 3rd at International Competition

“Fun! Flashy! Confident!” is the motto of Petaluma’s very own Pacific Empire Chorus (PEC) and it fits perfectly. The all-women a cappella chorus took its vibrant, playful energy all the way to Las Vegas for the 70th Annual Sweet Adelines International Convention and came back with a 3rd place win from the international midsize competition.

Pacific Empire Chorus originated in Santa Rosa over 50 years ago before migrating down to Petaluma. PEC is a four-part a cappella harmony in the barbershop style that sings a large variety of music ranging from modern pop to jazz standards. The women of Pacific Empire Chorus come from all over Sonoma, Marin, and Napa counties, as well as a few from out of state, in order to be part of a winning show chorus.

Pacific Empire Chorus Region 12 Competition 2015
From Pacific Empire Chorus Website

But the chorus isn’t just about singing and competitions. As Director Patty Pennycook said, “It is about singing but what keeps you coming back is the friendship and the fun you have singing together every week. It’s sort of like a sorority that sings all the time. And we empower women … I can’t imagine being without this organization. It is something that makes everybody feel good to be part of and singing and dancing it’s just so good for your body.”

Pacific Empire Chorus meets Wednesday nights from 7:00-10:00 and is looking for women of all ages who love to sing. If you are interested in joining, you can find them at the First Presbyterian Church of Petaluma, located at 939 B Street.

Upcoming events for Pacific Empire Chorus include Santa’s Arrival Sing Out on November 28, Festival of Trees Tree Lighting on December 4, and their annual Crab Feed on January 30. The crab feed is also a silent auction, which raises money to fund PEC and bring in top coaches to work with the chorus.

Here is a video Pacific Empire Chorus Carollers singing a song for us last year.

Click here to find out more about hiring Pacific Empire Chorus for a performance.

#Petaluma Mom & Business Owner Needs You To Help Save Her Life

PLEASE SHARE THIS POST ON YOUR SOCIAL MEDIA PAGES! I wanted to make sure this message got out.  It has shown on Petaluma360.com and Petaluma Patch.  It has also been shared on various social media.  The Petaluma Downtown Association provides the following.

From Home of the Chicken Facebook page
From Home of the Chicken Facebook page

Lindsay Lugo is a wife, a mother of two small boys, a Petaluman, and a new business owner (Home of the Chicken, located at 131 Liberty St., Ste B-2). She also suffers from a rare and incurable lung disease called Pulmonary Hypertension. While there is no cure for this debilitating disease, there is hope to extend her life and her time with her family, through a double lung transplant at University of San Francisco Hospital. She is currently next on the waiting list for her blood type, which is wonderful news! But, that being said, there are still people ahead of her for the universal donor blood type of O and having 74% stage 2 antibodies means that only about 26% of donors are a match for her. This is an expensive and daunting procedure and Lindsay and her family need our wonderful community to step up and help support them in their time of need.

THERE ARE FOUR WAYS YOU CAN HELP THIS PETALUMA MOM:

Lindsay Lugo Petaluma Nees Double Lung Transpland1) PARTICIPATE THIS SATURDAY: To that end, Lindsay and her husband Angelo have put together a fundraiser fueled by their passion for skateboarding, called “Petaluma Hot Chicken Skate Competition” to be held on Saturday October 24th starting at 1:00PM the Petaluma Skateboard park near the fairgrounds. It will be a family friendly event for skateboarders and spectators of all ages to come out, have some fun, and help support her cause. Pro skaters will be there signing autographs.  There is a $10 entry fee to compete for prizes.

2) CONTRIBUTE RAFFLE PRIZES: There will also be a community raffle, with tons of great gift certificates and prizes donated by local businesses (see list below for all the generous businesses that have donated to this cause already!). And that is where YOU come in! If you can contribute prizes, gift certificates, or gift baskets, it would be very appreciated. With over 100,000 needed for her medical expenses, any donation of any denomination is helpful and appreciated.  You can purchase raffle tickets now at Home of the Chicken (131 Liberty St.) and Flower Child Consignment (123 Kentucky St.) as well as on the day of the event. Raffle tickets are $2 each or $10 for 6.

3) DONATE MONEY: If you can’t make it or help with raffle – no worries – you can help by donating directly to Lindsays Lung Transplant Fundraiser Go Fund Me page gofundme.com/lindsaylugo.

Share4) HELP GET THE WORD OUT: It’s is great that people “Like” this post but it really does little in helping to spread the word.  What will really help this Petaluma Mom is if you SHARE this post on Facebook (or retweet it on your twitter, etc…). The average person has around 200 facebook followers. If you SHARE the post — rather than Like it — your post is then shared with your followers, so they can share it to 200 other people and so on.  This has a exponential effect in getting the word out to as many people as possible. Click the social media icons below to do this now.

Won’t you share this post?

Any questions, donations, or words of encouragement can be directed to Lindsay or Angelo at Home of the Chicken, 707-782-6392.

The community thanks the following business for their generous support and community sponsors, thus far, include:

  • City of Petaluma Parks & Recreation
  • Petaluma Market
  • Coca-Cola Co.
  • Bill & Jay’s Automotive
  • Mike’s Barber Shop
  • Sax’s Joint
  • Lions & Tigers & Hair
  • Soft Shell Beauty Spa
  • Bovine Bakery
  • Sauced Petaluma
  • The Velvet Ice Collection
  • Petaluma Coffee & Tea
  • Flower Child Consignment
  • Java Hut
  • Rosso’s Pizzeria Petaluma

Bill O’Reilly Says Happy Birthday To #Petaluma’s Josie Celebrating Her 103rd Birthday

Josie 103rd Birthday 1Josephine Graham celebrated her 103rd birthday on October 13.  About 50 friends and family gathered at the Petaluma Senior Cafe to join in the celebration . Josie is a lifelong Petaluma resident and still lives in her home that she bought many years ago.

A few days later Bill O’Reilly, with millions of views all over the world, mentioned her birthday on The O’Reilly Factor.

Bill O’Reilly says Happy Birthday to Josie from Petaluma, California who turned 103 from Wayne Dunbar on Vimeo.

Thanks goes to Katherine Kogler for providing the photos and information about Josie’s celebration at the Petaluma Senior Center.

War Comes Home Exhibition comes to #Petaluma JC Campus

For veterans, returning home from war can be both an exhilarating and challenging experience. History Connection (www.historyconnection.net) in cooperation with Santa Rosa Junior College, Petaluma Campus, presents the traveling exhibition “War Comes Home”.

walkingawayThrough private correspondence from almost every major conflict in U.S. history, War Comes Home offers insight into the thoughts and emotions of veterans and their families upon their homecoming. These intimate perspectives – from the Civil War era through the wars in Afghanistan and Iraq – reveal how war can shape a life, a family, and a community. This exhibition is provided by Cal Humanities and is a part of its War Comes Home initiative, which aims to raise awareness of and promote greater understanding of our veterans and explore the impact of war on our communities.

The exhibition explores the joys and hardships that returning soldiers and their families face during homecoming, as expressed through rare private letters and email correspondence. Spanning conflicts from the Civil War through the wars in Afghanistan and Iraq and featuring thirteen interpretive panels.

War Comes Home: The Legacy explores the shared themes of wartime separation, the adjustment to life back at home, and the costs of war. As Staff Sergeant Parker Gyokeres writes, “Those of us coming back…are not looking for sympathy. We might be reluctant at first to talk about what we’ve been through…but your support has made this journey an incredible one…Thanks, above all, for listening.”

Within each section, the exhibition pairs a historic letter with a contemporary letter or email to demonstrate the range of experiences our military members face as they transition from deployment to home. “Our hope is to bring home the real human cost of war” Explains Joe Noriel of History Connection. “The wars may be different but the central theme and emotions are the same – a longing to be home”.

An opening reception Thursday, November 12  3pm-4:30pm  will feature a panel discussion from veterans of foreign wars sharing their feelings of being away from home.

War Comes Home is a partnership between Cal Humanities, the California State Library and Exhibit Envoy. It is supported in part by the National Endowment for the Humanities, the Bay Tree Fund, The Whitman Fund, and the U.S. Institute of Museum and Library Services under the provisions of the Library Services and Technology Act, administered in California by the State Librarian.

This exhibition runs from November 3rd through December 6, 2015 and offers a self-guided audio tour. Santa Rosa Junior College, Petaluma Campus, Mahoney Library 680 Sonoma Mountain Parkway, Petaluma, CA. 94954, M-Th 7:45am-9pm, Fridays 9am-1pm, Saturdays 10am-3pm, free admission. Opening reception will be held at the Mahoney Library Gallery/Petaluma Campus. 707-778-2415

For more information: www.historyconnection.net or email [email protected]

Petaluma Health Care District Appoints Local Financial Advisor Joseph Stern to Board of Directors

Petaluma Health Care District (PHCD), a community owned and operated public agency working to improve the health and well-being of Southern Sonoma County residents through leadership, advocacy, support, partnerships and education, proudly welcomes Member at Large Joseph Stern to its Board of Directors. Filling the seat recently vacated by Petaluma Health Center CEO Kathie Powell, Stern’s appointment begins immediately and will run through the current term ending in Nov. 2016, at which point a general election will be held. Stern is a financial advisor with Edward Jones in Petaluma and has been a resident of the community for the past 14 years.

PHCD’s Board of Directors is a publicly-elected five-member board made up of community volunteers serving four-year terms and working in coordination with CEO Ramona Faith. Board members may serve consecutive terms. In addition to Stern, the current board includes President Elece Hempel, Vice President Dr. Robert Ostroff, Treasurer Josephine Thornton and Secretary Fran Adams. Following Powell’s resignation effective July 14, 2015, the Board posted a Notice of Vacancy soliciting applications for appointment. Upon review of the applicants and public comments, Stern was appointed to the position on Sept. 3 and has been cleared of any potential conflicts, a standard practice for those serving on a public board.

“We are greatly looking forward to adding Joe’s analytical viewpoint, financial expertise and community-minded dedication to PHCD’s Board,” said Faith. “We sincerely appreciate the interest all the applicants have taken in our work, and thank Joe for his willingness to make this commitment for the betterment of our community.”

“I have been honored to serve as a member of PHCD’s Board of Directors for the past eight years and am so proud of the strides we have made towards improving the health status of our community,” said Powell. “I look forward to continuing to partner with the District on strengthening the spectrum of health services available for all residents. PHCD is a critical resource and steadfast advocate for addressing health inequities in our community.”

Stern has been a financial advisor for more than 20 years, working with clients in the community on a range of investment needs, from retirement planning to saving for college to individual estate issues. Deeply involved in Petaluma and Sonoma County, he has served on committees for the Petaluma Area Chamber of Commerce and Boys & Girls Club of Southern Sonoma County. In addition, Stern has volunteered his time to local organizations such as the Committee to the Shelterless (COTS), Petaluma Bounty, Petaluma Educational Foundation and the Alzheimer’s Association. He earned his B.A. from Wabash College in Indiana and an MBA from Washington University in St. Louis.

PHCD navigates and identifies the health needs and priorities of local residents, and provides or supports services and programs in response to these needs. PHCD also ensures access to high-quality health care services, as it owns Petaluma Valley Hospital and leases its operations to St. Joseph Health. This lease ends in January 2017 and the Board has been engaged in a due diligence process to determine the hospital’s future. This process includes a thorough evaluation of current and future health care needs in the community; hospital operations and finances; the current health care landscape locally, regionally and statewide; future trends in health care delivery; and future partnerships.

Added Faith, “Our board is steadfast in carrying out our mission of serving the health needs of Southern Sonoma County and Joe’s business and financial expertise balances out the collective experience within our board, particularly as we continue through the important steps in determining the most viable options for operating Petaluma Valley Hospital.”

An exciting year of accomplishments, PHCD was named the 2015 Healthcare District of the Year by the Association of California Healthcare Districts (ACHD). The award, given to just one out of 78 districts, touted PHCD’s model of convening unconventional partners across all sectors to take action and improve local health issues, and highlighted two of PHCD’s community initiatives, Community Health Initiative of the Petaluma Area (CHIPA) and HeartSafe Community. In June, the Sonoma County Board of Supervisors and Petaluma City Council designated Petaluma a HeartSafe Community, formally celebrating PHCD’s efforts to address heart health education and provide life-saving CPR trainings to combat Sudden Cardiac Arrest. In addition, on May 4, the Petaluma City Council officially declared May 2015 as “Health Care District Month” in recognition of the essential role PHCD plays in Southern Sonoma County and acknowledging the importance of educating the community on its work, programs and services.

 About Petaluma Health Care District

The Petaluma Health Care District (PHCD) is dedicated to improving the health and well-being of the Southern Sonoma County community through leadership, advocacy, support, partnerships and education. Its vision is to foster a healthier community, a thriving hospital and local access to comprehensive health and wellness services. PHCD has served the health and wellness needs of the community for 70 years and is a public agency managed by the community for the community. For more information, please visit www.phcd.org.

VIDEO: TWiT.tv Getting Bounced for Beer: Host Leo Laporte Reveals Plans To Move To New Location

While waiting for his next guest, Leo LaPorte reveals the possibility of their studio moving to Redwood Business Park in the near future.  At the end of this video he states the new owner of the building wants to turn it into a brewpub.


Leo Laporte Reveals TWiT’s New Studio Location… by TotalDramaNet

“A Sleepy River Town Grows Up”

Petaluma Trestle and River FrontHow many of you read the special history section in the September 24th edition of the Argus-Courier entitled “Once a sleepy river town, Petaluma has grown up in 160 years? Since then, several letters to the editor have commented on how well written the various articles in that special section were and how much more they learned about our River Town’s early history.

 

Many topics were covered, including the history of the first newspapers that would later become the Argus Courier, the Petaluma’s Woman Club, the Petaluma and Haystack Railroad, the local schools, Petalumans-of-Yesteryear-300x155businesses, and the early medical facilities. Also included were a series of shorter articles with photographs of some of Petaluman’s esteemed citizens. Four of these featured residents are now portrayed by the “Petalumans of Yesteryear” – Lyman Byce (Inventor of the Chicken Incubator), Brainerd Jones (Architect), William Howard Pepper (Founder of Petaluma’s first kindergarten), and Capt. Thomas Baylis (Boat Captain).

 

cemetery-cypress-200x300If you missed reading this history section, check out a copy in the Petaluma Historical Museum and Library. If you wish to learn more about all nine of today’s “Petalumans of Yesteryear,” plan to attend the Museum’s annual Cemetery Walk on Saturday, October 17th., 10:30 a.m. at the Cypress Hill Cemetery. (Fee = $10.00) For more information, phone (707) 778-4398.

Which Part Of History Do You Like Best?

You may have seen the dramatic first run of SMART train’s first run over the newly constructed Petaluma bridge this week shared by the Press Democrat which has garnered over 2000 views. However what was not publicized as much was the September 21, 2015 historic final run and service of a train crossing over the 113 year old Haystack bridge recently published on October 5, 2015 drawing so far only 120 views.