One personal encounter was the turning point that brought a Petaluma man into his present role, leading one of the county's largest provider of services to the homeless.

 John Records, Executive Director, Committee on the Shelterless.

In the second part of this report on the ways in which COTS is responding to the upturn in demand for their services, Records defines what are being called th "new homeless," and outlines some of the measures being developed to serve them.

The history of COTS is a tapestry of many individual stories, some of which have been compiled in a book recently published by the agency. Invitation to Service:  Stories from COTS relates the stories of clients, families volunteers and friends and their experiences through COTS. Tours of their facilities in Petaluma and Rohnert Park are offered monthly. You'll find dates and other information here.

Marilee Eckert, Executive Director of the newly renamed Conservation Corps North Bay, says it is well-positioned to grow into a regional service agency.

Eckert anticipates bringing many of the programs the organization has already established in Marin into Sonoma County under their new banner, such as their youth recycling crew, which is already at work at some Sonoma County parks and schools.

 There's a high cost involved in the commercialization of drinking water, especially in under-developed countries. 

                                                                                                                                                            Irena Salina is the director of FLOW (For Love Of Water), which was produced by Steven Starr. 

Six years in the making, FLOW  debuted at the prestigious Sundance Festival almost a year ago, but Starr notes that it was still timely then and remains so now.
 

Watch the trailer for FLOW here:

You can also add your name to the petition to add access to fresh water as Article 31 of the United Nations' Universal Declaration of Human Rights.

Companies that sell bottled water in this country are now looking to make expanded use of agricultural water rights, Starr says, an approach that may require redefining the scale of those rights.

Building on the information contained in the film, Starr has begun a web-based networking site called FreeFlo to enable water rights activists to share ideas and information collaboratively. 

freeflo.org

Mission Statement

FreeFlo is a communication network designed to strengthen the global water activist community, to challenge the privatization of water, to promote solidarity and water justice for all. FreeFlo illuminates issues impacting water ecosystems and individual access to water, and supports local, community-controlled solutions for sustainable water use. Find out more about FreeFlo here.

The incoming Obama administration gives a Sonoma State sociologist hope that the 1996 federal welfare reform policy will itself get some overdue reforms.

Dr. Shelia Katz studies the ways in which women who are receiving federal assistance can access higher education, and how that affects their lives and incomes thereafter.

Katz is also advocating that provisions for job training be included in any large public works jobs legislation that the new Obama administration promotes.