The best way to fight poverty, says Paul Polak, is to talk to and learn from the people who know the most about it-the poor themselves.

 

 

Paul Polack detailed his ideas for combatting poverty worldwide in an article in the Smithsonian earlier this year. You can read it here.   Or find out more about his book on the subject, Out of Poverty , by clicking on the cover below.

One important difference between urban poverty in America and the third world, is the presence of government programs to assist the poor. But they can also pose a significant obstacle to climbing out of poverty, as Paul Polack explains.

Paul Polak was the keynote speaker at the Fifth Annual Dialog on Poverty hosted September 25, 2008 by Community Action Partnership of Sonoma  County.

 

 

 The possibility of a new wastewater discharge pipeline to the county's popular Steelhead Beach in Forestville (above)  has apparently been killed by cost considerations.

 The pipeline to the proposed Steelhead Beach discharge site would have run through the quiet corridor of Osprey trail (below). Photos courtesy West County Gazette.

Brenda Adelman of the Russian River Watershed Protection Committee contends that Santa Rosa could and should reduce the amount of water flowing into the treatment plant by moving more aggressively to repair leaking sewer pipes that allow rainwater to get in.

Job skills, high school diplomas, personal responsibility and building low income housing-they're all wrapped up together in YouthBuild Santa Rosa.

 

YouthBuild has been active in Sonoma County for the past 13 years, but the overall program has a much longer history.

 

A new cohort of YouthBuild students is forming now, with required interviews on Dec. 15. Casey McChesney outlines the application process.

 

 

  The 2001 YouthBuild class were joined by then Santa Rosa Mayor Mike Martini (front, second from left), Congresswoman Lynne Woolsey, and County Supervisor Mike Reilly at the grand opening of their new office seven years ago. The program is now preparing to move into new, larger quarters in early 2009.

While the presidential election yesterday was a sweeping victory for Democrats from the top of the ticket on down, many local races in the north bay were much more narrowly decided.

 

 

 

To view the complete list of Sonoma County's unofficial election results, click here.

 For the statewide California election results, click here.