Daily Acts, a Petaluma-based dedicated to sustainability and transformation, works, its founder says, by exercising “the freedom to act without having all the answers.”

As the impacts from Daily Acts ripple outward from the North Bay,  founder and Executive Director Trathen Beckman says they are looking for new ways, and new partners, to help expand their influence.

From conservation to graywater reuse to designing and installing permaculture landscapes, many Daily Acts projects now are focused in one way or another on water. Which, when you think about it, is only natural.

  This was the postcard invitation to the fundraising (and networking) breakfast on Thursday, Nov. 5. Part of the program was a informational video about the organization, created by local filmmaker Eve Goldberg. You can also see it here:

Two Iraq war veterans turned peace activists are winding down their cross-country bicycle tour with a visit in Santa Rosa today, one of the last stops in what they’ve dubbed their “Contagious Love Experiment.”

As a soldier, Conner Curran came to believe that the use of force could be justified if it was used to accomplish something good. But he says being a soldier taught him that belief was not really true.

It’s a bold undertaking, setting out to ride across the country, not knowing people in most of the places you’ll wind up in. But Josh and Conner have made good use of some online resources to help smooth their way.

On their Contagious Love Experience blog, Josh and Conner take turns reflecting on their various day-to-day encounters and experiences. They also detail their personal histories and reasons for what they are doing. This is an except from Josh Siebert's account:

"When I got back from my 14 month deployment to Iraq in April of 08, I planned on taking the money I had been given to kill and destroy my nation’s “enemies” and walking to the military pay headquarters and giving that money back, telling them it wasn’t something I’d participate in anymore and if I had to serve the rest of my enlistment in jail, then that’s where I needed to be.

"Then I learned of conscientious objection, a militarily recognized status that someone’s beliefs has changed so that they are no longer compatible with war. I debated with myself over which option to take. Finally, I figured that as many problems as I had with the system, at least they showed some degree of respect for people’s beliefs, so I would give it a fair shot.

"As I waited until April of 09 for final approval, my plan of spite, of throwing the money back in the government’s face evolved into the walk I’m on now. If I am saying no to war, I want to find out what to say yes to. I want to take a negative and invest it into a positive. In a country where war is preached from the churches, I want to do a little to remember the man who those churches are built for, the man who visited the orphans, served the poor, clothed the naked, fed the hungry… and loved. So that’s what I’ve set out to do and I hope that that love is contagious."

Josh Steiber and Conner Curran with bring their Contagious Love Experiment to the Sonoma County  Peace and Justice Center, 467 Sebastopol Avenue (near Julliard Park)  in Santa Rosa, on Tuesday Nov. 3 at 7 pm

To see where Josh and Conner have been, and where they are headed, view their itinerary here and scroll down to get to the current  month. You can also watch this video about their trip.

Yes, Virginia, tomorrow is an election day—just not for most of Sonoma County.

Ukiah Daily Journal Editor K.C. Meadows explains the reasons behind her paper’s decision to take an editorial position against Measure A, the ballot measure that would approve a huge new mall project on the site of the city’s former Masonite plant.

The status of the proposed Mendocino Crossings site as a former industrial property is another point of contention. Supporters of the project say it would clean up the industrial wastes that were left there; opponents would rather keep it open for other options.

The website for the Yes on A campaign is here.  And the No on A campaign is here.

Marin County political observer and commentator Dick Spotswood says that there are several ballot measures to provide additional funding for local schools across the county, and history suggests they will fare well on Tuesday, even those with a high threshold for approval.

Dick Spotswood is a columnist for the Marin Independent Journal. He blogs about Marin politics at The Militant Centrist.

Are ghosts real? The Sonoma County Paranormal Institute hasn’t been able to prove that…yet…but they have encounterd some strange things that defy explanation.

  While not a trained physicist, Craig Appel of the Sonoma County Paranormal Institute, takes a rigorous scientific approach to his ghostly investigations.

The goal of the SCPI’s investigations is not necessarily to find ghosts or other unnatural beings, but to seek out explanations for strange and mysterious phenomena. A successful investigation, says Appel, is one that ends with clear answers.

The Sonoma County Paranormal Institute is a non-profit investigative organization, whose inquiries are neither amatuer or expert. They do not change for their services, and invite anyone who suspects they have encountered something ghostly to fill out this form to request an investigation.