Sonoma State University is adding a new minor in Jewish Studies, a first step toward a full curriculum in Religious Studies

Professor Mike Ezra says the addition of Jewish Studies courses at Sonoma State should help develop wider religious tolerance.

Ezra explains that introducing the Jewish Studies program as a minor allows a wider array of students to particpate.

After living in Sonoma County for nearly 60 years, civil rights advocate Willie Garrett has seen--and instigated--some substantial changes here. But he'd still like to see more.

One of Willie Garrett's first moves toward expanding integration in Santa Rosa, focused on the city's swim center, sometime around 1956.

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In the late 1960s, Mr. Garrett (seen more recently here)  was one of the co-founders of the Ethnic Studies Department at Sonoma State University, where he told the mostly white students not to expect an easy A, because community service would be an important part of his classes.

Typically, Mr. Garrett has not joined in recent public handwringing over the continuing absence of ethnic diversity among the Sonoma State student body. But he is planning to do something about it.

Willie Garrett has been named the 2009 recipient of the Jack Green Civil Rights Award from the Sonoma County chapter of the American Civil Liberties Union, an honor that will be bestowed at the group's annual Awards Dinner tonight (April 3). Last minute reservations can be made by calling (707) 765-5005.

A widely used electronic voting machine has been decertified in California, after tests confirmed it sometimes deleted groups of ballots without counting them.

 A co-founder and director of the Election Defense Alliance, Dan Ashby says this latest setback for electronic voting machines is further confirmation of their dubious reliability.

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Sonoma County's main dump, seen from the air at left,  has been closed since 2005, but its future continues to be hotly debated.

Operating a landfill anywhere in northern California is a difficult prospect in today's regulatory climate, observes Assemblyman Wes Chesbro, and even a well-funded private company must surmount those obstacles.

A proposed Materials Recovery Facility (MRF) for Sonoma County could eventually be able to sort out and reuse as much as 90% of the region's waste stream. Alan Strachan, one of the backers of that project, suggests that through composting or other processes, even most of the remaining 10% could someday be reused.

Longtime recycling advocate Mike Anderson is one of many voices taking up the call for setting a goal of zero waste.

 The March 30th forum on the future of the Sonoma County landfill was co-hosted by the Climate Protection Campaign and the  Leadership Institute on Ecology nd the Economy.

The entire public forum was recorded and will be broadcast at the following times on Community Media Channel 26 in Santa Rosa:

 More information and background about Ecoleader .

To learn more about the Landfill.