Rachel Carson may have been America’s first environmental whistle-blower. That’s inspired for a west county poet to create her own biographical one-woman show about the author of Silent Spring.

Lilith Rogers describes herself as a lifelong gardener and poet—she’s even written a book of her own about horticulture in western Sonoma County—but she got the spark of an idea about doing something new when she saw a one-woman show about Alberta King, the mother of Martin Luther King, at Santa Rosa Junior College. So Rogers began casting about for a subject that she might take on for a similar presentation.

One reason that Silent Spring had such an immediate and widespread impact when it was published, explains Lilith Rogers, was that the book offered a clear and well-documented explanation that linked a number of troubling events that were readily observable in the American environment.

Rachel Carson and Silent Spring were a media sensation, too, by the standards of 1962. Rogers says the flavor of that fascination, and the some of the now-discredited attitudes that were prevalent then, could be seen in an exchange that was broadcast on national television on the prominent CBS Reports program.

Doing the one-woman show  offers a way for Carsons’ voice to be heard again today, as in this excerpt from Rachel Carson Returns in which Rogers reads from the final chapter of Silent Spring.

Keeping kids safe when they’re online isn’t about technology so much as trust and communication.

It’s a well-worn cliché that kids are often—maybe usually—more tech savvy than their parents. Petaluma-based tech guru Leo Laporte says the first step in open communication with teens about their adventures online is often helping Mom and Dad catch up.

But, he adds, getting a grip on the online landscape today is usually a short-lived accomplishment.

Leo Laporte and his family will present “Wired Families, Safe Kids—One Family’s Journey,” at Sonoma Academy at 6:30 pm on Thursday, March 4th.

Marin General Hospital is leaving the corporate umbrella of Sutter Health Care, effective at the end of June. But the separation is proving to be less than amicable.

Dr. Martin Brotman, President of the Sutter Health West Bay Region, is well aware of the criticisms directed at Sutter and their actions in Marin County. He contends those critics fail to give the company credit for the substantial investment it has made in the Greenbrea hospital.

Sutter Health Care’s internal financial maneuvers may be legal, observes Assemblyman Jared Huffman (D-San Rafael), but they do not support the best interests of the communities where the corporation’s hospitals are located.

As the number of African children orphaned by AIDS continues to grow, a new model for housing, teaching and caring for them is trying to take root in Mozambique.

Malena Ruth, Founder and President of the African Millennium Foundation, says that while it is clearly her intention to create opportunities for the orphaned youth and children of her home country, she is just as clear that her vision is not just another orphanage.

Actress  CCH Pounder’s first contact with AMF was as a donor. As she learned more about the organization, she was impressed enough to join their board of directors. And she is now firmly committed to promoting the A Nossa Casa project, because she believes it will begin to make a difference in the near future.

UNICEF has projected that before the end of this year in Mozambique,  more than 926,000 children such as these with have been orphaned by HIV/AIDS.