Forty years after the fact, the music of San Francisco's first all-female rock and roll band can now be heard.

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The Ace of Cups were the first and only all-female band in the San Franciso music scene of the late 1960s. They played frequently at all of the popular venues of the era, including the Fillmore, Avanlon Ballroom, and, as shown on the reproduced poster below, the Winterland auditorium. Drummer Diane Vitalich (wearing the yellow shirt and top hat in the group photo at right) recounts how the five band members found each other, beginning when she was found drumming at a jam session.

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Although they did not record or release an album during the group's active years (1967-1972), several Ace of Cups shows and even a few rehearsals were informally recorded. Those tapes, carefully saved by the band members, finally saw the light of day almost 35 years later, when an Ace of Cups CD was finally released in 2003. Included on it is this energetic version of "I Wanna Testify," a 1967 hit for the Detroit soul band, The Parliments.

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The title of the eventual Ace of Cups CD release,  It's Bad For You But Buy It, is taken from their song, "Glue,"  a wry but rocking send-up of rampant consumerism which was also included in the 2007 anthology of San Francisco bands, Love Is The Song We Sing.  A more representative example of their original material is "Catch You Later."

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The Petaluma River has a long and interesting history, and some new Friends who want to make that history better known.

David Yearsley is a co-founder and  Executive Director of the Friends of the Petaluma River, which has the following mission and goals:

Mission: To promote stewardship of the Petaluma River. We work throughout its watershed; providing access opportunities, educational materials, and conservation programs. We also provide a voice for the River's inhabitants and resources in public affairs.

Goals: Access, Education, and Conservation

• To establish a permanent presence in the watershed; becoming the first non-government organization to work fulltime for the betterment of the Petaluma River and its inhabitants
• To pursue outreach and educational activities that will foster enthusiasm and commitment in the watershed for long term sustainable stewardship.
• To monitor conditions and engage in activities that will reduce or prevent pollution and lessen other harmful impacts on the River and its wetlands.
• To create a River Heritage Center as a community resource. A place to archive information, host events, administer programs, and coordinate river related activities

[video:http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BzK8v6diRv0 300x300] 

For people who want to get a close-up look at the Petaluma River,  Dolphin Charters will again offer their 3 hr. River tours on April 5th, 6th, 11th & 12th aboard the Delphinus (seen at left). To learn more about them, visit Dolphin Charters’ website.

In the eventual recovery from the current economic crisis, there will be geographic winners and losers-and the Bay Area is well positioned to be among the winners.

Richard Florida, is a researcher, educator and the author of several books, including Beyond Mass Production and The Rise of the Creative Class. He also wrote the cover story for the current issue of  Atlantic Monthly, which is titled, "How the Crash Will Reshape America."In it, he explains that some American cities will be much harder hit by the current economic downturn than others.

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But in both the regions that prosper in the new economy, and those that will continue to decline, Florida says the Ameircan citizenry will have no choice but to evolve new lifestyles.

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You can read Florida's full article in The Atlantic here. The magazine has also prepared online interactive maps showing how population, income an, as a measure of innovation, the number of patents issued, have changed over the years between 1975 and 2002.

Richard Florida's most recent book is Who's Your City,  which is subtitled How the Creative Economy is Making the Place Where You Live the Most Important Decision of Your Life.  In it, he ranks American cities  by their suitability in terms of life-stage, rating the best places for singles, young families and empty-nesters.  Santa Rosa shows up well in both the first and last of those categories.

With rainfall again filling our area's creeks and rivers, it is possible to conduct precise measurements of the changes in water quality in those streams.

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Dutch Bill Creek is relatively short, beginning in the hills above Occidental, and flowing northerly downslope through Camp Meeker and on to the Russian River. This is the waterway that was dammed to create the old Camp Meeker swimming area many years ago. Here's a map of the entire Dutch Bill Creek watershed.

 The close up map below shows the locations where the Community Clean WaterInstitute has set up water sample collection points along Dutch Bill Creek (DBC).  DBC 005 is closest to the creek's outfall into the Russian River, while DBC 060 is near the stream's beginning.

The water quality testing conducted in Dutch Bill Creek is done primarily by local volunteers, with training ad assistance from CCWI staff. Find out more about volunteering here.