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Save Tesla—Tell Gov. Newsom to sign AB 1086
Last week, the Legislature approved AB 1086 . AB 1086 would allow the State Parks Department to sell the Tesla area if it finds that it would be in the public interest. The Tesla area is a 3,100 acre expanse of open land in the hills southeast of Livermore which is home to protected species, historical mining communities, and Native American sites. It is next to Carnegie Park, an off-highway motor vehicle recreation area. The current plan is to expand Carnegie Park and to develop Tesla as an off-road motorized vehicle park. FOV has been working with Friends of Tesla Park to protect the Tesla area for several years. The passage of AB 1086 is a huge step forward but without the Governor’s signature, the legislation will die. Please help NOW by contacting the Governor and telling him to sign AB 1086. There are only a few weeks left for him to enact this law. He needs to know this bill has broad public support. WHAT YOU CAN DO • Fax a brief letter asking the Governor to sign AB 1086 to Fax (916) 558-3160; OR • Use the Governor’s web site comment tool at https://govapps.gov.ca.gov/ to register support for AB 1086 (Pro AB 1086). Please join with us today and take a few minutes to contact Gov. Newsom. Help us continue in our effort to permanently protect Tesla! Friday, May 31st 10:00 AM - 12:30 PM Rodrigue Molyneaux Winery, 3053 Marina Ave, Livermore We had a great turn out for our Walk to Wine with FOV on Friday, May 31st. The event began with a walk through Holdener Park to enjoy the scenic trails. Following the walk, we met at Rodrigue Molyneaux Winery and Vineyard for a short introduction to vineyard management led by winery owner, Garry Rodrigue. Members of the FOV gave an update on the status of the Tesla Park preservation efforts while attendees enjoyed a glass of wine and a picnic lunch in the beautiful winery patio and garden. Proceeds from the event support FOV's actions to protect open space and enhance the success of the vineyards and wineries in the Livermore Valley. We thank Rodrigue Molyneaux Winery for generously hosting us and for everyone who attended this year's event. Thursday, September 21st 4:30pm Page Mill Winery, 1960 South Livermore Ave, Livermore Thanks so much to all who came out and supported the scholarship fund for the Winery & Viticulture Tech Program at Las Positas College! It looked as if there were more people there than last year, and we raised more money for the scholarship, as well! Congratulations goes out to the winners of two wine country baskets, provided by Concannon Winery and Friends of the Vineyards, as well as a case of wine made by the students at Las Positas College. We hope the winners enjoy their treats (and maybe invite us over to share!). We have to thank Page Mill Winery for providing an excellent weekly non-profit program! It is so generous of them and we greatly appreciate their support. We also want to thank the vendors that were there and donated a portion of their sales that night: Darnell the Pie Guy, Sugar n' Spice, and Wine Country Gifts & Jewelry. Check them out on Facebook and Google! Saturday, September 16th 8:00am Arroyo Mocho @ Holmes St & Mocho St., Livermore Friends of the Vineyards participated in the Coastal Clean Up activities that took place throughout the Bay Area on September 16th. The volunteers gathered along the Arroyo Mocho where they joined with local cub scouts to clean up a section of the arroyo. Participants gathered up numerous loads of trash and tracked the types and number of items located for scientific research purposes. Among the most unusual items located were a hardbound Webster's Dictionary, a ceramic castle, half a pink ukelele, and a Christmas decoration. Everyone agreed it was a fun way to support our community. The Alameda County landfill on Vasco Road has a Committee that disperses funds collected as mitigation for the collection and burial of trash on Vasco Road. This public entity, named Altamont Landfill Open Space Committee (ALOSC) supports preservation of lands in Eastern Alameda County having significant value for protecting native biological biodiversity and wildlife habitat, or significant value for visual character and/or non-motorized recreation.
This Committee is ready and prepared to act on the opportunity to use its funds to ensure the permanent preservation of Tesla Park by offering to purchase the land from the State Off-Highway Motor Vehicle Division. The following local State Senators and State Assembly Members have all jumped on board and offered to sign a letter to the Director of State Parks asking her to approve selling Tesla Park to a local entity such as East Bay Regional Parks to preserve it forever. cc: Alameda County BOS Livermore City Council EBRPD LARPD ACRCD Senators Jim Beall Steve Glazer Nancy Skinner Jerry Hill Scott Wiener Bob Wieckowski Bill Dodd Cathleen Galgiani Assembly members Catharine Baker Tim Grayson Rob Bonta Kansen Chu Kevin Mullin Phil Ting Marc Levine Marc Berman Tony Thurmond With all of these key people backing this proposal, we're feeling confident that the sale will be allowed to go through. Stay connected to see how this issue will pan out. Tesla Park is a place of irreplaceable biodiversity, history, and beauty, and this land needs to be preserved as a legacy of our region’s natural and cultural heritage.
Senator Glazer and Assembly Member Baker have taken a step proposed by Friends of Tesla Park (FOTP) to support the purchase of Tesla from State Parks through the Altamont Landfill Open Space Committee (ALOSC). In May, Senator Glazer and Assembly Member Baker sent a joint letter to the Director of State Parks, Lisa Mangat, asking her to encourage the off-Highway Motor Vehicle Division to consider this proposal. This is one way to ensure Tesla is permanently protected from high impact motorized usage. FOTP hopes Senator Glazer and Assembly Member Baker will continue to work with local stakeholders and the East Bay Legislative delegation to permanently protect Tesla through purchase by the ALOSC or other means. Friends of the Vineyards is strongly against destruction of this sensitive land and has supported its protection for several years. It is now time to save Tesla Park once and for all. On Sunday May 21st, Friends of the Vineyards hosted a hike, cave tour, and lunch for our members. The event began with a “gentle” hike through parts of Sycamore Grove Park guided by LARPD Ranger Dawn Soles. Much of the focus of the hike as discussed with the group centered on the water damage caused by the heavy rains and flooding in the Park earlier this year. Dawn’s comments were very informative and tied together much of the visible and tangible evidence that still remains in the Park. Following the hike, the group moved across the street for a tour of the caves at Wente Vineyards accompanied by some wine tasting at our stops along the way in the caves. Once again we had a very amicable, knowledgeable, and informative guide who related the history of the Wente family, the caves, and the winery. One interesting aspect was how the winery managed to stay afloat during Prohibition (making sacramental wine). The tour ended with a stop in their home herb and vegetable garden that services the restaurant. Afterwards, the group enjoyed an alfresco box lunch on a little patio between the caves and the tasting room. Of course, wine was included. All our attendees really enjoyed the day. The FOV scholarship awards for 2017 were awarded at Las Positas College on May 17th. With your help, we gave out one for Enology (Elizabeth Refsnider) and one for Viticulture (Ryan Hunt). They were both quite thankful for the awards, and are both currently already working in the local wine industry, with plans to go further once they graduate. We wish them success in the future and can't wait to see how they can help the Livermore Valley wine country continue to thrive! May 6-7, 2017 | Downtown Livermore, CA
The Friends of the Vineyards (FOV) was one of over 300 vendors that set up and managed a booth on Saturday, May 6th and Sunday, May 7th at the Livermore Wine Country Downtown Street Festival. This festival is one of the largest in the East Bay with over 150,000 people attending and celebrates wine, craft beers, arts, crafts, dining, and entertainment in the downtown charm of Livermore. Our FOV Directors managed the booth and were able to explain to our visitors who we are and what we do. It was fun talking to our guests about our efforts to preserve open space, agriculture land, our wine industry, and our trails. We were also able to explain urban growth boundaries and the South Livermore Area Plan and how they work together to help us protect our valuable land, precious water, trails, and endangered species. We have only one planet and we must all work together to preserve it. Friends of the Vineyards joined with Friends of Tesla Park and numerous other organizations to oppose the expansion of the Carnegie Off-Highway Vehicle Park into the Tesla Area. During 2016, FOV was involved in the effort to challenge the severely flawed Environmental Impact Report (EIR) prepared by the State Off-Highway Vehicle Division. We submitted comments to both the draft and final EIRs. FOV President Tammy Reus attended and spoke at the hearing before the OHV Commission. The Commissioners voted to approve the EIR, which was not a surprise. The EIR is now being challenged in court by the Friends of Tesla Park, Alameda County, and three other organizations. FOV is supporting this effort through financial contributions to assist with the litigation.
In related developments, the current legislation governing the state Off-Highway Vehicle parks is due to expire at the end of 2017. There are competing bills making their way through the legislature to address the program. The much-needed reform legislation supported by FOV is called SB 249. The authors of the reform legislation are: · Association of Responsible Recreation (ARR) · California Native Plant Society · California Wilderness Coalition (CalWild) · Center for Biological Diversity · Center for Sierra Nevada Conservation · Defenders of Wildlife · Friends of Tesla Park · Sierra Club California · The Wilderness Society · Tuleyome SB 249 addresses resource protection, the Off-Highway Motor Vehicle Division integration with the State Parks Department, fuel tax funding, enforcement, and the future sunset of the bill. While we hope there can be technical amendments and corrections made before the legislative committee process begins, this bill nonetheless represents a positive step for resource protection and rational state policy if enacted. FOV will let you know how you can help as the legislative process moves forward. |
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