SFGP WEEKLY For The Week of 6/16/05 - 6/23/05 (Cause we're never gonna survive unless we get a little crazy!) Welcome to All Our New Subscribers From the Haight Street Fair! This Week: ********************************************************** ************************************************** NEW!!!! SFGP Weekly Staff Presents: Joke of The Week The Donkey Auction A city boy, Kenny, moved to the country and bought a donkey from an old farmer for $100.00. The farmer agreed to deliver the donkey the next day. The next day the farmer drove up and said, "Sorry son, but I have some bad news, the donkey died." Kenny replied, "Well then, just give me my money back." The farmer said, "Can't do that. I went and spent it already." Kenny said, "OK then, just unload the donkey." The farmer asked, "What ya gonna do with him?" Kenny, "I'm going to raffle him off." Farmer, " You can't raffle off a dead donkey!" Kenny, "Sure I can. Watch me. I just won't tell anybody he is dead." A month later the farmer met up with Kenny and asked, "What happened with that dead donkey?" Kenny, "I raffled him off. I sold 500 tickets at two dollars a piece and made a profit of $898.00." Farmer, "Didn't anyone complain?" Kenny, " Just the guy who won. So I gave him his two dollars back." Kenny grew up and eventually became the chairman of Enron. ********************************************************** ********************************************************** News: 6/10: City Close To Finalizing Power-Buying Plan ********************************************************** Events: - 6/18: Juneteenth in the Fillmore - 6/22: Envisioning a Green Future in Nepal ********************************************************** Announcements: - Congratulations to our new SFGCC Members - Formation of Youth Working Group Update - Become A Sustainer! ********************************************************** ********************************************************** 6/10: City close to finalizing power-buying plan By: Justin Jouvenal Source: SF Examiner Green Supervisor Ross Mirkarimi leads City Hall effort for public power: San Francisco is poised to move forward with a plan to begin pooling the buying power of its electricity customers in the hopes of obtaining cheaper rates, cleaner power and developing energy independence. After a long planning process, The City is hammering out the final details on a plan for "Community Choice Aggregation," which is expected to be approved by a Board of Supervisors committee today and has a strong chance of being approved by the full board. Instead of purchasing power from PG&E, the plan would allow San Francisco to shop around for power from various suppliers. Proponents says a CCA will insulate ratepayers from the volatility of the electricity market, give it more leverage over power contracts and the ability to choose "green" energy sources. "It gives San Franciscan ratepayer energy independence. We can shop for better prices and reliability. It also gives us a chance to walk the walk," said Supervisor Ross Mirkarimi, referring to The City's green principles. Read the rest at: http://www.sfgreenparty.org/news/newsitem-start.gem?idx=1345 ********************************************************** ********************************************************** Events ************************************* Juneteenth in the Fillmore Saturday, June 18th, and Sunday, June 19th 9:00am - 5:00pm Join the San Francisco Green Party and San Francisco & Bay area African American Communities to enjoy with friends and family the 55th Annual San Francisco Juneteenth Celebration under the leadership of The San Francisco Juneteenth Committee and it's sponsoring partners. We need volunteers to staff the booth and to provide transportation of materials to and from the Green Party office (for Saturday and Sunday). Contact Mark Barnes mwbsf@riseup.net if you can help. Enjoy the great local food, music and mellow crowd. Lots of activities for kids too. The San Francisco Juneteenth Festival is the oldest and largest Juneteenth Celebration outside of Texas, where Juneteenth originated on June 19, 1865 when the last slaves held in bondage received word of the Emancipation Proclamation from Union General Gordon Granger. This was almost two and a half years after President Abraham Lincoln signed the Proclamation (Jan. 1863). This date became known as Juneteenth and thereafter celebrated by the African American Community as the date when slavery ended in the United States. ********************************************************** Envisioning a Green Future in Nepal Wednesday, June 22nd 6:30pm - 9:00pm Maitalal Gurung, a founding member of the Green Nepal Party, and descendant of the Ghurka ethnic group , is touring the US with his presentation on the current crisis in Nepal and possible non violent solutions. The current state of emergency in Nepal reached a critical stage in February 2005, when the King declared martial law, imprisoned political opponents, disbanded the Parliament, suspended many constitutional rights, blocked communications with the outside world, and expanded military attacks against the Maoist insurgents in the countryside. Presentation is Free and open to the public. Where: SF Green Party office, 1028 A Howard St. for more info, call 701-7090 ********************************************************** ********************************************************** Announcements: ********************** Congratulations to our three newly appointed SFGCC members! Appointed by consensus at Wednesday's GM were: Sue Vaughn Charlene Smythe Jazzie Collins ************************************************************ STUDENTS, TEENS, ALL YOUNG PEOPLE! Under 30? Feeling left out of the decision-making process? Have some really cool ideas? Want to talk about issues that matter to you? Want to have fun and be heard? Now is your chance! Did you know that one of the Green Party's goals is *promoting* youth empowerment? It's time to speak up and tell us what *you* want! We are looking for more young people to take part in active membership in the San Francisco Green Party. Not 18 yet? Not a problem- all you need to do is say that you identify with us, and you're in! We plan to meet one night a month somewhere in the city, hang out, have fun, and talk about issues important to youth today. We're still looking for people, so e-mail your suggestions to Nicole (ladypest@hotmail.com) with the subject "Youth WG" in the title. This week's topics: Writing Our Charter! ************************************************************ Become a Green Party sustainer! As you may know, the SFGP is supported by our wonderful sustaining donors -- 175 and growing. In the next 12 months we hope to double that figure, and you can help us achieve our goal by signing up to make a regular contribution to the Green Party. Our sustainer program nearly pays all of our basic monthly operating expenses, including rent and utilities on the office, and drastically reduces the amount of work needed to raise money. Our sustainers free us up to do what we're really here for - to pursue Green values through the democratic system. Sustainers also ensure that we are able to keep our office, which has hosted numerous campaigns' headquarters including the successful Prop A, Instant Runoff Voting initiative. Becoming a Green Party sustainer is easy, fun, and secure! Online: http://www.sfgreenparty.org/makeadonation/makeadonation.html Phone: 415-701-7090 ************************************************************ For more info on our activities, please see our website, http://www.sfgreenparty.org. You can also email us questions at info@sfgreens.org. To send us news items (short blurb please, plain text only) for possible inclusion in the newsletter, email news@sfgreens.org. Please don't put these addresses on mailing lists; messages not specifically addressed to us won't go through.