VSN's own Gary Thompson, Water Quality Monitoring Program Coordinator, will provide a brief introduction.  Please see the attached presentation flyer for more information.

    * Chef Macon Luhning will provide a wonderful assortment of local, seasonal fare for your tastebud's delight.
    * Music will be provided by Harpist Ruth Kittleson.
    * Theatrical entertainment will provided by the Two Busy to Play Players

Invite your neighbors and your friends and join us for a fun-filled evening of great food & drink, laughs and conversation!

Please RSVP by August 1st to Michelle at the VSN Office: michellevsn@frontiernet.net or 637-3615.  The cost is $10.00 per adult.

I look forward to seeing you Saturday, August 9th!

In the morning, a federal appeals court struck down the cornerstone of the administration's strategy to control industrial air pollution by agreeing with arguments by the utility industry that the E.P.A. had exceeded its authority when it established the Clean Air Interstate Rule in 2005. The court, the United States Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit, said the rule, which set new requirements for major pollutants, had "fatal flaws."

These recent decisions and EPA actions as reported in the full NYTimes article are leaving industry with questions:

"Right now we find ourselves in the twilight zone," Mr. Dorsey, of Entergy, said. "How do you proceed now? Do we continue to buy emissions allowances? Do we work on putting scrubbers on, or what?"

And what will Dairyland Power do with their plans to install scrubbers in the Genoa Plant and the resulting need for an ash landfill in Vernon County?  Keep tuned into KickTime for the latest.

The NYTimes also provided an interesting podcast with a reporter on the story.

Scott planted the garden on the median early in the morning to avoid detection. He continues to weed and clean. Residents encourage his work. Stealth growers seed or plant on land that doesn't belong to them. The result? Plants that beautify or yield crops in otherwise neglected or vacant spaces.

BRIMMING with lime-hued succulents and a lush collection of agaves, one shooting spiky leaves 10 feet into the air, it's a head-turning garden smack in the middle of Long Beach's asphalt jungle. But the gardener who designed it doesn't want you to know his last name, since his handiwork isn't exactly legit. It's on a traffic island he commandeered. "The city wasn't doing anything with it, and I had a bunch of extra plants," says Scott, as we tour the garden, cars whooshing by on both sides of Loynes Drive.

Scott is a guerrilla gardener, a member of a burgeoning movement of green enthusiasts who plant without approval on land that's not theirs.

more in the full story....

image from recent cleanup

This is a daunting task due to recent additional flood damage in the region. VSN is presently seeking additional supervisory help to manage a work crew of up to twelve workers.  Work hours and days are flexible.