San Francisco parents with school age children often leave the city, hoping to avoid;

a) the public school lottery and b) the price of private schools as alternative.

And according to Marin Magazine’s Tim Porter,
“Facing this kind of math, an increasing number of families with school-age children are moving to southern Marin, pushing up kindergarten enrollment in several high-scoring school districts. Many of these new Marinites are former San Franciscans….. frustrated, either with San Francisco’s school lottery system or the lack of kid friendly housing.”

To Read more from the SF Gate CLICK HERE

Planning on traveling to SFO or Open Homes in San Francisco? Be aware that sections of 19th Avenue in San Francisco may be closed certain weekends starting 11/13/09 (7pm). The sections closed are due to Muni Transit work on streetcar tracks and Water Dept. work on water pipes. However, Thanksgiving, most of December, and New Years will not be impacted.
Planned closures include:
Fri. 11/20 thru Mon. 11/23: CLOSURE of 19th and Judah northbound
Fri. 12/4 thru Sat. 12/5: CLOSURE of 19th and Judah southbound
Sun. 12/6 thru Mon. 12/7: CLOSURE of 19th and Judah northbound
Fri. 1/8 thru Monday 1/11: CLOSURE of 19th anCd Taraval southbound
Fri. 1/15 thru mon. 1/18: CLOSURE of 19th and Taraval northbound
Fri. 1/22 thru Sat. 1/23: CLOSURE of 19th and Taraval southbound
Sun. 1/24 thru Mon. 1/25: CLOSURE of 19th and Taraval northbound

Free H1N1 Flu Vaccine Clinics for High Risk Groups Planned for Marin County Residents Vaccination Clinics have been scheduled throughout Marin County in November and December. These clinics will only be administering the H1N1 vaccine. Vaccine supplies are limited and, therefore, will only be given to higher risk people including:
- Pregnant women
- Persons who live with or provide care for infants younger than 6 months of age
- Health care workers and emergency medical services personnel
- Children and young adults age 6 months – 24 years of age
- Persons 25-64 who have medical conditions that put them at higher risk for influenza-related complications, such as asthma, heart disease, diabetes and immunosuppression.
(Senior Citizens, even with medical conditions, are not included in the CDC priority vaccination groups)
Clinics are scheduled as follows:
Wednesday, November 18th
West Marin Elementary School
11550 Highway 1 @ Point Reyes Station
3-7 pm as supplies last

Thursday, November 19th
Manzanita Recreation Center
630 Drake Avenue, Marin City
9am to 4pm as supplies last

Saturday, December 5th
Novato Teen Center
950 7th Avenue, Novato
9am to 4pm as supplies last
More information is available at the Marin County H1N1Flu website (www.marinflu.org)

A Marin Housing Authority program that makes it possible for low-income residents to buy homes in Marin is continuing to struggle, even though it recently won an 18-month court battle with the banking giant HSBC for possession of a Sausalito condominium.
The court fight kept the condominium in the below-market-rate program. But it cost the Marin County redevelopment agency about $390,000, nearly a quarter of the agency’s yearly tax revenue. County supervisors, who serve as the agency’s board of directors, approved the expenditure.

“There was a concern that a precedent would be set, that we would lose one of our homes to a bank and it would encourage other banks to be more aggressive. We would really be putting our stock of affordable housing at risk,” said Leelee Thomas, a Marin County planner who oversees the county’s affordable housing efforts.

To date, the owners of more than 15 of the 315 homes in the program have experienced financial difficulties that required the housing authority to consider repurchasing the homes. In a number of cases, the owners took out second mortgages in violation of the program’s rules, then defaulted.

Participants in the below-market-rate housing program sign agreements giving the Marin Housing Authority the right to repurchase the homes at a restricted price, far below the market, if the participants violate the terms of the program, default or over-encumber the property with loans. To read the full story from the Marin IJ CLICK HERE

The House today and the Senate yesterday passed legislation to extend the $8,000 home buyer tax credit to May 1, 2010, for first-time buyers and add a $6,500 tax credit for repeat buyers if they’ve lived in their home for five of the past eight years. Home prices are capped at $800,000.

The legislation in both houses was included in a bill to extend unemployment benefits and is expected to be signed by President Obama shortly.

“REALTORS® appreciate the swift action by Congress to extend the home buyer tax credit and expand it to some current homeowners,” says NAR President Charles McMillan. “As the leading advocate of housing and real estate issues, we urge President Obama to sign this legislation into law quickly to keep the momentum going in the fragile recovery of the nation’s housing market.”

Under the bill, income limits are expanded to $125,000 for individuals and $225,000 for joint filers. Individuals with incomes up to $145,000 and joint filers with incomes up to $245,000 qualify for reduced credits.

Households who have binding contracts in place by April 30 will be allowed an additional 60 days to complete their transaction. The deadline for members of the military serving out the U.S. for at least 90 days between Jan. 1, 2009, and May 1, 2010, has been extended one year.

Taxpayers can claim the credit on their federal income tax returns. If the credit exceeds their tax bill, the government will issue a check. Taxpayers will be able to claim the credit on their 2009 income tax return for purchases made in 2010.

For more information on the credit CLICK HERE

Source: The Associated Press (11/5/2009)

The second season of the Bay Area’s crackdown on wood burning began on Sunday . The rule will be in place from Nov. through Feb. 28 and outlaws the use of wood-burning devices including fireplaces, pellet stoves, wood stoves and outdoor fire pits on “Spare the Air” days.

Last winter the Bay Area Air Quality Management District launched a zero-tolerance policy for wood smoke on “Spare the Air” days, when weather conditions make it likely that smoke will hang in the air and cause particulate pollution, making it hard for some people to breathe.
On bad-air nights during the winter, smoke from 1.4 million fireplaces and wood stoves in the Bay Area accounts for a third of the air pollution outpacing cars, which account for 23 percent of the pollution.

A violation of the ban can vary from a warning the first time and is subject to a $400.00 fine for repeated violations.
There are expected to be between 15 and 20 Spare the Air alerts during the season and
the rule applies to the nine-county Bay Area region, which serves a population of about 7 million people.

For more information go to http://www.sparetheair.org

In just two hours, learn how to safely and confidently ride your bike on the roads. Topics covered include how to avoid crashes and citations, improve visibility, ride between and through intersections, and learn your legal rights and obligations. Check WalkBikeMarin or the Marin County Bicycle Coalition websites for more information. Individuals must be 16 or older and advance registration is required. Registration is free and can be done online through either of those two websites. The next class will be held on Monday, November 9 from 6:30-8:30 pm at the Sausalito Parks and Recreation Department.

These classes are implemented by the Marin County Bicycle Coalition in their ongoing effort to improve bicycle safety in Marin County.

Thinking of relocating to Sausalito? Be afraid, very afraid….Naah…On Saturday, Oct 24th some of the local Sausalicians turned out for the Thriller re-enactment. What a town. We get a bad rap some times for being a bit “stuck up” but then there’s the other side.

State Superintendent of Public Instruction Jack O’Connell congratulated Tamiscal High School in Larkspur as one of three California public schools selected by a joint project of the California Consortium for Independent Study and the California Department of Education to receive the Exemplary Independent Study Recognition Award (EISRA).
“California’s public school system provides viable options that parents can use to create the best learning environment for their children,” said O’Connell. Tamiscal High School has exemplary independent study programs that challenge students with a rigorous academic program, and provide flexibility and personalization. This individualized approach is the right fit for some students, and these schools have a great track record of helping such students succeed academically. By receiving this award, these schools are designated as shining examples for other independent study programs to emulate.”

Independent study is authorized by California Education Code sections 51745–51749.3. This is an alternative educational instructional strategy for students in kindergarten through adult education who may be gifted, have special challenges, need targeted instruction, or want an individualized approach to education. Students work on their own according to written agreements and under the general supervision of credentialed teachers. While independent study students follow the district-adopted curriculum and meet the district graduation requirements, independent study offers flexibility to meet individual students’ needs, interests, and styles of learning.

Independent study is available only as a voluntary option chosen by students and parents. Students cannot be assigned to independent study. Independent study is also offered at the district’s option, and it is not available in all districts. Districts can operate independent study as a program within a school or as stand-alone alternative school of choice or charter school.

Tamiscal High School in Larkspur (Marin County) is in the Tamalpais Union High School District. This California Distinguished High School provides individualized instruction in one-on-one meetings that are described as “a weekly oral defense of the knowledge that the student has acquired that week,” as well as required small group mathematics and science laboratories and individual tutoring as needed. A “Distinguished School” designation means a school has demonstrated educational excellence for all students and progress in narrowing the achievement gap that exists between higher- and lower-performing students.

The EISRA is designed to recognize excellent educational practices in schools where independent study is the primary mode of instruction. Eligible applicants must have 75 percent or more of the school’s students enrolled in independent study, a statewide Academic Performance Index rank of 6 or above, and may not be in Program Improvement. Schools also must demonstrate compliance with all legal requirements for independent study. (The Academic Performance Index is the state’s accountability model. Program Improvement is a federal plan to help schools improve academically.)

As part of the EISRA application, staff, parents/guardians, and students provide narrative supporting statements and applicants provide information on seven independent study elements. The elements include local educational agency support, teacher quality, standards-aligned curriculum and materials, assessment of student academic achievement, among other elements. Schools receive the EISRA designation for three years, and the recipient schools must submit an annual assurance in order to maintain the title.

For more information on independent study and the EISRA, please visit Independent Study – Educational Options. For the California Consortium for Independent Study, please visit CCIS – California Consortium for Independent Study [http://www.ccis.org] (Outside Source).
Written by Imperial Valley News
Tuesday, 20 October 2009

The number of default notices filed against Marin homeowners in the third quarter of this year jumped 66 percent compared with the same quarter in 2008. What does this mean to you? It’s time to be a brave buyer, take the plunge and be glad you did.
To see the foreclosure activity in Marin County CLICK HERE