Master Landscaping
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The Zoning Board of Appeals last night granted permission for a local landscaper to set up shop at Sabatinelli’s old contractor’s yard on Dilla Street, but criticized plans for a new sign at Quarry Square.

Despite one member’s objections, the Zoning Board supported a plan by John Mullen of Landscape Depot to replace the scrap metal and junky old trucks now on site with storage bins, mulch, crushed rock and decorative stone.

Before the board granted a special permit, Michael P. Visconti objected, worrying the business opening would be “two giant steps backwards for traffic flow” on the busy street.

“It’s dangerous and slow enough as it is,” he said.

Meanwhile, other members and Building Commissioner Anthony DeLuca, who was on hand, saw the business plan as something positive.

“This is our chance to clean up another eyesore in the town of Milford,” DeLuca said.

Attorney Joseph Antonellis said Mullen will sign a lease and clean up the land, which has contaminated spots and junk left around from its former industrial use.

The business will appeal mostly to local landscaping companies who can drive in and truck away materials, but also to residents, who would likely hire contractors to move the goods or request delivery, Antonellis said.

In a letter of support, Town Planner Larry Dunkin wrote the proposed use of the property at 57<+>1<+>/<->2<-> Dilla St. “will be an improvement to the property and to the neighborhood.”

According to Mullen’s plan, as Antonellis explained it, the Landscape Depot in Upton will pick up and re-route here in Milford.

“This is sort of a no-brainer in terms of improving,” said board member Laura Mann. “It makes sense to do it.”

Landscape Depot also has shops in Westborough and Framingham.

In terms of traffic issues here, “the traffic that will be generated can exit easily onto Dilla Street,” according to the applicant’s petition for variance.

“The sight lines for entering and exiting the premises are sufficient to allow for safe and easy access.”

In other business last night, the board criticized plans for a larger, internally illuminated directional sign for Quarry Square at the intersection of Quarry Drive and Fortune Boulevard.

Members objected to plans for the 8-foot-wide by 30-foot-high sign to be placed in an island, concerned it would block the sight line for tractor-trailer truck drivers who frequently stop there to come and go.

“All of a sudden, there’s an accident,” Mann said. “Right now, it’s a nightmare - I think if anything it’ll make it worse.”

Said member David Pyne: “I think it’s a terrible idea for a location like this; it’s horrible.”

He noted it “definitely makes it more unsafe” there, and suggested the sign be moved from the island to one side of the road.

Tags: anthony deluca, antonellis, board member, board of appeals, building commissioner, busy street, crushed rock, giant steps, gt 2, john mullen, landscape, landscaper, Landscaping, landscaping companies, laura mann, mulch, old trucks, request delivery, s yard, storage bins, town planner, traffic flow, traffic issues, westborough, zoning board
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Six months after the controversial Large House Review bylaw passed overwhelmingly at Town Meeting, the first three houses to trigger it are making their way through the process. And so far, according to Planning Board Chairman Tom Frisardi, everything is going “extremely smoothly.”

Three properties — 29 Standish Circle, 56 Cypress Road and 69 Windsor Road — are guinea pigs of sorts, the first Wellesley houses large enough to have required review by the Design Review Board and the Planning Board. All three have already appeared before the DRB and once before the Planning Board; all three will appear once more before the Planning Board this month, hoping for their stamp of approval.

“So far it’s going very well,” said Frisardi, whose board found the comments from the Design Review Board “very helpful.” All three homeowners have been asked to implement some of the suggestions of the DRB before returning to the Planning Board for the second time.

Overall, the board has been “very pleased” with how things are going, Frisardi said. “After all that work — with something so new for the town, I think we were all nervous, but it’s gone very well.”

Frisardi attributes the smooth implementation of the bylaw in large part to the procedure the Planning Board developed late last year. “We’re not improvising anything,” he said.

He was somewhat surprised, though, to discover just how well the board was “able to get a feel for how the proposed new house would fit into its surroundings,” he said. “We’ve been getting very useful information from the applicants.”

That information, required with the Large House Review application, includes site plans for both the house and the landscaping, and photographs of other homes in the neighborhood, among other things. All three applicants have “done a great job” putting together presentation materials, said Planning Board member Barbara Lehmann.

Both Frisardi and Lehmann found the applicants to be cooperative throughout the process. “I thought we had a good dialogue with everyone,” Frisardi said. “We are obviously getting different reactions to it, but we had civil dialogue with all three.”

Of the three houses, only 29 Standish Circle really raised any concerns for board members, in terms of the size. The proposed house, which would have a 6,108-square-foot Total Living Area plus Garage — significantly larger than the set 4,300 TLA for its district — is surrounded by other large houses on its side of the street, but sits across from homes that are significantly smaller. For four of the five Planning Board members, that was cause for concern.

But, Lehmann said, the plans for the house were “very well done. They made a real effort to make it attractive and make it interesting. And they worked a lot on the landscaping.” It was clear, she added, “that they were making an effort.”

The other two houses are both in larger Single Residence Districts, and are in neighborhoods that generally have larger homes. The proposal for 69 Windsor Road, which is currently 3,413 square feet, would increase the house to 6,138 square feet, or just over the set 5,900-square-foot TLA for the district. Also in a 20,000-square-foot district is 56 Cypress Road, which, if it gets the green light, will be 7,002 square feet.

Tags: amp, board chairman, board member, drb, guinea pigs, Landscaping, planning board, presentation materials, second time, square feet, stamp of approval, standish, suggestion, surroundings, wellesley, windsor road
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Preschool students in Swedeborg will soon have their own pint-sized playground with miniature items suited for their smaller bodies.

Worth nearly $5,000, the playground equipment was purchased with a grant that requires the school to separate the equipment from other items on the playground that are designed for older elementary students. Installing the equipment shouldn’t be a concern, according to District Administrator Joel Carey.

“We’ve got enough volunteers around here that I don’t think labor will be a problem,” Carey said during Monday night’s school board meeting.

Fencing and gravel, however, could cost a substantial sum. Carey said the district’s insurance company agent has warned that more pea gravel is needed for the playground and said it must be at least six inches deep around each piece of playground equipment.

“They couldn’t care less about where the kids run; they’re concerned about where they play,” Carey said.
Board members said they believe it’s been about a half-decade since school officials purchased more pea gravel, though they’ve dug it up and moved it around several times. Landscaping Stone Periodic replenishment with new gravel is likely unavoidable, said board member Greg Black.

“With freezing and thawing and all the kids out here, it’ll work its way in, that’s all there is to it,” Black said.

Board President Chris Black said in the past, quarry owner Bobby Laughlin has been willing to donate the gravel if someone else will haul it; board member Jamie Alexander said the company for which he works, Security Bank, owns a gravel plant but said he doesn’t know if it can produce pea gravel.

Carey took board members outside to show them the existing playground equipment and explain his plans to install a fence dividing the playground into two parts, with the preschool playground having its own entrance closer to the modular classroom that’s used for the preschool program. Carey said a larger metal jungle gym is embedded in concrete and will have to be cut out and moved to the playground for older children, but a smaller jungle gym can be moved easily since it’s not embedded in concrete.

Carey asked whether the school district should seek bids on fencing or arrange for volunteers to install it. Board members agreed that hiring a professional fencing company is important due to a steep slope down a hill and because insurance agents will be checking the fence. Landscaping Stone “It’s going to be looked at; it’s not like nobody will notice it,” said board member Wayne King.

Landscaping Stone In other facilities-related matters, Carey said he’s arranged for volunteers from a garden club in Richland to do landscaping for the Swedeborg School and is working with students to do landscaping as a math and science project for students. Students will use the skills they’re taught in math class to calculate a budget for landscaping and science skills to design the project; the best set of plans submitted by students will be used as the plan for landscaping the school.

Tags: andscaping Contractor, board member, fence, gravel, Landscaping, Landscaping Contractor, Landscaping Stone, minis, rta
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Saginaw Board of Education members approved spending more than a half-million dollars on landscaping, computers and furniture for the new Thompson Middle School.

The district will pay $40,000 to Tri-Valley Landscaping for work on the multi-acre campus.

Officials awarded a $226,098.48 contract to Yeo & Yeo for laptop computers at the school. All the classrooms at Thompson are equipped with wireless Internet.

Holland-based Dew-El Corp. will supply desks, chairs, file cabinets, study carrels and art and science tables for $282,860.90.

Computer and cafeteria tables from St. Clair Shores-based Great Lakes Furniture & Supply will cost the district $47,239.90.

Wenger Corp. of Owatonna, Minn., will charge the district $38,589 for music chairs, stands and storage.

The charges, which board members approved Wednesday, total almost $635,000.
The money for the landscaping, furniture and computers will come from the bond that voters approved in August 2004.

Thompson Middle will open this fall to students in sixth, seventh and eighth grades.

Tags: amp, board member, Landscaping, money
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School board member and Christchurch Christian Schools co-ordinator Andy van Ameyde said the small private Queenstown school had room for up to 50 or 60 in its new Frankton premises.
At present it had two teachers for its 21 pupils, who ranged from new entrants through to Year 8.
%26quot;Were a small independent school and our fees at the moment are $4000 a year, but our board has decided to reduce that to $1600 a year,%26quot; Mr van Ameyde said.
The school applied 18 months ago to the Education Ministry to be integrated into the state school system but the ministrys decision has been put on hold until its Wakatipu area strategy for schools had been completed, he said.
State integration would pay for teachers salaries and operating costs.
The school board had decided to substantially lower its fees in the meantime to make the school more affordable.
Under integration the school would teach the state curriculum but with a special Christian-Protestant character, just like Catholic schools taught with a Roman Catholic flavour and Maori schools with a Kura Kaupapa component, Mr van Ameyde said.
%26quot;Were working towards teaching the New Zealand curriculum.
Teachers (from Southern Lakes Christian School) are coming to Christchurch for professional development once a term.%26quot; The school could already take 20 more pupils with the two teachers it had at present and its spacious new premises in the Frankton Arms complex had plenty of room for more.
%26quot;Weve got room for more pupils … theres been a whole raft of bad news about the capacity pressures on schools and this is some good news,%26quot; Mr van Ameyde said.
The school had Queenstown Lakes District Council permission to use the huge adjacent Frankton lakefront reserve as its supervised playground and had also recently upgraded its computer suite thanks to community grants.
%26quot;Because were small we can do different things.%26quot; The school board was just waiting for the ministrys area strategy to be completed so its integration could be approved.
%26quot;At the moment people are sending their kids to integrated special character Christian schools like John McGlashan and St Hildas (in Dunedin) we believe parents need the choice.%26quot; Public open days will be held on April 9 and 16 and May 7 and 14 from 9am until midday.

Tags: board member, minis
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The board asked staff to explore lease and rental options late last year following a recommendation the building being sold.
The Southland Museum and Art Gallery Trust Board holds a lease on the property, which is subleased by the Citizens Advice Bureau, Vibrant Invercargill and the Troopers Memorial Trust.
In a report to the board tabled at a meeting yesterday, regional chief financial officer Robert Mackway-Jones said discussions with Community Trust of Southland regarding lease agreements for the building had been unsuccessful.
Community groups would need to own the building to access funding to maintain the building.
The best outcome would be achieved by the sale of the building, a historic place, the report says.
Ngai Tahu, which has first right of refusal for the property, had been informed of the community interest in the property.
The board voted to to lodge an application with the Minister of Health seeking approval to sell the land and put the proceeds from the sale toward demolition work on the Southland Hospital site.
Board member and Te Runanga o Otakou chairman Tahu Potiki declared an interest and abstained from voting.

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A Senate committee endorsed a bill Monday to increase the number of state appointees of the Utah Transit Authority’s Board of Trustees by three.

Under SB231, the governor, House Speaker and Senate President would each appoint an additional member to the UTA Board, increasing its membership to 19. In addition, a non-voting member of the board from the state Transportation Commission would be allowed to vote under the Legislation.

Sponsoring Sen. Sheldon Killpack, R-Syracuse, said his bill is a reflection of the increasingly statewide demographic that UTA serves. At present, board members are selected by local government officials, and not by the state.

“We’re taking a significant step and adding members of the board, but as some would say, we are not overstepping at this point,” Killpack said.

No member of the committee spoke in opposition to the bill. Michael Packard, a Sandy engineer and long-time opponent of rail transit, said he wished the measure would do more to change the structure of UTA.

A second bill, HB188, has been proposed that would require more changes to the role of the UTA board, but has yet to receive a committee hearing. Killpack’s measure now moves to the Senate floor for debate.

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GEORGE TOWN, Cayman Islands: A US government report has raised serious concerns about standards of crew training on some cruise ships, including those that operate in the Caribbean. The report, just released by the National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB), reveals that an incident, which occurred on 18 July 2006 and resulted in 14 people on board the Crown Princess receiving serious injuries with a further 284 slightly injured, could have been avoided by better training. According to the report, %26ldquo;The probable cause of an accident involving the cruise ship Crown Princess was the Second Officer%26rsquo;s incorrect wheel commands, executed first to counter an unanticipated high rate of turn and then to counter the vessel%26rsquo;s heeling. Contributing to the cause of the accident were the Captain%26rsquo;s and Staff Captain%26rsquo;s inappropriate inputs to the vessel%26rsquo;s integrated navigation system while it was travelling at high speed in relatively shallow water, their failure to stabilise the vessel%26rsquo;s heading fluctuations before leaving the bridge, and the inadequate training of crewmembers in the use of integrated navigation systems.%26rdquo;

Princess Cruise Lines’ Crown Princess

The incident is reported to have begun after the vessel, which had been in service about a month and was coming to the end of 10-day cruise, left Port Canaveral, Florida for New York. The vessel had just retunred from cruising in the Caribbean. About an hour after departing, and 11 miles off the Florida coast, it is reported that the vessel%26rsquo;s automatic navigation system caused the ship%26rsquo;s heading to fluctuate around its intended course. Alarmed by a perceived high rate of turn, the Second Officer attempted to take corrective action that resulted in the ship heeling to a maximum angle of about 24 degrees to starboard. This caused people to be thrown about or struck by unsecured objects, injuring passengers and crewmembers. The vessel incurred no damage to its structure but sustained considerable damage to unsecured interior components, cabinets, and their contents. Maritime experts say that, on a vessel the size of Crown Princess, a list of anything more than 10 degrees should be regarded as, %26ldquo;extreme.%26rdquo; The report adopted by the NTSB states that the Crown Princess was operating at nearly full speed when the Second Officer took the controls. Because of instabilities in the automatic steering system, they faced the problem of navigating a vessel that exhibited both increasing course deviations and high rates of turn. The Second Officer took manual control of the steering and steered back and forth between port and starboard in increasingly wider turns. Rather than remedying the problem, the Second Officer%26rsquo;s actions aggravated the situation, resulting in a very large angle of heel. The Captain quickly returned to the bridge and brought the vessel under control by centring the rudder and reducing speed. The NTSB concluded that the incident occurred because the Second Officer initially turned the wheel to port, when he should have turned it to starboard to counteract the turn. The NTSB also stated that the Captain and Staff Captain made errors with regard to the ship%26rsquo;s integrated navigation system. These errors included:

Failure to recognise that the integrated navigation system could be unpredictable at high speed in shallow water.

Failure to recognise that the rudder economy and rudder limit settings on the integrated navigation system were inappropriate for the vessel%26rsquo;s speed and operating conditions.

The NTSB concluded that these errors stemmed from inadequate training and lack of familiarity with the integrated navigation system.

As a result of its investigation, they made recommendations regarding integrated navigation system training to the US Coast Guard, the Cruise Lines International Association, and to SAM Electronics and Sperry Marine, manufacturers of integrated navigation systems. A week after the accident, Princess Cruises, a unit of Miami-based Carnival Corp., publicly blamed the incident on %26ldquo;human error,%26rdquo; and said it had removed the personnel from active duty pending investigation. Following the release of the NTSB report, Princess Cruises again observed that the accident was the %26ldquo;unfortunate result of human error%26rdquo; but said that it has since implemented %26ldquo;many measures designed to keep a similar situation from occurring.%26rdquo; Among the measures introduced, they cited more training for deck officers, strengthened oversight, improved hand-over procedures, and new advisers who report on bridge operations, onboard emergency-response procedures and staff training. The statement continued, %26ldquo;We want to assure our passengers, or those who may be thinking about travelling with Princess, that the highest priority for our company is the safety and well-being of our passengers and crew.%26rdquo; NTSB members also voted to recommend changes as a result of the accident. The board said the US Coast Guard should propose to the International Maritime Organization (IMO) that crew training on %26lsquo;integrated navigation systems%26rsquo; like the one aboard the Crown Princess be mandatory. The agency also said the IMO should require that data recorders aboard cruise ships note all heel angles. In the meantime, board members said the Cruise Lines International Association, the trade association for the industry, should voluntarily adopt the extra training should international law not require it. They also narrowly approved language calling on the trade group to ask its members to provide key crew members with, %26ldquo;unanticipated scenario,%26rdquo; training. %26ldquo;It really is the stress that [the second officer] was under that probably caused him to make that inexplicable mistake,%26rdquo; commented NTSB member Kitty Higgins. %26ldquo;We see from this accident the importance of having adequate training,%26rdquo; said the NTSB%26rsquo;s Mark V Rosenker. %26ldquo;Had the crew been better trained in the equipment they were using, this accident may not have occurred, and implementing our recommendations is one way to help ensure this.%26rdquo; Transportation law firm Kreindler %26amp; Kreindler LLP represents 31 passengers in a lawsuit filed in a Los Angeles court. The suit claims the passengers suffered physical and psychological injuries when the ship listed, emptying swimming pools and tossing people and furniture around the decks. They say people in cabins saw water rising up over their windows while on the other side people looking out saw nothing but sky. %26ldquo;We agree with the NTSB%26rsquo;s findings regarding the crew failures, but we are independently reviewing the evidence and will undertake further investigation into the reasons for the port listing, the instrument panel display, whether there was a mechanical failure of a system and the officer%26rsquo;s reaction,%26rdquo; said Kreindler %26amp; Kreindler partner Dan Rose. Kreindler %26amp; Kreindler%26rsquo;s comments on the report also read, %26ldquo;Training and practice of such vital controls should not be done during a cruise with passengers on board, obviously. The accident and injuries would likely have been avoided if the crew had received adequate systems training.%26rdquo; The Crown Princess was launched in June 2006, with much fanfare, and christened by celebrity Martha Stewart. The vessel is 951 feet long, was built in Italy at a cost of US$400 million, can hold over 4000 passengers and crew and is registered in Bermuda. Crown Princess continues to visit Caribbean destinations on long cruises out of New York. In March 2006, another Princess line vessel, Star Princess, suffered severe damage after a fire broke out en route from Grand Cayman to Montego Bay, Jamaica. Before the fire was brought under control, 79 cabins were destroyed and a further 204 damaged by smoke or water. One passenger died in the fire and a further 11 required medical treatment. In the case, the UK%26rsquo;s Marine Accident Investigation Board investigated the incident. Their report recommended that a number of safety measures, including improved staff training, be introduced.

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Benaroya Companies says it plans to appeal a decision by the Seattle Landmarks Preservation Board to declare the now boarded-up Ballard Denny’s a landmark.

The board’s decision Wednesday to designate the 1964 structure a landmark against the advice of its own staff surprised Benaroya Companies, which bought the one-acre parcel in 2006 for $12.5 million and planned to sell it to a condominium developer.

The landmark designation also drew spirited public response. On The Seattle Times’ Web site Thursday, most readers posting comments were incredulous, saying the structure did not merit landmark status. A few praised the board, saying the building represented Ballard before condos took it over.

Opened as Manning’s Cafeteria in 1964 and converted to a Denny’s in 1983, the building at the corner of Northwest Market Street and 15th Avenue Northwest is recognized for its distinct upswept roofline.

But city staff members say the deteriorating structure lacks many of the original materials and finishes that defined its architectural character, a style that includes some features of what’s known as Googie architecture.

Supporters of preserving the building said restoration was possible.

“Despite years of poor maintenance and bad alterations [such as the dropped ceiling], this building was and remains a solid piece of original, creative architecture,” wrote architect Alan Hess, a critic for the San Jose Mercury News and author of a book on Googie-style buildings. “The essential architectural characteristics of this Mannings remain, and can be restored.”

At Wednesday’s hearing, some board members also remarked about ways to return the building to its original style.

In January, members of the 11-member board which includes architects, historians, a structural engineer and a real-estate manager overwhelmingly supported the nomination of the building for landmark status, the first step in a long process of preserving old buildings.

But board staffers and Benaroya’s attorney warned the board before Wednesday’s designation vote that, under the city’s preservation law, the board’s decision must be based on the current physical appearance of the building not on the possibility of restoration. “By voting to designate it, the board is allowing it to stay in its current condition,” Louie Richmond, a spokesman for Benaroya Companies, said Thursday. “It can’t be about emotion and about sentimentality. It has to be about the law. If you don’t like the way the laws are drawn up, you need to change the laws.”

Under the city’s rules, once the board designates a landmark, the staff negotiates a “controls and incentives agreement” with the owner that stipulates what features must be preserved and whether the city can grant waivers to zoning or building codes to encourage preservation.

If the owner declines to participate, the staff submits an agreement for approval to the board, and the board files this agreement with the city hearing examiner.

According to city code, the hearing examiner cannot impose the agreement on the property owner if the effect would be “to prevent the owner from realizing a reasonable return” on the property.

John McCullough, the attorney representing Benaroya Companies, said it would not be difficult to show a hearing examiner that banning demolition would mean a financial loss for the owners.

Though preservationists and some community residents are celebrating Wednesday’s decision, it’s still possible Benaroya could prevail on appeal.

In the mid-1970s, as developers were demolishing several area historic theaters, the city proposed landmark status for the Music Hall at Seventh Avenue and Olive. The owners, the Clise family, fought the proposal, but the theater was declared a landmark in 1977, according to Historylink.org.

The family appealed to a hearing examiner and won.

The family’s plans to redevelop the property prompted a successful effort to redesignate the Music Hall a landmark. Again the family appealed and won, with a hearing examiner saying landmark status should not preclude a property owner’s right to make a profit. The theater was demolished in 1991.

Sanjay Bhatt: 206-464-3103 or %26#115;%26#98;%26#104;%26#97;%26#116;%26#116;%26#64;%26#115;%26#101;%26#97;%26#116;%26#116;%26#108;%26#101;%26#116;%26#105;%26#109;%26#101;%26#115;%26#46;%26#99;%26#111;%26#109;

Tags: acre parcel, board member, community residents, developers
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Google “Healdsburg” and youll get more than 3.5 million hits, many related to the Northern California communitys phenomenal growth and popularity as a visitor destination. The Healdsburg Jazz Festival, now in its tenth year, has been a partner in that growth. The festival would not be as successful without the rise of the towns prominence, and the town relies on independent efforts like the jazz festival to introduce new people to its small town charm. As each grows, so does the other.

About the Town 25 years ago, Healdsburg was the quintessential sleepy farm town, known for its quiet taverns and busy hardware stores. Now, the historic Downtown Plaza is surrounded by hip hotels, boutiques, bakeries and coffee shops. The Healdsburg area is also home to more than 100 wineries, from family-owned boutique wineries to internationally recognized brands.

About the Festival The Healdsburg Jazz Festival is one of the premier cultural events in Northern California. The festival truly inhabits the town for ten days every year. Instead of a parade of musicians on a massive stage, the Healdsburg Jazz Festival performances are held in wineries, theaters, ballparks, hotel lobbies, cafs and restaurants, giving jazz fans a chance to see musicians in an intimate setting. The festival has always focused on jazz as an authentic American art form no smooth jazz allowed.

About the Connection The jazz artists become immersed in the community, making downtown Healdsburg feel like the “backstage” of the festival. The Musicians conduct workshops and perform in the schools. They have coffee in downtown coffee shops, and stay in volunteers’ homes. Don’t be surprised if you see a few while dining at a local restaurant or browsing in one of the bookstores.

About the Area In addition to outstanding jazz, great food, award-winning wineries, and the magnificent weather of Sonoma County, within an hour of Healdsburg are redwood forests, the Pacific Ocean, antique stores, farms, galleries and golf.

The Healdsburg Jazz Festival, one of Northern Californias premier cultural events, celebrates its ten-year anniversary by presenting an all-star lineup of world-class musicians performing in intimate wine country venues this June.

Performers, including artists new to the festival and returning alumni, range from Fred Hersch to Bobby Hutcherson, from Eddie Palmieri to Charlie Haden, from Pete Escovedo to Zakir Hussain and much more.

Every year we try to make the jazz festival better, but this will definitely be our biggest and best yet, said Jessica Felix, founder and Artistic Director for the festival.

I am really excited about the outstanding lineup for this year and to once again bring a diverse and accomplished group of musicians to Healdsburg.

The jazz festival kicks off on Friday, May 30, with the Fred Hersch Trio and special guest Kurt Elling playing at the beautiful Jackson Theater, located a few minutes south of Healdsburg. The festival stays at the Jackson Theater the next evening for a concert featuring a beloved and internationally-acclaimed saxophonist (name withheld until April 1 due to contractual obligations).

As the festival progresses, it will traverse the jazz spectrum. Special event highlights include: Latin Jazz on the Green, an outdoor afternoon with the Eddie Palmieri and Pete Escovedo bands; Jazz Night at the Movies, with rare archival films from jazz film historian Mark Cantor; and Come Sunday, a Sunday morning performance of spirituals and sacred jazz music, with mezzo-soprano Ruth Naomi Floyd, a world-renowned vocalist who interprets traditional spirituals with impeccable jazz chops.

The concerts this year will be phenomenal, said Felix, with performances that include an evening with Charlie Haden, Kenny Barron and Joshua Redman, The Music of Eric Dolphy with Bennie Maupin and James Newton, the Cedar Walton Trio, the Bobby Hutcherson Quartet, the Julian Lage Trio, the John Heard Trio, and an All-Star Alumni Band on the last day at Rodney Strong Vineyards, featuring many of the great players from 10 years of the festival. Theyll all be coming on stage for a grand finale to help us close out the festival in grand style.

Veteran jazz fans and newcomers to the genre will find plenty to appreciate at the Healdsburg Jazz Festival, with intimate performances held in theaters, hotel lobbies, cafs, restaurants, wineries, ballparks, and the town square.

Circe Sher, a jazz festival board member and the marketing director for Hotel Healdsburg, a festival sponsor, is enthusiastic about how the festival fits with the Healdsburg community. The Healdsburg Jazz Festival combines great classic jazz with beautiful venues and the charm of Healdsburg. Both visitors and locals pack the venues and the town is abuzz with music. Its a great time to be in Healdsburg.

The festival has a dedicated corps of volunteers. Im so grateful to the community of Healdsburg for making this festival work, said Felix. People open their homes to musicians, restaurants help keep them fed, and local businesses support us as well.

Lynn Woznicki, the former CEO of the Healdsburg Chamber of Commerce, was an early supporter of the festival. Its proven to be a tremendous gift to our community, said Woznicki. Driven by a group of passionate volunteers, its been rewarding to watch their dreams of a world-class festival come true.

The Healdsburg Jazz Festival mission includes more than just great performances. According to Felix, the real heart of the festival is our Jazz Education Program. The program this year is the biggest ever, with performing and learning opportunities for every child in our community.

From classes in dance and drumming for the youngest, to hands-on tutoring for high school jazz players, the festival brings professional musicians and educators into area classrooms throughout the spring. Our festival is about so much more than ticket sales, said Felix. We are as dedicated to teaching young musicians to play and to building an audience of jazz aficionados, as we are to filling seats at the performances. Our experience with this festival is that it has helped build a stronger community as much as it has fostered appreciation for this great American art form.

The Healdsburg Jazz Festival will sponsor several free concerts, including in one in the Healdsburg Plaza on Tuesday, June 3, as part of the Tuesday Picnic and Concert Series. Other events range in price from $10 to $60, including a variety of events for students and their families. For ticket and venue information, call 707-433-4644 or visit www.healdsburgjazzfestival.org

It Only Happens In Healdsburg

Imagine a small town with more than 100 wineries nearby, gourmet restaurants and bakeries, galleries on every street, and live jazz three or more nights a week. A genuine American small town, Healdsburg is at a comfortable juncture of hip and historic. Its the perfect place for a great jazz festival. Healdsburg is awash in creativity, drawing the most innovative chefs, the best winemakers, and fine artists in every medium. Its a living metaphor for jazz.

Like the town it inhabits, the Healdsburg Jazz Festival is more interested in quality than quantity, more focused on high standards and fresh ideas. Founded 10 years ago, the jazz festival started small, with an unusual purpose. Something called smooth jazz was taking over the radio airwaves, and there was talk about a smooth jazz festival coming to Healdsburg.

Fans of the authentic jazz art form knew that jazz impresario Jessica Felix had recently moved to Healdsburg from the Bay Area. Jessica had already booked a few concerts in local venues, and was easily persuaded to start a hometown festival that celebrated real jazz.

From the beginning, Jessica insisted on booking quality musicians, treating them well, and introducing them to the community. Jazz bassist Charlie Haden calls Jessica a jazz angel for the way she treats musicians and for her unswerving dedication to music. Jessica doesnt do it alone. An orchestra of volunteers works all year, planning publicity, logistics, fund-raising, and events.

The festival has grown from a three-day event in a local movie house to a ten-day jazz experience. For a week-and-a-half at the beginning of June each year, Healdsburg maybe the hippest small town in California is the center of the jazz world.

In 2008, the Healdsburg Jazz Festival will celebrate its tenth year in grand style, bringing back a decades worth of exceptional musicians for its biggest festival yet. For ten days, the festival will take over the town, with concerts in theaters, restaurants, ballparks, wineries, hotel lobbies, and a free concert in the town square.

In addition to performances, the festival sponsors films, lectures, and workshops. The community has also embraced the festival. Local businesses sponsor events, families open their homes to musicians, and restaurants offer special menu items, often named after jazz tunes. San Francisco jazz musicians say Healdsburg has better, more respectful listeners than the Bay Area.

The musicians at this years Healdsburg Jazz Festival include Fred Hersch, Cedar Walton, Eddie Palmieri, Bobby Hutcherson, Zakir Hussain, Kenny Barron, Charlie Haden, James Newton, Kurt Elling, Joshua Redman, Jason Moran, Renee Rosnes, Julian Lage, Don Byron, George Cables, Pete Escovedo, and many more. Other programs include an evening of jazz films, a Sunday morning performance of spirituals, a day of Latin Jazz on the lawn, and special concerts that will educate and involve the children of the community.

The concerts are sublime, the early summer weather is always wonderful, and the food and wine in Healdsburg are matchless, but its the Jazz Education Program that is truly the heart of the festival. Every student in the area can participate in programs in school and after school, including Operation Jazz Band, a week-long program for fifth-graders that communicates the joy of musical expression. Professional musicians work with local students on both fun and fundamentals. In the last decade, thousands of local students have become jazz fans while developing their own unique creativity and talent.

This year, the Jazz Education Program will include a return visit from a Healdsburg native, jazz composer and trumpeter Sarah Wilson, who will conduct workshops and perform an original composition with the Healdsburg High School Jazz Band. Latin Jazz performer and historian John Santos will highlight a series of innovative history lessons and performances on Latin Jazz at local secondary schools. Drum master and educator Tacuma King will bring his charismatic blend of dance, song, and drumming to local elementary schools.

The Jazz Education Program will also sponsor Don Byrons Bug Music for Juniors, an extraordinary exploration of the Swing Era that combines live jazz, classic cartoons, and historic film footage. Performed on Broadway, this performance is jazz education at its most exciting and entertaining.

The festival will also include Come Sunday, a Sunday morning performance of spirituals and sacred jazz compositions featuring James Newton, the George Cables Trio, and the mesmerizing mezzo-soprano Ruth Naomi Floyd.

The Healdsburg Jazz Festival is now on the radar of jazz fans from all over the world. When she founded the festival, Jessica wondered whether a rural community would support a jazz festival the way an urban city might, but it went together like a good jazz combo, thriving on the alchemy of talent, improvisation, and creative freedom.

THE HEART OF THE FESTIVAL

The Healdsburg Jazz Festival has made education a major part of its mission since its inception. In fact, festival founder and Artistic Director, Jessica Felix, calls education the real heart of the festival. According to Felix, the program this year is the biggest ever, with performing and learning opportunities for every child in the community.

From classes in dance and drumming for the youngest, to hands-on tutoring for high school jazz players, the festival brings professional musicians and educators into area classrooms. Elizabeth Haze Vega, a Healdsburg teacher, author and musician, is effusive in her praise for the festivals educational mission. I have taught music in five of our Healdsburg area schools, and I recognize that this wonderful program is unique to our town and is one of the finest cultural gifts Healdsburg offers to her children.

Our festival is about so much more than ticket sales, says Felix. This is as much about building an audience as it is about teaching young musicians to play.

For more information about the educational component of the Healdsburg Jazz Festival, the Heart of the Festival. visit our website: http://www.healdsburgjazzfestival.org/weblog/media/ for our Media Kit

FOUNDERS NOTES

Healdsburg Jazz Festival Founder and Artistic Director Jessica Felix moved to Healdsburg in 1994, and it wasnt long before she started looking for a jazz scene. She didnt find one, so she started her own. She booked her first concert at a local coffeehouse, with pianist George Cables. It sold out. Jessica continued to book concerts while pursuing a career as a jewelry designer and gallery owner. In 1999, she was approached by a group of jazz lovers and asked to launch a jazz festival.

The Healdsburg Jazz Festival has grown from three nights at a local movie house to a ten-day event that takes over the town of Healdsburg, already a well-known visitor destination. The potent mixture of good weather, great wine, fabulous food and transcendent music has made the Healdsburg Jazz Festival a favorite of musicians and fans. Flute player James Newton calls Jessica a keeper of the flame for her devotion to authentic jazz, and bassist Charlie Haden calls her a jazz angel in reference to how well she treats musicians.

Jessica has been producing concerts since 1980, and booked Gallery 552 in Oakland from 1981-1990. She is a charter member of Jazz in Flight, the founder of the Eddie Moore Festival, and in 1993, created Children in Flight, a free workshop series for young children in Oakland led by African drum master and educator Tacuma King.

Her dedication to education continues, and the Jazz Education Program is a major component of the Healdsburg Jazz Festival. Thousands of local students have met and played with professional musicians over the last decade, thanks in large part to Jessicas devotion to jazz.

The Healdsburg Jazz Festival takes place over a ten-day period, this year from May 30 to June 8, but its a year-round obsession for Jessica. She organizes educational programs at local schools, books off-season concerts, and is constantly raising funds to produce the next festival, which is always, she vows, the best one yet!

Public Information number: 707 433-4644

Ticket sales: 707 433-4644 or on line

www.healdsburgjazzfestival.org

Tags: board member, locals, roadway, rta, s south
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