Apply For Marin County Grand Jury

Interested applicants are invited to apply for the 2004-2005 Marin County Grand Jury. The Grand Jury is composed of 19 persons who agree to serve for one year, spending approximately 20 hours a week on Grand Jury work. The 2004-2005 Grand Jury will begin its term on July 1, 2004. A Grand Juror must be a US Citizen, 18 years of age or older, and a Marin County resident with good character and English literate.

The Marin County Grand Jury is an independent investigative body that monitors local governments and makes recommendations for their improvement.

Grand Jurors receive $20.00 for each day of service, and reimbursement for auto mileage to and from the Marin County Civic Center to their residence.

The Marin Superior Court Judges will interview all applicants on Wednesday, May 19, 2004 from 1:30 p.m. to 3:00 p.m. Following the interviews, 30 applicants will be chosen by the Judges. They are then summoned to appear in court on Monday, June 7, 2004 at 3:00 p.m. for the drawing of names for the 2004-2005 Grand Jury. Grand Jury training will be held in July.

The deadline for submission of applications is Monday, April 5, 2004.

An application may be obtained on line at www.co.marin.ca.us/grandjury at the bottom of the page under Forms, click on "Application" or by calling Patti Baseheart at 415-499-6132.

At the Bolinas Museum

Focus: Val Agnoli, Architect and Artist will be at the Bolinas Museum March 27 through May 9, 2004. The Val Agnoli Gallery talk is set for Sunday, April 4, 3 p.m.

Also in the Bolinas Museum: Photograph Gallery, Lisa Kristine: A Human Thread, March 27 through May 9; Coastal Marin Artists Gallery, Toni Littlejohn: "Sourcery": Mixed media, Mar 6 through April 4 and Joe Blumenthal: Off the Wall, April 9 through May 9, 2004.

Also, the History Room will open March 27. The Museum is located at 48 Wharf Road, Bolinas, Hours: Friday, 1-5 p.m., Saturday and Sunday, 12-5 p.m., or call 415-868-0330 or visit their website: <bolinasmuseum.org>.

Islands of Freedom: Native Nations Make

Economic Contributions in California

In California, as elsewhere, the dominant approach to Native people's culture and lands has been dispossession. Nearly 100 million acres of ancestral lands and ecosystems were violently torn from tribes driven to the point of extinction. To the wonderment of history however, tribes in California survived and are developing self-sustaining enterprises that provide long-term and creative solutions supporting local and regional economies.

A special Winter 2003 edition of Native Americas Journal, First Nations Development Institute's leading hemispheric publication of Indigenous issues, documents the story of Native nations in California and how they are reasserting themselves in the world of economic initiative. The issue's roster of contributors -- including tribal leaders, academic scholars, policy professionals, veteran journalists and acclaimed authors -- report on the history of challenges tribes faced as they established islands of freedom. The issue also provides an insightful look at the many significant contributions tribes have made to the most Native-populated state.

"California tribes have stepped up to the plate as the only positive contributor to job creation in California in the past few years," write Morongo Tribal Chairman Maurice Lyons and California Nations Indian Gaming Association Chairman Anthony Miranda, "Overall, it is estimated more than 200,000 Californians are now employed, either directly or indirectly, by Indian gaming." The authors also note that residents of nearby communities hold nearly two-thirds of the jobs created by California tribal governments.

According to the National Indian Gaming Commission, tribal casinos nationwide now generate more than $14.4 billion in revenues. Anticipating the expiration of tribal gaming compacts, tribes in California have made a strategic decision to utilize gaming revenue and diversify tribal investments, enabling them to lead the nation in the number of Native-owned businesses.

The special issue was conceptualized with the proposition that a well-spirited Indian policy in California is possible. Subscriptions to Native Americas Journal can be ordered by calling (540) 371-5615, or online at www.nativeamericas.com. Discounts are available for vendors. First Nations Development Institute was founded in 1980 to assist Native communities in controlling their assets and in building capacity to direct their economic future.

Unanimous Yes on Farmer Protection Act In Vermont

Vermont Senators voted 28-0 Wednesday to support the Farmer Protection Act (S.164), a bill to hold biotech corporations liable for unintended contamination of conventional or organic crops by genetically engineered plant materials. This historic decision was peppered by debate on the patent laws that allow biotech corporations like Monsanto to sue farmers for patent infringement who are contaminated with GMO pollen or plant materials. Senator Vincent Illuzzi dramatically illustrated cross-pollination of corn varieties with multi-colored ears of Vermont corn. Today's vote comes after 79 Vermont towns have passed Town Meeting measures calling on lawmakers in Montpelier and Washington enact a moratorium on GMOs, and 10% of Vermont conventional dairy farmers have pledged not to plant the crops. Vermont joins Mendocino County, CA at the forefront of domestic resistance to genetically engineered crops.

"The Farmer Protection Act is a pre-emptive strike to stop predatory lawsuits against Vermont's family farmers by biotech companies like Monsanto," said Ben Davis with the Vermont Public Interest Research Group. "Today the Vermont Senate took the first step to defend family farmers from these kinds of intimidation suits and the hazards of genetically engineered crops." VPIRG is among a coalition of groups including Rural Vermont, Institute for Social Ecology, and Vermont Genetic Engineering Action Network who are spearheading the grassroots campaign for the first "GE Free" state in the union.

"Big biotech corporations are writing the rules in their own interests at the national and international level, and using their patented GMOs as a tool to contaminate and control farmers," said Doyle Canning, a campaigner with the GE Free VT campaign. "Vermont is showing that a little state can make a big statement against corporate greed and work towards a Time Out on this technology. We are working in concert with the folks in Hawaii, Mendocino County, and in the 30 nations around the world where GMO crops are stringently regulated, to put farmers first."

Today's Farmer Protection Act was amended with an 18-11 vote to include language specifically targeting genetic engineering patent lawsuits "The Sears-Illuzzi amendment defines 'genetically engineered seeds or plant parts' as different from conventional seeds or plant parts. This is unprecedented and undermines the industry's claim that GE products are the same as traditional products," said Amy Shollenberger, Policy Director at Rural Vermont. "The amendment says that a person who is found to have 'trace amounts' of genetically engineered material shall be indemnified by the manufacturer if they are sued. In other words, it protects a farmer from being sued by the manufacturer if the farmer's crops are contaminated with GMO material." Tomorrow Shollenberger and 10 other GE Free VT supporters will testify to the House Agriculture Committee on a related bill on Genetically Engineered Crops.

The GE Free Vermont Campaign on Genetic Engineering is a statement coalition of public interest groups, businesses, concerned citizens and farmers, who are organizing to oppose genetic engineering at the local, state and national level, and calling for a "time Out" on GMOs. For more information: www.gefreevt.org.