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Archive for January, 2007

North Coast Cultural Heritage Tourism

The Medocino County Museum in Willits will host a workshop designed to assist the communities on the North Coast develop tourism based on the region’s history, arts and cultural. The one day Cultural Heritage Tourism Workshop, on Friday, January 26, 2007, includes:

  • An overview of cultural heritage tourism and what other regions have done to develop their communities’ assets;
  • Presentation by editors of Sunset Magazine, the publishers of the 2007 California Visitors Guide; and
  • Developing a strategic plan to inventory and promote the North Coast’s cutlural assets.

The workshop is sponsored by the California Cultural and Heritage Tourism Council and the Redwood Empire Association (REA), .

Attend the day-long program for the price of lunch–$25. RSVP by:

Calling 800/619-2125,
Emailing REA, or
Returning the reservation form.

To learn more about the Heritage Tourism Council, email or phone John Poimiroo, 916/933-8860.

California Visitors Guides

The California Tourism and Travel Commission has a $20 million budget to market California to the world. The state funds are matched by assessments on member-businesses. The commission funds marketing efforts and works with local businesses through regional visitors bureaus.

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County General Plans Incorporate Smart Growth

Counties across California are revising their general plans, and a number of boards of supervisors are integrating “smart growth” principles in these plans.

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Carbon Offsets: reducing travel’s enviro impact

British Prime Minister Tony Blair gave a boost to “carbon offsets” with his January 2007 announcement that he would offset the environmental impact of his personal air travel.

There are a growing number of organizations and businesses–in the U.S. and abroad–that provide carbon offsets designed to mitigate the environmental impact of travel, some of which are listed below. In addition, there are some links to additional information about these programs.

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Omnivore’s Dilemna

Omnivore's DilemnaIn Omnivore’s Dilemna: a Natural History of Four Meals (2006), reporter Michael Pollan follows “the food chains that sustain us, all the way from the earth to the plate.” The book represents investigative, and participatory, journalism at its best, as Pollan tries to understand what he terms the “American paradox–that is, a notably unhealthy people obsessed byt the idea of eating healthy.”

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U.S. Farm Policy

The new Congress will take up agriculture policy when it begins the debate over the reauthorization of the farm bill, which will guide U.S. policy for the next five years. A number of organizations will lobby for a bill that supports family farmers and sustainable agriculture rather, than industrial agriculture and ADM.

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