MARIN CHAPTER

MCCGJA Meeting

BOS chambers – 2/15/07

Members Present:

Betty Mattea, Sheldon Wolff, Catherine McKown, Irwin Taranto, Dennis Brown, Stu Brown, Gene Dyer, Ted Freeman, Jack Friesen, Owen Haxton, Al Lozano, and Ann Marie Melanephy

The meeting was called to order at 9:40 a.m. by President Mattea

A short report was given by Patti Baseheart, representing the current jury. The jury is thankful for the training it received and the emphasis on the importance of getting out reports early. Tuesday is the date for the jury’s first report. She commented that the new orientation schedule looks good.

Speakers - Stu and Dennis Brown re. The Marin Coalition. Dennis began by stating that there are many civic groups in Marin. The Coalition is an interesting group. Their statement of purpose is to protect the economic, social, and environmental attributes of Marin County. They evaluate controversial issues and have interesting speakers such as judges, politicians, and representatives from newspapers. They hold debates on the issues during elections. Recent speakers: Joe Garbarino (they have him each year). “He hates plastic bags.” Jared Huffman states that we must take action on global warming. Candidates for the Hospital Board came last year. The last presenter was Mary Taverna, president of Hospice by the Bay.

The Coalition meets the first Wednesday of every month at 11:30 a.m. at Rafters (on 4th street in San Rafael). Dues are $25 a year. Individuals are welcome to join. There are approximately 60 members, and there are three committees: hospital, water, and schools. Stu stated that there is interesting commentary on a variety of issues. One of most interesting things is the interaction. Individuals are welcome to attend and become a member of the Marin Coalition.

The Agenda was approved with the following two additions: orientation and interviewing of potential jurors.

Presidents Report – The minutes will be sent out again. Orientation plans are underway. Al Lozano has volunteered to be Chair of the Elections Committee. The membership year starts July 1. We are going ahead with the “Dyer Plan” and will meet in the cafeteria at 11 with Karin and Connie. A group from this chapter to work on Continuity. Need to see if this impacts the “Dyer Plan.” Has anyone received the CGJA journal yet? They sent it out bulk mail this time.

Irwin re. CGJA Conference in San Francisco. It will be held on Oct 24 and 25. The schedule is different – officially opens at 8 a..m. to allow tellers to begin counting votes. The first session will be on Wed. afternoon, and then it will continue on Thursday morning and afternoon. There will be a $60 registration fee and charges of $50 for dinner and $30 for lunch. It will be held at the Whitcomb Hotel on 8th and Market. Irwin wants to have more audience participation. Speakers have not been selected as yet. The theme is under consideration.

Treasurer’s report – Irwin reports that the chapter has $5157.11 plus a deposit of $250 with The Club for the upcoming reunion. $4624.68 of the total amount is in a CD. A Financial Review Report was given by Jack Friesen. It was conducted by Jack and Ann Marie Melanephy. They report that financial statements are accurate as of Dec. 31, 2006.

Membership Committee report by Owen. Membership remains stable. The CGJA State membership application is on the website. The Feb. journal is on the website as well as the luncheon invitation. Question was put forward to see if we should change chapter dues. Discussion followed with no consensus for a change.

Interviews – Catherine relayed that Kim Turner stated at the recent Orientation Committee meeting that the County Counsel has concerns about liability issues, so the interview panel concept will probably not happen this year.

Stu Brown raised an issue about the difficulty of getting information from the County Counsel in a timely manner. After several months of waiting, he was told that his question should go through the appropriate department. The County Counsel can give advice to county departments or the Board of Supervisors. The County Counsel Office’s primary “client” was the Board of Supervisors.

Reunion luncheon – The date is Wednesday, May 9. It will begin at 11:30 a.m. with a no-host bar. Brad Breithauf , who writes the All About Marin column for the IJ, will be the principal speaker. The cost will be $25 each for jurors and guests. There will be 3 choices: chicken, penne pomodoro, and salmon. Reservations are due Monday, April 30.

Orientation Plans – Catherine reported about the Orientation Meeting and said that we will make minor changes to the manual (typos, but nothing substantive). Irwin described the orientation program, cutting some speakers down to 1/2 hour from an hour. Fifty minutes and then a break. Orientation list – each speaker will have a reference so that jurors/alternates who wish to be prepared in advance can do so. This put more onus on the jurors to do their homework. There will be more departments making presentations. His hope would be to create a presentation on website. Plans are to reserve most of day number six for jurors to get organized. Irwin proposed that MCCGJA welcome the new jury on Wednesday, July 18th. (M/S) to hold a reception at the end of training for the new Grand Jury and alternates (day #5 of orientation). Passed.

New Business – Al spoke about contacting members by phone and the concept of establishing a phone tree. While there are many uses for a phone tree, Al’s main reason for suggesting it was to set up a personal, verbal invitation to members to attend the monthly meetings. He felt we do not have enough personal contact with our members. The subject will be pursued at our membership meeting next month.

The meeting was adjourned at 11:40.

Respectfully submitted,

Catherine McKown, Secretary