See Your Elected Officials In Action Monday Night

If you want to know what is going on in Portuguese Bend, turn off you TV, get up off the couch and attend the meeting of the PBCA Board Monday, May 3. The Architectural Committee meets at 7 p.m. at Ladera Linda and the regular board meeting follows immediately afterward.

Between the two meetings, a representative from Universal Waste Systems will  explain upcoming changes in our trash service and answer questions from residents.

Also on the agenda: Community Clean-Up Weekend, which has been set for May 22-23.

Other items on the published agenda include a letter from a resident regarding dumping of dirt, rocks and asphalt on Upper Peppertree and issues regarding access control (this means gate maintenance and car decals.)  Another possibe topic is the road work that began this week in the community, although it's not on the published agenda, which is posted at both the Narcissa and Peppertree gates.

Other items that have been discussed at recent meetings but remain unresolved are changes to the Architectural Standards and updated CC&Rs, and the upcoming Environmental Impact Report. While these issues are not on the published agenda, it is possible that they will come up at the meeting.

And of course, there is always time at the end of the meeting for comments and questions from the floor. If you have concerns about the community, this is the time to bring them up.

All residents are encouraged to attend.

Big Time Fun At Ride-to-Fly Day In The Country

A huge crowd turned out at the Empty Saddle Club Saturday, April 24, 2010, for a day in the country, compliments of Ride To Fly, the all-volunteer non profit therapeutic horseback riding organization that works with its clients here in Portuguese Bend, at the corral at Five Points. If you went, they they you for your support. If you did not attend, here's what you missed:

Pony rides, accompanied by
Ride-To-Fly volunteers in red T-Shirts

Games, run by Ride-To-Fly volunteers

Some players needed help.

Others didn't.

 

Crafts...decorating horseshoes with beads, also making bracelets and necklaces, and face painting...all run by Ride-To-Fly volunteers

Country and Western music and dancing, and food

 

Precision horseback riding by the Happy 

Hoofers

Some friendly farm animals to pet...not to mention a few friendly dogs.

And time for lots of family fun and good memories. If you missed it this year...don't make the same mistake next year. This group deserves everyone's support.

AND...be sure to mark your calendar for the other event that supports horses and kids, coming up soon. The annual Portuguese Bend Pony Club pancake breakfast is scheduled for May 8 from 8 to 11 p.m. at 2 West Pomegranate Road. Just $7 buys a chance to eat a yummy breakfast and meet your neighbors. Call 310-377-6058 and tell them you'd like to reserve a spot.

Kids and Horses Need Our Support

We are lucky to live in a horse area, and even luckier to be home to two organizations that bring horses and kids together -- Ride to Fly and the Portuguese Bend Pony Club.

Both of them need our support.

This Saturday, April 24, from 11 a.m. to 3 p.m., Ride to Fly, an all-volunteer non-profit organization that provides therapeutic horseback riding lessons, is hosting its only public fund-raising effort. So put on your best Country and Western attire and go over to the Empty Saddle Club, 39 Empty Saddle Road, Rolling Hills Estates, for some fun and games. Admission and parking are free. There will be burgers, hot dogs and drinks, games, pony rides, a silent auction, and live country music by Brian Lynn Jones and the Cowboy Misfits.  If you call 310 -755-4006 and tell them that you're coming, they'll be sure to have enough food for everyone.

Two weeks later, on Saturday, May 8, the Pony Club, which brings kids and horses together for instruction and fun, is offering a pancake breakfast from 8 to 11 a.m. at the Pony Club, 2 West Pomegranate Road. Just $7 will buy you pancakes, sausage, orange juice, coffee and all the fixings. Not only will you get a great breakfast, but you'll get to eat it with some of your neighbors. Many Bend residents joined the fun last year. You can RSVP for this event by calling 310-377-6058. That way, they'll know how much food to prepare. Pony Clubbers suggest that if you come hungry, you'll leave happy.

The Lovesong of Portuguese Bend

On the hillside, workers go

Mowing mustard, to and fro.

Turning the yellow gown that garbed the rolling slopes to scrap,

Shredded by machines that buzz like bees

But do not feed. Instead they kill,

Leaving the hill naked to the skies

And all neighbors' eyes.

Springtime green and yellow,

A place to nest and hide,

Food for bugs and birds and bees and mice

Gone.

Pristine and clean, but at what price?

(with apologies to T.S. Eliot)

A Board Member Responds About Dumping

Mike Cooper called tonight to answer the questions we posed  two days ago about the dumping of dirt, asphalt and rocks at the end of Peppertree.

Cooper says that he brings in dirt from other construction jobs on which he works, and uses it for the work he does in Portuguese Bend on the roads. He said that when he finishes his current work on Limetree, the dirt and asphalt chunks will be gone from the end of Peppertree.

As for the very large rocks that are piled up there, he said that he uses them to block access to areas where people should not go, such as the area commonly known as "The Bean Field," or the area at the end of Narcissa Drive.

Cooper said there is nowhere else to stockpile these supplies in Portuguese Bend, because the Board does not own any property except the gate lots, which are not large enough to hold this material.

Does anyone want to donate some less visible space where he could store these materials?

New Rules

This blog has been running for about a week, and during that short time, I've been re-thinking a few things.

The main reason that I wanted to write and print news about Portuguese Bend, on an official web site or a blog, was to cut through the rumor grapevine and provide factual information to residents of the Bend.

One of the differences between news and opinion, is that news stories always have a source for the information in the story. It may be a city official, a citizen who viewed a traffic accident, a student with a problem...someone who is willing to be quoted as a source of the information that is printed. In obtaining news about the Bend, whether about overflowing sewers, upcoming Environmental Impact Reports, or Mr. York's activities, I have tried to talk to city officials, or PBCA Board members, or whoever could provide me with relevant facts.

With that in mind, it hardly seems fair to post rumors from anonymous sources in the blog comments.

With that in mind, from now on, I will not publish anonymous posts.

On the other hand, I understand that sometimes, readers have information that they think should be out there, but they are reluctant to sign their names, for fear of some sort of retaliation. I will, therefore, follow up on any information you care to submit via email to leetwid@yahoo.com. If I can find a legitimate source who is willing to be quoted, to verify the information you have submitted, and if I think that it would be good for Portuguese Bend residents to have this information, I will post it in a blog item.

If you have questions about this, please feel free to email or comment.

Join the Fun at the Ride-To-Fly Country Carnival and Silent Auction

For a fun day of activities for kids AND adults, plan to attend the annual Ride to Fly Country Carnival and Silent Auction,  April 24 from 11 a.m. to 3 p.m., at the Empty Saddle Club, 39 Empty Saddle Road, Rolling Hills Estates.

Admission is free. They’ll be serving hamburgers, vegi-burgers, hot dogs, drinks, chips and cookies for a modest fee. Activities will include a silent auction, raffle, children’s games, pony rides and live country music for dancing and listening by Brian Lynn Jones and the Cowboy Misfits. 

The Ride to Fly folks are inviting everyone to put on their best Country ‘n’ Western attire and come join the fun.

You may have seen Ride to Fly in action here, in the corral at Five Points (where Cinnamon, Ginger Root and Narcissa meet).  Volunteers and students are there several days a week for a few hours, riding in the corral and occasionally, on the streets. 

This all-volunteer, non-profit organization helps adults and children with a wide variety of disabilities to ride horses, an activity that is recognized as beneficial by medical doctors, psychiatrists, physical and occupational therapists, speech therapists, and teachers. Aside from being fun, horseback riding improves balance, muscle tone, strength, range of motion and circulation. Additionally, riders benefit from the increased self-esteem, confidence and coping skills that come from learning to control a horse. Riding also increases the riders’ concentration, patience and discipline.

“It has changed our life,” said one mother, whose daughter has been going to Ride To Fly for eight years. Parents tell of children with very serious physical and mental challenges, who become more verbal, stand taller, walk better and have better physical coordination as a result of being involved with Ride to Fly. Interestingly, the organization sometimes changes the lives of its volunteers, too. But that's a story for another time. Right now, the focus is on the day of fun April 24.

For more information about this terrific organization, check out their website: http://www.ridetofly.com. For a close-up view of what they do, when you see  cars parked beside the corral at 50 Narcissa, stop, lean on the fence and watch for a while. Talk to a few parents or volunteers. I think you'll be impressed. You might even want to lend a hand.