Some of our troops have accompanied Colonel Patti Witalis to "Stand Down" in the past. This is the very big event at Alameda County Fairgrounds that benefits hard-luck veterans, hands-on, in many ways, from cutting hair to solving legal or medical problems. Brad Davis seems to have taken charge (until Patti puts him in the brig) of this event, as he has done for so many of our programs. He announced that Stand Down will be on August 5th through 8th. Check out the website at www.eastbaystanddown.org. A very worthwhile and needed event.
SPREADING THE LOVE AND THE LEARNING
You've heard of taking an idea and running with it, but from Lamorinda to Zambia? That's what's happening with the Dictionary program. Thanks to Gillett Johnson, each of us was given the chance to make a friend by filling out a card (to which there hopefully will be a response), and putting 7 bucks with it which will help District 5160 and one other District send over 3,700 dictionaries.
The aforesaid Patrick Flaharty may be trying again. Hopefully this time it won't cause the Icelandic volcano to blow its top. That's what happened when he tried to go to Nigeria on a Rotary
inoculation trip. He, and anyone else who wants to, gets another chance in November, when for 10 days they'll learn and do all kinds of interesting health work for kids in Ghana.
Not only that, but Pat is sponsoring an income Ambassadorial Scholar from Cambridge. The candidate, who will receive a Master's degree for world peace at Berkeley, will visit us next Friday and probably several more times.
WHAT'S TGITLFOTM?
John Linneman will duly expose himself next Friday, and he and Connie will risk their lovely home by hosting the TGITLFOTM that evening. Turnouts to these are generally good to excellent, but there may be some folks who've never been. It's a chance to see your fellow members, who are so serious on Friday mornings, lighten up.
Coming up after that, on the last Friday in August, the Raeths once again are very generously hosting the special TGITLFOTM, preparing those dictionaries for the Lamorinda 3rd graders. This is never entirely all work and no play. Even more intriguing is the TGITLFOTM after that, which will be on the odd date of October 2nd at an odd place: Ken Kosich's at Clear Lake. Grape picking at his vineyard?
THE TUNNEL IS NOT A BORE
In fact, the tunnel, namely the Caldecott, will be affecting our lives for a while. We learned about it this morning from consultant Jeff Weiss, who was formerly with CalTrans for 18 years.
Did you know that the original tunnel was called the Kennedy Tunnel? Almost 100 years before JFK took office, the locals started thinking about digging it. However, it wasn't opened until 1903. Sadly, the old tunnel was filled in because too many teenagers (including Jeff, back in the day) partied there. There's not much to see now but an obscure plaque at the west end.
Anyway, Bores 1 and 2 were started in the late '20s and opened in 1937. Bore #3 opened in 1964.
Bore #4 will be 3400 feet long and 43.5 feet wide. It will relieve congestion in the non-peak direction, eliminate daily reversals, enhance safety, and add emergency capacity. In fact, it will not only have 2 lanes, but also a shoulder which wounded cars and maintenance vehicles can use, and an emergency walkway.
The whole project is costing $420 million, with $215 of it for the tunnel itself. The County contributed $122 million thanks to Measure J, this being seed money. About half the whole thing is Stimulus money.
Some of the mitigation: Noise level is limited and monitored. There will be no blasting at night. There's a concrete batch plant, but it and the fans are enclosed. Temporary stockpiles will be wetted down. Trucks will be covered.
As in most projects, Mother Nature has to be taken into account. The orange fences are to keep wildlife out of trouble. There's concern about a couple of species, the Alameda whipsnake and the California red-legged frog, but they haven't been seen around. Oak trees will be replaced 5 to 1, and better yet, Eucalyptus and Monterey pines won't be replaced at all.
It's easier to tunnel through hard rock, which provides support, than through shale and crumbly stuff, which doesn't. Unfortunately the 4th Bore is in the second category. The process has to be pushing through using the huge "roadheader" for a short distance, then withdrawing and putting in support. Progress is about 10 feet per day. Actually there is simultaneous boring from the two ends, leading to questions about whether they'll meet. After they do, items like "shotcrete" (concrete sprayed on the wall), "rockbolts" to hold up the wall, and waterproof liner, will come into play. Completion date is estimated at the end of 2013 or beginning of 2014.
Questions? You can email Jeff Weiss at jeffrey.weiss@dot.ca.gov, or go to the website caldecott-tunnel.org, or maybe best, google "Caldecott 4th (or Fourth?) Bore."
It'll be interesting to see if all goes as planned.
CALENDAR
7/30: John Linneman, morning Exposure, evening TGITLFOTM
8/5-8/8: Stand Down
Patrick Flaharty always is smooth with the ladies. For example, the Thought he gave this morning, from that well-known authority Mae West, really made a hit: "Men should be like Kleenex: soft, strong and disposable." There was a feminine ooooooh of agreement. Pat had considered the following alternative, which he didn't give: "Women are like cell phones: they like to be held and talked to, but push the wrong button and you're disconnected." Would that have had the same reaction? 
His real name is Akoni Viray, and he's been re-elected to the District Council which oversees District 5160 Interact , Area 9. As such, he practically rules the Acalanes School District. In this position, he'll get to know all the bigwigs connected with Interact, and relay information to us. It's true 
Many of us have embarrassing senior moments, but Skip McCowan was not suspected of this until now. It seems he and Linda were attending a lawyers' meeting at a hotel in Spain as of July 15th. July 15th? Well, Linda remembered what the date signified, even though Skip didn't. Their 32nd anniversary. Luckily for Skip, she wasn't the one who assessed the Recognition. An understanding Prez Peeks merely applied the Dollar-a-Year standard.