NorCalUrban

This year is Samuel's last year in little league. It seems like yesterday he began playing in the Junior Giants program in Jack Farrell Park in EPA. This year, after some coaxing from his head coach Bruce,  I decided to be an assistant coach. The last time I coached was when Sam was in pitching machine league about three years ago. I've been pleasantly surprised how much fun this has been. The Ravenswood Kubs have a real shot at the league championship this year, after struggling over the last few years. They are a great group of kids.  Samuel has been on a tear in his hitting lately. He's batting lead off and for the last three games has been smoking the ball. Yesterday he batted three times, with a single, double and his first home run in little league. (In pitching machine league he once hit for the 'cycle'.) But this home run was no cheap shot - it cleared the center field fence in the deepest part of the yard. Thanks to Coach Bruce and others for searching for ...

Up late. Came home from the  One East Palo Alto board meeting a little wound up from the great discussions. Baseball season is starting! Whoo Hoo! Great news from the Yankee camp! The young pitchers are looking good! I love the start of baseball season - it's like all things are new again! Check out the great  Yankees blog, "Blogging the Bombers. by Daily News reporter Mark Feindsand It's great stuff!

It's been hard to get a chance to blog this year. I had hoped for a more relaxed pace once the credit union was open. I guess I was wrong.  This year has already been fruitful and busy. Here are some bullet point updates on what's going on.  - This weekend is the Bay Area Reload  event at Patten University in Oakland. This year Bart Campolo, Leroy Barber and Joy Challenger are our speakers. Yours truly is doing a workshop on suburban / urban partnerships. If you're in the area, come and join us! - I've recently joined two boards of director, one for One East Palo Alto, a local non profit intermediary organization and Christian Community Development Association. I'm honored to serve both these excellent organizations. Last Tuesday I attended my first OEPA board meeting and last week I was in Miami for the CCDA board meeting. All that to say my plate is full... - My parents are out here. Dad is an electrician who specializes in nuclear power. He's working down at...

Oh man, this is going to create some waves... I need to think about this one... I'll comment later. Let me know your thoughts. Local Nonprofits Taken to Task Push for results is the new benchmark for donors Throughout the field of philanthropy, and perhaps nowhere more so than in Silicon Valley, donors are increasingly demanding evidence of results. "Evaluation of effectiveness has been a growing trend in philanthropy," said Michelle McGurk, a spokeswoman for the Silicon Valley Community Foundation, which provided $10,000 for the Feb. 3 march and rally. "And certainly Silicon Valley has been on the cutting edge of return on investment in giving," McGurk said. "They don't look at charitable donations; they look at investments in the community." In East Palo Alto, the face of philanthropy is changing as a result. This year, the Silicon Valley Community Foundation, which formed on Jan. 1 following the merger of the Peninsula Community Foundation and C...