Building Better Documents with Pages

Pages, part of Apple’s iWork suite, makes it easy to create great-looking documents, whether for print or electronic distribution. Because Pages is both a word processor and a page layout program, there’s a lot of hidden power and flexibility in the program. In this hands-on, beyond-the-basics lab session, you’ll learn how to create Pages documents that get your message across with clarity, strength, and excitement. By harnessing the power of Pages, along with practical layout and design tips, you’ll leave the session knowing how to build better documents with less effort.

In this session, you’ll learn:

• The best tool you can use to begin creating your documents
  
• Advanced text handling tips to add professional flair to your pages
  
• The ins and outs of creating and using paragraph and character styles to speed your document creation
  
• The best ways to structure and manage longer documents
  
• How to use Pages’ graphics tools to prepare stunning images
  
• How to adapt Pages’ page layout templates to fit your needs
  
• How to find and use third-party templates to save time and break your documents out of the pack
  
• All about using Numbers data in Pages to add terrific charts, do mail merges, and more
  

The Macworld Expo folks have set up a special promotional rate for this session; it’s only $199 if you sign up by January 10. If you want to learn more about Pages, I hope to see you there!

I am writing to correct inaccuracies in your article of July 29, “TV station may have to move out.”

Some statements attributed to HUSD Superintendent Jeff Harding were misleading, at best. The article stated “[When Harding] looked into the matter, he found that the facility lease for the Media Center between the city and the schools had expired in 2007 and the agreement that the local station would provide HUSD students with 18 hours of instructional time per week had long stopped.”

There are two misleading things here. First, the City, in the person of now-City Manager Marjie Pettus, repeatedly attempted to renew the Media Center lease with the District in 2007 and was rebuffed by the then-Superintendent, who according to Marjie, promised they would negotiate that deal separately. So in reality, the lease expired because the District refused to negotiate, while claiming that it would later do so. Second, Access Healdsburg has never stopped providing the District access to our facilities, even after it became clear that the District was planning to evict the station so they could remodel the Media Center (purpose-built by the community with $1.5 million of our bond money to be a TV station) into administrator’s offices.

Mr. Harding continues: “It’s been seven years of free rent.” This is false. Access Healdsburg has never received free rent from HUSD. AHTV and HUSD signed an agreement to staff and make available our facilities for the District’s use for 18 hours per week. In return for our investment of staff salaries and time, money, and equipment, the school district agreed to waive cash rent and supply us with other services, such as janitorial. It was not done out of the goodness of District’s hearts. It was a business deal, from which they derived significant benefit; many students have used AHTV facilities. The end result was that the District received more than $350,000 in value from that agreement.

Over the past seven years, our people made countless overtures to the schools to use the facilities that were subject to the deal. It is not our fault that they were short-sighted, underutilized the facility, and squandered an amazing opportunity for students and District staff.

I realize that Mr. Harding believes that it is in his best interests to now minimize and denigrate the services that Access Healdsburg provided the District, for the many years before he came upon the scene. But his word does not change the reality, much as he might wish that.

Finally, Mr. Harding states, implying that there could be safety concerns for students: “They are making videos in private rooms with no windows.” This is false. All rooms used by students at Access Healdsburg have windows, and our staff monitors those rooms while they are being used.

Tom Negrino
Access Healdsburg

I’d like you to post a note about the Healdsburg Fourth of July celebration. We’re the 501(c)19 Non-Profit group of all volunteers who for no salary have taken on the task of running a fireworks program for the 4th of July, since the City banned fireworks 20 years ago. This is our 19th year and we could use folks to mail in a couple of bucks.  (Just think – if everyone in Healdsburg sent in $2.00, we’d have 3/4 of it paid). I’m short about $6,500 just to finish paying off the bill, which is COD on the 4th. If you can lend a hand, I’d appreciate passing the word on through even your own personal emails to friends throughout the City.

Address for donations:

American Legion Veterans
P.O. Box 208
Healdsburg, CA 95448

You’ll also find collection jars at many businesses throughout town, and of course you may donate at the event itself. But the most bang for the buck is to donate before the event. It’s always a great event, and a great cause. Please dig deep for this excellent community event.

The Healdsburg City Council will hold a public hearing at 7:00 PM on Wednesday April 16 to receive public comments on the Saggio Hills Final EIR. The Council is not expected to take action on the EIR at this time.

City staff have published two documents. The first includes responses to comments received on the Saggio Hills Final EIR following its preparation. The second includes corrections and revisions to the Saggio Hills Draft EIR and Final EIR.

Healdsburg is unusual in Sonoma County in that we have our own municipal electric utility, rather than being in thrall to the whims and tender mercies of PG&E. This is usually a good thing, because we have been insulated (no pun intended) from the vagaries of the overall electric market forces. For example, a few years ago when Enron engineered the fake electricity crisis and much of California suffered rolling blackouts, we rode it out with little effect. We occasionally have some electrical events that are unique to us, such as the scheduled blackouts last year when the City needed to upgrade our power substation.

The City Council will be holding a hearing in the Council Chambers at City Hall at 7PM on Monday, April 14 to discuss the intended rate increase, and discuss plans to phase in the increases over time. If you’re interested in how your bill will be going up (and who isn’t?), we’ll see you there.

In the meantime, we want to hear from you. Healdsburgers is about all of us, not just the few of us who have contributed so far. If you’re interested in posting on Healdsburgers, just drop me a line with your post, and I’ll put it up. Please be aware that I’m out of town this week on business, so I may not be able to give as timely a reply as I usually would.

As I said in a previous post, I’m not comfortable in making Healdsburgers an anti-Saggio Hills site; there are other sites for that (look at the right sidebar for one). I’d like this place to be one where both sides of an issue are aired.

In this post, Richard Burg expresses his opinion about the project. His opinions are his own, and posting it here does not imply endorsement. In the spirit of an open exchange of views, I welcome posts expressing a different perspective. I reserve the right to edit submitted posts for clarity and length. -- Tom Negrino]

By Richard Burg

There is enormous momentum for development on this parcel. One reason I believe a healthier alternative is to increase downtown density, is that doing SH now, will contribute to the evolution of Healdsburg Avenue from March Avenue out to the City line. There will be subtle economic pressure to develop commercial activity along there, robbing the downtown of transactions! It wouldn’t happen overnight, but it will be a contributing factor to “sprawl.” 

The truth is, the City is under no obligation to annex this land. It might be embarrassing for city staff face the developer; yes, the city might never again get such a high end proposal; and yes, Healdsburg Avenue might turn into Santa Rosa Avenue anyway. I am not convinced our City has managed long term planning in the most progressive manner. Healdsburg has been very lucky! The combination of wine, food, and good marketing. And, to give them some credit, the City hasn’t killed the golden goose either! Yet. Saggio Hills might be the first new restaurant location since the hookup fees were increased to pay for the new water treatment plant.

Saggio Hills appears to be an appealing project from many perspectives – size, siting, design, potential revenue, gifts to the city. 

But I don’t think it will be good for Healdsburg. If you visit high end destination resorts next to or in small cities, they suffer the ebb and flow of transients; they transform in response to the particular economics of tourism. Half Moon Bay has  a Ritz Carleton and an ocean; Aspen has skiing; Jackson Hole, WY, has the Tetons, Yellowstone, and snow; Carmel has the ocean. We have wine. (And maybe gambling!) Imagining what  the 500 visitors to a conference up there will do or buy in downtown isn’t a compelling vision for a sustainable city with the values and qualities that are so appealing now.

It would generate significant TOT revenue. If half the 70 residences are available for transient occupancy, with 3 or 4 bedrooms each, plus the 130 ”keys” in the resort (each of which will have a minimum of 2 beds), Saggio Hills will, at a minimum, double the number of beds available for visitors. We’ll need to make reservations at our favorite restaurant a year in advance! So scale is an issue. 

Perhaps it is idealistic and naive to think Healdsburg could be a model city that can plan to survive no grapes, less water, no fuel – with more local industry (small), more locally produced food, more walkable neighborhoods that provide living and working opportunities. If we don’t make a case for it today, we will become more dependent on wine and tourists – both risky in most of the 10-20 year projections for carbon fuels, agriculture, and climate.