November 2008
Juan Borrelli, AICP, SNI Senior Planner, City of San José
Hooray for Hollywood! Last month’s 2008 APA California Conference in Hollywood was a rousing success with an all-time record attendance of over 2,000 planners! The “Hollywood Nights” opening reception at the glamorous Highlands Nightclub featured a red carpet entrance event, casino room, and live impersonation performances by the Rat Pack, the Village People, the Pussycat Dolls, and Madonna. Also new at this conference was the first ever APA California Film Festival with three full-length, independent planning-related movies and several short films on planning-related themes by California students. The California Planning Foundation (CPF) also broke a record at this conference by raising over $24,000 at its annual auction and from many generous donations.
Mark your calendars for the 2009 APA California Conference, September 13–16, 2009 at The Resort at Squaw Creek, Lake Tahoe. I hope to see you there.
The annual Northern Section Holiday Party will be held on Friday, December 5, 2008, in the Terrace Room of Oakland’s historic Lake Merritt Hotel. Celebrate the end of the year with great food, drinks, conversation, and stunning views of Lake Merritt, amid the beautiful Mediterranean Art Deco features of the hotel. All the party details, including registration and online payment information, are on the Northern Section website. I know you won’t want to miss this party. Space is limited—don’t delay in signing up by the December 1st deadline. If you have questions or need more information, please contact Al Kostalas.
November APA Elections. Don’t miss the candidacy statements (pages 7-9 of the November issue of Northern News) from Hanson Hom, AICP, and Allen Tai, AICP, who are running for the Northern Section’s elected board positions of Director Elect and Administrative Director, respectively. After reading each candidate’s statement, please vote by email at votensccapa@gmail.com. Emailed ballots must be received by 11:59 PM PST on December 1, 2008. If you experience any voting problems or need any assistance, please contact Director Elect Darcy Kremin, AICP.
Many thanks. The Northern Section’s Regional Advisory Committee (RAC) Chairs and I would like to thank the planning firms and organizations that generously supported and sponsored the many RAC events hosted in 2008. Special acknowledgement goes to the Association of Bay Area Governments (ABAG), City of Monterey, City of Oakland, Design Community & Environment (DC&E), RBF Consulting, Pacific Municipal Consultants (PMC), Urban Habitat, and Winzler & Kelly. We look forward to hosting many more RAC events next year! On behalf of the entire Northern Section Board, I would also like to thank the planning firms and organizations that hosted our board meetings and retreat in 2008. They include the City of Santa Clara, Parsons Transportation Group, Inc., ENTRIX, Inc., LSA Associates, Inc., PMC, and PBS&J.
Immediate Past Director Hing Wong, AICP, and Director Juan Borrelli, AICP, celebrate at the 2008 APA California Conference's Hollywood Nights Opening Reception
-Juan Borrelli, AICP
