This coming election day (November 6, 2007) will mark the 35th anniversary of the Midpeninsula Regional Open Space District‘s formation (Measure R). I’m not talking about the group process, I’m talking about the preservation of natural Open Space, one of the reasons the Bay Area is so beautiful. The latest district newsletter cited a beautiful passage from the campaign materials back then:    (MBZ)

Open space is our green backdrop of hills. It is rolling grasslands — cool forests in the Coast Range — orchards and vineyards in the sun. It is the patch of grass between communities where children can run. It is uncluttered baylands where water birds wheel and soar, where blowing cordgrass yields its blessings of oxygen, where the din of urban life gives way to the soft sounds of nature. It is the serene, unbuilt, unspoiled earth that awakens all our senses and makes us whole again… it is room to breathe.    (MC0)