Hello Again Guacamole Friends,

We’re back to highlight non-profit organizations along the way with the last leg of Jackson Browne’s tour, but first…

BREAKING NEWS

California Governor Newsom is rushing a proposal through the state legislature to extend the life of the Diablo Canyon nuclear power plant that is scheduled to begin shutting down in 2024. The proposal would also supply the owner, PG&E, a 1.4 billion forgivable loan. Diablo was not economical to operate and neither a federal bailout nor a forgivable loan from the state will make it so. Diablo was designed in the 1960’s, is seismically-vulnerable to earthquakes, is not cost effective, and will require costly, as yet not analyzed, retrofits to meet Nuclear Regulatory Commission criteria. This proposal is now a drafted law and set to be voted on this Wednesday, August 31st. 

Thank you to our good friend Rochelle Becker of Alliance for Nuclear Responsibility for keeping the Guacamole Fund and the artists we work with well-informed, and for all the MANY organizations working endlessly together on the ongoing battle to close down Diablo Canyon for GOOD.

California supporters - Please take a few minutes to send a letter to your state legislators. These organizations have put together a page that will quickly lead you through creating a letter & sending it, and which also includes links to the drafted bill text & lots of other information & resources:

https://actionnetwork.org/letters/reject-newsoms-monster-nuclear-bailout?source=direct_link&

We will be providing updates as this plays out.. 

Meantime, we join Jackson’s tour in San Diego on August 31st, and meet with a great organization - Guitars in the Classroom.

Guitars in the Classroom just concluded 5 weeks of Summer Strummers Clubs for students in high-needs and marginalized neighborhoods in our community. Kids met every day for 3.5 hours after summer school and they made a lot of art, read incredible books, and played a ton of music. You can feel the joy… young lives transformed through music - www.guitarsintheclassroom.org

Another night in San Diego on September 1st gives us the opportunity to meet Sweet Relief. -- Sweet Relief Musicians Fund provides financial assistance to all types of career musicians and music industry workers who are struggling to make ends meet while facing physical or mental health issues, disability, or age-related problems. Grant recipients include musicians and music industry workers from across the country. Sweet Relief serves the music community by providing immediate financial assistance for things such as insurance premiums, prescriptions, medical treatment and operative procedures, housing costs, food costs, utilities, and other vital living expenses. www.sweetrelief.org

On September 4th, Jackson and the band hit hometown Los Angeles, where we will highlight Exposher Inc. -- Founded in 2008 as a mentor ship organization for high-school girls in the Greater Los Angeles area, their programs and services focus on academic excellence, career achievement, and personal development. Their primary objective is to bridge gaps often experienced by girls from under served communities, offering safe environments that cultivate creativity, passion, and self-care. Exposher’s mantra is to empower girls to reach their fullest potential with access to education, careers, mentor ship, community, sisterhood, travel, and building life skills. Exposher believes that transparent, open, and intimate conversations, with activities, help to prepare girls for womanhood and elevate them through life’s challenges.” -- www.exposherinc.org

Thanks to everyone - We’ll be back next week with some more great non-profits. Thank you for reading.

Peace,

Tom, Paula, Diane and Jeff