Thanksgiving Holiday

For the Thanksgiving Holiday

the Library will be closed

Thursday, November 26th - Monday November 30th

We wish you all a

Happy Thanksgiving

Today, today, today. Bless us...

and help us grow.

From the Rosh Hashanah Liturgy

May the blessing of light be on you, light without and light within. May the blessed sunshine shine on you and warm your heart till it glows like a great peat fire, so that the stranger may come and warm himself at it, and also a friend. -Traditional Irish Blessing

Gratitude is heaven itself.

-William Blake

Give us thankful hearts...in this the season of Thy Thanksgiving. May we be thankful for health and strength, for sun and rain and peace. Let us seize the day and the opportunity and strive for that greatness of spirit that measures life not by its disappointments but by its possibilities.... - W.E.B. Du Bois.

Round the table

Peace and joy prevail

May all who share

this season's delight

enjoy countless more.

-Chinese Blessing-

All quotes taken from A Grateful Heart, edited by M. J. Ryan.

Meet the Author: Pat Tanumihardja

So what do you do when something terrible happens, like your favorite library doesn't get the 66.67% vote it needs to win a stable and secure source of funding?

Go sit in your grandmother's kitchen and let her comfort you with her wisdom and delicious home-cooking. Or this Thursday evening, go to the Library and experience the comfort, culture and cuisine of Asian Grandmothers.

Pat Tanumihardja will present her new cookbook, The Asian Grandmothers Cookbook. along with some tasty samples - Thursday, at 7 pm.

For more information, go to Pat's web site and blog:

http://www.ediblewords.com/

http://theasiangrandmotherscookbook.wordpress.com/

A Narrow Loss for Measure J

65.91% is a tremendous amount of support for the Library. But according to law, it is not enough to win. Measure J required 66.67%, approximately 30-35 more votes to pass.

The specific numbers posted yesterday on the Monterey County Election website are:

Semi-Final Election Results for Measure J
YES 2,747 votes 65.91%

NO 1,421 votes 34.09%

Thank you to the 2,747 residents who voted for Measure J. Thank you to all the wonderful volunteers who worked on the Yes on Measure J campaign. Thank you to everyone else, who lent their time and support, in seen and unseen, large and small ways.

Library's Lucky Day???

"Ballot Tabulation" is on the schedule today for the Monterey County Election Department. That means they will be counting vote-by-mail and provisional ballots, and adjusting the numbers that were posted November 3rd.

"There will definitely be new numbers," we were told Thursday by Election Department officials. How those new numbers add up regarding Measure J remains to be seen. As noted in previous posts, the Library is trailing by 1.5%.

FYI, there may be more than one update during the day. It was suggested that interested voters check the Election website after 5 pm on Friday. Numbers posted Friday will not be "the final certified" results, but they will be a good indicator of final results. "There may or may not be additional changes on Monday," (a day reserved for "ballot duplication and tabulation, if necessary.") Therefore, it was suggested people check their website again Monday after 5 pm.

Your comments, letters, and the vote demonstrate undeniable support for the Library. Thank you - for speaking up to keep the library open, help guarantee a vibrant future for our community, and a continuing legacy of literacy and learning in Pacific Grove.

While We Wait.....

While we wait for the final election results.... an evening of poetry and prose awaits you at the 2nd Writers Readings : An evening of Prose and Poetry.

Since the last event, many local authors have expressed interest in participating. "Who is on the program?" you wonder.... The only way to find out is to show up! Please join us for another evening of inspiration, laughter, and celebration of the written word.

"Wait and See"

Today we were told by the Monterey County Elections Department that the Measure J race is still too close to call. Countywide, there are 8,500 ballots that have not yet been tallied. We do not know how many of those are ballots regarding Measure J. (We were told that information is not available.)

According to the official Schedule regulating the verification and tabultation of ballots, the Ballot Tabulation for vote-by-mail and provisional ballots will be on Friday, November 13th. After those ballots have been counted, the results will be posted on the Election Department's website .

Please note: the results posted on November 13th may not be the final count. The Elections Department has until November 23rd to submit the official election results.

So here at the Library, we continue to "wait and see." A win is still possible....

What Now?

Semi-Final Election Results for Measure J

YES 2142 votes 65.23%
NO 1,142 votes 34.77%

In yesterday's election, the residents of Pacific Grove came out in solid support for the Library. But according to the Semi-Final Election Results, posted on the Monterey County Election website, 65.23% voted in favor of the parcel tax and 34.77% voted against the tax. 66.7%, a two-thirds majority, is required to win.

Does that mean Measure J lost? Not necessarily.

At this point, the key factor is how many votes are left to be counted, e.g., remaining absentee ballots and provisional ballots. (A provisional ballot is a paper ballot used by a voter when there is some problem in establishing a voters eligibility. The ballot will be counted only if election officials determine that the person was in fact entitled to vote.)

According to Measure J volunteers who were calling registered voters over the weekend, there is still hope. Among absentee voters, there was strong support for Measure J.

We have not heard when the final results will be posted. But as Yogi Berra said, "It's not over until it's over."