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Oh, and if you’re on the Westside on Tuesday, February 23rd at 8:30am, stop by the Venice Grind, 12224 Venice Blvd. 90066, for a free cup of coffee on us! Yvonne’s Gluten-Free Goodies, too! Come on by!

and here it is today — all done: AWESOMENESSSSS.

And check out the a-DOR-able crew who did all the work: It was supposed to take 3 days and they actually finished in 2 days! Swift and efficient. Such sweet sorrow to see them go…

Now all that’s left is to be hooked up to the grid. It may take a while, but I promise to post as soon as DWP says we’re good to go.

And I know I mentioned this before, but the best part may be the fact that, because we’re doing the lease option, um, we haven’t had to write a single check; it’s all in the lease. So, for the next 20 years, we’ll pay exactly the same electric bill we do now.

Want more info on this for your house? Check out GoSolar Mar Vista on OpenMarVista.net or SolarCity.com. And I didn’t get any better deal for writing this than anybody else would. See for yourself.

Aleida Montejo and Kevin O’Donnell, of ThreadCollaborative, were also on hand to present a fantastic slide show on solar energy. It was very enlightening and exciting! Bill Rosendahl, our city councilman, and Kate Anderson, candidate for State Assembly from the 23rd District also came out to hear the presentations.(R to L: Demetrios Mavromichalis, Kate Anderson, Kevin O’Donnell, Aleida Montejo, James Brennan and John Ayers.)

And the event was held in 12024 Venice Blvd, a new building with retail space below, and live-work space above. (I personally have my fingers crossed for some new retail options on the Blvd. It’s so nice to walk and shop! But I digress…)

Solar panels have been around for a while, but the big news these days is the Lease. Leasing opens solar up to many more people than before because it means no money down, making it a much more attractive proposition.

The Open Mar Vista GoSolar program is cool because it takes it one step further and offers a group discount on the purchase and/or the lease for those of us neighborhood early-adopters. But you must sign up by October 25th, 2009 to take advantage of the group deal. Sign up at Open Mar Vista for a free consultation.

The audience had lots of questions, and everyone needs to evaluate it for themselves to see if it makes sense. Here are some of the top concerns I gathered people have, in no particular order:

• The lease means you’re locking in a rate for 20 years — seems like a big commitment to some. But we do have mortgages, most of us, and that’s a 30-year commitment, after all. Plus, what if electric rates don’t go up over the course of 20 years and we’re actually paying MORE through the lease? Oh, wait, that’s not reality-based. Probably a pretty good deal to lock in the rate now. In addition, as DWP customers, our lease rate stays exactly the same for the 20 years; for other providers, like SoCal Edison, there’s a 3.9% increase per year. Nice negotiating, DWP!

• In the course of the 20-year lease, what if I need to re-roof my house? (SolarCity says they work with the roofers to lift the panels up while the new roof goes on and put it back when they’re done, but that there will be a labor charge.) Side benefit: The panels protect your roof from the harsh effects of the sun. Nice.

• Would we still be able to take advantage of the tax savings and state rebates of the solar panels if we do the lease? (I’m not totally clear on this, so double check with them, but what I understood was we would get the tax savings, but not the rebates; that in fact the rebates go to the financing entity that makes the lease possible at all — in this case, US Bank.)

• How much maintenance will it take? We were told we’ll have to clean off the soot and smog periodically, but I’m not sure how I would do that — I’d have to climb up on my roof? Sounds out of my realm. I’d have to hire someone, I guess? SolarCity will do maintenance on the panels, in terms fixing them if they ever break, but cleaning is up to the homeowner.

So it’s all a question of whether buying or leasing would work best for you, and whether your house has the right profile for a solar system. Sign up now and find out, Mar Vista! I just scheduled my appointment and I’ll know soon how much money I can save by going solar, not to mention how much I’ll be helping the planet.

12024 Venice Blvd., right next to the library.

Plus the kids’ craft booth is in a new spot, behind the Vegan section,and there’s also a new food booth: wood-fired pizza!The Mar Vista Community Council booth has moved down the street to the corner of Pacific Ave.,and the biggest news is that the Mar Vista Community Council Green Committee will now have a booth every week! Here’s Sherri Akers, co-chair of the committee,and here are John Ayers and James Brennan, of Open Mar Vista,who were promoting the Mar Vista GoSolar program, which launches next Saturday evening, 7/25, at 6:00pm. More info about the event can be found at Open Mar Vista.

Well, there’s a new era in solar now. Instead of buying the panels yourself, which can cost tens of thousands of dollars, the trend is toward leasing the panels long-term instead. This saves on upfront costs and, so the theory goes, provides ongoing savings as well, since the rate gets locked in, even though energy costs will most likely go up.

Luckily for us in Mar Vista, Open Mar Vista has been focusing on solar energy for some time and has partnered with SolarCity, which will be offering special pricing and affordable financing options on both residential and commercial solar systems to those who participate in the GoSolar Mar Vista community program.

James Brennan, co-founder of Open Mar Vista, points out that there are state and federal incentives for solar, as well as tax rebates, which all help make this an affordable way to get clean energy.  Open Mar Vista has a stated goal of reaching 100% clean energy in Mar Vista by 2018, which was inspired by Al Gore’s Alliance for Climate Protection and its RePower America campaign.

GoSolar Mar Vista participants are eligible for discounts of $500 off the retail price of installation, if they buy the panels, or three free months if they were to choose the leasing option from SolarCity. You can sign up for the GoSolar Mar Vista program here, and I encourage you to do so. Don’t worry, you’re not committing to anything just by signing up; you’re just on the list to get more info. But you must sign up by October 25th, 2009 to be eligible, so don’t wait too long.

In addition, SolarCity is offering free rooftop Wi-Fi antennas as part of the Open Mar Vista Community Wi-Fi network, which is an AWESOME extra benefit. At this rate, Mar Vista will be the most connected and cleanest-running neighborhood in the state in no time!

John Ayers, Open Mar Vista‘s other co-founder, has invited us all to the GoSolar Mar Vista Launch event, on Saturday, July 25th at 6:00pm, at 12024 Venice Blvd. RSVP at GoSolar Mar Vista. This will be a town hall meeting with lots of information available, and there will be delicious food provided by The Curious Palate. Sounds like a party this Mar Vista resident won’t be missing! Hope to see you there.

James Brennan and John Ayers created Open Mar Vista, and they’re helping to make Mar Vista a place on the cutting edge, what with our free Wi-Fi and the Solar project. Join today and see what you’ll learn about the neighborhood!

Got an interest in Solar? Crafts? Animals? Wellness? Music? There are groups for all of them! Check it out.

OpenMarVista.net

It may sound like I’m going overboard, but I can’t help myself: how awesome is it to have free access to the internet? It’s extremely awesome.

Wi-fi is present in many places, but not often for free. Airports have networks that charge by the minute, as do Starbucks and other cafes. I’ve recently found a few free hot spots, including the food court at the Westside Pavilion, and yes, Culver City does offer free wi-fi in the downtown district. But what’s so cool about the Mar Vista wi-fi is that it’s a Citizen’s Initiative.

Started by James Brennan and John Ayers, the Open Mar Vista Wi-Fi project aims to provide access to the entire community by having sponsors provide the Meraki antennas and the Verizon Fios fiber optics with 500 – 1000′ ranges spreading the internet love around. So far, sponsors have been mainly the businesses along Venice Blvd., between Centinela and Inglewood, and there’s a cluster around Beethoven school, but there are a handful of residential sponsors, and Mar Vista Mom has recently – and proudly – joined the movement, and so a little bit more of the Mar Vista community is now covered.

Access For All, I say! 

By the way, check out Open Mar Vista — it’s another great way to stay connected to our community.

There will be musical performances featuring the 9-piece salsa band OPA OPA and dance by Folkloriko Veracruzano. For the kids, there will be crafts and pinatas, and since it’s the first Sunday of the month, the Mar Vista Arts and Crafts Collective will be there, too. The festivities start at 9am, but be there at 11am for some “spontaneous community theater”, called JOY, and sponsored by Open Mar Vista. Can’t wait to see what that’s all about!!

Check back on Sunday for a wrap-up of the day.

An original post by Sarah Auerswald.