“I got this call from Aston Villa asking if I would like to meet the future King of England at Wetherspoon's station.”

No, that is neither a fake gag nor a conversation with a big pinch of irony. It happened.

William, Prince of Wales, next in line to the throne, asked to fulfill a bunch of Villa supporters for a midweek beer. It was Steve Jones, the chairman of Chasetown Football Club – a team that plays within the Northern Premier League, Division One West, the eighth tier English football league system — who had the duty of constructing every little thing possible.

Two days later, Jones meets to recollect a Wednesday afternoon like no other. Over a cider from Bulmers, the Prince spoke to eight other Villa fans for 45 minutes about all things Unai Emery, his players and their run within the Champions League.

Over sausage rolls and drinking coffee, Jones and his friend Darren Johnson attempt to reflect on a busy, incredulous 72 hours. They are die-hard home and away Villa fans with season tickets at the brand new 'Legends Lounge' at Villa Park, situated between the Trinity Road Stand and Holte End. Jones has sponsored players up to now and before switching places this season he sat in lounges where club directors sat.

“I got a call from Villa's commercial department,” says Jones, 56. “They wanted to know if I was going to the Everton game on Wednesday night, which I was. “They asked if I could meet anyone, but they desired to Don't tell me who at first. “Are they the owners?” I asked. “No, it’s a king and they want you to meet at this place.”

“I knew it could only be one person. Villa asked if I could get some fans together. I decided to bring my wife Julie, my son Daniel and the regulars to our lounge. I called each of them and said, “Look, are you available tomorrow before we go to Everton?” I would like to fulfill for a pint. I can't say why yet, but just trust me.”

“The dress code was a nightmare,” laughs Johnson, 54. “So we just showed up like we were going to soccer.”

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Let's get the obvious question out of the way: How did this all happen? How did Johnson, Jones and their villa friends and family end up in the pub with Prince William?

The answer was a combination of luck and discreet planning. Coincidentally, the prince's schedule was fully booked on Wednesday morning. He would attend the College of Paramedics' first emergency and critical care conference in Birmingham and give a speech paying tribute to the country's paramedics.

When the official duties were completed and before he returned to the South, a gap appeared in his diary. William, 42, knew he would have an hour and a half to kill.

An idea came to mind. That's understandable too – what's better than a weeknight drink while talking football?

The prince knew there would be plenty of Villa supporters at the station before he set off for Merseyside later that afternoon. His aides contacted Villa and asked if they could organize a group of supporters to meet him at Birmingham New Street station and just around the corner from the entrance where The London and Northern Western Wetherspoon's pub was located.

“He wanted it to be very understated,” Jones says. “He said: 'After I complete this engagement I want to meet some Villa fans'.”

Jones was told to reach at 2:30 p.m., but hating the delay and the small matter of meeting the heir to the throne, he didn’t arrive until 1:10 p.m. Nobody within the pub, neither staff nor patrons, knew in regards to the royal arrival.

“I had to find a decent table,” he says. “We went in and it was rammed but we got to the back where there was room. I started moving the tables so that there was enough space for us. Even though the pub landlord said we wouldn't be able to do it, we put together three tables and a mix of chairs – like we were going to your grandma's on Christmas Day. People wanted to use some of it, but we just put our coats over it.”

Strangely, one other group followed Jones and his friends in and commenced putting tables together. But with all due respect: They weren’t regulars in pubs. They preferred coffee and tea to beer and dressed elegantly, albeit in civilian clothes.

“One of these guys came up to us; They were his protection team,” Jones said. “They were happy that we got there early and picked that table. Every time a customer left, one of them would take over that spot or booth. When William showed up, we had no idea how many rank-and-file security guards there were. It was very subtle, which was great.

“We asked his team how we should approach him. They simply said, ‘He’s off duty, he’s here on his own time, so call him whatever you want, Will or William.’ There was no briefing – we could talk about anything.”

“He came in and he wasn't surrounded by a lot of security, just one of his aides,” Johnson said. “Bold as brass, he introduced himself, shook everyone's hand and said, 'Okay, shall we have a drink?'.”

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Although Prince William only attended his first game at Villa Park in November 2013 – in former owner Randy Lerner's private box – he has followed the club since childhood, together with his earliest experience as a fan being the FA Cup semi-final victory over Bolton Wanderers within the penalty shootout at Wembley Stadium in 2000.

The Prince makes every effort to follow every game and will probably be present in person every time his schedule allows. Last season he and his dignitaries entered the dressing room a number of times to wish Emery's team well. He is understood to most players and has been to Bodymoor Heath, Villa's training campus, to observe training sessions.

“The first question was why he got involved with Villa,” says Johnson. “He told us that certainly one of the individuals who sorted him and took him to high school was a Villa fan. They took him to his first game against Bolton. Will said that other than him and his son George, not one of the royals are fascinated with football.

“There was never a moment of boredom or an ungainly silence. No one around him sat with him or tried to listen. His eyes were at all times on us, he just talked to the table like a standard guy talking about Villa.

“I asked him if he would watch the game against Everton later. He said, “Yeah, me and George are watching.” I made a joke about whether he would get the distant or whether Kate (his wife Catherine, Princess of Wales) would have the TV that night.

“George is a Villa fan and we asked about the other children. He said he wouldn't force a football team on them as long as it wasn't Chelsea because all the people around him were Chelsea fans.

The prince asked for it once Jack GrealishHe wore the number 10 shirt, received Christian Benteke's boots and became close friends with another former Villa striker, John Carew. If Grealish William was beaten in the second city derby against Birmingham City in 2019. William hand-wrote a letter of support that was addressed to the player's home. More profound: when Stiliyan Petrov, another former Villa captain, suffered from acute leukemia, The Prince behaved similarly.

“He had extensive knowledge of Villa,” says Jones. “We touched on a few topics and he was very eloquent. He didn't have to look up to his helpers, he knew everything. WWe talked about the recent West Ham game and the changes Emery made in the second half. He started talking about double pivots and how Emery changed Youri Tielemans' position. We said “What?”

“He talked about possible transfers, who could leave and who could come. We talked about PSR (profit and sustainability rules) and Chelsea selling their women's team. He admitted he would really like to have more opinions on certain things in the sport, but he can't do this in his role as FA president.”

As the subject of Villa turned in a single direction or one other, from PSR to Tielemans' playing skills, Prince William revealed certainly one of the more royally guarded secrets: In his free time, he frequently posts on online fan forums.

“He said he kept up to date with Villa gossip because he was on all the fan forums,” says Jones. “He goes by different names and posts because he gets a feel for what’s going on and what the opinion is.”

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The Prince finished his pint and after three quarters of an hour a member of staff, who had been sitting, as Jones puts it, “quite a distance” from the Villa group, reminded him that his train could be leaving shortly.

However, he was in no hurry. The lack of urgency to maneuver was so great, and since he was engrossed in conversation, he needed to be reminded twice more that his train was quickly approaching.

“It was a liberation into normality,” says Johnson. “In the end he just said, 'OK, shall we take some photos?'. Everyone had one to themselves before a few group photos were taken. When he left we had another pint. It was a once in a million thing.”

Local News

A Massachusetts judge has dismissed a lawsuit against the Office of the State Auditor, thwarting a former worker who claimed he was forced to resign “to avoid bloodshed” after he was accused of assaulting a co-worker in the lavatory of being sexually harassed within the office.

Judge David A. Deakin sided with State Auditor Diana DiZoglio's office and located that a grievance filed by former State Auditor Kehinde Olatunji Adedeji in Suffolk Superior Court didn’t meet legal standards.

Adedeji's lawsuit stemmed from his Sept. 27 meeting with two officials from DiZoglio's office, General Counsel Michael Leung-Tat and Deputy State Comptroller Stephen Lisauskas. At the top of the meeting, Adedeji said he felt he had no alternative but to resign.

“As I suspected that they might kill me in the office that day…against my will, I terminated my employment to prevent bloodshed on me, an innocent person,” he wrote in his grievance originally filed in October. The first reported news of the lawsuit.

Adedeji represented himself in court and named DiZoglio's office and a handful of employees in his grievance. He requested an annulment of his resignation and $555,000 in compensation for “the forced termination of my employment, harassment, hatred, lies, slander, discrimination and slander.” [sic].”

Deakin previously rejected Adedeji's application for an injunction reinstating his employment. Reached for comment, Leung-Tat referred to Deakin's previous order as a source of “relevant context” for Adedeji's grievance and allegations.

“As this is a personnel issue, we are limited in our ability to comment on this matter,” Leung-Tat said.

In an email to Boston.com, Adedeji called Deakin's dismissal of the lawsuit an “injustice.”

“I will appeal the verdict or pursue it in federal court,” he promised. Adedeji has filed the same grievance in federal court and has also indicated he’s in search of to take his case to the Massachusetts Commission Against Discrimination.

The auditor's office responds

In court filings, the Office of the State Auditor alleged that Adedeji “began exhibiting disturbing behavior” shortly after he was hired in October 2023.

DiZoglio's office accused Adedeji of failing to reveal his ownership of a charter transportation company and said he made a Facebook post “in which he appeared to use his position as a state auditor to influence the actions of the Massachusetts State Police and Lynn Police.” “. The office also alleged that Adedeji filmed himself and his colleagues without their consent and posted the videos on social media.

For his part, Adedeji said he disclosed his small business and shot the videos outside of working hours. The clips, he claimed, “connoted no negativity; Rather, it shows a happy, healthy and relaxed staff.”

In court documents, the auditor's office also alleged that Adedeji “continued to engage in inappropriate behavior in the workplace to the point that most other auditors in the office refused to work with him and female interns expressed discomfort with his attempts.” “To connect with them through social media.”

In one notable incident, Adedeji allegedly described his sexual exploits in “detail” to a co-worker while within the restroom, in keeping with the comptroller's office, which accused him of attributing the comments to “boy talk” and threatening to retaliate against the employee who reported his behavior and those that investigated the incident.

He allegedly told human resources that employees had been talking about all varieties of “naughty things” within the restroom, adding, “Us boys act like boys in this restroom,” the auditor's office said. Adedeji has denied allegations of sexual harassment.

“I deserve justice”

Leung-Tat and Lisauskas met with Adedeji on Sept. 27 to debate the long run of his employment and explained that his path forward included resignation and possible termination, the auditor's office said. Despite assurances that he had time to think about his options, Adedeji reportedly demanded “a piece of paper so that he could resign immediately.”

But Adedeji had a unique memory of the meeting. He claims that Leung-Tat was holding a typed letter of resignation while Lisauskas was holding a plain piece of paper.

“[Leung-Tat] repeated the following: “You have the option to terminate your employment immediately or we will have your employment terminated.” He continued: “If you resign, it will be easy for you to continue to work with other government agencies in Massachusetts, but if we your If you terminate your employment, you will never be able to work for a government agency in Massachusetts again,” Adedeji wrote in his grievance.

DiZoglio's office said Adedeji continued to contact the office after his resignation, using “language that staff increasingly found threatening.” The Office of the State Auditor issued a trespassing order against Adedeji in October.

Adedeji, in one among his later court filings, quoted the Bible and argued: “As a Christian, I have reserved the right to be angry without being violent.”

He added: “Instead of violence, I turned to the Suffolk Supreme Court for help and justice. I understand that the courts are not made for animals, but for damaged people like me. I deserve justice, sir.”

MONTEREY – In recent years, “sustainable” has grow to be a buzzword, and firms world wide are scrambling to market their products to appeal to environmentally conscious customers.

It is increasingly necessary to be sure that these corporations are literally living as much as their sustainability claims, especially in relation to seafood. Since the Nineteen Seventies, the proportion of fish stocks which can be at sustainable levels has fallen from 90% to 66%, and 90% of those fish stocks are exploited at or above their sustainable limit.

It was a no brainer for Monterey Bay Aquarium staff to take motion to handle this issue. In the nearly 40 years for the reason that aquarium opened, its impact has expanded far beyond the boundaries of the constructing. One of its most far-reaching programs is Seafood watcha sustainable seafood advisory list that gives guides for everybody from grocery shopping to restaurants to large food corporations like Whole Foods.

It “is truly considered the global gold standard for science-based seafood sustainability,” Julie Packard, the chief director of the Monterey Bay Aquarium, recently told the Herald.

With the assistance of Seafood watch and others, over 80% of food corporations within the United States and European Union have committed to sourcing sustainable seafood. But this system wasn't all the time the national phenomenon it’s now. In fact, the founding was more of an accident, said Erin Hudson, program director of Seafood Watch on the aquarium. In 1997, the aquarium opened a short lived exhibit on sustainable seafood called “Angling for Solutions: What's the Catch?”, specializing in concepts of overfishing and bycatch.

In keeping with the exhibit's theme, the aquarium's café modified its menu to supply more sustainably sourced seafood and placed informative cards on each of the café tables to elucidate the changes. Aquarium staff noticed people taking these cards home and realized there was a necessity for details about sustainable seafood.

“That was kind of the aha moment and the Seafood Watch program was born,” Hudson said.

RELATED: Going Against the Current: What Sets Monterey Apart from Other Aquariums

Seafood Watch's fish guides divide fish into three different categories: green-rated, which is essentially the most sustainable option, yellow, a very good alternative when green-rated seafood is just not available, and red, which needs to be avoided. The guide could be found online at https://www.seafoodwatch.org/.

These recommendations are all based on scientific studies and surveys and rankings can vary even inside a fish species depending on how and where the fish was caught. Chinook salmon, for instance, is a very good buy if farmed in New Zealand, but not so good if caught in Puget Sound.

At the beginning of Seafood Watch in 1999, they developed a small map with a handful of species. But as demand increased, the variety of species grew from 32 in 2002 to over 300 species this yr. In addition to printed maps, there’s also an internet site and app where you will discover guides by species or region, in addition to more specific forms of food like sushi. For individuals who have to run to the food market on the last minute, the fundamental regional guides should suffice, Hudson says. But if you desire to delve deeper into the matter, there’s detailed information on each of the 300 species.

Although this system was originally intended as a user-friendly production for people, it has had a significant impact on the restaurant industry. “Culinarians are ambassadors for sustainable seafood,” Hudson explains. “They reach people through food in a very unique way.”

Seafood Watch works with each restaurant giants just like the Cheesecake Factory and individual chefs from smaller establishments. However, cooking seafood sustainably could be harder than simply following a guide.

At the cafe where all of it began, Monterey Bay Aquarium Executive Chef Matt Beaudin says he never has a boring day at work. One day he may be working with suppliers at US Foods, the following he may be talking to an abalone diver in San Diego. One of the challenges of his work, he explains, is finding seafood that’s each sustainable and delicious. “As a chef, I often find that environmental friendliness is valued, but that doesn’t always translate into good taste on the plate.”

Beaudin remembers tasting the right green Chinook salmon and wanting to purchase it for the cafe, but his fishmonger wouldn't sell it. However, after some persuasion, the supplier began selling this salmon, and it’s now a preferred dish in restaurants throughout the Monterey Bay region. “If it’s easy to do the right thing, everyone will do the right thing,” he explains.

But sourcing sustainable seafood hasn't been easy for everybody. Hajime Sato, the James Beard Award-winning chef and owner of Sozai, a sushi restaurant in Detroit, Michigan, decided to introduce sustainable seafood to his restaurant greater than 15 years ago when questions from students in his classes prompted him to to seek out out about sourcing common sushi fish. More than a decade later, he still fights on daily basis to make sure his restaurant is each sustainable and profitable. Part of the issue is distribution. Sato said an organization supplies ingredients to just about 80% of all sushi restaurants within the U.S. and infrequently doesn't offer the fish Sato desires to buy. This is because consumers are used to certain forms of sushi, which often use unsustainable fish.

“When people go to a sushi restaurant, they know exactly what they want, and if we don't have it, they'll leave,” Sato explained.

“If you know what you know, don't you want to change?” he asked. “What I do shouldn’t be anything special.”

Sato's relationship with Seafood Watch wasn't all the time easy. Although he has known and used Seafood Watch's guidelines for years, he says the organization has not all the time approved of lots of his seafood, reminiscent of bycatch octopus that might otherwise have been wasted.

However, this yr he partnered with this system to publish informational articles about sustainable sushi and likewise develop some recipes. “We have the same goal,” he said. “If we have any chance of saving the ocean in the future, we must work together.”

Beaudin hopes to make it easier for chefs like Sato to source sustainable seafood. Last yr, he worked with major restaurant supplier US Foods to create a listing of environmentally friendly and good alternative seafood that chefs and other shoppers can use when shopping. Beaudin plans to send these guides back to Seafood Watch to disseminate to culinary experts.

Beaudin believes that by working with corporations on the source, sustainable seafood will only grow to be easier to buy. “It can be overwhelming to have to constantly think about what fish to use,” he admitted. “If we can make the models simple, that’s the way to go.”

As excited as he’s about Seafood Watch's partnerships with major corporations, Beaudin emphasizes that much of the ability to create change lies with individual consumers. Because if nobody desires to buy sustainable fish, nobody will serve it. “Never underestimate the importance of personal choices when it comes to sustainability,” he said.

Sato agrees, emphasizing that for change to occur, consumers need to begin asking questions. “Get away from the four or five fish you might be eating and then start asking chefs the little question: 'What's local,' 'What's in season,' 'What's sustainable?'” he said. “If you ask the fishmonger or the restaurant a question, they might think it’s a good marketing tool. And if they get these questions often, then maybe something will change.”

“We can maybe slowly change things by a percent or two. That’s what the general public can do, just a little bit more.”

PHILADELPHIA — Robyn Faye, an authorized menopause therapist, left her job as a midwife over a decade ago to give attention to menopause, sexual health and gender-affirming care. In 2015, she became only the second physician in Pennsylvania to be certified as a sexuality counselor by the American Association of Sexuality Educators, Counselors and Therapists (AASECT).

Faye said she decided to return to high school to grow to be a sexuality counselor on the University of Michigan because a lot of her patients were having trouble with intimacy. “I realized I had no one to ask when it came to sexual health,” Faye said.

Faye spoke to The Inquirer concerning the hormonal lava lamp inside us, how we enjoy intimacy as we age, and the recommendation she once received from the late sex therapist Ruth Westheimer, “Dr. Ruth.”

This conversation has been edited for length and clarity.

Women with symptoms – hot flashes, night sweats, difficulty concentrating, mood swings and insomnia – often complain that they’re “going through menopause”, but that just isn’t entirely true. Can you explain?

Menopause is once you don't have a period in any respect for 12 months. Menopause only lasts a 12 months, so it's a misnomer to say, “I'm in menopause.” Most women come to my office during perimenopause, which normally starts five to 10 years before menopause. That's the transition period, the difficult time when your hormones are like a lava lamp. You're all tousled, and that's the worst time. The average age that perimenopause starts is 51 or 52, but symptoms can start even earlier.

What is hormone substitute therapy (HRT)?

We actually call it hormone therapy because we're not replacing the precise dose of hormones you had as a young woman when your ovaries were working at full speed. Hormone therapy uses estrogen and progesterone. The mostly used estrogen is estradiol, which is certainly one of the estrogens your ovaries used to provide. We use a natural progesterone called prometrium, which is comprised of peanuts, unless someone has an allergy. We also use testosterone, which is a sex hormone produced by your ovaries and adrenal glands, and production declines as you age. When we start hormone therapy, I don't start with all three – estrogen, progesterone, testosterone. I see how someone is doing symptomatically by giving just estrogen and progesterone. The foremost reason for hormone therapy is to alleviate vasomotor symptoms like hot flashes and night sweats.

Would you recommend it? Some women fear that their risk of breast cancer will increase.

You've been taking estrogen all of your life, so what's the danger? Studies have shown that for each 1,000 women treated, there's one extra case of breast cancer per 12 months, and for five years of taking it, there's three extra cases. The risk is analogous to drinking two drinks a day and never being very energetic. In fact, the danger could be very small. The bottom line is that it makes perfect sense to take it in the course of the 10-year window that begins when someone starts having irregular periods. For quality of life, it's definitely price taking it.

Does it help with brain fog? How are you able to tell brain fog from dementia?

Hormone therapy just isn’t really useful for stopping or slowing cognitive decline. But if someone actually tells me, “I have all these other symptoms, including brain fog,” I've found that I can successfully alleviate their symptoms. But if the one symptom is brain fog and there's a family history of dementia, I'm more concerned that there's something else happening. I’d try hormone therapy for 3 months, but when it doesn't improve, I'll send them to a neurologist.

What do you recommend to women that suffer from vaginal dryness?

We discuss moisturizing and lubrication. Once you undergo menopause, you lose the natural ability to retain moisture. We have over-the-counter moisturizers and prescription vaginal estrogen, which is best since it's also been shown to scale back the danger of urinary tract infections (UTIs). Lubricants, that are a complete different thing, can prevent painful intercourse. Lubricants must be either water-based or pH-balanced. You have to have a look at the label. I even have to offer them a complete lecture on it. I ask them, “Who buys your lubricants?” they usually say, “Oh, my husband,” and I ask, “Do you let them buy your bras?” Yes, he was in chemistry class, but he doesn't know what the pH of the vagina is. If he knows, then mazel tov, but more often than not he doesn't.

What do you consider the recent study that shows toxic metals in tampons? Should women stop using them?

I'm really excited by that. Most of my patients use menstrual cups and never tampons. That's really scary, but like several study, more studies should be done. I’d advise people to make use of fewer tampons, possibly only on heavy menstrual days. I don't think I'm going to say outright, “Oh my God, everyone stop using tampons.” There definitely should be more studies done before we panic.

You focus on women in transition. Can you explain that in additional detail?

I treat transgender people in my practice. I offer hormone treatments to gender diverse people. I prescribe sex hormones and supply gender reassignment care. These are medications for female-to-male hormone therapy. There are other ways to do that—I can prescribe an oral pill, an injection, an implant, or a patch. Not everyone has abdominal surgery, so that they still should be seen by a gynecologist even in the event that they are actually male. I still do breast exams and annual Pap smears, and prescribe mammograms when needed. We also discuss protected sex and contraception. I advocate for inclusive, considerate, and affirming look after transgender patients. Patients must find a way to are available in and ask questions and never feel like someone is judging them.

Tell me concerning the time you were on a Zoom call with “Dr. Ruth.”

I had emailed her to ask her an issue, and he or she was kind enough to talk with me over Zoom in May 2020. The query was something about sexual dysfunction and how you can talk over with my older ladies about sexual health. I even have ladies of their 80s coming in from The Villages in Florida (a 55+ community known for, um, romance). They come every six months and have the most effective sex ever. But certainly one of them was struggling and was a little bit more prudish than her friends. I assumed, “You know what? You should ask Dr. Ruth.” She was awesome and told me to talk over with them the way in which you talk over with your 60- or 40-year-olds.

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SANTA CRUZ – A strawberry tree within the car parking zone of a Santa Cruz office constructing was spared after residents of a neighboring constructing protested its planned cutting down – with one man climbing the tree and occupying it.

“I've always considered myself an activist,” said neighbor Brett Garrett, who climbed the tree Tuesday morning. “And I like trees in general, but I didn't consider myself a tree activist until last week.”

The strawberry tree, believed to have been planted about 10 years ago, towers over a patio within the neighboring Walnut Commons, an apartment complex. One of the office constructing's tenants – the nonprofit Ecology Action – had planned to remove it on Tuesday to make room for a shed to store electric bikes.

According to Heather Henricks of Ecology Action, the situation of the shed had been planned for a yr and the tree's welfare had been taken under consideration, however the nonprofit's leadership saw its existence as a possible nuisance to neighbors.

“We gave a lot of thought to the location and whether to remove the tree,” Henricks told the Sentinel. “Until last week, we were under the impression that the residents of Walnut Commons would welcome the tree's removal, as they had complained about its tree debris on their patios and the possibility that thieves could use it to climb over the dividing wall between our properties.”

But about every week ago, some Walnut Commons residents on the patio overheard the office constructing's property manager discussing the tree's removal. Word quickly spread to other residents, including Garrett, who has lived within the constructing because it was built nearly 10 years ago.

“The news spread like wildfire throughout the building and everyone was really concerned that we might lose this tree,” Garrett said. “It's right next to our patio and feels like a part of our environment even though it's on their property.”

Neighbors put together a petition against the removal of the strawberry tree, and nearly every resident within the constructing signed it — 23 signatures. Garrett said he and his neighbors thought the tree's removal was supported by Cruzio Internet, one other tenant within the constructing, and were surprised to search out out it was Ecology Action. After residents created the petition, they reached out to the nonprofit.

“As the climate crisis worsens, we need passionate environmental advocates more than ever,” Henricks said. “We were deeply touched to learn that our neighbors felt a strong connection to the strawberry tree and felt compelled to ask us to adapt the plan.”

As of Monday afternoon, the tree was still scheduled to be cut down. But Garrett, who is often involved in environmental issues akin to clean energy and transportation, decided he needed to take drastic motion. At around 7 a.m. Tuesday morning, he climbed the tree – inspired partly by Julia Butterfly Hill, who lived in an old Humboldt County redwood tree for greater than two years within the late Nineties to forestall it from being cut down.

“I don't know how many weeks she spent up in that tree,” Garrett said. “I was prepared to spend a few hours.”

Garrett said climbing the tree was an empowering experience and that he felt peaceful as he sat there Tuesday morning. After about two hours, Chuck Tremper, chief operating officer of Ecology Action, gave him some excellent news.

“He pulled into the parking lot, noticed me in the tree, came over and said he wanted to know the tree wasn't going to be cut down,” Garrett said. “I was very relieved.”

Garrett mentioned that an activist's actions don’t at all times produce the specified end result and that he was thrilled that the neighbors' efforts saved the tree.

“As an activist, you're usually working on things and banging on walls and nothing ever changes,” Garrett said. “It was really satisfying to just work on it for a couple of days with a good group of other people and actually save the tree. It shows me that activism is really worthwhile and you can really make a difference.”

After Garrett safely descended the strawberry tree and returned home on Tuesday, Tremper sent a message to the residents of Walnut Commons.

“All of us at Ecology Action are touched by how many people in our neighborhood have come to love and appreciate the tree – and feel moved to protect it. And we want to protect it,” Tremper wrote. “After some late-night brainstorming and drawing, we've found a way to do just that. While we'll need to further reduce our parking and make some other adjustments that will increase our team's workload, we're proposing to move our bike storage building farther from the southern property line so the tree can stay.”