Annette Richmond at fundraising event.

Annette Richmond: "Feels Good to Be Heard"

The abrupt cancellation in mid-June of proposed aerial spraying of the light brown apple moth is a victory for its well-organized detractors, among them Annette Richmond, who sums up the feeling overall: Winning this particular battle, she says, is sweet. "It makes me feel so good to be a part of a grassroots campaign that was actually heard."

Richmond runs a small Marin-based public relations business, Avant Garde PR, that handles Biondina, a spa in Mill Valley, and Be Sweet, a company that teaches South African women how to make a living "while still being able to work from home and look after their children." After hearing about the proposed pesticide spraying, on cities and land where crops grow, she thought her industry should know more about the issue. So she put together "Chic for a Cause: Stop the Spray,"" featuring a runway show of organic fashion and raising $1,000 for StoptheSpray.org.

"In the scheme of things, I know I only played a minor role,"says Richmond, 23. "But I can comfortably say that I did make more people aware of the issue, and knowledge is power."

Dan Hillmer: Modeling a Greener China

Conceptual drawing for "garden district" in Shandong Province.

A Larkspur city councilman''s design for a huge new "garden district" That would implement environmentally friendly principles is under consideration by high-ranking officials of the People's Republic of China. The other four plans in contention are by Japanese firms.

The plan, by Dan Hillmer of Gast Hillmer Urban Design, calls for 8,000 acres of urban forest, river restoration, "walkable" residential communities, parks, and a light rail corridor, along with farms and wind/solar energy installations just outside the city. In all, the plan envisions 30 percent open space.

"We're not trying to change the country," says Hillmer, "but this district would certainly be a model."

Hillmer was contacted in December by David Hong Jiang He of Fremont and Dalain, China, who had been surfing the Web in search of the right designer for a new, 35-square-kilometer district capable of housing half a million people, to be built in Shandong Province in northeast China. A childhood friend of the governor of Dilain, He had been invited to submit a plan.

The new district, called Anshun, is to be built on what is currently agricultural land northwest of Weifang prefecture, a city of 8.5 million known for its diesel engine factory and its annual kite festival. Three rivers run through the area, and the plan calls for restoration of the riverfront areas.

Like a three-mile-long green "+" sign, broad areas of urban forest cross the new city district, with specific areas dedicated to mixed residential, financial, institutional, and retail/office sectors.

At the heart of Hillmer''s district plan is a sports stadium and complex that would host women's world championships in tennis, archery, volleyball, basketball, and swimming. The sports center is surrounded by a water treatment plant "disguised as an amenity - what you'll see are pools and fountains."