Starting tomorrow, July 22, 2008, the City of Novato will begin enforcing a strict secondhand smoke ordinance. Some will see it as a draconian assault on their rights; most will probably consider it a breath of fresh air. Either way, it prohibits smoking within 20 feet of operable doors or windows of buildings, bus stops, ATMs, and ticket lines, as well as at any park, public event, restaurant, bar, and even within apartment buildings. Exceptions are inside private residences and tobacco shops. (Is there a tobacconist in Novato? Telford's Pipe and Cigar in Mill Valley is the only one I can think of in the county, although as a non-smoker, I admittedly don't know really have a need to know much about them.)

Fines range from $100 to $500, depending on the number of violations.

Forbes has named Marin County number 15 on its list of the top 20 places in the country to raise a family. Rankings are largely based on school quality, followed by other factors like cost of living, air quality, crime rate, and commute time. One thing they ding us for is the astronomical media home price, but of course we know that this factors in things like $25 million-dollar estates in Belvedere as well as less costly homes in perfectly fine communities like Novato and San Rafael.

Read the article here on Forbes.com.

Forbes also declared last year that Marin had the best schools in the nation.

Get FREE admission to the Appel & Frank "Babes & Babies" Shopping Event in San Francisco this Sunday, July 20, from 10 am–2 pm at JCC of San Francicsco, located at 3200 California Street at Presidio. Babes & Babies brings together over 50 talented emerging designers who create unique items specifically for modern moms and their trendy tots! Moms can outfit their little ones in high style at designers liven up traditional offerings of clothes, accessories and more, all at discounted prices. The first 300 guests will receive a fabulous goodie bag!

Ever since she started learning to talk, my little girl has always had her own distinctive vocabulary. Of course, most babies and toddlers have their own words for things they can't quite pronounce. Now there is a great way to show off your child’s unique words and phrases and preserve them on a shirt. Translation Tees is a local mom-owned business that offers one-of-a-kind shirts for the little ones who have their own unique takes on common words. Translation Tees combine your child’s own cute mispronounced words with fresh, colorful, and bold graphics. Over 100 designs are available, printed on high-quality 100% cotton interlock shirts that will last for years.

Apparently more and more parents in Marin are sending their children to pricey private summer day camps like Camp Galileo and Steve and Kate's Camp. Of course these camps often offer innovative features and activities made possible by the higher prices. Read what local towns are doing to compete in the Marin IJ:

Towns' summer camps try to compete with private programs - Worried about competition from an increasing number of private day camps, San Anselmo Recreation Coordinator Dana Gibson decided to make the town's programs more

When it's way too hot, like it has been this week, I'm always trying to figure out things to do and places to go that will keep me and the kids cool. Playtime Safari in Novato is a 4,000-square-foot indoor play space for kids 0-6 that has air conditioning, and they are open 4 to 6 pm on Wednesday. You can read more about Playtime Safar in our article here. Another indoor play space is the recently opened Playdate Cafe in San Anselmo. This is a really fun and unique place that has a cafe for the moms (and kids) and a play space with a pirate ship and medieval castle. For more info, read our feature on Playdate Cafe.

One-of-a-kind personalized gifts are always treasured keepsakes. We recently received a sample of a new personalized children's book, The First Adventures of Incredible You, by Sarah Riley Headrick and Sarah Foreman Rivers, with whimsical illustrations by Jill Dryer Bartolucci. The full color, hardbound book is a playful look at the fun and exciting adventures of small child, all personalized with details for your child. When ordering you fill in a variety of different fields with names of your child's family, friends, pets, and favorite activities, which results in a truly unique personalized book.

Saturday, July 5

• The Point Reyes Farmer's Market takes place Saturday from 9 am to 1 pm at Toby's Feed Barn. The market features the best this region has to offer: the freshest locally grown organic produce, baked goods, artisan cheeses, olive oils, grass-fed beef products, homemade preserves, oysters, bee products, flowers, locally produced wool clothing, and body care products. The market also features live music, cooking demonstrations and book signings by renowned chefs, and much more. For more info, go to www.marinorganic.org/p_reyes.php.

• Marin County Fair, 11 am to 11 pm, Marin County Fairgrounds in San Rafael. Exhibits, live music, carnival rides, and more. See our article for more information.

• Experience Tule Elk at the Point Reyes National Seashore. Docents with binoculars and spotting scopes will be on hand at the Tomales Point trailhead at Windy Gap (about 1 mile up Tomales Point Trail) from 10:30 am to 3:30 pm, weekends and holidays, weather permitting. Free. More information: (415) 464-5145 or www.nps.gov/pore.

• On Shaky Ground: Explore the San Andreas Fault and the 1906 Earthquake on the Point Reyes Earthquake Trail on this one-hour ranger-guided walk. It's an easy .6 mile (1 km) walk. 2 to 3 pm. Free. More information: www.nps.gov/pore or (415) 464-5100 x2 x5

Happy 4th of July! Here's a another great kid-friendly recipe from What's Cooking's Michelle Stern, perfect for your Independence Day barbecue or any other day, for that matter. What's Cooking offers cooking classes, parties, and gifts for children and families. Visit What's Cooking at www.whatscooking.info.

BBQ Drumsticks with Brown-Sugar Sauce

My husband is my best critic in the kitchen - he loves bold flavors and raved about this sauce. We used Trader Joe's organic ketchup which doesn't include any high fructose corn syrup--I think it made all the difference.

1 cup ketchup
1/3 cup brown sugar, packed
1 Tbs Worcestershire sauce
1 Tbs cider vinegar
3 pounds chicken legs
salt and pepper to taste