I can’t even begin to tell you how insanely accessible the location is for the COCRA Spring Conference at the Westfield San Francisco Center.  So accessible that at our 2008 Spring Conference I was pleasantly surprised when I met a group of officials who had flown up from the Los Angeles area for the day.  The group had flown into San Francisco International and then walked over to the BART station and took the train into the city and got off at the BART station located in the San Francisco Center.  Now if this group of intrepid reporters were able to find their way from LA, what’s the excuse for those of you in the Bay Area?

Here are a couple directions and tips on parking for those of you planning on attending COCRA’s Spring Conference this Saturday April 4th at the SFSU Campus at 835 Market Street between Fourth and Fifth Streets.

PLANES

Those of you planning on flying in for the day or the weekend will be coming in either through San Francisco International or Oakland.  If you’ve got the money, you could catch a cab.  But if you plan on taking BART, here are some directions from the airport websites.

San Francisco International

BART operates rapid rail service to northern San Mateo County, San Francisco and the East Bay directly from SFO. The SFO BART Station is located on the Departures/Ticketing Level of the International Terminal (Boarding Area G side). BART is easily accessed from any terminal by riding SFO’s AirTrain to the Garage G/BART Station stop. There is no charge to board AirTrain. BART provides a connection to Caltrain at the Millbrae station.

Oakland International

AirBART operates between OAK and the BART Coliseum/Oakland Airport station daily, approximately every 10 minutes, until midnight. Service begins at 5 a.m., Monday through Saturday, and at 8 a.m. on Sundays and holidays. There is a single shuttle stop for both terminals, conveniently located between Terminal 1 and 2 at OAK’s third curbside.

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Just a reminder for those of you seeking to be certified in realtime reporting that the California Commission on Realtime Reporting will be giving its California Certified Realtime Reporter (CCRR) this Saturday at the 2009 COCRA Spring Conference.  There’s still time for you to register online and you can do so by registering online with COCRA or you can register for the CCRR at the official CCRR website.

I said it would happen soon and I didn’t lie.  Now you can register online for COCRA’s Spring Conference in the comfort of your own home…or office…which may seem like a home considering how many hours you probably spend there.  But I digress.

To register online just click here and you’ll be taken to our online registration site.  And save those stamps for later.

I’ve been getting inquiries about when COCRA’s Spring Conference brochure would be available and I’m happy to say that it’s now online.  You can download the form for yourself by clicking here, or by using the side menu on the left.  Place or click on About COCRA and then click on the COCRA Calendar.  You’ll find the link to download the brochure under the event day which is April 4th, 2009.

For those of you patiently waiting for the brochure to make it to your mailbox, there’s been a bit of a delay but expect the brochure sometime this week or early next week.  Again, the brochure is available online now.

And I also hope to have information for you soon about when you’ll be able to register online.  All COCRA members will be getting an email informing them when the online registration site goes live and I’ll update with a post to COCRA’s blog as well.

The California Official Court Reporters Association (COCRA) will be holding their 2009 Spring Conference Saturday, April 4th, 2009 in downtown San Francisco at the Westfield San Francisco Center located right in the heart of the Union Square, San Francisco’s premiere retail and restaurant district.

Scheduled seminars (subject to change) include a three hour hands-on course in which four of the major CR software companies including Advantage Software, Stenovations, ProCat, and Stenograph showcase the latest features of their software. Attendees will also get the opportunity to try out their stenowriters including the Mira, Passport, Stylus, and Lightspeed.

Scheduled seminars (subject to change) include a three hour hands-on course in which four of the major CR software companies including Advantage Software, Stenovations, ProCat, and Stenograph showcase the latest features of their software. Attendees will also get the opportunity to try out their stenowriters including the Mira, Passport, Stylus, and Lightspeed.

Other seminar topics include a panel discussion with members of the Court Reporters Board involving the topic of CSR disciplinary actions, legislative updates from Sacramento, and the return of our “County to County” in which panelists from different counties around the state share their latest news and issues.

We will also be hosting the California Certified Realtime Reporter (CCRR) exam. The CCRR is a certificate of realtime proficiency accessible to all California CSRs. CCRR is a realtime machine skills test designed to meet or exceed the proficiency levels promulgated by NCRA, but without the requirement of the RPR.

So mark your calendars and keep an eye out for registration information to be posted soon to our website.