When I asked Jason Eckl, conductor of the Renegade Orchestra, what the group was about, he responded, “the pure unbridled fury of what an orchestra can truly do.” Dang.
Formed from a mix of orchestra instrumentalists, the project takes as its starting point the oft-forgotten truth that local classical musicians are amazing at what they do. Yet, so often buried behind soloists, wrapped in generic black formal wear and labeled things like “third violin,” these craftsmen and -women deserve the chance to shine. That’s what the Renegade Orchestra exists to do. And to rock.
Built on the hardy frame of a rock band rhythm section—drums, bass, guitar—this group shreds by design and passion.
“Rock musicians get to have more fun than classical musicians, and this orchestra is changing that,” said Eckl. Audiences are encouraged to holler mid-song for solos and dance at will. Easy to do when the tight little 20-piece combo rips into Hendrix’s heavenly “Purple Haze” or “Crazy Train” by the demonically divine Ozzy Osborne.
Ok, before classical music fans head for the hills to avoid the din they might imagine, the Renegade Orchestra is more refined than it might sound at first.
Recall, the purpose of this project to shine a light on the talent and hard work of the orchestral players that are too often kept out of the limelight. As classical symphony goers hopefully appreciate, soloists at the top of their game rely on the rock-steady quality of their orchestra.
This group is about those “other” players getting to showcase their skills. The freedom of rock & roll and the other musical forms the Renegades play allows these instrumentalists the space to shine that is not available on a classical stage.
Those who appreciate classical music will delight in the technical freedom the group encourages, even those who can’t hang with “Bohemian Rhapsody” (no shame, I can’t either). The unique nature of the musical group is epitomized by its approach to improvisation.
“There are entire sections where any musician who wants to take an improvised solo can. We put microphones on every player and turn them loose to show off their amazing skills,” said Eckl. “They also get to dress in whatever they want to wear,” he quipped.
Another distinction from the more familiar classical experience is the intimacy and immediacy of the orchestra’s shows. Many of the group’s gigs are on small stages that let the musicians and audience feel truly connected through the love of music.
“Our next show will be at the venerable and funky Rancho Nicasio,” said Eckl. “[It will] be intimate and fun. Audiences will be right in the thick of things, feeling the power of the group,” said Eckl. “It won’t be too loud however,” he added.
“At this show, we’ll be releasing our next album. This album features a mix of songs that were most popular at our shows, along with songs the audiences requested we record,” he said.
In a laudable tradition, after shows the group takes requests for songs to learn for future shows. “This group has a constantly evolving set of music that is decided on by both the audiences and the musicians in the group,” said Eckl. “After each show, the audience has a chance to let the group know what songs they want to hear next, and we really do play those at the next concert.”
Renegade Orchestra plays on Friday, Jan. 27 at Rancho Nicasio, 1 Old Rancheria Rd., Nicasio. Dinner reservations from 6pm, music at 7:30pm. After the show, the musicians will be available to chat with the audience and take requests for the next set of music.
Just like its name sounds, Single Sonic Seven is indeed a kind of superhero group of musicians from around the world. In fact, the project is a collaboration between artists on all seven continents, not least of all a glockenspiel virtuoso who also happens to work at the South Pole Station in Antarctica.
The midwife of this COVID baby, which is released this week across streaming platforms, is Petaluma’s own Ethan Miska.
Having spent the better part of the last couple of years in Berlin and Ukraine, Miska was inspired to create something that was the sum of many different parts, a creative leap for an artist who had been solo since leaving his touring band when they passed through Berlin in 2017.
It was a blessing to return to collaborative work during the difficulties of the last few years, first with COVID and then as the invasion of Ukraine turned into a full-blown war. “Many things about this project [like the name] were not my idea,” said Miska in a Zoom interview, “which I like.”
The symbolic connectedness of collaborating with someone on every continent on the planet turns out to yield real impacts.
“I am interested in finding out through this project what tangible change music can accomplish beyond just the way it makes people feel or how people react to it, but also, what concrete action can music lead people to take,” said Miska.
In fact, proceeds from this project are donated to help people evacuate from war zones and provide critical services in winter time.
The cause is a personal one for Miska. He was drawn to the creative epicenter that is Berlin, as many an artist has been in recent decades, and eventually moved to Ukraine to connect to his eastern European roots. He was working on the project in Ukraine right up to the start of the war, leaving just before the invasion at the behest of his international friends, a decision that was particularly difficult because it meant leaving behind a friend that had become incredibly meaningful to him. The album is dedicated to that friend.
“[It] could have easily gone a different way … like, you know, ‘this really isn’t that important,’” he said. Instead, the “project’s relevance [increased] at least for myself because of dedicating this to a friend who was in a very crappy situation.”
Listeners checking out the project can expect an eclectic yet cohesive musical experience. The eight track, 30 minute electro-collaboration includes smooth as silk vocals over breakbeats, slap bass, disco keys, and, on this writer’s favorite track, the aforementioned glockenspiel. The upbeat easy grooves might just help listeners remember that a good life is possible, and worth waging their superpowers to make it happen. These global heroes did.
Single Sonic Seven is live on all streaming platforms. All revenue from streaming and album sales will be donated to Helping To Leave (helpingtoleave.org/en), an organization which has aided thousands of Ukrainian civilians in fleeing areas of active conflict.
ARIES (March 21-April 19): Nigerian author Wole Soyinka reworked the ancient Greek play, The Bacchae. In one passage, the god Dionysus criticizes King Pentheus, who is supposedly all-powerful. “You are a man of chains,” Dionysus tells him. “You love chains. You breathe chains, talk chains, eat chains, dream chains, think chains. Your world is bound in manacles.” The bad news, Aries, is that many of us have some resemblances to Pentheus. The good news is that the coming months will be a favorable time to shed at least some of your chains. Have fun liberating yourself! Try to help a few others wriggle free from their chains, too. Doing so will aid your own emancipation.
TAURUS (April 20-May 20): The coming weeks will be a great time to fill your journal with more intense ruminations than you have for many moons. If you don’t have a journal, think about starting one. Reveal yourself to yourself, Taurus! Make conscious that which has been vague, unnamed or hiding. Here are assignments to help launch your flood of intimate self-talk. 1. Write passionately about an experience you’ve always wanted to try but have never done. 2. Conduct imaginary interviews with people who rouse strong feelings in you. 3. Describe what deity, superhero or animal you are and how your special intelligence works. 4. Visualize a dream in which you appear as a bolder, more confident version of yourself. 5. Talk about a time you felt rousingly alive and how you plan to feel that way again.
GEMINI (May 21-June 20): A stranger approached me at Wild Birds Unlimited, a store that sells bird food and accessories. “You write the horoscopes, right?” she asked. “I’m a Gemini, and I want to thank you for helping me tone down my relentless fidgeting. You made me realize I have been secretly proud of tapping my fingers on the table while talking with people, and constantly darting my eyes around the room to check out the ever-changing views. I’d unconsciously believed that stuff was a sign of my incredible vitality. But you’ve been a steadying influence. You’ve shown me ways to settle down and focus my energy better. I can see how restlessness sometimes saps my energy.” I told the woman, “You’re welcome!” and let her know that 2023 will be a favorable time to do much more of this good work. Homework: Meditate on channeling your incredible vitality into being grounded and centered.
CANCER (June 21-July 22): According to Cancerian author Ronald Sukenick, the writer’s work is “to destroy restrictive viewpoints, notice the unnoticed, speak the unspeakable, shake stale habits, ward off evil, give vent to sorrow, pulverize doctrine, attack and uphold tradition as needed, and make life worth living.” I believe 2023 will be an excellent time for you to carry out those actions, even if you’re not a writer. You will have abundant power to bless and heal through creative rebellion and disruption. You will thrive as you seek out interesting novelty.
LEO (July 23-Aug. 22): Psychotherapist Ryan Howes has wisdom you’ll benefit from heeding in the coming weeks. “We need to accept our age,” he writes. “We need to accept illnesses and addictions. We need to accept the past. We need to accept others as they are.” He goes on to say that this doesn’t mean we must like all these situations. And we can certainly try to make the best of them. But when we don’t struggle in vain to change what’s beyond our control to change, we have more energy for things that we can actually affect.
VIRGO (Aug. 23-Sept. 22): Here’s testimony from musician Pharrell Williams: “If someone asks me what inspires me, I always say, ‘That which is missing.'” Yes! This is an apt message for you, Virgo. The best way for you to generate motivation and excitement in the coming weeks will be to explore what is lacking, what is invisible, what’s lost or incomplete. Check in with your deep intuition right now. Do you feel a stirring in your gut? It may tell you where to find important and intriguing things that are missing.
LIBRA (Sept. 23-Oct. 22): “Every animal knows far more than you do,” declares a proverb of the Nimíipuu people, also known as the Nez Perce. Author Russell Banks provides further testimony to convince us we should be humble about our powers of awareness. “There is a wonderful intelligence to the unconscious,” he says. “It’s always smarter than we are.” These are good pointers for you to heed in the coming weeks, Libra. You will have a special power to enhance your understanding of the world by calling on the savvy of animals and your unconscious mind. They will be especially rich sources of wisdom. Seek out their educational input!
SCORPIO (Oct. 23-Nov. 21): Psychologist Carl Jung said that the whole point of Jesus Christ’s story was not that we should become exactly like him. Rather, we should aspire to be our best and highest selves in the same way that he fulfilled his unique mission. So Jesus was not the great exception, but rather the great example. I bring these meditations to your attention, Scorpio, because I believe life in 2023 will conspire to make you, more than ever before, the hero of your own destiny. You will be inspired to honor only your own standards of success and reject all others’. You will clearly see that you are progressing at your own natural and righteous pace, which is why it makes no sense to compare your evolution to anyone else’s.
SAGITTARIUS (Nov. 22-Dec. 21): A reader named Mary Roseberry describes her experience of being a Sagittarius: “I hate to be bored. I hate imperfections. I hate to wait. I hate sadness. I hate conflict. I hate to be wrong. I hate tension.” Wow! I admire Mary’s succinct understanding of who she doesn’t want to be and what she doesn’t like to do. I invite you to compose a similar testimony. You would benefit from getting clear about the experiences you intend to avoid in 2023. Once you have done that, write a list of the interesting feelings and situations you will seek out with intense devotion during the coming months.
CAPRICORN (Dec. 22-Jan. 19): When he was 74 years old, Capricorn author Norman Maclean published his first novel, A River Runs Through It. It became a best-seller. Capricorn film director Takeshi Kitano directed his first film at age 42. Now 75, he has since won many awards for his work in his native Japan. Capricorn activist Melchora Aquino, who was a leader in the Philippines’ fight for independence from Spain, launched her career as a revolutionary when she was in her 80s. She’s known as the “Mother of the Revolution.” I hope these heroes inspire you, dear Capricorn. I believe that 2023 is the year you will get an upgrade in any area of your life where you have seemed to be a late bloomer.
AQUARIUS (Jan. 20-Feb. 18): According to my analysis of the astrological omens, you will soon be called upon to summon grace under pressure, to express magnanimity while being challenged, to prove that your devotion to your high standards is more important than the transitory agendas of your ego. The good news is that you are primed and ready to succeed at these exact assignments. I have confidence in your power to activate the necessary courage and integrity with maximum poise and composure.
PISCES (Feb. 19-March 20): “By dying daily, I have come to be,” wrote poet Theodore Roethke. He didn’t mean he suffered literal deaths. He was referring to the discipline of letting go of the past, shedding worn-out habits, leaving behind theories and attitudes that once served him well but no longer did, killing off parts of himself that were interfering with the arrival of the fresh future. I recommend his strategy to you, Pisces. To the degree that you agree to die daily, you will earn the right to be reborn big-time in a few weeks.
Homework: What power will you possess in nine months that you do not yet have? Newsletter.FreeWillAstrology.com
One can describe them any way one likes. The most polite may be “artificial topography,” but I prefer “armpits of retail,” “land tumors,” “commercial biowaste” or “bacterial infections upon the landscape.” I am speaking of shopping malls.
The North Bay is blessed with more than its share: In Marin, there are Strawberry Village, The Village, Town Center, Montecito Center, Northgate, Vintage Oaks, Pacheco Plaza, Hamilton Marketplace, Gateway Center, Marin Country Mart, Red Hill, Bon Air and more.
To the north, there are the Petaluma and Napa Outlets, Coddingtown, Montgomery Village, Vineyard, Sonoma Marketplace, River Park, Silverado Plaza and University Square, to name just a few. The nice thing about Sonoma and Napa is that those counties don’t seem to have purposely and permanently crippled their downtowns in the same ways Marin has, because of the enduring appeal of human scale villages such as Sebastopol, Cotati, Sonoma town, Healdsburg, Saint Helena and Calistoga. The tourist attractions around wine seem to help.
If I have missed naming any great malls, a Patagonia pullover pox upon me.
Shopping, as Clifford Odets wrote, is America’s chronic disease. Malls, as Joan Didion wrote, are pyramids to the Boom years, by which I think she meant the 1950s, the last decade truly beloved by Americans who are willing to overlook lynchings, red-lining, segregated public schools, massive scale environmental degradation and political witchhunts.
Malls are inevitably associated with that other pathologically destructive modern invention, the automobile, which has inflicted another emptier than empty blight on the landscape, the parking lot. When there is a big multi-level parking lot next to a mall, such as the one at Stanford Shopping Center, one has the full Monty of cancerous land use, a peerless example of 21st century fake mobility.
Malls are the pestilent McKinseys of commercial property, not unlike the hooker who is compelled to warn her ugly client, “Not on the first date.” One doesn’t go to a mall to feel alive; one goes there to feel hideous, powerless and dead. The medical equivalent of a mall is valium. When I find myself in a mall, which is pretty rare, I feel the same as I do in an airport: like a cow.
Malls have killed downtown America, for good. Anybody who lived in Marin in 1955 will recall the cultural jewel that was Fourth Street in San Rafael. The entire county population at that time used Fourth Street as its shopping destination. If Fourth Street didn’t have it, one didn’t need it. Now? Not so much.
It wouldn’t bother me if we lost a couple or more of these playgrounds with parking. Enough already.
Craig J. Corsini of San Rafael is a writer, grandfather and “a hell of a cook.”
How does one make the civil rights movement and ongoing racial inequity in America relevant to 8th graders in Marin County? Send them to Alabama—where such luminaries as Rosa Parks, John Lewis and Dr. Martin Luther King shaped key events in American history. To support this transformative field trip, educator Katherine Sanford and the staff and parents of the Lagunitas Middle School have launched a GoFundMe campaign (gofund.me/7d1fe056) that will enable all of its 8th grade students to participate. Parents have also organized a fundraiser concert to subsidize the funding efforts, featuring live music performed by The Kevin Meade Band, The Red Carpet and Rebecca Chourre and Liz Pisco beginning at 1pm, Sunday, Jan. 15 at Pond Farm Brewing Company, 1848 4th St., San Rafael. Tickets are $20 and are available at the door and in advance at shop.leap4education.org.
Petaluma
Community Collectibles
What’s the difference between a collector and a hoarder? One ends up with an exhibition at the Petaluma Arts Center. Working from the concept that every collection tells a story, “Petaluma Collects” depicts what members of the community collect and why. Curated by Llisa Demetrios, the exhibit is complemented by a corollary exhibit in “Multiplicities,” which features works by Marilyn Dizikes and Kris Ekstrand curated by Carin Jacobs. A dual reception for both exhibits commences at 5:30pm, Thursday, Jan. 19 at the Petaluma Arts Center, 230 Lakeville St. Admission is free.
Corte Madera
‘Still No Word‘
Stationed in the South Pacific during World War II, Seymour Orner wrote a letter every day to his wife, Lorraine. She seldom responded, leading him to plead in 1945, “Another day and still no word from you.” Seventy years later, author Peter Orner writes in response to his grandfather’s plea: “Maybe we read because we seek that word from someone, from anyone.” To celebrate the publication of Orner’s latest work, Still No Word from You—a collection of pieces on the work of such writers as Lorraine Hansberry, Primo Levi and Marilynne Robinson—Book Passage will present Orner in conversation with fellow author Tom Barbash at 4 pm, Sunday, Jan. 22, 51 Tamal Vista Blvd., Corte Madera. bookpassage.com.
Sausalito
‘Jewels of the Playa’
Just when thinking one is out, it’s time to get pulled back in… to Burning Man. This time, however, the commute is only as far as Sausalito, and instead of days of cultic revel, how about a three-artist exhibit featuring the photographs from documentarian Eleanor Preger, works by artist Laura Kimpton and festival couture from local designer Rebecca Bruce? Titled “Jewels of the Playa. The Photography, Art and Fashion of Burning Man,” the exhibition opens with an artists’ reception 6pm, Saturday, Jan. 14 at the Sausalito Center For The Arts, 750 Bridgeway. An appetizer buffet will be provided by Sushi Ran, and live music and adult beverages will be available. Free tickets can be reserved at bit.ly/jewels-playa.
Pink Owl Coffee is a locally-owned coffee shop that offers much more than a caffeine pitstop.
From the selection and roasting of the beans to the zen ambiance to the creatively concocted coffees and teas in between, this cafe is a must-try local location for anyone who enjoys quality in a cup.
Pink Owl Coffee is owned and operated by Joe Carlo and Saandra Bowlus, a long-term couple who moved from Tampa, FL to Marin in 2016. After vacationing in the Bay Area with their children, Joseph and Robby, the duo decided it was the perfect window of opportunity to move and start a new life on the California coast.
Shortly after coming to Marin, however, Bowlus faced a medical emergency and sought care for a suspicious lump on her breast, despite her health insurance lapsing during the cross-country move.
“Whenever I went to a new provider out here in California, I paid out of pocket because of a lapse in my insurance,” explained Bowlus. “But one doctor, she was very concerned about the lump and called for a mammogram. When they did the mammogram, they immediately pulled me aside and didn’t let me leave the office. They told me I needed an emergency biopsy.
“Without insurance, it was going to cost me $20k, but they told me that they had a private donation grant and doctors who do pro-bono work with Marin General. I was very lucky that Marin General was my place of choice; they took very good care of me, and they made it as easy as possible for me. They started treatment immediately—I was diagnosed in May, and by July they did my double mastectomy.”
Once Bowlus successfully reached remission, she and her partner began to consider what they wanted to pursue in the future. The answer soon became obvious: They both shared a love of good coffee, and Carlo already had experience roasting his own coffee beans as a hobby and a way to make gifts for loved ones. So, they took the leap and began researching and planning their very own coffee shop. Their research phase took them from Bay Area cafes across San Francisco and down to Santa Cruz, all the way to the streets of Manhattan.
“We’ve always loved coffee shops, and after all the stress of the cancer and everything, cafes were a fun place to meet people, hang out and get work done,” said Carlo. “We thought of Pink Owl Coffee after Saandra’s surgery (and a few bottles of wine). We were trying to think of names and realized that most cafes are a color and animal, so we chose pink for breast cancer and owls since they are nocturnal and we love them.”
The first Pink Owl Coffee location opened in San Rafael in 2020, at the very beginning of the COVID-19 pandemic. Despite the difficulties of starting an entrepreneurial endeavor during a pandemic, Carlo and Bowlus were well-equipped to handle any curve balls thrown their way, and with a fair amount of creative thinking and determination, they not only survived—they thrived.
“Opening during COVID was no fun, and it was very scary,” said Carlo. “We realized we had to be able to pivot, and we ended up doing a lot of things we wouldn’t have done without COVID, and it made us smarter. A lot of people got really scared or really lazy with the pandemic, but we decided this wasn’t going to stop us, and we forged ahead!”
The couple opened their second Pink Owl Coffee location in Petaluma in May of 2021 and their third, most recent, San Rafael location on Nov. 22, 2022. As fate would have it, the third Pink Owl Coffee establishment replaced an empty Starbucks building, successfully returning a once-corporate coffee shop to loving local hands.
“It’s amazing we took over the Starbucks location—I used to have an office upstairs, and I’d come down every day for a cold brew, and they went under about a year before the pandemic,” said Carlo. “It was so satisfying to take over the location. I’m just shocked that no one else jumped in on this. It’s all plugged for a cafe, and when Starbucks does something, they go top-of-the-line crazy. Even their lighting/electrical was like…$70k.”
The drinks and dining options offered at Pink Owl Coffee are simultaneously contemporary and comforting, matching the zen atmosphere where locals can socialize, work, read or simply sit and appreciate a tasty treat. All of the coffees are made from organic fair trade beans sourced from across the world and are roasted by their own company roasters. They also offer a wide selection of loose-leaf teas, as well as pastries, mochi donuts and muffins, and other edible delights.
“Another part of running a coffee shop is just creating a fun, really good menu,” explained Carlo. “Saandra and I don’t do everything ourselves when it comes to creative; in fact, every holiday we’ll ask the baristas to all come up with one good drink, so this year we had a snowman mint ube latte and a pistachio matcha latte. These are things the baristas have created, and they’re essential to our fun, colorful menu.”
According to Carlo and Bowlus, the Pink Owl Coffee baristas are hired not by experience in the industry, but by personality instead. From the very beginning, the couple placed significance on building a team that represented their vision of a friendly, warm and welcoming environment that would charm locals and create a community both within and outside of the Pink Owl Coffee establishments.
“We were scared the Marin community wouldn’t be receptive, but everyone’s been absolutely amazing, and the community was so supportive when we opened,” said Carlo. “To this day, we’re always trying to give back in any way we can and help people out. And people have done the same for us. Our employees love us, and we have people who have been with us since the beginning—they’re like family. Money is money; it’s going to come and go, but you have to give back and help out, and the littlest acts of kindness go a long way.”
Pink Owl Coffee has locations at 1816 2nd St. and 1100 4th St. in San Rafael and at 617 E. Washington St. in Petaluma. Online ordering and delivery are available for all of their locations. For more information about Pink Owl Coffee or to place an order, visit the website at pinkowlcoffee.com.
Recently I had the pleasure of reading a lovely little book called The Joy of Cannabis.
I have to admit, although a lifelong adult cannabis user who has written tens of thousands of words on the subject, holding this clever volume in my hands made me nearly as giddy as my nine-year-old self holding the book’s spiritual predecessor, The Joy of Sex.
Like with that 1972 classic, co-authors Melanie Abrams and Larry Smith seek to demystify an activity that is commonplace in the human experience—getting high. Via email, I connected with the authors to learn what motivated the project.
Giotis: I appreciate the how-to nature of the book, and the loose modeling on books like the classic, TheJoy of Sex. Why a how-to?
Abrams, Smith: We wanted to write a book that would be a warm welcome for the canna-curious and still offer some new ideas and insight for canna-connoisseurs. So our book is a mix of “how-to,” sober science and playful activities that help readers unlock the mind and body and help increase productivity, connection, and, above all, joy.
We also address issues like equity and inclusion and the importance of supporting BIPOC-owned canna-businesses; these are issues that are top of mind for many and yet for others they may not have considered.
Giotis: The time seems right for this book. With the rise of CBD and other non-psychoactive cannabis derived molecules, many an auntie suddenly is in need of information on the plant. Who can benefit from this book?
Abrams, Smith: We felt this in a very personal way. As soon as we started working on the book, friends, friends of friends, and parents of friends began flooding us with questions: Can cannabis help with my anxiety? Pain? Sleep? Will it help reconnect me with my partner, my parent, my long lost friend? Do people really get more focused and productive with edibles? What’s the best way to use cannabis? How do I navigate a dispensary? Why do you call it “cannabis” and not “marijuana”? (Spoiler: “marijuana” was intentionally racist. ~G)
Giotis: What are some concerns with cannabis use?
Abrams, Smith: Studies reveal that the frontal lobe doesn’t fully develop until the age of 25. In a perfect world, no one would consume any type of drug or alcohol until 25. The reality is that many teens will consume one or both. It’s all of our responsibility to remind them to take it easy and use cannabis responsibly and in moderation. (Correct dosage is vital for any age…I have learned the hard way. ~G)
Giotis: How did you come to work together?
Abrams, Smith: We met three years ago at a party in the Bay Area and [over some weed] began a conversation that hasn’t stopped. Along the way, we realized we loved cannabis for the same reasons: This magical flower helps unlock creativity and connection, decreases inhibitions and helps you be gloriously in the moment.
Local ‘The Joy of Cannabis’ author appearances include 5:30 pm, Wednesday, Jan. 18 at Sausalito Books by the Bay, 100 Bay St., and 7pm, Friday, Jan. 20 at Copperfield’s Books, 138 N Main St., Sebastopol.
At first glance, Broker appears to be a sinister crime story with an especially disturbing angle. In contemporary Busan, South Korea, two men are in the business of “stealing” unwanted infants left in “safe baby drop-off” boxes, then selling the retrieved babies to interested customers, with the assumed (but not too carefully vetted) expectation that the purchasers are innocent, childless civilians yearning to become parents.
The two men’s little racket is upset when a young woman follows up on the whereabouts of the baby boy she recently left behind—her own newborn son—and confronts the baby brokers, demanding to know where her erstwhile offspring is going to wind up. At the same time, two undercover police officers are surveilling the brokers as well as the birth mother—the police officers are investigating a suspected illegal child trafficking operation. Simultaneously with all this, gangsters are on the trail of the same baby boy and the brokers, for murky reasons of their own (to be divulged as the film unwinds).
Sounds like a sordid, queasy-making situation all around, until one realizes that Broker is written and directed by Kore-eda Hirokazu, the Japanese filmmaker behind Shoplifters, After the Storm and Like Father, Like Son. In his career of 27 features, Kore-eda has specialized in seemingly messy, ultimately sincere and humanistic stories of individuals who have a common denominator: They all belong, or desperately want to belong, to a family of some sort. To be part of a cohesive group, to feel safe and wanted inside a family structure, even a family of petty thieves or child kidnappers.
That formula pretty neatly describes the baby brokers and their associates. Sang-hyeon (played by Song Kang-ho from Parasite and Snowpiercer) is the affable owner of a dry-cleaning business with unresolved issues in his past family life and a worrisome gambling debt. His accomplice, Dong-soo (Gang Dong-won), is a former orphan. So-young (Lee Ji-eun), the birth mother of the baby in question, is an assertive prostitute looking to go straight—with other, nastier issues to feel guilty about.
The baby at the center of things is Woo-sung (played by juvie non-actor Park Ji-yong). Add to them an unattached little boy named Hae-jin (Im Seung-soo), who strongly desires to be adopted, and there’s a vanload of lonely characters in search of, well… more or less a normal family sitcom style of life, sitting around in a motel room eating fast food and watching TV. What the hell; it’s home.
Life on the road is not entirely a jittery web of suspense. Shenanigans ensue, as when mischievous tyke Hae-jin accidentally leaves the van window open while the vehicle moves through a car wash and everybody gets soaked. The “family members” have trouble keeping their stories straight when dealing with a hospital—viewers can see the personalities growing on each other before their eyes. Viewers also learn the market rate for a Korean no-questions-asked adoption: Boys go for 10 million won (roughly U.S. $7,860); girls for 8 million. Customers seeking children have all sorts of reasons.
Song Kang-ho has developed international stature as a character actor because of his work for Park Chan-wook and Bong Joon-ho, and Kore-eda takes full advantage of Song’s happy-go-lucky screen presence. Broker’s baby merchants are decidedly not hard cases simply motivated by greed, and neither is actor Lee’s luckless anti-ingenue So-young. So-young is important to Broker because she demonstrates that even promiscuous people can have legitimate feelings, to paraphrase Warren Beatty’s comment about his character in Hal Ashby’s Shampoo.
It’s easy to feel sorry for castaway kids and regret-ridden adults who never quite grew up, but it’s much more difficult to reconcile the apparent sleaziness of this film’s outsiders with the look that Song’s Sang-hyeon gets on his face when he’s told that he doesn’t belong in his long-lost daughter’s life any more. That’s the Kore-eda touch, and that’s what makes it so beautifully sad.
Dave Kiff, a Healdsburg resident with more than 40 years of experience in state and local government, has been named director of Sonoma County’s new Homelessness Services Division within the Department of Health Services (DHS).
In June, the Sonoma County Board of Supervisors approved moving the Community Development Commission’s Ending Homelessness team into the newly created Homelessness Services Division. The board also approved an additional $830,000 annually to support the consolidation and expand resources for the new division.
“This consolidation is an investment that will knock down silos and better support our community as a whole,” said Supervisor James Gore, chair of the Board of Supervisors. “It will provide critical housing resources for the unsheltered and is a major step toward the goal of ending homelessness.”
The Homelessness Services Division will consist of several pre-existing services programs, including the Homeless Encampment Assistance and Resource Team (HEART), the Project HOMEKEY Cohort, the Ending Homelessness Team and the Interdepartmental Multi-Disciplinary Team (IMDT).
Kiff’s selection was announced on Dec. 28 by Tina Rivera, director of the DHS. “Dave brings to this position strong collaboration skills and is equipped with a fresh perspective about homeless services and the Continuum of Care system within Sonoma County,” Rivera said. “We’re grateful to have someone with his knowledge and skill set to oversee this all-important new division.”
As interim director of the Community Development Commission (CDC) since July 2021, Kiff has overseen, directed and coordinated Sonoma County’s affordable housing, homelessness, redevelopment and community development programs. This role also included managing all operations of the Sonoma County CDC, its Housing Authority and the former Redevelopment Agency.
Kiff took on the interim position with CDC, following Rivera herself, shortly after the county Board of Supervisors received advice from consultants about ways to consolidate and streamline the management of homeless services.
One such recommendation was the creation of the new Homeless Services Division. “In addition to being the director of the CDC during that period, I worked with the rest of the county family on what homelessness services should look like,” he told the Bohemian’s sister publication, The Healdsburg Tribune, recently. When the role of homeless services director was listed, Kiff applied for and won the job. He officially started on Jan. 10.
As director, Kiff will lead the county’s efforts to achieve Functional Zero Homelessness.
“[The concept is that] we’re never going to end homelessness. We’re never going to prevent every last soul from losing their home. But the goal of Functional Zero is to say, when homelessness occurs, the person is rapidly rehoused, and it’s a one-time event for them, and it’s of brief duration,” Kiff explained.
“Cities and counties across America are trying to embark on this effort because with Functional Zero, you end the chronic homelessness, which is the ones we see on our streets,” said Kiff. “And it’s so disconcerting to the individual who is homeless and to the people who see it, because there are people who are crying out for care due to mental illness or substance use disorder.
The county’s latest estimate found that, in February 2022, there were 5% more people experiencing homelessness in the county compared to two years earlier, with a total of 2,893 individuals countywide.
Over the same two-year period, the number of chronically homeless people in the county increased by 43% to 725, according to the county’s 2022 point-in-time count report. A person is considered chronically homeless if they have a disabling condition and have been homeless for more than a year or four times within three years.
Returning Home
Kiff’s family moved to Healdsburg from Marin County when he was entering secondary school; he attended both the junior high and high school in Healdsburg (graduating in 1983), and later Santa Rosa Junior College. Kiff has a bachelor of science degree in business administration from California State University, Sacramento, and a master of government administration degree from the University of Pennsylvania.
In 2019, Kiff retired from the city manager position in Newport Beach, and moved back with his husband to the town where he grew up to be closer to his mother, though his father had passed away. The family produce farm in Alexander Valley, Ridgeview, still sells its goods in town at the Certified Farmers’ Market on Saturdays.
This wide experience has given the 58-year-old civil servant a welcome perspective on local problems, especially homelessness.
Kiff’s assumption of the new position comes not only after 18 months as the interim CDC director, but following three six-month interim city manager positions, two of them in Sonoma County. After a temporary role in Huntington Beach, he stepped in locally when long-time city manager David Mickaelain left to take a position as a homeowners association manager in Truckee.
The duration of the interim positions was limited to six months because Kiff had officially retired from the state employment system (CalPERS) and could only take similar interim jobs.
But that doesn’t mean those six-month positions were without challenges. When Kiff became interim city manager in Healdsburg, he found himself facing several unique problems: The Black Lives Matter movement was gaining traction, and then-mayor Leah Gold stepped down in June 2020 after triggering backlash over her initial response to the movement. Ozzy Jimenez was selected by the city council to replace her, and eventually became mayor.
Then there was the pandemic. Kiff managed the city’s response to the health crisis and the impact it had on city finances, including the decline in income from the Transient Occupancy Tax, or TOT. “The bed tax fell pretty significantly, and we were trying to keep that from decimating the Parks and Recreation Department,” he said.
“The other thing was negotiation with [real estate developer] Robert Green to make sure the Montage development was appropriately assigning its required public improvements,” including affordable housing, the park site and a fire station.
When that temporary stint was over, he went to fill a similar role in the City of Sonoma—which was then faced with the resignation of two of its five city council members, and had its own revenue problems to contend with during the pandemic.
In the council-manager style of local government—which most cities in California use—the hands-on administration of a jurisdiction is run through the manager’s office, which bridges the gap between politics and administration. The city council, elected by the citizens, offers direction, drafts and passes ordinances and general plans, and ultimately hires the city manager.
The bulk of Kiff’s public service has not been in Sonoma County, however, but in Orange County. He worked for the County of Orange, the City of Orange and lastly the City of Newport Beach, where he worked for 21 years and served as city manager for nine years. While there, he served on the homelessness Continuum of Care Board in Orange County, representing city managers.
Kiff’s base annual salary in his new role will be $178,880. He will receive this salary in addition to his vested pension as a state employee through CalPERS.
On a drizzly Sunday morning in September, a tragic series of events unfolded in Petaluma that ended with two dead chickens, a Novato police sergeant shooting a neighbor’s dog and a long list of unanswered questions.
Debate on social media exploded after KGO-TV broke the news in mid-December. An anecdotal survey of comments showed many people in Sonoma County noting that it is legal to shoot a dog when it kills chickens. Meanwhile, most Marin-based commenters opined that shooting the dog was unreasonable and the Novato Police Department should conduct a full investigation.
Sonoma County and state statutes do permit a person to kill a dog that is attacking chickens on their property, regardless of the proximity to homes and people.
In October, the Novato Police Department reviewed a complaint stemming from the incident and announced that no disciplinary action will be taken against Sgt. Nick Frey, the employee who shot and killed his neighbors’ dog.
Still, some Marin residents are concerned about Frey and his behavior, all captured on video.
The Incident
Anna and Phil Henry, both in their 70s, live on a narrow lane in rural Petaluma. Sgt. Nick Frey, a police de-escalation instructor and head of Novato’s SWAT team, and his wife, Jennie Frey, live next door. Although the two properties each cover about two acres, the houses are situated close together.
The Henrys’ grandchildren accidentally let Huck, the couple’s four-year-old Black Mouth Cur, out of their fenced yard on Sept. 18, at about 10:50am. Huck, who weighed 90 pounds, entered the Freys’ partially unfenced property.
The Freys’ Ring cameras captured audio and video of what transpired after the dog arrived.
Upon watching the six videos provided to the Pacific Sun by the Freys’ attorney, Alison Berry Wilkinson, it became apparent that some footage was missing. Wilkinson admitted that additional footage exists; however, she said it was not released due to concerns for the Frey children’s privacy and “threatened litigation” by the Henry family.
The video sequences begin with Huck in the Freys’ yard and the Henry’s grandchildren can be heard trying to lure him home with treats. Soon a chaotic scene developed with Huck, chickens, Anna Henry, and Nick and Jennie Frey.
Huck chased chickens that roamed freely in the Freys’ yard, while Anna Henry pursued and yelled at him.
Nick Frey came into the yard with a handgun. He shouted and cursed.
Anna Henry caught Huck and leashed him, but he had already killed two chickens. Nick Frey stood next to his neighbor and the dog.
“Those are my children’s birds,” Nick Frey yelled.
Suddenly, Huck turned and pulled. Anna Henry, who underwent hip replacement surgery the previous month, fell to the ground and let go of the leash. Huck lunged behind a large tree that obscured much of the camera’s view. Nick Frey, also behind the tree, immediately took several steps to the side, moving away from the dog.
Nick Frey fired three shots. The dog dropped to the ground several feet in front of his shooter. Despite all three bullets hitting Huck, he was alive.
After the shooting
Not surprisingly, the Henrys and the Freys don’t agree on what happened before, during or after the shooting. While the Pacific Sun interviewed the Henrys for their perspectives, the Freys’ version of events comes from email exchanges with Wilkinson, their attorney. In addition, Wilkinson provided two written declarations, one by Jennie Frey and the other from Nick Frey.
According to Anna Henry, Huck pulled away from her because he was focused on a chicken that had begun flapping its wings. The dog ran past Nick Frey to get to the bird and was then shot in the back, she said.
Refuting Anna Henry’s claim, Nick Frey said the dog lunged at him, and he felt threatened, which is why he fired his gun.
Phil Henry, who was in his car at the end of the Freys’ driveway when the shooting occurred, had a clear view of the incident.
“I saw Nick shoot Huck as he was running away,” Phil Henry said. “The tree wasn’t in the way for me.”
After the shooting, Anna Henry said she asked Nick Frey to euthanize Huck because he was suffering. But Nick Frey responded that he’s “not touching that dog,” she said.
Nick Frey said his wife requested he euthanize the dog, but he declined because it would be illegal.
Believing Huck’s death was imminent, the Henrys stayed with him in the Freys’ yard for an hour. But Huck hung on, and the Henrys brought him to a veterinarian, who examined the dog and took x-rays of the gunshot wounds.
Huck could hear, partially lift his head and responded to pain, according to the veterinarian’s report. Gunshot wounds were found at the back of the dog’s head, behind his right ear and over his shoulder. Based on these findings, the Henrys decided to euthanize Huck.
Wilkerson said she would need to see an autopsy, photos and x-rays to determine that the dog was shot from behind. There are “multiple potential explanations” for the dog’s wounds in these areas, including the downward trajectory of the bullets or “the dog started to turn as he heard the first shot fire.”
About 25 minutes after the shooting, while Huck was still alive in the yard with the Henrys, Nick Frey told Sonoma County Animal Services that he shot and killed the dog, according to a report by an animal control officer.
Nick Frey’s written declaration stated he thought the dog was dead because the Henrys had covered Huck with a blanket.
The Beginning
The Henrys say there was only one previous encounter between Nick Frey and the dog, occurring in late June or early July. Huck barked at Nick Frey when he came outside to place his trash in the cans, which are next to the fence separating the two properties.
“I pulled Huck away from the fence,” Phil Henry said. “Nick said to me, ‘If your dog ever comes over here, he’s not coming back.’”
The Freys’ attorney, Wilkinson, denies her client used those words, but concedes that Nick Frey did say he would kill the dog to protect his family and chickens. However, Wikinson said it wasn’t a threat.
In response, the Henry’s raised the fence two feet and placed lattice work at the top to cut Huck’s view of the neighbor’s yard. After Jennie Frey texted Phil Henry to thank him for increasing the fence height, the Henrys believed the issue was resolved.
Yet, Wilkinson asserts the Freys had encounters with Huck on “multiple occasions.” The dog attempted to scale the fence to get to the chickens and was “aggressive toward Mr. Frey, barking viciously” at him, Wilkinson said.
The Freys only complained about Huck on that one occasion and appeared to know that Huck wasn’t vicious, the Henrys said. Afterall, when the Henrys’ grandchildren lived with them for six months, the Frey children visited and played with the dog, according to Anna Henry.
“We took Huck to the dog park every day and there were never any issues, “Phil said. “Not with people or other dogs.”
Two weeks after the shooting, the Freys put plastic skeletons of a dog and a human lying on the ground holding a leash in their yard, about where Huck was shot, the Henrys said. Already traumatized by the shooting, the family now felt intimidated, according to Anna Henry.
“It did not occur to me that the placement of those Halloween decorations might cause mental anguish or distress to our neighbors,” Nick Frey said.
The Aftermath
Sonoma County Animal Services found that Nick Frey was within his legal rights to shoot Huck and closed the case within days. The Sonoma County Sheriff’s Officer concurred with the decision, according to an email sent to the Henrys by an animal control officer.
Anna Henry filed a complaint about Nick Frey with the Novato Police Department on Oct. 12, saying that he had used excessive force and “seemed very out of control.”
Novato Police Chief Beth Johnson responded less than two weeks later, stating the department conducted a review and concluded the incident was out of their jurisdiction.
In an interview, Johnson said she “reviewed everything in its totality,” including the videos. The gun used to shoot the dog was not Nick Frey’s service weapon, another factor which distanced the incident from the police department, she said.
“No disciplinary action will be taken,” Johnson said. “There is not a nexus to his employment, and the labor laws are very specific.”
Interestingly, Nick Frey cited a state law and a Novato Police Department policy when he explained his reasons for declining to euthanize the dog. The law and policy both prohibit a law enforcement officer from euthanizing an animal, unless it is a stray or abandoned and “so badly injured that human compassion requires its removal from further suffering and where other dispositions are impractical.”
Since shooting and seriously wounding the dog had no connection to Nick Frey’s employment as a law enforcement officer, then euthanizing the dog shouldn’t either.
Novato police department policy also states that lying and unbecoming conduct, both on- and off-duty, are causes for disciplinary action. Johnson said she has no reason to believe her employee to be dishonest. There are different perceptions of an emotionally charged event, she said.
Credibility is at the core of the incident, according to Thomas Tiderington, a police use of force expert with more than 42 years of experience in law enforcement, including two decades serving as a police chief. Tiderington believes the shooting was justified but said he can’t determine if it was reasonable. He questions whether Nick Frey stepped away from the dog “to take the shot” or because he felt threatened.
“What did the officer believe in the moment it was occurring?” Tiderington said. “We don’t know exactly what happened. If he felt he was going to be injured by the dog, there’s no way anyone else could dispute that. He covered his bases by saying he felt he was in danger and protecting the chickens.”
Some of the officer’s conduct was unprofessional, Tiderington said. He cited keeping the skeletons on display as the “most outrageous” act.
“I really question the wisdom of the officer about that,” Tiderington said.
Some members of the Novato Police Advisory Review Board (PARB) also have questions. The board is composed of seven residents who are appointed by the Novato City Council to advise on police department policy.
One concern is the city failed to inform PARB that a complaint had been filed against an officer, although it is required by a city council resolution. Johnson said the board wasn’t told yet because it meets quarterly. However, the last meeting took place three weeks after Anna Henry filed her complaint and a week after Johnson responded to it.
Another issue is that Novato City Manager Adam McGill denied a PARB member’s request to call a special meeting about Nick Frey, according to an email obtained by the Pacific Sun. McGill’s reasoning is that the board could potentially be called upon to review this personnel matter, and members discussing it beforehand would render them ineffective as a “neutral jury.”
McGill’s logic seems flawed based on one of the prerequisites to trigger a PARB review of a personnel issue. The citizen who filed a complaint about the officer must also file an appeal of department’s determination within 30 days. Then McGill decides whether PARB will review the appeal.
Anna Henry never appealed Johnson’s decision because no one told her she could. It’s not on the generic complaint form and Johnson’s letter didn’t mention it. The 30-day window expired weeks ago.
Without an appeal, a PARB review isn’t triggered, making McGill’s excuse not to schedule the special meeting a moot point. Furthermore, PARB’s rules and regulations permit the board to call meetings and place items on the agenda.
The Future
Meanwhile, it’s been more than three months since the Henrys lost Huck. Their grief is still close to the surface. Anna Henry spoke to the Pacific Sun only once because she can no longer discuss Huck’s death. During several conversations with Phil Henry, he cried.
The only decision remaining for the the Henrys is whether to file a lawsuit against Nick Frey, but they understand it’s a long and emotional process. Still, they want to hold him accountable in some way.
In an interview with the Pacific Sun, the Henrys’ attorney said they could make a case for intentional infliction of emotional distress.
“Something has to be done about this officer,” Phil Henry said. “I don’t want Huck to have died in vain.”
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