As Sonoma Developmental Center decisions near, groups push for public benefits

-
0
As Sonoma Developmental Center decisions near, groups push for public benefits

After years of public meetings, the future of the 945-acre Sonoma Developmental Center (SDC) property may be determined in the coming months. 

The state agency in charge of the property, California Department of General Services, is considering three development proposals, while Sonoma County is drawing up a Specific Plan which the selected development plan will need to abide by.

With deadlines approaching on both tracks, community groups are pushing for changes which they hope will ensure the new development centers the needs of the communities surrounding the SDC.

Community Benefits

On Friday, Dec. 16, the Sonoma County Board of Supervisors will hold a special meeting to discuss the county’s parameters for a future development. 

The plan, known as the SDC Specific Plan, has already been reviewed by the county Planning Commission which, among other suggestions, recommended the supervisors require the selected developer to “consider community benefits as part of a development agreement.”

As the name suggests, a community benefits agreement (CBA) is a deal between the community and a private developer. Such agreements can call on developers to build a certain amount of affordable housing, meet wage requirements or include amenities, like an accessible park, in a housing development. 

Supporters of the CBA include the North Bay Labor Council, which, in a Dec. 5 letter to the Board of Supervisors, wrote: “The status quo of development that focuses solely on profit, largely catering to wealthy tourists at the expense of neighbors, workers, and the environment, will not fly at SDC. SDC is an opportunity to create a project that works towards equity and sustainability.”

The North Bay Labor Council’s letter mentioned the following as possible items to include in a CBA: ​​”living wage and worker protections, local and targeted hiring, workforce housing, funding for job training, economic and educational opportunities for people with developmental and/or physical disabilities, small business support, and local outreach for affordable housing.”

The Board of Supervisors’ SDC meeting will be held at 10am on Friday, Dec. 16, online and in-person. Details are available at sonoma-county.legistar.com and sdcspecificplan.org. 

Public Plan

Another group of community members is focusing on the state track. The “SDC Next 100 Years Proposal” was submitted to the California Department of General Services by a group of residents in September, offering an alternative to two plans submitted by private developers.

The proposal, unveiled at a meeting at the Hanna Boys Center last week attended by over 160 community members, calls for keeping the property in public hands instead of selling it off to a developer seeking to profit. The 100 Years Proposal would require the creation of a new public agency to develop and manage the sprawling property. The agency could partner with private companies to work on financing and construction.

Among other things, the 100 Years Proposal calls for 470 housing units, “most of which will be truly affordable to Sonoma Valley essential workers,” with some homes designed for people with disabilities.

By comparison, the Specific Plan heading to the Board of Supervisors would allow a private developer to build up to 1,000 housing units—as many as 362 of them designated low-income—a hotel, stores and offices. The details of the other two developers’ plans submitted to the state are still unknown to the public.

Bean Anderson, a member of the 100 Years Proposals’ steering committee, said he expects the state to pick a development plan early next year, though a solid deadline is unclear. 
Information about the Next 100 Years Proposal is available at sdcnext100.org.

Santa Rosa strengthens mobile home park rent control rules

-
0
Santa Rosa strengthens mobile home park rent control rules

The Santa Rosa City Council last week finalized a legislative effort to shield residents of the city’s mobile home parks from significant rent hikes.

Santa Rosa’s 16 rent controlled parks serve as some of the city’s last affordable housing. Currently, 1,690 out of 2,155 mobile home spaces in the city are rent controlled, with residents paying an average rent of $721 per month for the land under their mobile home.

Park residents requested the city revisit its ordinance earlier this year. Speakers at a Nov. 29 city council meeting said that many park residents are fixed-income seniors, a demographic that is disproportionately likely to become homeless due to rising housing costs.

“Many of us simply cannot afford the consistent higher rent increases, especially the one this year of 5.7%. Some of my neighbors are already walking a tightrope between paying rent and buying food and necessary medicine, with little or no space before falling into homelessness,” Dianne Monroe, a mobile home owner, said at the council meeting.

Last updated in 2004, the city’s ordinance has matched rent increases to the change of the regional cost of living, known as the consumer price index (CPI), with an annual cap of 6%. Since 2001, the annual increase has averaged 2.7%. But, going into 2023, due to historic inflation, park owners would be allowed to increase rents by 5.7%.

For residents on fixed incomes, the costs are catching up. Over the past 10 years, the CPI has increased by 10% more than Social Security payments, according to a city staff report.

After debate over the past four months, the council voted 5-2 at a Nov. 29 meeting to set the new allowed rent increase at 70% of the change in CPI, capped at a 4% rent increase per year. Last week, the council voted to finalize the change.

A proposal from park owners called for an annual increase at 75% of CPI, while keeping the cap at the current 6% of CPI. They also offered to pay $100,000 per year into a city-run rent subsidy fund for struggling park residents.

In a letter to the council, the Santa Rosa Mobilehome Park Owners said their plan would ensure “park owners can continue to reinvest in a critical source of unsubsidized affordable housing.”

Mobile home residents requested a lower cap, matched to 65% of the increase in CPI, with a 3.5% limit on rent increases.

Culture Crush, Week of Dec. 13

-
0
Culture Crush, Week of Dec. 13

Yountville

‘Jeff Bridges: Pictures’ & ‘Inside Heaven’s Gate’

For over 30 years, actor-musician (and “The Dude” of The Big Lebowski fame!) Jeff Bridges has captured his moviemaking experiences using a specialized Widelux F8 panoramic camera. The results provide a fascinating and intimate look behind the scenes in a new show, Jeff Bridges: Pictures, now on exhibit at the Napa Valley Museum. Complementing the Oscar-winner’s work in the museum’s History and Spotlight Gallery is Susan Bridges’ exhibit, Inside Heaven’s Gate, a collection of photos that brings the 19th century back to life by way of the 1980 western film (and storied studio debacle) Heaven’s Gate. The museum is open 11am to 4pm, Wednesdays through Sundays, and is located at 55 Presidents Circle in Yountville. 707-944-0500. For more information, visit napavalleymuseum.org.

Marin County

Tech Abuse Training

The Marin Center for Domestic Peace offers a special hands-on training with Adam Dodge, an internationally recognized digital safety expert and founder of End Tech-Enabled Abuse. The online training, entitled, “How To Help Dating And Domestic Violence Survivors Be Safer In The Digital Age,” is open to the public and will cover the role of technology in victims’ lives, how to respond and prevent online harm, and why certain groups are at higher risk, among other topics. Those interested are invited to attend and become part of a multi-disciplinary team of professionals who have taken ownership of the issue of domestic violence and participate in finding system-wide solutions for Marin County. The training occurs from 1-4 pm, Wednesday, Dec. 14. The meeting will be held via zoom and requires registration at bit.ly/tech-abuse. For more information, email Jackie Palacios, learning systems manager, Center for Domestic Peace, or visit centerfordomesticpeace.org.

San Rafael

‘Stories from the Field’

The Agricultural Institute of Marin (AIM) is offering “Stories from the Field”—a live webinar presentation with three of the small family farmers who serve on AIM’s board of directors—on Monday, Dec. 19. Featured speakers include Cameron Crisman, Petit Teton Farm (Boonville); Nick Petkov, Sun Blaze Ranch (Winters); and Priscilla Lucero, Lucero Organic Farms (Galt). The event will be moderated by Andy Naja-Riese. Speakers will share their stories of farming during extraordinary challenges like limited water, climate change and increasing business costs. AIM’s CEO will then moderate a discussion about the path forward through certified farmers’ markets, policy changes and individual actions. ‘Stories from the Field’ runs from 3-4pm, Monday, Dec. 19. To register, visit bit.ly/aim-stories.

Sonoma County

Winter Reading Challenge

It’s easy to snuggle on the couch, remote in hand, scrolling through the endless holiday offerings of Netflix—too easy. This is why the Sonoma County Library is encouraging readers, one and all, to engage their imaginations (and perhaps even their library cards) and rise to the 2023 Winter Reading Challenge. From now through Jan. 14, participants are encouraged to “read something that sparks your curiosity for at least 20 minutes a day,” says the library’s recent communiqué. Those who keep reading and meet the challenge will earn a limited edition bookmark—not to mention the satisfaction that comes with having fed their brains more than empty calories of streamed content this season. Sign up at sonomalibrary.beanstack.org or in the Beanstack app available for Apple and Android devices.

Banker and Bohemian

-
6
Banker and Bohemian

Jack Stuppin 1933-2022

For decades he was the life of the party.

The party usually began and ended at Coffee Grounds, his spacious home on Coffee Lane. There were summer parties around the swimming pool and winter parties, especially at Christmas, with holiday food and drink.

I met Jack through the Sonoma County Book Festival which he helped create along with his pal, Dana Gioia, the poet, though others including Karen Petersen and J. J. Wilson played leading rules.

For years I saw Jack at least once a week, usually at his studio on Graton Road, where he painted Sonoma County landscapes and used the brightest and wildest colors. I couldn’t look at a mountain, valley, lake, or stream without seeing Jack’s art. He put his own stamp on the county and county artists, art collectors and art lovers embraced him.

An odd fellow, he balanced life as a banker and as a bohemian. Most bankers stick to banking; most bohemians stick to bohemia. Jack wandered back and forth from the world of money and money-making to the world of art and artists.

Born in Yonkers, New York in 1933, he attended Columbia College, as I did, graduating nearly a decade before me. We shared a sense of New York bustle. Jack made a ton of money and used a ton of money to make colorful cards with his own artwork that he used to promote himself and his canvases. I still have a painting he gave me that depicts an idyllic scene on Morelli Lane above Camp Meeker where I lived for several decades.

While Jack courted the bohemian lifestyle and mixed with fellow artists such as Tony King, William Morehouse, and Bill Wheeler, he didn’t live and work in a garret. His elegant studio could have served as a second home. He usually didn’t paint alone, but with assistants, he instructed and guided, though only his name appeared on his canvases.

If he was loud and imposing, he could also be a good listener. Years ago, I wrote and performed a poem titled “I’m More Important Than You.” Some thought I meant to skewer Jack. I didn’t. He always was a good friend and a generous neighbor who served as a patron and helped me launch my own books at Coffee Grounds.

Jack, I already miss you.

Honey of the Heart and BrightSide Blue play as One

-
0
Honey of the Heart and BrightSide Blue play as One

In this column’s continuing declaration of the too often unacknowledged musical variety of the North Bay, let us not forget world music.

While the genre has less cache than it did in the 80s and 90s, perhaps that isn’t such a bad thing. In fact, it isn’t a genre at all but a fusion of styles and musical traditions that often excels most when kept out of the corrupting influences of the mainstream music machine. Witness the newly minted combination of Northern California world-music-and-more groups Honey of the Heart and BrightSide Blue. 

Rather than drawing from the uptempo, radio-friendly sounds of early world music giants like Paul Simon and David Byrne, these two bands feel much more situated in the independent sounds of bass virtuoso and world-funk maven Laura Lova, with a dash of the Americana that we all so love in these parts.

The dreamy folk funk of Honey of the Heart blends surprisingly with the flamenco groove of BrightSide Blue in their new joint album, Live from the Center 2021. While the album features a mix of covers and originals, it can sometimes be unclear which is which, so warmly familiar do the original songs sound—not in any ordinary way but in a timeless one. 

These two groups found harmony in the dissonance of the pandemic. Every week they met safely outdoors to support one another and keep spirits high by learning each other’s tunes. Their story of resilience through hard times is a testament to the healing power of music and community. 

In listening to these hopeful tunes of easy-rocking positivity arranged and recorded through these last few years of general bleakness, I can’t help but reflect on the healing that creating art in the community had for me. I hope, dear reader, that listening to these shining songbirds will do the same for you.

Honey of the Heart and BrightSide Blue play from 7 pm to 11 pm, Friday, December 16 HopMonk Tavern, 224 Vintage Way Novato.

‘Mischief’ on stage at Spreckels

-
0
‘Mischief’ on stage at Spreckels

1966 was a busy year for musical theater, with such classics as Sweet Charity, Mame and Cabaret. Among these large productions, a small six-person musical set in Regency England in the same historical period as Pride and Prejudice was quickly overshadowed. While Man with a Load of Mischief ran for over 240 performances, the show is largely forgotten today. Rohnert Park’s Spreckels Theatre Company is trying to change that with a production running through Dec. 18.

One night, the titular “Man with a Load of Mischief” inn is occupied by the runaway mistress (Brandy Noveh) of Prince Charles IV, her lady’s maid (Caitlin Waites), a rakish lord (Jon Rathjen), his manservant (Michael C. Murdock), the innkeeper (Craig Bainbridge) and his wife (Eileen Morris). 

The Lord is heavily in debt and needs to get back into the prince’s good graces. He has followed the mistress on her flight for his own nefarious purposes. However, it turns out that his manservant knew the mistress back when she was only an actress and has loved her in secret for years. Songs are sung and machinations machinated before love wins out as it always does in plays like this.

There are some very good performances here. Notably, Murdock’s strong voice and character work enhance his natural stage presence. Morris’ clear vocals and obvious joy on stage are a grounding force for the play, and Waites gives a consistently good performance as the saucy lady’s maid. Unfortunately, the visible age difference between Waites and Rathjen makes the romance hard to watch. 

Lead actress Noveh is a trained and talented singer with an amazing voice which is evident every time she opens her mouth. One wishes that someone would tell her that, because a displayed lack of confidence robs her of the status necessary for the role. 

The real issue isn’t so much whether this is a “good” play or not. It’s tightly directed, beautifully sung and well-costumed. The issue is that this play is nothing special. Even in 1966, a script with low stakes and no real edge in the face of the dangerously sexy Cabaret or provocatively funny Sweet Charity simply didn’t speak to a changing world. 

While one won’t regret watching this show, one wishes that with so many other relevant musicals to choose from that Spreckels would have produced a play that one would regret missing.‘Man with a Load of Mischief’ runs through Dec. 18 at Spreckels Performing Arts Center, 5409 Snyder Lane, Rohnert Park. Thurs–Sat, 7:30pm; Sun, 2pm; $12 – $36. 707.588.3400. spreckelsonline.com.

Napa Valley landfill faces $619,400 Water Board fine

-
0
Napa Valley landfill faces $619,400 Water Board fine

A family-owned landfill serving Napa County is facing a $619,400 fine for allegedly polluting a nearby creek in 2019.

A proposed settlement agreement, announced by the San Francisco Bay Regional Water Quality Control Board in late November, is based on five alleged violations of Calistoga’s Clover Flat Landfill’s use permit. 

The problems include allowing tainted and acidic stormwater to flow into a nearby stream. The company also allegedly failed to properly stabilize erodible areas on the hillside facility and fix leaking equipment quickly. Investigators found that water flowing off the landfill contained excessive amounts of metals which could impact fish and other wildlife, according to the proposed settlement agreement.

Owned by a longtime Napa Valley wine family since the 1960s, the Clover Flat Landfill has become subject to criticism and legal action in recent years as concerns about the facility’s environmental impacts grow. In addition to the pending Water Board agreement, Clover Flat is facing a federal lawsuit filed by the California Sportfishing Protection Alliance for allegedly violating the Clean Water Act and negotiating a settlement with the Napa County District Attorney’s Office and California Department of Fish and Wildlife, according to the Water Board’s proposed settlement agreement.

Asked for comment on the Water Board’s proposed agreement and what improvements the company has made since 2019, Clover Flat CEO Steve Peterson said via email, “At this time it is inappropriate for me to comment on the tentative settlement.”

In October, the family announced plans to sell the company to Waste Connections, Inc., a publicly-traded waste management company with over 20,000 employees across the country. The Upper Valley Waste Management Agency, a public agency which contracts with Clover Flat, consented to the sale at an Oct. 17 meeting.

“After the passing of our [Clover Flat] founder Bob Pestoni last year it became apparent that an acquisition was in the best interest for our family, employees and our community,” Christy Pestoni, the company’s chief operating officer, wrote in an Oct. 6 letter to the agency.

According to the Water Board’s proposed settlement, the landfill generates “up to $4.3 million in revenue annually,” not including revenue which comes from processing fire debris.

St. Helena’s outgoing mayor, Geoff Ellsworth, is an outspoken critic of the landfill. After returning to the area and getting involved in local politics several years ago, he grew concerned about the risks the landfill may pose to the surrounding area, which is much more highly developed than it was in the 1960s. 

This summer, he filed a complaint with the Napa County District Attorney’s office, alleging the landfill poses “significant and unnecessary fire and wildfire risk.” In September, Christy Pestoni told the Bay City News that the landfill is in compliance with fire regulations.

For now, Ellsworth is holding out hope that a larger company will have the financial resources to improve the landfill.

“With refuse management you need these larger companies that have economies of scale, but I’m still concerned that we’ll still have the same management and the same kind of poor management practices,” he said.

The Water Board’s proposed settlement is available for review at www.waterboards.ca.gov/sanfranciscobay/public_notices/pending_enforcement.html. A public comment period is open until Dec. 29.

Josh Windmiller’s The Crux turns 15

-
1
Josh Windmiller’s The Crux turns 15

At times, Santa Rosa seems a sleepy little rural town, a regional center almost by accident, built through decades of accumulated suburbs.

At other times, it feels loud as hell, especially when folk-punk rock bards The Crux are playing. This year, The Crux turns 15, with a show scheduled to celebrate their anniversary at McNear’s Mystic Theater in Petaluma on Dec. 17. It also happens to be the 40th birthday of singer, songwriter, guitarist and art-scene catalyst Josh Windmiller.

I sat down with Windmiller for a chat under the condition that I wouldn’t embarrass myself, but screw that. You see, I am a HUGE fan of the band and his. It has taken me years to stop bouncing up and down in his presence. Now that I’ve calmed down, it feels that we are becoming friends. I suspect a lot of artists around the region feel that way.

Indeed, Windmiller is more than a frontman of the most interesting band in the North Bay. He is a dedicated professional community organizer whose efforts have brought such jewels to Santa Rosa as the Railroad Square Music Festival and the Lost Church, both endeavors that lift up local artists, expanding the available cultural options for residents of the city. This whole ethos is baked into the wacky-weird beauty of The Crux.

Traveling Band That Stays Home

It might help to get a picture of the band in action, lest my praise come off as hyperbole to the uninitiated, the unconverted, the not yet saved. With the full band playing in the pure white of a gospel choir while clanging away on the full range of Americana instruments, some possibly hand-made inventions, Windmiller has indeed been on stage in character as a snake oil salesperson, a frontier preacher and a contortionist starting shows chained in a box below center mic. These are factual descriptions, y’all.

My personal favorite incarnation is the old west circuit gospel faith healer, supposedly just rolled into camp to uplift the poor souls of the audience. As Windmiller booms a sermon between tunes, lost souls stagger up from the audience to place their foreheads into his outstretched hand and “Hallelujah!”, they are healed and raise their voices to the heavens before joining the band on stage. This is how the backup singers are introduced, through the grace of God.

Throughout the show, members join and leave the set. “The original idea behind The Crux in many ways was inspired by the idea of a traveling show,” Windmiller told me. “The idea of rotating groups of people is important to that. [Our shows have] that feeling of momentum. I want, when people go to a Crux show, to feel like they’re transported somewhere.” 

Santa Rosa Arts

In a way, momentum is what Windmiller’s work is all about. 

Even though he has a fascination with the idea of travel, Windmiller said, “There’s something about my approach to the arts that’s very much rooted in the local.” That contrary nature shows up in The Crux. “It’s at one point about characters and stories and movement, while at the same time, you know, being about your neighbors and your neighborhood.” 

Indeed, The Crux began all those years ago in neighborhood living rooms and barns around Santa Rosa, shows where the boundary between the audience and the players was a permeable thing.

It was the kind of scene at the time that seemed a launching board to that travel, the movement elsewhere, yet was rooted right there in Santa Rosa. “Sometimes it’s been hard to reconcile. I never really planned on being, you know, in Santa Rosa all the time.”

Yet, Windmiller’s presence is foundational in the local music scene. As development director of the Lost Church, and co-founder of the Railroad Square Music Festival, he has poured his heart, soul and sweat into building momentum for artists and concert-goers in Santa Rosa.

For those not yet familiar with the Railroad Square Music Festival, the annual event pulls in 6,000 attendees to see dozens of bands right in the square. 

“One of the main things behind the Railroad Square Music Festival is to make a music festival that you could wander into by accident. It’s right there in the heart of Santa Rosa,” said Windmiller about the free event. “We try to make it as accessible as possible.”

Venue Guy

The Lost Church, tucked away in the back of the Press Democrat building on Ross Street at Mendocino Avenue, is a funky little spot custom built for intimate shows. A branch of the Lost Church non-profit out of San Francisco, the venue exists for the purpose of maintaining the sustainability of a community stage that is open and accessible to the community.

“I never thought I’d be a venue guy,” Windmiller laughed nervously. “Venues are such a big task.” Pulling on his antiquely-styled beard in thought, he noted that these days it seems that music is so often tied to events, rather than just a thing to go out and do.

The median age in Santa Rosa is 35 years old, with a lot of families. Having music just in bars and clubs that play until midnight is not going to work for a lot of people. Windmiller and the teams behind the Lost Church and the Railroad Square Music Festival are committed to being more inclusive. Shows at the Lost Church are all ages and always end by 10:30pm.

Time to Celebrate

To have a band with a strong local following for 15 years is quite a feat. “It’s nice to have a history,” said Windmiller. “We’ve created a history together, and we’re growing together.”

The show at the Mystic will feature the return of co-founder and early days co-lead singer Tim Dixon, and of course a rotating cast of local music characters gathered to celebrate the achievement of these beloved local folk-punk freaks.

“I’ve just had the fortune of working with incredible musicians and artists of all kinds,” said Windmiller, reflecting on the depth of the local scene and his roots in Santa Rosa.  “I’ve tried to live this life the way I want to. I’ve [considered] moving a few times, but then, you know, before I can pack my bag, I’ve got [to run to] a coffee date with a local piano player. “

The Crux plays with La Gente SF at the Mystic Theater in Petaluma on Dec. 17. Tickets available online at mystictheatre.com. Learn more about the Lost Church at thelostchurch.org. Musicians interested in playing the 2023 Railroad Square Music Festival can contact ra*************************@***il.com.

Culture Crush, Week of Dec. 7

-
0
Culture Crush, Week of Dec. 7

Music and Mayhem

Santa Rosa

Joe Craven and Sheridan Malone will perform “An Afternoon of Music and Mayhem” at The Lost Church Santa Rosa on Sunday, Dec. 18. Craven is well known as a multi-talented musician and popular festival MC with lauded improvisational skills, and Malone is a singer-songwriter and multi-instrumentalist, who has performed for years in a variety genres, including opera and musical theater. The duo promises an early evening of Americana improvisation that might align with those whose tastes include Steve Polz, Painted Mandolin and Achilles Wheel. Vaccines, boosters and masks are strongly encouraged, but are not required, as per local policy. Joe Craven and Sheridan Malone perform from 4:45-7:30pm, Sunday, Dec. 18 at The Lost Church, 427 Mendocino Ave., Santa Rosa. Tickets are $20. For more information, visit tinyurl.com/CravenMaloneDec18.

Santa Rosa

‘Sleigh’ Hunger Food Drive

The Redwood Empire Food Bank has a plan to slay hunger—or, at least, sleigh it this winter season—with its  holiday food drive, a.k.a, the Redwood Empire Food Bank Sleigh Hunger Food Drive. Those who are able to contribute are encouraged to bring food donations to the drive this Saturday, where there will be a photo op with “Santa Cause” and free carriage rides, courtesy of Railroad Square. Among the most needed items are canned tuna, canned chicken, peanut butter, rice, pasta, oats, dry beans and low sugar cereals. Redwood Empire Food Bank Sleigh Hunger Food Drive goes from 11am to 3pm, Saturday, Dec. 10 at Railroad Square, 9 4th St., Santa Rosa. For more information, visit refb.org.

Napa

Cool Yule

Blue Note Napa presents Kellie Fuller and the Mike Greensill Trio for “Cool Yule” on Thursday, Dec. 22, a night filled with a mix of vintage holiday and winter jazz classics. Fuller and Greensill have gathered an all-star band featuring Ruth Davies on stand-up bass and Jack Dorsey (not the Twitter founder) on drums for a festive evening of winter classics and holiday cheer. Doors open at 6pm, and dinner, wine, beer and cocktails are available throughout the evening. Tickets range from $15- $30 and can be purchased at www.bluenotenapa.com. Due to the intimate size of the club, advance tickets are strongly recommended. Blue Note Napa is located on the first floor of the Napa Valley Opera House at 1030 Main St., Napa.

Mill Valley

Four Women

What began as an exploration of works of teachers and their students sparked a conversation about the importance of mentorship and support among women artists. Here’s how the dots connect: Jane Rosen introduced the work of Daniella Dooling, who was her student and first assistant. Gale Antokal was a teacher at San Jose State University who taught Shannon Belardi, later recommending her for a position as Rosen’s studio assistant. Each of these artists acknowledge a debt of gratitude to the women artists who have supported them along the way. Reflecting this ethos is a joint exhibition, “Four Women,” on view through Jan. 15 at the Seager Gray Gallery, 108 Throckmorton Ave., Mill Valley. For more information, visit seagergray.com.

Open Mic, Week of Dec. 7

-
0
Open Mic, Week of Dec. 7

Men and Hijabs

Another case for equality 

By Dr. Martin Blinder

Like most everyone fortunate to live in a free society (and doubtless a goodly number of people who don’t), I am astonished and proud of the extraordinary bravery of the women of Iran, risking their lives to protest a cruel and bizarre dictum by Iranian men apparently so insecure about their manhood that they force their women to shroud themselves from head to toe like lepers. 

But there may be another different strategy that I believe is not only supremely effective, but less likely to place these women in such peril.

Specifically, in that the Iranian government seems convinced that the wearing of this piece of black cloth is absolutely essential to the peace, tranquility, safety and moral fiber of the nation, I would suggest that rather than fighting to do away with this mandate, women should instead insist that men be afforded the same constitutional right to serve the nation that only women presently enjoy. Henceforth, men should be expected to appear in public wearing the hijab. It would be most interesting to hear Iranian men explain why they should be denied the opportunity to add to this priceless and righteous contribution to their nation’s well-being.

Presently, a policy where only women get to wear a hijab in public is manifestly discriminatory against men who are thus left bereft of their right to publicly demonstrate their deeply felt righteous morality. Furthermore, while women can rely on a hijab’s protection year-round against the harsh Iranian climate, burning hot in summer, freezing cold in winter, men have only scraggly beards to protect their faces.

Presently, should a courageous Iranian man protest this injustice by appearing on a public street wearing a hijab, the morality police would be on him in one jihad second. Doubtless they would not wait to haul him back to pious headquarters to beat him to death, but would stone him right there on the spot. This is blatantly unfair. Time for Iranian men to rise up and join their women-folk in the demand to be treated equally.

Dr. Martin Blinder lives in San Anselmo.

As Sonoma Developmental Center decisions near, groups push for public benefits

Sonoma Developmental Center - JessaDMay/Wikimedia Commons
After years of public meetings, the future of the 945-acre Sonoma Developmental Center (SDC) property may be determined in the coming months.  The state agency in charge of the property, California Department of General Services, is considering three development proposals, while Sonoma County is drawing up a Specific Plan which the selected development plan will need to abide by. With deadlines...
Read more

Santa Rosa strengthens mobile home park rent control rules

Santa Rosa Mobile Home Parks
The Santa Rosa City Council last week finalized a legislative effort to shield residents of the city’s mobile home parks from significant rent hikes. Santa Rosa’s 16 rent controlled parks serve as some of the city’s last affordable housing. Currently, 1,690 out of 2,155 mobile home spaces in the city are rent controlled, with residents paying an average rent of...
Read more

Culture Crush, Week of Dec. 13

Yountville ‘Jeff Bridges: Pictures’ & ‘Inside Heaven’s Gate’ For over 30 years, actor-musician (and “The Dude” of The Big Lebowski fame!) Jeff Bridges has captured his moviemaking experiences using a specialized Widelux F8 panoramic camera. The results provide a fascinating and intimate look behind the scenes in a new show, Jeff Bridges: Pictures, now on exhibit at the Napa Valley Museum....
Read more

Banker and Bohemian

Jack Stuppin
Jack Stuppin 1933-2022 For decades he was the life of the party. The party usually began and ended at Coffee Grounds, his spacious home on Coffee Lane. There were summer parties around the swimming pool and winter parties, especially at Christmas, with holiday food and drink. I met Jack through the Sonoma County Book Festival which he helped create along...
Read more

Honey of the Heart and BrightSide Blue play as One

In this column’s continuing declaration of the too often unacknowledged musical variety of the North Bay, let us not forget world music. While the genre has less cache than it did in the 80s and 90s, perhaps that isn’t such a bad thing. In fact, it isn’t a genre at all but a fusion of styles and musical traditions that...
Read more

‘Mischief’ on stage at Spreckels

1966 was a busy year for musical theater, with such classics as Sweet Charity, Mame and Cabaret. Among these large productions, a small six-person musical set in Regency England in the same historical period as Pride and Prejudice was quickly overshadowed. While Man with a Load of Mischief ran for over 240 performances, the show is largely forgotten today....
Read more

Napa Valley landfill faces $619,400 Water Board fine

Vines - Daniel Salgado/Unsplash
A family-owned landfill serving Napa County is facing a $619,400 fine for allegedly polluting a nearby creek in 2019. A proposed settlement agreement, announced by the San Francisco Bay Regional Water Quality Control Board in late November, is based on five alleged violations of Calistoga’s Clover Flat Landfill’s use permit.  The problems include allowing tainted and acidic stormwater to flow into...
Read more

Josh Windmiller’s The Crux turns 15

At times, Santa Rosa seems a sleepy little rural town, a regional center almost by accident, built through decades of accumulated suburbs. At other times, it feels loud as hell, especially when folk-punk rock bards The Crux are playing. This year, The Crux turns 15, with a show scheduled to celebrate their anniversary at McNear’s Mystic Theater in Petaluma on...
Read more

Culture Crush, Week of Dec. 7

Music and Mayhem Santa Rosa Joe Craven and Sheridan Malone will perform “An Afternoon of Music and Mayhem” at The Lost Church Santa Rosa on Sunday, Dec. 18. Craven is well known as a multi-talented musician and popular festival MC with lauded improvisational skills, and Malone is a singer-songwriter and multi-instrumentalist, who has performed for years in a variety genres, including...
Read more

Open Mic, Week of Dec. 7

Click to read
Men and Hijabs Another case for equality  By Dr. Martin Blinder Like most everyone fortunate to live in a free society (and doubtless a goodly number of people who don’t), I am astonished and proud of the extraordinary bravery of the women of Iran, risking their lives to protest a cruel and bizarre dictum by Iranian men apparently so insecure about their...
Read more
1...186187188...1,000Page 187 of 1,000
11,084FansLike
4,446FollowersFollow
6,928FollowersFollow
north bay bohemian newspaper sonoma napa county logo
CURRENT ISSUE & ARCHIVES
East Bay Express cover
East Bay Express cover
CURRENT ISSUE & ARCHIVES
Newsletters Subscribe Advertise About Us Contact Us Letter to the Editor Press Release Obituaries Writing an Obituary Archives Find a Paper Distribute Bohemian Vote for Best Of Plaques & Banners
win free stuff
Features Local News News
Arts Books & Literature Crush Culture Movies Music Spotlight Theater
Astrology Look Media Opinion Letters To The Editor Open Mic Press Pass Rolling Papers
Dining Restaurants Small Bites
Readers' Picks 2025 Arts & Culture Beer, Wine & Spirits Beauty, Health & Wellness Cannabis Everyday Services Family & Pets Home Improvement Recreation Restaurants Romance Shopping
All Upcoming Events Today's Events Submit an Event Promote Your Event
weeklys california local media group logo

FOLLOW US

Copyright © Weeklys All rights reserved.

Our Publications

ADVERTISING Advertise Legal Submit an Obituary Legal NoticesFictitious Business Name (FBN) StatementsDoing Business As (DBA) NoticesTrustee Sale Notices

COMPANY INFO Job Opportunities Journalism Awards Privacy Policy Terms of Service

Support Local Journalism