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.”
Between health-related closures, dwindling audiences, casting challenges and at least one big change in company leadership, there was almost as much drama off-stage as on in the North Bay theater community in the past year.
There was an assumption by some that pandemic-weary audiences (and theater companies) would seek relief in comedies and small-scale musicals and, to a certain extent, they did, but dramatic plays continued to be a welcome option for local audiences.
Here are my “Top Torn Tickets” for the best and/or most interesting dramas produced in the North Bay in 2022:
Clybourne Park—Raven Players—Bruce Norris’ Pulitzer Prize-winning continuation of Lorraine Hansberry’s A Raisin in the Sun got a solid mounting from this Healdsburg company.
A Doll’s House, Part 2—Novato Theater Company—This production of Lucas Hnath’s sequel to Ibsen’s 138-year-old drama packed a lot in its 85 intermission-less minutes.
The Glass Menagerie—Main Stage West—The now 75-year-old Tennessee Williams classic may be draped in the trappings of its time, but its look at the illusions people create to get through life, and the pain and regret that comes with the shattering of those illusions, still hit hard, courtesy of the work of four actors at the top of their game.
Master Class—Sonoma Arts Live—Libby Oberlin was first class as diva Maria Callas in this simply staged but very effective production.
Misery—Cinnabar Theater—One knew what one was getting when taking a seat at this stage adaptation based on the screenplay of the Stephen King novel. That it was still able to deliver a jolt or two, despite the familiarity of the material, is a credit to director Tim Kniffin and the cast.
One Flea Spare—Main Stage West—A show set during the Great Plague in a quarantined household might have been a little too on-the-nose for some, but its look at what sequestration can do to people (and what people can do to each other) was absolutely absorbing.
The River Bride—6th Street Playhouse—Despite the occasional train whistle and ambient sounds of local automobile traffic, this production of an Amazonian-set fable managed to—through set, sound and performance—transport audiences to a different world.
The Sound Inside—Marin Theatre Company—Theater didn’t get any more unsettling than this look at the relationship between a college professor and a student. Challenging in both presentation and subject matter, it’s a rare play in which everything isn’t tied neatly up at the end.
Humboldt County landmark inspires Netflix and winemaking
When most people think of Humboldt County, it’s not for vineyards. Adrian Manspeaker, founder and winemaker at Joseph Jewell Wines, is hoping to change that.
Having grown up in Benbow in southern Humboldt County, Manspeaker attended the College of the Redwoods in Eureka from 1996 to 1998 before moving back to spend a few more years in his hometown and moving to Sonoma County with his now-wife in 2003. He started Joseph Jewell out of his garage in Windsor in 2006, first sourcing fruit from Elk Prairie, a six-acre vineyard close to Humboldt’s Myers Flat and later from the area now known as “Murder Mountain,” which also happens to be the title of a Netflix true crime documentary series.
“Some people disappeared from this area back in the day, and inevitably this is how the name ‘Murder Mountain’ came to be. Fast forward to now—the Netflix series came out after there was another unfortunate situation in the area,” says Manspeaker.
The winemaker is hoping to help make the area known for another reason—pinot noir—and put Humboldt County on the map as the next frontier when it comes to California cool climate pinot noir growing regions.
In 2014, Manspeaker started sourcing grapes from a two-acre vineyard in Alderpoint, which is a few miles from the infamous mountain. Over the following five years, he complemented this fruit with pinot noir from additional sites in Humboldt County, including Ryan Vineyard (a 17-acre vineyard in his hometown of Benbow), Fruitland Ridge (near Elk Prairie, way up north to the furthest reaches of Humboldt County) and Phelps Vineyard in Briceland.
Manspeaker believes that Humboldt County is optimal for pinot noir because “there are a vast number of interesting and distinct microclimates in Humboldt County that are just now being discovered.”
Factors characteristic of wines grown in Humboldt County include its proximity to the Eel River and its persistent marine layer (this affects vineyards in Fruitland Ridge or Myers Flat particularly), and overall very cool temperatures, even in higher elevation vineyards (like the Phelps Vineyard Joseph Jewell sources fruit from).
Joseph Jewell usually picks their Humboldt County fruit in late October, which is more than a month later than warmer sites in the Russian River Valley and at least a month later than the coolest Sonoma Coast and Russian River sites.
“It took me over 10 years to form relationships with all these small farmers, and their unique sites are helping me understand and learn more about the climate up there and where exactly ideal vineyards could be planted in the future,” says Manspeaker. “I think we are making really nice wines from Humboldt County, and it would seem that the critics agree, as our 2018 Alderpoint Vineyard Pinot Noir was awarded 94 points recently by Wine Enthusiast.”
If one is a fan of fresh, elegant, cool climate pinot noirs, I’d recommend visiting Joseph Jewell’s local tasting room in Forestville, where one can taste both their Humboldt County and Sonoma County pinot noirs, as well as their pét-nat of vermentino.
Russia’s war upon Ukraine should be a reminder that violent international conflicts not only persist, but constitute a plague upon the world.
One popular response to war is isolationism, which is designed to keep one’s nation out of the conflict. But this policy (labeled “America First” in the U.S.) ignores the suffering of other people and, of course, does nothing to stop a war elsewhere.
Pacifism is on a higher ethical plane, for it deplores the horrors produced by militarism and war. Furthermore, if most people around the world accepted the absolute pacifist position (which rejects military force in all circumstances), pacifists might be able to prevent wars from occurring or continuing. But this is not the case and, given widespread public support for “just wars” (including defense against invasion), seems unlikely to become so.
Nonviolent resistance has greater potentiality as an alternative to war or surrender, although its full promise has yet to be realized in coping with international war.
Legislative bodies enact laws, while police and judicial institutions enforce these laws. Unfortunately, on the global level, these institutions are so rudimentary and limited in power that they fail to produce an effective check upon violence. Thus, on the national level, governments can restrain violence by individuals, mobs or insurrectionists. But, on the international level, things proceed much as they did in the American Wild West of yesteryear.
In short, while nations have established useful governance at the national level, the world lacks effective governance at the international level. As a result, when nations have an international conflict, they are tempted, in the absence of the force of law, to invoke the law of force.
After thousands of years of blood and plunder, topped off in recent decades by the looming danger of a nuclear holocaust, isn’t it time to give strengthened global governance a try?
Nations of the world unite! There is nothing to lose but wars.
Perhaps nothing connected people during the pandemic more than music. It seems as if every band in the world produced an album in recent years. And when live performances returned, for many it was as if collective spirits lifted and bodies again moved freely in dance.
In the North Bay, the vibrant and diverse music scene is something worth celebrating, as are all these bands, performers and music supporters.
And so, here are the winners of the 2022 North Bay Music Awards, as voted by the readers of the Pacific Sun and the North Bay Bohemian.
Americana: Dave Hamilton
Last year’s winner in the folk category, Dave Hamilton’s win in Americana, no small feat in the rich tradition the genre has in the region, shows the breadth of his appeal across categories. Hamilton plays throughout the North Bay this month. davehamiltonfolkamericana.com
Blues: Spike Sikes & His Awesome Hotcakes
Bluesmen aren’t born; they are formed through struggle and soul. Sultry North Bay fixture Spike Sikes bleeds out the blues at local venues week after week. His band of accomplices blends a slow burn of blues, jazz and soul on their 2022 LP, Magnolia Street. awesomehotcakes.com
Country: Bloomfield Bluegrass Band
Bloomfield Bluegrass Band plays that brand of music that was called “old-time” 100 years ago and that will still move the heart 100 years hence. Their experiments with the locally built redwood fiddle are especially worthy. bloomfieldbluegrassband.com
DJ (Live): Lady Char
707 native Lady Char spins upbeat sets that draw from an eclectic mix of influences, all connected by the love of a dancing crowd. Lauded for the positivity of her sets, Char started the Love Beat DJ after-school enrichment program to inspire love of music in youth. djladychar.com
DJ (Radio): New Release Hour with Brian and Doug on KRCB
Co-owner of Santa Rosa’s Next Record Store, Doug Jayne teams up with KRCB morning DJ Brian Griffith to give listeners a taste of new releases every Tuesday at 11am. Dudes know their stuff. norcalpublicmedia.org/radio-programs/new-release-hour-with-brian-doug
Electronica: Eki Shola
Winner of the electronica category for the last four years, Eki Shola defies comparison. Percussive piano, synth vocals, jazzy bass lines and whisper-soft breakbeats melt together under easy pop vocals and hip-hop delivered wisdom. ekishola.com
Folk: Dave Hamilton
Two time winner this year, Dave Hamilton channels the spirit of Pete Seeger to win the NorBay for folk for the third year running. davehamiltonfolkamericana.com
Hip-Hop: J.Lately
“Too much comfort can be a disservice,” raps J.Lately in his single, “Pictures.” The Sebastopol native spits cozy smooth flow, but drops albums like a madperson, with three long players in the last two years. When one wants to feel good to the core, these are the beats. justlatelymusic.com
Indie: Ellie James
Berklee College of Music grad Ellie James has a reputation as an indie standout, winning the award in 2020. Now she is back and in a big way…but small, as in indie. Her sound and approach capture that dichotomy perfectly: a honed talent, yet fun and free. thisiselliejames.com
INDIE Ellie James uplifts North Bay audiences.
Jazz: Stella Heath
Lauded in past Bohemian articles for her “magnetic vocals and tight rhythms,” Petaluma native Stella Heath draws from the origins of popular jazz to channel Louis Armstrong and Billie Holliday in a fistful of can’t miss projects for jazzheads. stellaheathmusic.com
Metal: A Hero To Fall
For those who wish the Dillinger Escape Plan lived next door, they may look no further than North Bay metalcore mainstays A Hero To Fall. NorBay winners again in the metal category, this wholesome bunch has scream-growled their way into hearts. instagram.com/aherotofall
Punk: The Happys
With a sound evolving from tripped out Brit-punk like The Clash covering the Moving Sidewalks, to a more recent tapestry of West Coast sounds—think pre-grunge northwest punk plus surf rock—if one doesn’t love The Happys, they may stop reading this column. thehappysofficial.com
R&B: The Soul Section
One of the biggest sounds around, The Soul Section returns to claim the R&B category for yet another year. Those looking to cut the floor to the vibe of classic Motown can see the brass and bass heavy crew at the California in Santa Rosa on Jan. 20. thesoulsection.com
Reggae: Sol Horizon
Multi-NorBay winners Sol Horizon continue to garner votes for their true-to-the-roots reggae. Energetic live shows and upbeat, stoner-positive messages will never be out of vogue in the North Bay. instagram.com/sol.horizon
Rock: Kingsborough
Those who love Fleetwood Mac and Don Henley will gravitate to Santa Rosa rockers Kingsborogh. In true classic rocker style, the band takes its name from the family name of frontperson Billy Kingsborough. kingsboroughmusic.com
Singer-Songwriter: Ellie James
The happy-go-lucky tunes of Ellie James can sometimes belie the deeper craftsmanship of the winner of this year’s indie category. As a songwriter, James’ chops continue to develop, more than justifying her win in the highly competitive singer-songwriter category. thisiselliejames.com
Promoter: Jake Ward Presents
Jake Ward seems to own this category. Why? Because he and his cast of over-the-top performers hustle to bring a unique experience to the North Bay through blood, sweat and tears. Live piercing fans have a home here. northbaycabaret.com
Venue: HopMonk Sebastopol
The original location of the popular local chain of beer gardens, HopMonk Sebastopol sits in a 115-year-old stone and timber tavern. A dual music venue with stages outside and in the cozy inside Abbey, HopMonk is a spot for music not to be missed. hopmonk.com/sebastopol
Music Instructor: Spike Sikes
The local music scene contains a wealth of talented musicians who dedicate themselves to teaching the next generation of North Bay talent. No wonder the area is so rich in music. It is a credit to many-time NorBay winner Sikes to stand out among them. instagram.com/spike_sikes
Hardest Working Musician: Ellie James
Ok, girl, go. Just go. Winning her third NorBay in 2022 proves the point. Ellie James is working her butt off to bring the message of uplifting pop to ears desperate for positivity in this age of permacrisis. thisiselliejames.com
Reminding that “art” and “artisanal” share some etymological DNA, the Petaluma Arts Center (PAC) has embarked on a new effort that’s a feast for the senses.
Raising a glass (literally) to its 15th anniversary, the center and Petaluma’s Barber Cellars present a monthly Artist Wine Label Series, featuring visual works by PAC member artists adorning the vessels of the winemakers’ flagship varietals.
The project serves as both a fundraiser for the center, as well as a reminder that Petaluma has embraced its identity as the gateway to wine country (long-known as an advocate for both, permit me to disclose that recently I joined another local media colleague as a member of the center’s board).
The original artwork and line of limited edition labeled bottles are available exclusively via monthly online auctions through 2023, with the proceeds benefiting the center’s myriad community art programs.
“I am thrilled to launch this historic collaboration with Barber Cellars, a perfect pairing of art and wine and a showcase for creative catalysts all around us,” says Carin Jacobs, PAC executive director. “What an ideal kickoff to PAC’s anniversary year and a documentation of local artisanal talent.”
CHEERS Petaluma Arts Center executive director Carin Jacobs, left, and artist Lisa Lightman toast the launch of the wine label project at Barber Cellars.
The first artist featured is Lisa Lightman, whose abstract “Botanical Fourteen” (oil, oil stick, collage on paper) captures the verdant spirit of local flora and pairs well with the dry-farmed, organically grown zinfandel from the Barbers’ own estate.
Lightman’s original, framed painting, as well as a bottle of the “Mr. Beast” 2020 Zinfandel featuring the work on its label signed by the artist, is now available in a collectible package at petalumaartscenter.org/wine-label-auction. The auction concludes on Jan. 30.
Her work, which Lightman donated to the project, is on view at Barber Cellars Tasting Room, 112 Washington St., Petaluma, through January. Meanwhile, single bottles and cases of the collectible wine edition can be purchased online through Barber Cellars later in January at barbercellars.com.
“Having moved to Petaluma two years ago, I still consider myself a newcomer,” said Lightman, who was previously in San Francisco, where she was the director of community programs for San Francisco Superior Court. She began making art in earnest in her 30s while taking adult education classes, which helped her discover her expressive aesthetic.
“One class changed everything,” she recalls in her artist bio. “Draw whatever you want, however you want. I leaned toward abstraction. It was liberating to make art that was generated by the myriad of emotions that floated on the surface of my life at that time.”
Since then, her art has “evolved slowly,” but her presence in the community has emerged relatively quickly—she recently became both PAC artist member and board member.
“The willingness to see colors and shapes in a landscape or on a kitchen counter, or feel a mood or emotion, all rendered through paints, pencils and other materials, are only a few of the infinite filters that land on the surface,” writes Lightman in her bio. “I understand that each mark or color choice, or the final painting, is recognized as a moment in time not to be matched by any other moment in time.”
It’s perhaps the relationship of Lightman’s work to time that fostered her selection as the wine label project’s inaugural artist—wine, after all, is time in a bottle. And like art, it likewise appreciates with time but can be appreciated any time.
“My primary pull, as an artist, is to leave an emotional mark, an image or shape that is mysterious and curious, brings joy and beauty,” said Lightman. “I create art that generates, for me, a feeling of wonder and awe, not unlike life itself.”
She adds, “This collaboration, a positive project for all involved, brings me closer to the community I now call home.”
The most underreported story list is a list of distractions, important stories to be sure, in what many would consider, pre-COVID normal times. However, folks, the World Economic Forum (WEF) has vanquished most world governments in an apparent bloodless coup.
Klaus Schwab, the nominal WEF leader, admires the Communist Chinese authoritarian model, and that’s the direction the wind blows. They shut off your power; they’re sabotaging the supply chain; they sabotage small farming and food processing.
They suspend the Constitution after they released a biological weapon. They’re taking away your children, your sovereignty and your money. With the reset and both digital ID and currency, you will own nothing and not be very happy eating mealworm. Why are we under the thrall of the WHO, UN and WEF? Was that Bill Clinton, Barack Obama or Donald Trump who disenfranchised us? With executive order 666, did they hand over decision making to Schwab?
Banks have always won in this paradigm, but our financial system is broken, and those 1 percenters are openly looting the empire. They’re so many news stories and distractions, one naturally loses track or is confused or easily led. That’s alright, because everyone will comply or die, and they will control you, completely and utterly command your life.
The United States and other western nations have long been compromised and therefore operate with organized crime, the security agencies and big business. It is not a coincidence that Americans are divided, not if you have been paying any attention to the elephant in the room.
Leland Dennick
Sebastopol
Four Horsemen
Daggers to the heart of democracy have not been delivered exclusively by Donald Trump and his minions, or Nancy Pelosi and hers, depending upon your orientation.
Here are my dark horse nominations for the four horsemen of the American political apocalypse.
Consider the newspaper killers in our society—cost-cutting, profit maximizing robber barons who deliberately destroy local news capacity in favor of nationalist reporting.
Consider Congress with its massive dereliction of constitutional duty to do things like make laws and impeach people who usurp or impede lawmaking.
Consider the Supreme Court of the United States, which has abandoned its mandate to find legislative intent and gone over to the dark side of partisan decision-making.
Consider our 1% class, with its puppet members of both parties in tow, asserting the inviolability of all its money, no matter how ill-gotten the gain.
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...
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,...
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...
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...
Local dramas ranged from ‘solid’ to ‘unsettling’
Between health-related closures, dwindling audiences, casting challenges and at least one big change in company leadership, there was almost as much drama off-stage as on in the North Bay theater community in the past year.
There was an assumption by some that pandemic-weary audiences (and theater companies) would seek relief in comedies and small-scale...
Humboldt County landmark inspires Netflix and winemaking
When most people think of Humboldt County, it’s not for vineyards. Adrian Manspeaker, founder and winemaker at Joseph Jewell Wines, is hoping to change that.Having grown up in Benbow in southern Humboldt County, Manspeaker attended the College of the Redwoods in Eureka from 1996 to 1998 before moving back to spend a few...
By Lawrence S. Wittner
Russia’s war upon Ukraine should be a reminder that violent international conflicts not only persist, but constitute a plague upon the world.
One popular response to war is isolationism, which is designed to keep one’s nation out of the conflict. But this policy (labeled “America First” in the U.S.) ignores the suffering of other people and, of...
Perhaps nothing connected people during the pandemic more than music. It seems as if every band in the world produced an album in recent years. And when live performances returned, for many it was as if collective spirits lifted and bodies again moved freely in dance.
In the North Bay, the vibrant and diverse music scene is something worth celebrating,...
Reminding that “art” and “artisanal” share some etymological DNA, the Petaluma Arts Center (PAC) has embarked on a new effort that’s a feast for the senses.
Raising a glass (literally) to its 15th anniversary, the center and Petaluma’s Barber Cellars present a monthly Artist Wine Label Series, featuring visual works by PAC member artists adorning the vessels of the winemakers’...
Elephant in the Room
The most underreported story list is a list of distractions, important stories to be sure, in what many would consider, pre-COVID normal times. However, folks, the World Economic Forum (WEF) has vanquished most world governments in an apparent bloodless coup.
Klaus Schwab, the nominal WEF leader, admires the Communist Chinese authoritarian model, and that’s the direction the...
