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Free Will Astrology

Sep 28, 2022

ARIES (March 21-April 19): Poet Susan Howe describes poetry as an “amorous search under the sign of love for a remembered time at the pitch-dark fringes of evening when we gathered together to bless and believe.” I’d like to use that lyrical assessment to describe your life in the coming days—or at least what I hope will be your life. In my astrological opinion, it’s a favorable time to intensify your quest for interesting adventures in intimacy, to seek out new ways to imagine and create togetherness, to collaborate with allies in creating brave excursions into synergy.

TAURUS (April 20-May 20): Social reformer Frederick Douglass (1817-1895) had a growlery. It was a one-room stone cabin where he escaped to think deep thoughts, work on his books and literally growl. As a genius who escaped enslavement and spent the rest of his life fighting for the rights of his fellow Black people, he had lots of reasons to snarl, howl and bellow as well as growl. The coming weeks would be an excellent time for you to find or create your own growlery, Taurus. The anger you feel will be especially likely to lead to constructive changes. The same is true about the deep thoughts you summon in your growlery: They will be extra potent in helping you reach wise practical decisions.

GEMINI (May 21-June 20): “Conduct your blooming in the noise and whip of the whirlwind,” wrote Gemini poet Gwendolyn Brooks. I love that advice! The whirlwind is her metaphor for the chaos of everyday life. She was telling us that we shouldn’t wait to ripen ourselves until the daily rhythm is calm and smooth. Live wild and free right now! That’s always good advice, in my opinion, but it will be especially apropos for you in the coming weeks. Now is your time to “endorse the splendor splashes” and “sway in wicked grace,” as Brooks would say.

CANCER (June 21-July 22): “Don’t look away,” advised novelist Henry Miller in a letter to his lover. “Look straight at everything. Look it all in the eye, good and bad.” While that advice is appealing, I don’t endorse it unconditionally. I’m a Cancerian, and I sometimes find value in gazing at things sideways, or catching reflections in mirrors, or even turning my attention away for a while. In my view, we Crabs have a special need to be self-protective and self-nurturing. And to accomplish that, we may need to be evasive and elusive. In my astrological opinion, the next two weeks will be one of these times. I urge you to gaze directly and engage point-blank only with what’s good for you.

LEO (July 23-Aug. 22): Tips to get the most out of the next three weeks: 1. Play at least as hard as you work. 2. Give yourself permission to do anything that has integrity and is fueled by compassion. 3. Assume there is no limit to how much generous joie de vivre you can summon and express. 4. Fondle and nuzzle with eager partners as much as possible. And tell them EXACTLY where and how it feels good. 5. Be magnanimous in every gesture, no matter how large or small. 6. Even if you don’t regard yourself as a skillful singer, use singing to transform yourself out of any mood you don’t want to stay in.

VIRGO (Aug. 23-Sept. 22): In the coming weeks, you should refrain from wrestling with problems that resist your solutions. Be discerning about how you use your superior analytical abilities. Devote yourself solely to manageable dilemmas that are truly responsive to your intelligent probing. P.S.: I feel sorry for people who aren’t receptive to your input, but you can’t force them to give up their ignorance or suffering. Go where you’re wanted. Take power where it’s offered. Meditate on the wisdom of Anaïs Nin: “You cannot save people. You can only love them.”

LIBRA (Sept. 23-Oct. 22): Buddhist monk Thich Nhat Hanh was born under the sign of Libra. He said, “The root-word ‘Buddha’ means to wake up, to know, to understand; and he or she who wakes up and understands is called a Buddha.” So according to him, the spiritual teacher Siddhartha Gautama who lived in ancient India was just one of many Buddhas. And by my astrological reckoning, you will have a much higher chance than usual to be like one of these Buddhas yourself in the coming weeks. Waking up will be your specialty. You will have an extraordinary capacity to burst free of dreamy illusions and murky misapprehensions. I hope you take full advantage. Deeper understandings are nigh.

SCORPIO (Oct. 23-Nov. 21): I invite you to be the sexiest, most intriguing, most mysterious Scorpio you can be in the coming weeks. Here are ideas to get you started. 1. Sprinkle the phrase “in accordance with prophecy” into your conversations. 2. Find an image that symbolizes rebirth and revitalization arising out of disruption. Meditate on it daily until you actually experience rebirth and revitalization arising out of disruption. 3. Be kind and merciful to the young souls you know who are living their first lifetimes. 4. Collect deep, dark secrets from the interesting people you know. Employ this information to plan how you will avoid the trouble they endured. 5. Buy two deluxe squirt guns and two knives made of foam rubber. Use them to wage playful fights with those you love.

SAGITTARIUS (Nov. 22-Dec. 21): There’s an ancient Greek saying, “I seek the truth, by which no one ever was truly harmed.” I regard that as a fine motto for you Sagittarians. When you are at your best and brightest, you are in quest of the truth. And while your quests may sometimes disturb the status quo, they often bring healthy transformations. The truths you discover may rattle routines and disturb habits, but they ultimately lead to greater clarity and authenticity. Now is an excellent time to emphasize this aspect of your nature.

CAPRICORN (Dec. 22-Jan. 19): Let’s imagine you are in your office or on the job or sitting at your kitchen table. With focused diligence, you’re working on solving a problem or improving a situation that involves a number of people. You think to yourself, “No one seems to be aware that I am quietly toiling here behind the scenes to make the magic happen.” A few days or a few weeks later, your efforts have been successful. The problem is resolved or the situation has improved. But then you hear the people involved say, “Wow, I wonder what happened? It’s like things got fixed all by themselves.” If a scenario like this happens, Capricorn, I urge you to speak up and tell everyone what actually transpired.

AQUARIUS (Jan. 20-Feb. 18): To honor your entrance into the most expansive phase of your astrological cycle, I’m calling on the counsel of an intuitive guide named Nensi the Mercury Priestess. She offers the following advice. 1. Cultivate a mindset where you expect something unexpected to happen. 2. Fantasize about the possibility of a surprising blessing or unplanned-for miracle. 3. Imagine that a beguiling breakthrough will erupt into your rhythm. 4. Shed a few preconceptions about how your life story will unfold in the next two years. 5. Boost your trust in your deep self’s innate wisdom. 6. Open yourself more to receiving help and gifts.

PISCES (Feb. 19-March 20): Author Colin Wilson describes sex as “a craving for the mingling of consciousness, whose symbol is the mingling of bodies. Every time partners slake their thirst in the strange waters of the other’s identity, they glimpse the immensity of their freedom.” I love this way of understanding the erotic urge, and recommend you try it out for a while. You’re entering a phase when you will have extra power to refine and expand the way you experience blending and merging. If you’re fuzzy about the meaning of the words “synergy” and “symbiosis,” I suggest you look them up in the dictionary. They should be featured themes for you in the coming weeks.

Culture Crush—Indigenous Voices, Farm Trails Fall and More

Jane Vick

Sep 28, 2022

Culture Crush—Indigenous Voices, Farm Trails Fall and More

Occidental

Arts Literary Series

Join the Occidental Center for the Arts for their Arts Literary Series, featuring Glen Ellen author Elisa Stancil Levine and former Sonoma County poet laureate and biologist Maya Khosla, as they share work in recognition of the five-year anniversary of the 2017 fires. Both writers will read from their recent works, This or Something Better, A Memoir of Resilience by Levine, and All the Fires of the Wind and Light by Khosla. After the reading, a conversation built around coping with fear, the relentless nature of change and the broader impacts of fire, beyond even our human experiences, will be held, with invitation to the audience for open discussion. The event is Sunday, Oct. 16 at the Occidental Center for the Arts, 3850 Doris Murphy Way. 4-6pm. Free. www.occidentalcenterforthearts.org

Healdsburg

Indiginous Voices

Join The 222 in Healdsburg for Indiginous Voices, literary events celebrating the work of two award-winning Indigenous American poets, poet Jennifer Foerster, and poet, writer and small press publisher Lucille Lang Day. The first event of the series will feature Foerster, reading from her latest book and joining prize-winning Healdsburg poet Denise Low—European and Lenape/Munsee—in a dialogue about the inner workings of the poetry world, and the Indiginous experience. Foerster, an enrolled member of the Muscogee (Creek) Nation of Oklahoma, explores the language and culture of her heritage in her writings. Other themes include ecology, history and the human capacity for violence.“Merging the poetic with the prophetic, Foerster offers a startling vision of how to navigate this broken world and its resilient beauty,” said Rigoberto González, Rutgers MFA director. The first night of Indiginous Voices is Sunday, Oct. 9 at 222 Healdsburg Ave., Healdsburg. 7pm. Tickets $20. www.the222.org

Petaluma

Honoring Life Exhibition

In the midst of this spooky season, and the beauty of celebrating those who have moved on, Petaluma Arts Center is taking a slightly different approach with their event, Honoring Life: Love and Remembrance. The new event uses the process of artmaking to address and appreciate how different cultures and communities pay homage to those who have passed away. Though practices of honoring our departed may differ, the common ground of expressing through art ties us together. Petaluma Arts Center hopes to provide a supportive, creative and respectful environment, inviting a spiritual, historical and socio-culturally inclusive experience. Honoring Life: Love and Remembrance opening reception is Oct. 6 at Petaluma Arts Center, 230 Lakeville St. 5:30-7:30pm. Free. www.petalumaartscenter.org

Sebastopol

Farm Trails

One of the best features of fall in Sonoma County is the Farm Trails Fall Tour. Sonoma Farm Trails’ member ranches, farms and agricultural producers will be open to the public for tours, demonstrations, tastings, workshops and more. This is an incredible way to appreciate all that SoCo agriculture has to offer! “Autumn in Sonoma County is a bountiful time of year, and we’re thrilled to be able to share the season’s agricultural splendor with the public,” said Farm Trails program manager and tour coordinator Ellen Cavalli. “All ages are welcome to learn more about where their food, drink and flowers come from, and to forge a stronger connection with their local farmers and producers.” Attendees will be able to choose their own agrarian adventure from nearly two dozen farms and artisan producers. The Fall Trails Fall Tour is Saturday and Sunday, Oct. 8 and 9, all day. Registration is free, and required. www.farmtrails.org

—Jane Vick

The Folklore of Teri Sloat

Jane Vick

Sep 28, 2022

A familiar face amongst the West County art scene, artist Teri Sloat’s work is included in this year’s Sonoma County Art Trails.

Community members can see Art Trails Oct. 1 and 2 at the Sebastopol Center for the Arts. Sloat’s work covers a range of subject matter; she’s a talented landscape painter who masterfully renders color and light in pastel, and she also paints a great deal of folk art.

Though traditional in style, the stories of Sloat’s folk art are her own.

Sloat paints her own mythos, adding it to the annals of folklore and inviting viewers of her work to translate what they see for themselves—to mine meaning the way one would from an Aesop fable.

Sloat didn’t go to art school and was never classically trained. Her career as an artist came as the result of her passion, gumption and willingness to take the opportunities life presented her, even if she didn’t feel ready for them.

Her creativity iterated in early childhood, where she found an outlet for her creative impulses in drawing greeting cards for her family and friends, as early as when she was four years old.

“For some reason, my mother, though we had absolutely no supplemental money, bought me a year of art lessons with a painter. I became totally addicted to the smell of paint, the color, the work hanging up on the walls; it gave me a real boost,” Sloat recalled.

She began to notice too, the intricate backdrops of Walt Disney animated movies; the moody backgrounds evoked a sense of marvel at the power and mood-bringing capacity of color. She continued drawing and illustrating, on her own time.

In the 1960s, Sloat met and married her husband, and together they moved to Alaska, to teach in Yup’ik villages at the mouth of the Yukon River. Sloat became fascinated with picture book illustrations, and which images her primarily Yupik-speaking students would respond to, while still learning English. Then, opportunity struck.

“After five years of teaching, I was considering making my own book, with my illustration. Then in 1976, a bilingual center was opened in Bethel, and a job opened up to create books and reading materials and posters for the classrooms of Yu’pik schools all along the Yukon Delta. I turned in all the greeting cards I’d been making, and my idea for a book, and there wasn’t another person for 400 miles around who could do the job. So I got it.”

This stroke of opportunity catapulted Sloat’s career. Though she felt her work atrocious at the time, she was utterly content with her new role. She created readers, picture books and posters, all based around the Yu’pik culture’s folklore. This exposure to intimate cultural story served to awaken Sloat’s imagination and inform her own folkloric paintings.

After seven years in the job, she had illustrated 250 books, alphabets and readers, and felt ready to pursue her artistic goals. Sloat’s first illustrated book, an alphabet book titled Letter to Letter, came out in 1989. She now has 22 illustrated children’s books under her belt.

Along with her impressive career as a children’s book author and illustrator, Sloat’s love of the natural world, deeply enhanced by her time living in the awe-inducing magnitude of the Alaskan tundra—she and her family traveled by sea plane and sled, and listened to local stories on long nights—and her ongoing exposure to Yu’pik folklore, shaped her visual work into the two-sided body of paintings it is today. Both in her landscapes and her folkloric work, she seeks to convey the interconnectedness between humans and the natural world—finding in the process of painting a sense of connectedness herself.

“I’ve had to learn to pay attention to where my imagination is going, and honor those stories. More and more, I realize that we all have thoughts, stories, about how connected we are. Catching those stories and putting them down visually can connect to another person. It can inspire their own stories.”

Though she is always careful to attribute her inspirations to their original sources and otherwise avoid appropriation—Sloat feels anyone can craft and create folklore. And she feels that her paintings offer an invitation to create our own stories, our own folklore. Often a speaker in schools, at conferences and in various art programs, Sloat teaches that all folklore starts somewhere, and there’s no reason that it can’t start with us.

“I have pieces with imagery—one example is a piece called The Last Sliver of the Moon, and one of the birds has the last sliver in its beak. And it’s up to you to create the rest of the story! It’s not a folktale in a standard sense; it’s just mine. And the picture is a thought that produces a story in someone else. I so enjoy that. Unless someone asks me, I don’t tell them the whole story, because I want to know what they’re thinking.”

One such inspirational image is Sloat’s painting, Who Needs Wings, which depicts a jackrabbit leaping over birds. For Sloat, the image was born from her processing of accepting her validity as an artist without ever having been classically trained.

Astounding though it may seem while reading about her long and successful career, Sloat experienced something that can be common among “outside artists”—artists not classically trained—and artists in general: a sense of guilt, or apology for making her work, a general imposter syndrome, and a need to justify and improve, constantly.

Now in the later years of her life as an artist, Sloat has found her way through and out of that feeling of guilt, and into a sense of certainty about her work, and herself as an artist. Creating, in Who Needs Wings a story, a piece of folklore, helped her to find closure with the process, and also a way to represent it to others perhaps experiencing the same thing.

“Who Needs Wings for me was a last remark to the part of myself that didn’t feel good enough. I think for a long time it was a struggle. Even quitting teaching—I felt such tremendous pressure to prove that had been a good decision. I think I’ve always been an apologetic artist, until lately. For the first time, in the last two or three years, after all this time, I’ve found my own message. I am able to create my own folklore, my own narrative, and that’s all I have to do.”

Now, in an unbarred way, Sloat protects and cultivates her craft, knowing that the side-eye modern culture might give those choosing their own path is one that can be met with a full, confident gaze.

“It’s very important, in those moments when someone looks at you with doubt, to look straight back at them and say this is my job.”

Even, and especially when that person is the one looking back at us in the mirror.

Sloat’s work, and Sloat herself, can be found Oct. 1 and 2 at the Sebastopol Center for the Arts, 282 S High St., Sebastopol. www.sonomacountyarttrails.org. For more of her work, visit www.terisloatfineart.com.

Sonoma County homeless count shows increase since start of pandemic

News & Features

Will Carruthers

Sep 27, 2022

Sonoma County homeless count shows increase since start of pandemic

Sonoma County on Tuesday published its first report since the start of the Covid-19 pandemic estimating the number of people experiencing homelessness.

The report, based on data collected from a point-in-time (PIT) count conducted this February, found that the number of people living on the street, in cars or vehicles, or in otherwise precarious situations, increased 5% since February 2020. That year, the total number experiencing homelessness was estimated at 2,745. In 2022, the figure increased to 2,893.

Though the overall increase is smaller than some expected, the report shows a startling 43% increase in the number of people struggling with long term homelessness in Sonoma County.

“The pandemic, which led to personal economic challenges for many people, clearly contributed to an increase in the homeless population, as reflected in the 2022 Homeless PIT Count,” Supervisor Gore, chair of the Sonoma County Board of Supervisors, said in the statement released Tuesday. “At the same time, we recognize that the numbers would have been far worse if not for the historic investments we have made toward providing shelter and services.

PIT counts, conducted by every county in the country, offer a snapshot of an ever-evolving issue.

To complete the count, volunteers and county officials spread out across the county early one morning in late February, attempting to count the number of people visibly living outside, in a makeshift shelter or in a vehicle. That information is later combined with other available data, including the number of people staying in shelters the night of the count, to calculate the final estimate.

However, because some people only experience homelessness for a few days, weeks or months, they may have been on the streets for a period of the past year, but not during the count itself. Furthermore, those conducting the count may not spot everyone during living outside or in vehicles.

This year, the county included “annualized” data in the report, an effort to calculate how many people experienced homelessness throughout the year, not just at the time of the PIT count. The annualized numbers show a 29% decrease from 2020 (9,097) to 2022 (6,464). However, the report notes that the annualized “calculation can also be volatile due to survey sampling” and other variables, including the difficulty of measuring how many experienced short-term homelessness.

The two snapshot reports span a tumultuous time. Shortly after the 2020 count, millions of Americans were thrown into unemployment in the early months of the pandemic. Then, Sonoma County, using millions of dollars in state funds, began offering space in local hotels and sanctioned outdoor encampments for temporary shelter, but cut occupancy at congregate shelters due to Covid concerns.

Despite the relatively small increase in Sonoma County—by comparison, Contra Costa saw a 35% increase in homelessness between 2019 and 2022— the report includes some other notable trends:

– The number of people considered “chronically homeless,” defined as individuals who have been homeless for more than a year and are unable to hold work or housing due to a disability, increased by 43% from 2020 to 2022. Between 2018 and 2020, that rate had dropped considerably.

– The number of people experiencing homeless considered “sheltered” decreased by 23%, while the number considered “unsheltered” grew by 23% between the 2020 and 2022 counts. “Sheltered” is defined as those living in a shelter or other form of temporary housing, while those considered “unsheltered” are living outside, in vehicles or in a tent.

– In response to the survey, 23% of respondents said that they became homeless after losing a job. More than three fifths of respondents (63%) said the main barrier preventing them from finding permanent housing was unaffordable rents.

– The number of people experiencing homeless who are new to Sonoma County has increased considerably since the last count. In 2020, 88% reported living in Sonoma County prior to becoming homeless. That number dropped to 68% in the 2022 report.

Full reports from this year and past years are available here.

Kaiser Therapists’ Strike Over Staffing Levels Continues

Will Carruthers

Sep 27, 2022

Kaiser Therapists’ Strike Over Staffing Levels Continues

Mental healthcare workers across northern California have been on strike for over a month, pushing Kaiser Permanente to staff up, relieving overworked employees and improving care for patients.

On Aug. 15, over 2,000 Kaiser employees represented by the National Union of Healthcare Workers (NUHW) started an open-ended strike. About 100 of the workers are located in Sonoma County. The union has said that Kaiser patients around the state seeking follow-up therapy appointments routinely face one to three month delays, potentially in violation of a new state law.

The Department of Managed Health Care (DMHC), the state agency which regulates healthcare providers, is investigating complaints about illegal service delays at Kaiser after receiving complaints before and after the strike began.

Workers picketing outside of Kaiser’s Bicentennial Way hospital in Santa Rosa last week said that understaffing is their main concern.

“We’re frequently told by Kaiser that they’re urgently and really intently trying to hire more people, but that expression never really reflects what we see in our clinics,” said Ray Messinger, a four-year Kaiser employee. “Understaffing is really bad right now; it’s worse than I think it’s ever been.”

“Being understaffed creates a return ratio that is really not adequate for psychological treatment. As a child psychologist, my patients are seen every six weeks,” said Daniela De Vasques, who has worked for Kaiser since October 2015.

“Kaiser members are paying for premiums to receive psychological services, and they are receiving the first appointment. So, they are getting in the system, but they are not adequately maintained in the system. That’s the main reason I am standing here,” De Vasques added.

In Sonoma County, wildfires and the pandemic-fueled growth of telehealth have increased the workload even more, according to Nohemi Lopez-Klinck, who has worked as a child psychologist at Kaiser since 2018.

“Every year, usually around September or October, you have an influx of patients who come back because they are experiencing PTSD from the fires,” Lopez-Klinck said.

In a statement, Kaiser claimed the union had “deliberately tried to create a crisis in access to mental health care for Kaiser Permanente and its members” by going on strike when the two sides were “very close to reaching an agreement in bargaining.” The company added that it has “a track record of successfully and steadily hiring” new therapists at the Santa Rosa facilities despite a “relatively small” applicant pool in Sonoma County.

“All communities and health care providers, not only Kaiser Permanente, are massively affected by the crisis created by the surge in demand for mental health care in our county and across the country, combined with workforce shortages,” the statement said.

For now, there’s no end in sight for the disagreement. On Sept. 15, Kaiser reportedly left the bargaining table with no plans to return.

According to a report by KQED, the company agreed to pay increases, but would not consider other union proposals, including increased staffing levels, giving employees more time for administrative work, and caseload caps.

These complaints about levels of service and workers’ strikes are nothing new for the healthcare giant. In 2014, Kaiser agreed to pay a $4 million fine levied by California’s DMHC for failing to meet state regulations on scheduling times.

State lawmakers are trying to address follow-up appointment delays at Kaiser and other healthcare providers.

Last October, Gov. Gavin Newsom signed Senate Bill 221, which requires health insurers to provide return therapy appointments within 10 business days of an initial visit, unless their therapist determines a longer delay would not impact a patient’s care. However, at a June 30 press conference, NUHW officials said that Kaiser had not prepared for the new requirements, which went into effect the next day.

“This law has the potential to help so many Californians, and that’s why it’s so disappointing that Kaiser, as the provider for more than a third of all insured Califorians, has not taken any concrete steps to comply with it [SB 221],” NUHW president Sal Rosselli said.

The union disputes Kaiser’s worker shortage claims and says that clinicians, citing unsustainable workloads, are leaving the company faster than it is replacing them. Between June 2021 and May 2022, 668 clinicians left Kaiser statewide, a rate nearly double the 335 who left the year before, according to the union.

Kaiser’s statement to the Bohemian did not directly address compliance with SB 221, but did state that practitioners not involved in the strike and outside mental health providers are helping to meet patients’ needs during the strike.

An outside observer may weigh in soon. In May, the DMHC, the state agency in charge of regulating Kaiser and other health care providers, announced it was conducting a “non-routine survey” to ensure Kaiser was offering patients adequate services. In August, DMHC said it is continuing to monitor Kaiser’s service levels during the strike.

NUHW in early September raised specific concerns about the emergency care services being offered at Kaiser’s Santa Rosa Medical Center. The union filed a complaint with the state alleging that Kaiser had “ceased providing emergency psychiatric services to enrollees seeking care in the hospital’s Emergency Department” from midnight to 6am “due to the inadequacy of Kaiser’s provider network.”

Last week, the Press Democrat reported that an anonymous employee said that two patients had attempted suicide at Kaiser’s Santa Rosa hospital during those early-morning hours.

Kaiser said in its statement that officials from the California Department of Public Health recently spent a day reviewing the Santa Rosa Emergency Department’s processes, deeming them “thorough and compliant.” The state agency will complete a final report in 30-60 days, according to Kaiser.

The company no doubt doesn’t like the bad press it’s receiving, but union officials claim that, historically, the company has seemed willing to pay fines and weather strikes rather than invest in staffing to deal with structural issues.

“Fines for violations have not been increased since the ’70s so, unfortunately, organizations like Kaiser Permanente see the fines as the cost of doing business,” Rosselli said at the June press conference.

Kaiser, with facilities in eight states, reported a record $8.1 billion in net profits in 2021, a figure that certainly makes multi-million dollar fines seem insignificant.

A new California bill would increase the penalty for violating scheduling regulations. In August, the state legislature passed Senate Bill 858, which would increase the current fines healthcare providers face for failing to comply with scheduling requirements and other regulations from $2,500 to $25,000. Gov. Newsom reportedly has until Sept. 30 to sign the bill.

The 25th Annual Putnam County Spelling Bee at Cinnabar Theater

Beulah F. Vega

Sep 21, 2022

The 25th Annual Putnam County Spelling Bee at Cinnabar Theater

Petaluma’s Cinnabar Theater opens its 50th season with a solid production of the Tony Award-winning musical, The 25th Annual Putnam County Spelling Bee. The show runs through Sept. 25.

Set in a midwestern middle school, it tells the story of six kooky fourth-grade spelling champions: Leaf Coneybear (Zane Walters), William Barfee (Trevor Hoffman), Logainne “Schwartzy” Schwartzandgrubenierre (Tina Traboulsi), Olive Ostrovsky (Krista Joy Serpa), Marcy Park (Gabi Chun) and Charlito “Chip” Tolentino (Alejandro Eustaquio). The adults-as-kids give their characters varying levels of zaniness, with Walters working a step up in the Zane-y scale.

The “kids” are joined by three wacky, not ill-willed, but not exactly responsible adults who are administering the County Spelling Bee: former champion Roona Lisa Peretti (Karen Miles), comfort counselor Mitch M. Mahoney (Sam Minniefield) and the fragile but loveable oddball Vice Principal Douglas Panch (an on-brand John Browning). Silliness and pandemonium ensue as each contestant faces the trials, tribulations and terrors common in a competitive spelling bee.

Along the way, they battle erections (Eustaquio’s self-aware performance makes this funny rather than cringe-worthy), deep ethical dilemmas about throwing the game, lack of parental oversight or too much parental oversight and, of course, the dreaded bell that signals an incorrectly-spelled word.

Things get more chaotic as audience members are added to the mix as guest spellers. If you’re tempted to cameo, sign up when you buy your tickets. If you’re chosen, don’t forget to always ask for both the definition and a sentence using your word. Don’t worry though, the cast is filled with kind people who will make it a fun experience.

Speaking of the cast, director Zachary Hasbany has assembled a tight ensemble for the show and delivers a well-staged, professional play. This script can be problematic if you are a member of the global majority due to some harmful stereotypes. It is fortunate that Hasbany had the foresight to tackle the issue head-on with his multi-cultural cast, and his empathy results in a play where everyone feels protected and allowed to just have some fun.

Nothing in this show is going to make you think too deeply (unless you are chosen as a guest speller), so consider turning off your brain for two hours and laughing along with the talented, good-natured cast of this live-action cartoon of a show.

‘The 25th Annual Putnam County Spelling Bee’ runs through Sept. 25 at Cinnabar Theater, 3333 Petaluma Blvd. N., Petaluma. Fri–Sat, 7:30pm; Sun, 2pm. $30–$45. Masking is encouraged. 707.763.8920. cinnabartheater.org

Free Will Astrology

Rob Brezny

Sep 21, 2022

ARIES (March 21-April 19): Even when your courage has a touch of foolhardiness, even when your quest for adventure makes you a bit reckless, you can be resourceful enough to avoid dicey consequences. Maybe more than any other sign of the zodiac, you periodically outfox karma. But in the coming weeks, I will nevertheless counsel you not to barge into situations where rash boldness might lead to wrong moves. Please do not flirt with escapades that could turn into chancy gambles. At least for the foreseeable future, I hope you will be prudent and cagey in your quest for interesting and educational fun.

TAURUS (April 20-May 20): In 1946, medical professionals in the UK established the Common Cold Unit. Its goal was to discover practical treatments for the familiar viral infection known as the cold. Over the next 43 years, until it was shut down, the agency produced just one useful innovation: zinc gluconate lozenges. This treatment reduces the severity and length of a cold if taken within 24 hours of onset. So the results of all that research were modest, but they were also much better than nothing. During the coming weeks, you may experience comparable phenomena, Taurus: less spectacular outcomes than you might wish, but still very worthwhile.

GEMINI (May 21-June 20): Here’s a scenario that could be both an invigorating metaphor and a literal event. Put on rollerblades. Get out onto a long flat surface. Build up a comfortable speed. Fill your lungs with the elixir of life. Praise the sun and the wind. Sing your favorite songs. Swing your arms all the way forward and all the way back. Forward: power. Backward: power. Glide and coast and flow with sheer joy. Cruise along with confidence in the instinctive skill of your beautiful body. Evaporate thoughts. Free yourself of every concern and every idea. Keep rambling until you feel spacious and vast.

CANCER (June 21-July 22): I’m getting a psychic vision of you cuddled up in your warm bed, surrounded by stuffed animals and wrapped in soft, thick blankets with images of bunnies and dolphins on them. Your headphones are on, and the songs pouring into your cozy awareness are silky smooth tonics that rouse sweet memories of all the times you felt most wanted and most at home in the world. I think I see a cup of hot chocolate on your bed stand, too, and your favorite dessert. Got all that, fellow Cancerian? In the coming days and nights, I suggest you enjoy an abundance of experiences akin to what I’ve described here.

LEO (July 23-Aug. 22): For 15 years, Leo cartoonist Gary Larson created The Far Side, a hilarious comic strip featuring intelligent talking animals. It was syndicated in more than 1,900 newspapers. But like all of us, he has had failures, too. In one of his books, Larson describes the most disappointing event in his life. He was eating a meal in the same dining area as a famous cartoonist he admired, Charles Addams, creator of The Addams Family. Larson felt a strong urge to go over and introduce himself to Addams. But he was too shy and tongue-tied to do so. Don’t be like Larson in the coming weeks, dear Leo. Reach out and connect with receptive people with whom you’d love to communicate. Make the first move in contacting someone who could be important to you in the future. Be bold in seeking new links and affiliations. Always be respectful, of course.

VIRGO (Aug. 23-Sept. 22): “Love your mistakes and foibles,” Virgo astrologer William Sebrans advises his fellow Virgos. “They aren’t going away. And it’s your calling in life—some would say a superpower—to hone in on them and finesse them. Why? Because you may be able to fix them or at least improve them with panache—for your benefit and the welfare of those you love.” While this counsel is always relevant for you, dear Virgo, it will be especially so in the coming weeks.

LIBRA (Sept. 23-Oct. 22): Tips for making the most of the next three weeks: 1. Be proud as you teeter charismatically on the fence. Relish the power that comes from being in between. 2. Act as vividly congenial and staunchly beautiful as you dare. 3. Experiment with making artful arrangements of pretty much everything of which you are part. 4. Flatter others sincerely. Use praise as one of your secret powers. 5. Cultivate an open-minded skepticism that blends discernment and curiosity. 6. Plot and scheme in behalf of harmony, but never kiss ass.

SCORPIO (Oct. 23-Nov. 21): Poet Mary Oliver wrote, “There is within each of us a self that is neither a child, nor a servant of the hours. It is a third self, occasional in some of us, tyrant in others. This self is out of love with the ordinary; it is out of love with time. It has a hunger for eternity.” During the coming weeks, Scorpio, I will be cheering for the ascendancy of that self in you. More than usual, you need to commune with fantastic truths and transcendent joys. To be in maximum alignment with the good fortune that life has prepared for you, you must give your loving attention to the highest and noblest visions of your personal destiny that you can imagine.

SAGITTARIUS (Nov. 22-Dec. 21): Tips to get the most out of the next three weeks: 1. Use your imagination to make everything seem fascinating and wonderful. 2. When you give advice to others, be sure to listen to it yourself. 3. Move away from having a rigid conception of yourself and move toward having a fluid fantasy about yourself. 4. Be the first to laugh at and correct your own mistakes. (It’ll give you the credibility to make even better mistakes in the future.) 5. Inspire other people to love being themselves and not want to be like you.

CAPRICORN (Dec. 22-Jan. 19): Capricorn poet William Stafford wrote, “Saying things you do not have to say weakens your talk. Hearing things you do not need to hear dulls your hearing.” Those ideas are always true, of course, but I think it’s especially crucial that you heed them in the coming weeks. In my oracular opinion, you need to build your personal power right now. An important way to do that is by being discriminating about what you take in and put out. For best results, speak your truths as often and as clearly as possible. And do all you can to avoid exposing yourself to trivial and delusional “truths” that are really just opinions or misinformation.

AQUARIUS (Jan. 20-Feb. 18): You are an extra authentic Aquarius if people say that you get yourself into the weirdest, most interesting trouble they’ve ever seen. You are an ultra-genuine Aquarius if people follow the twists and pivots of your life as they would a soap opera. And I suspect you will fulfill these potentials to the max in the coming weeks. The upcoming chapter of your life story might be as entertaining as any you have had in years. Luckily, imminent events are also likely to bring you soulful lessons that make you wiser and wilder. I’m excited to see what happens!

PISCES (Feb. 19-March 20): In a poem to a lover, Pablo Neruda wrote, “At night I dream that you and I are two plants that grew together, roots entwined.” I suspect you Pisceans could have similar deepening and interweaving experiences sometime soon—not only with a lover, but with any treasured person or animal you long to be even closer to than you already are. Now is a time to seek more robust and resilient intimacy.