Marc Levine Pushes for Transparency at Department of Insurance

Feb 22, 2022

Marc Levine Pushes for Transparency at Department of Insurance

On Tuesday, Feb. 22, Assemblymember Marc Levine announced legislation which would require the state’s Department of Insurance to regularly disclose staffers’ communications with insurance companies. A separate bill would mandate that all state agencies retain emails and other documents subject to public records requests for at least two years.

Levine, whose district includes Marin County and part of Sonoma County, has served in the Assembly since 2012. He was reelected in 2020 and will be termed out at the end of this year.

Instead of leaving public life, Levine hopes to win a statewide office as state Insurance Commissioner, leading the California Department of Insurance, which is tasked with regulating insurance companies’ behaviors in the state.

Levine argues that the current Insurance Commissioner, Ricardo Lara is too cozy with the insurance companies he is meant to regulate. Among the controversies dogging him, Lara received $54,000 from insurance executives and their spouses to fund his re-election campaign. He also reportedly attended a pricey New Years Eve party in London with a Farmers Insurance lobbyist.

The bills Levine introduced on Tuesday come in response to Lara’s recent scandals.

The first bill, Assembly Bill 2323, would require the Department of Insurance to publish ex parte communications involving the Insurance Commissioner and their staff on the department’s website once every three months.

“This disclosure is critical to ensure that the public has access to often sensitive information shared between the commissioner, Department staff and regulated entities. AB 2323’s disclosure requirements would protect consumers and hold insurance companies accountable for attempts to secretly influence decisions at the Department of Insurance,” a Feb. 22 press release from Levine’s office states.

Levine’s second bill, Assembly Bill 2730, targets another recent scandal.

In January, Lara once again came under fire when news broke that the department had implemented a new policy requiring most staff emails to be automatically deleted after 180 days unless they were specifically marked for retention. The agency later reversed course.

AB 2370 would require all state agencies to keep emails and other public records for a minimum of two years, a requirement local agencies, such as cities and counties, already comply with.

In his press release, Levine calls the two bills “important tools necessary to restore ethics and transparency in the Department of Insurance and continue the Department’s mission to fight for consumers across the state.”

If Levine’s transparency bills pass and his campaign for statewide office succeeds, reporters may use the bills against him in years to come. All in all, that seems like a decent insurance policy for voters.

Sonoma County Seeks Community Input on Hiring Next IOLERO Director

Will Carruthers

Feb 22, 2022

Sonoma County Seeks Community Input on Hiring Next IOLERO Director

Sonoma County is asking for community feedback to guide a nationwide search to select the next director of the County’s Independent Office of Law Enforcement Outreach and Review agency.

Founded in 2015, IOLERO is tasked with reviewing internal investigations completed by the Sonoma County Sheriff’s Office, making policy recommendations and listening to community members’ thoughts about the Sheriff’s Office.

The selection of IOLERO’s third director is expected to guide how active the agency is in its review of Sheriff’s Office policies and use-of-force incidents.

Karlene Navarro, IOLERO’s second director, resigned last November after being appointed as a judge to the Sonoma County Superior Court. Attorney Garrick Byers currently serves as the agency’s interim director.

The County will begin a nationwide search for Navarro’s replacement in March. An online survey seeking public input will be open until 11:59pm on Sunday, Feb. 27.

The IOLERO Survey can be accessed in English at www.surveymonkey.com/r/ZWDQWZN or in Spanish at www.surveymonkey.com/r/JTB ST3G.

Since the start, IOLERO has been the subject of a political struggle with law enforcement oversight advocates pushing for more oversight and law enforcement unions resisting. The first two directors have not been immune to politicization, either.

The agency’s first director, Jerry Threet, was more popular with community activists, but came into conflict with then-Sheriff Robert Giordano in 2018 about how much access IOLERO should have to Sheriff’s documents during IOLERO’s investigations.

In turn, advocates have argued that Threet’s successor, Karlene Navarro, was too friendly with the Sheriff’s Office during her tenure.

In November 2020, the struggle went to the ballot box with 65% of Sonoma County voters approving Measure P, which increased IOLERO’s funding and powers. Law enforcement unions quickly challenged the legality of the way the Sonoma County Board of Supervisors added Measure P to the ballot. As a result, many of Measure P’s provisions are still in legal limbo.

At a Feb. 7 meeting, IOLERO’s Community Advisory Council, a group of volunteers, discussed the process of hiring the agency’s next director. Community members pushed for a community-driven, transparent recruitment process.

“The information collected from the survey will be used by the county and the recruitment firm to communicate key information about the position in the recruitment brochure and advertising, as well as the assessment of candidates in areas that are of high importance in the selection process,” stated a recent County press release.

Trash Look — It’s the New Fashion

Jane Vick

Feb 16, 2022

Hi, “Look” family!

How was everyone’s week? Looking lovely, enjoying the surreal and problematic-but-beautiful weather? Strange, sunny times. But let’s not get too caught in the Dali-esque dreamscape we call reality. I have a fun fashion event to promote.

The Sonoma Community Center is hosting their 12th Annual Trashion Fashion Show, to be held on April 2, coincidentally my birthday. The Trashion Fashion show is an opportunity to showcase any creative skills we might have, active or dormant, and to create wearable artwork.

I spoke with the Community Center’s Creative Programs Manager Eric Jackson, who adopted the show in 2018, and is described by his colleagues as the mastermind behind Trashion Fashion’s epic energy. Jackson came from Broadway—swoon—and is thrilled to bring his skills and experience in art and theater to the show.

“It’s about creative sustainability,” Jackson said. “The whole angle of the Center is arts and culture, and this is our way of giving back, especially during April—Earth month—in a creative way. Taking what we normally think of as trash and giving it a new life and new purpose helps us reconsider our quick decisions to throw something away. And in addition to the wild and playful trash fashion, we also have a Ready-to-Wear category, honoring outfits built from items from a thrift store or the back of a closet. It’s our way of combating fast fashion and fiber waste. It’s fun, and it makes a difference.”

Better news still, this year the Community Center is hosting open studios for those interested in entering the Trashion Fashion Show but unsure of where to start, short on materials or in need of an uninterrupted creative space. Feb. 19 and 26, and March 5 and 12—all Saturdays—from 1pm to 3pm, register to spend time in Studio 201 and access their great tools, a focused space and some fellow Trashion designers. These sessions could be the thing that takes your designs to the next level!

The Trashion Fashion Show is a competition and in-person runway show and is accepting entries through March 1. Friday, April 1 will be a rehearsal with a runway coach for all submissions accepted—come prepared to strut! All ages are welcome and encouraged to submit.

For more information on the event as well as rules and entry forms, visit trashionfashionsonoma.org or www.sonomacommunitycenter.org.

Looking good, everyone!

Love,

Jane

Jane Vick is a painter, writer and journalist who has spent time in Europe, New York and New Mexico. She is currently based in Sonoma County. View her work at janevick.com.

Audley Enough — ‘Strawberry Mansion’

Bohemian Staff and Contributors

Feb 16, 2022

By Kelly Vance

It’s February, and some strange items are floating into theaters, including a steady flow of horror quickies like Strawberry Mansion.

As conceived by veteran actor-writer-producer-director Kentucker Audley (Funny Bunny, Her Smell, Holy Land, Saul at Night) and Albert Birney, maker of such low-budget head-scratchers as Sylvio, the 2021 production Strawberry Mansion is a fantasy/sci-fi character study being advertised as a Sundance audience favorite. It tells the story of James Preble—played by filmmaker Audley—a government bureaucrat in the year 2035, whose doubts about his job take him over the edge. In this particular setting, every citizen has an electronic console mounted next to their bed, monitoring their dreams and, after the citizen awakes, billing them for the experience. The dreams themselves are absurd commercials for fried chicken and soft drinks, electronically implanted in the citizens’ minds while they sleep.

One day Preble drives to a flamboyant Victorian house in the country to investigate the case of its owner, a senior citizen named Bella who is played by longtime TV and stage character-actor Penny Fuller. Bella owes back-taxes on her dreams. Worse, she disdains the internet and relies on her collection of outmoded VHS tapes for entertainment. Worse still, her dreams are defiantly her own. Bella offers the awestruck Preble a place to stay for the night, after asking him to lick a magic ice cream cone. Down the rabbit hole he goes, in a whirlwind of hallucinations involving fanciful imaginary creatures, most intriguing of which is Young Bella (Grace Glowicki), a gregarious, charming manifestation of Bella in her youth.

We can’t help looking at the naive Strawberry Mansion on its own terms. Movies and TV shows are full of dystopian visions. But Audley, Birney and company are intent on overcoming the negativity with a sweet hippie grandma and all the talking flies, frog waiters, rat sailors and giant blue demons the screen can hold. The effect is comfy, romantic and gratifyingly illogical.

In their way, Birney and Audley counter the message of O’Brien, the grand inquisitor of George Orwell’s 1984: “If you want a picture of the future, imagine a boot stamping on a human face—forever.” Strawberry Mansion instead offers a future in which a government agent who drives a 1961 Corvair falls in love with a woman he sees at two different stages of her life, and chucks the world of force-fed consumer dreams for his own private wonderland. What an alternative.

At the Roxie, in San Francisco, beginning Feb. 18; streaming and VOD Feb. 25.

Letters to the Editor — In Response to Absurd Harte Ad

Bohemian Staff & Contributors

Feb 16, 2022

Letters to the Editor — In Response to Absurd Harte Ad

Dear Readers

A certain paid advertisement has appeared in our pages that has raised both the eyebrows and the ire of some readers—not to mention those of us staffers who, it should be noted, only manage the editorial content of the Bohemian and Pacific Sun. We are not involved in determining what advertising, advertorials or other promotional materials appear in our publications. That said, we appreciate and acknowledge your justifiable concern and encourage you to keep the letters coming.

— Daedalus Howell, Editor

Ironic Ad

Page 3 of your Feb. 9–15 edition contains some uncanny unintentional (maybe?) irony. First there is Tom Tomorrow’s satirical “This Modern World” cartoon about the absurdities of internet-generated “misinformation” and lies. Right next to that is a paid advertisement from a chiropractor containing multiple examples of that very problem, primarily about COVID and vaccines.

As a longtime former Pacific Sun contributor and even longer-term public health specialist and ethicist, I urge you to be more judicious and responsible in what you choose to publish. Refusing ads—even though they help pay the bills—that contain demonstrably false and dangerous inaccuracies is not “censorship,” but is responsible publishing, especially during a pandemic. I trust you wouldn’t publish denialism of, say, climate science, the Holocaust or anything containing undeniably vile hate speech. With the number of Americans alone dead from COVID now approaching one million and so many still at risk, fact-based information on health is crucial as well.

Please don’t let your readers down in this important regard.

Steve Heilig

West Marin

Slippery Slope

It is surprising and a bit disappointing that the Bohemian decided to print a paid advertisement which makes no common sense, as alluded to by the author.

It is not that free speech and free scientific inquiry have become controversial now, as the good doctor states—it has always been controversial! Yet “good doctor, Harte,” under the auspices of freedom of speech, is accusing the government—among other entities—of engaging in misinformation to mislead the general public. By cherry-picking statistics to uphold his argument, he leaves out many important facts regarding the overall efficacy of the vaccine and other attempts to mitigate the risks to the population, and casts blame. Surely, the good doctor must know that science almost always lags behind when it comes upon new and unfamiliar medical issues—and must rely on research data compiled over time to postulate what policies might promote an effective response regarding the populace.

I am not a proponent of censorship, and do believe in free speech, but with the caveat laid forth by Senator Daniel Moynihan, who years ago stated, “You are entitled to your own opinions, (‘good doctor,’) not your own facts.”

E.G. Singer

Santa Rosa

Misguided

The Feb. 9–15 edition’s page 3 Harte paid ad is an abomination for Pacific Sun to have published without caveat. While newspapers certainly are desperate for needed income and have the right to publish viewpoints, placement of this true mis-information is misguided and dangerous in the current pandemic.

It could be said that, given the high vaccination rate in Marin and Sonoma, [and the high rate of] education and media-savvy, it may be safe to promulgate such blather. If the piece tips one person on the fence or causes them to repeat the opinions as fact, leading to spread of Covid and potential illness, etc., then the Pacific Sun becomes an anti-vax vehicle. The “This Modern World” “gravity is a hoax” comic strip on the left side of the page provides good context, but the damage is done. Please open your eyes.

Peter Whittlesey

Mill Valley

Eat This — Sonoma Restaurant Week Returns

Daedalus Howell

Feb 16, 2022

Eat This — Sonoma Restaurant Week Returns

For some lucky marketers, there’s a point when an annual promotion graduates to an annual tradition. To the list that boasts everything from the Macy’s Day Parade to the yearly Pliny the Younger release, we can add Sonoma Restaurant Week.

In an era with little predictability, the predictable prices of the week-long prix-fixe menu offers some solace. Lunches run $10, $15 and $25, and dinners $25, $35 and $55. There’s also a “Sweet Perk,” which I’m going to assume is, um, sweet, for $5. No tickets are required, though reservervatons are recommended; no patronizing attempts at gamifying the festivities, “passports” are played out, people—just real food for real people.

Boasting a super-navigable website—participating restaurants can be found via cuisine, price point, location and more at sonomarestaurantweek.org—and a bevy of brasseries, cafes and gastropubs, Sonoma Restaurant Week is a fine time to visit old haunts and find new faves.

What follows is an unscientifically selected sampling of restaurants enjoyed and reflected upon while gallivanting on the SoCo beat.

Bear Republic Brewing Co.

“Go big or go home” seems to be the guiding principle behind Bear Republic Brewing Comany’s menu. From skyscraping beer options to bigger burgers, everything about the Rohnert Park brewpub proclaims “size matters.”

Be forewarned, their “Just Burger” is not just a burger—it’s a commitment that’s borderline “lifestyle choice.” Wash it down with the brewery’s Spawn of Yaga brew, which weighs in with a hefty 12% alcohol by volume and is named for the Russian folktale of Old Baba Yaga and “her nefarious deeds.” These deeds may or may not include sending in an a capella group composed of older gents to serenade tables with classics from the American songbook the night I visited. Suffice it to say, a pint of Spawn, and shit gets weird.

Bear Republic Brewing Co., 5000 Roberts Lake Rd., Rohnert Park. bearrepublic.com

Brew Coffee and Beer House

I’m of that generation that thought peanut butter on toast was a pretty nifty innovation, so when the first wave of avocado-toast consciousness emerged a decade ago, I was dubious. I eventually came to understand and accept the green-hued ways of my Millennial brethren—not least of which because there’s a kid in my house with a nut allergy—and am now pleased to see avocado toast on local cafe menus. Brew Coffee and Beer House is no exception. Not only is avocado toast less lethal than toast slathered in the apparently most outre of nut butters, it’s brimming with the “good kind of fat.” So, naturally, I ordered the tater tots. Brew also offers a tantalizing array of local beers that come in serving denominations as petite as their 5-ounce option, which is about as cute as a beer can get—and, those of us as bad at math as I am can convince ourselves that four little ones is only a pint, right?

Brew Coffee and Beer House, 555 Healdsburg Ave Santa Rosa. brewcoffeeandbeer.com

Costeaux French Bakery & Cafe

Next year marks this Healdsburg institution’s centenary serving myriad baked goods and cafe entrees including sandwiches, soups and salads. Naturally, I arrived too late in the afternoon to enjoy much of the menu—the kitchen closes at 2pm, Wednesday through Saturday, and I arrived on Sunday when the kitchen closes at 1pm—however, I did indulge in the downtown landmark’s classic croissant and cafe Americano combo, which was, to quote Cole Porter, “C’est Magnifique!”

Costeaux French Bakery & Cafe, 417 Healdsburg Ave., Healdsburg. costeaux.com

Delicious Dish

Stand-out items include a BLT-style Lobster Roll, the Banh Mi Tuna or Tofu Poke Bowl with seasoned black rice and a creamy miso dressing, and a staggeringly vast array of fried-chicken sandwich options. To anyone seeking to activate all the pleasure centers of their brain simultaneously, I heartily recommend indulging in the Nashville option, which bathed my neurons in savory serotonin the moment its spicy pimento cheese and house-made “cowboy candy” jalapenos hit my palate. It’s heat-meets-sweet, and it demands a belt of PBR between bites, if only to get that damn smile off one’s face. Be sure to also check out Delicious Dish’s themed “Dinner & a Movie” nights on their outdoor patio, which resume next month. Family favorites and cult classic flicks from the ’70s on up are “paired” with menu items, a la Jaws with lobster rolls and Dazed & Confused with Texas BBQ. Up next? A “Stoner Double Feature” with Cheech and Chong’s Up in Smoke and Kevin Smith’s Mallrats, served with East L.A. tomatillo-braised pork shoulder tacos with cilantro, white onion and chicharrones; refried beans and rice; fruit salad with tajin; chocolate-covered pretzels and “buckets of Tecate.”

Delicious Dish, 18709 Arnold Dr. Sonoma. deliciousdishsf.com

Wild Goat Bistro

Sometimes a person just has to have a meatball. Wild Goat Bistro understands this—they don’t judge, they accommodate. As part of their small-plates menu, the bistro offers “Gotta Have a Meatball”—Niman Ranch Angus beef or gluten-free meatballs with garlic and herbs, baked in tomato sauce with melted mozzarella. A favorite of mine on the large-plates menu is the short ribs, ditto the four-cheese “fig and pig” pizza—“pig” being prosciutto. More to the point, the bistro is the only restaurant of its type that’s consistently and predictably open during the week—including Mondays.

Wild Goat Bistro, 6 Petaluma Blvd. N., Suite 5A, Petaluma. wildgoatbistro.com

[side bar]

Roadside Attraction — Delicious Dish’s Lauren Cotner

One of the perks of this gig is meeting the kick-ass restaurateurs behind the bounty and brilliance that defines the local culinary scene.

One such bright light is Lauren Cotner of Sonoma’s Delicious Dish, which effortlessly blends old cuisine in with contemporary cuisine. Prior to moving to Sonoma and launching the restaurant with her husband in 2008, Cotner worked in marketing, which led to her working with the venerable San Francisco Bay Guardian—winning her instant alt-weekly cred with this reporter. “I would spend my days selling ads in the ‘adult section’ and my nights helping set up sponsorship banners at bars and clubs, and, like every great sales and event person—drinking,” she says with a laugh. What follows is a Q&A with Editor Daedalus Howell.

Bohemian: What was your inspiration for the menu, which is deliciously eclectic in some regards but also clearly curated?

Lauren Cotner: Living in San Francisco’s Mission District for 15 years spoiled us [with the] constant availability of every cuisine at our fingertips. When we cater tech lunches we’re tasked with providing a 500-person staff of different tastes with a variety and quality that entices them to stay in-office for lunch instead of venturing out. We have to be everything to everybody in one of the most eclectic food hubs in the country.

B: The shakes! OMFG! What a list! Wherefrom this passion?

LC: As a kid, we used to drive up to see my grandmother in Willits and stop at the “halfway point”— the Foster’s Freeze in Cloverdale. I can’t vouch for how Foster’s Freeze does things now, but back then everything was fresh. I would either get a fresh blackberry milkshake or a peanut butter-banana. Those are still my favorites, though my new fav is coffee-peanut butter and smoked salt.

B: Enduring the pandemic—how’s that been, and do you see the light at the end of the tunnel?

LC: I do see things looking up. The end of 2021 was brutal—personally and professionally, and we were just … stagnant. The doors in 2022 have opened up, the sun is out for at least today, we have an amazing crew who is IN IT TO WIN IT and people are coming in! We’re 1,000% hopeful.

Culture Crush — Fran Lebowitz at the Luther Burbank Center and More

Charlie Swanson

Feb 15, 2022

Culture Crush — Fran Lebowitz at the Luther Burbank Center and More

Marin City

Local Help

A new community program, called Clean Slate, will offer several services from Marin County departments to directly help residents with justice-related and health-related matters. The Public Defender’s Office, the District Attorney’s Office and the Probation Department will help those with documentation to clear records, terminate probation or dismiss convictions, and the Department of Health and Human Services will help with Medi-Cal, CalFresh food assistance, employment training and financial relief for families. Covid-19 vaccinations and booster shots will also be available. Thursday, Feb. 17, Saint Andrew Presbyterian Church, 101 Donahue St., Marin City. 4–7pm. Marincounty.org.

Sebastopol

New Pairing

The winemaking families behind Jackson Family Wines sought a way to use the whole grape when they developed Vine to Bar, a premium dark chocolate made with the spent grapes, called Chardonnay Marc. This week, Master Sommelier Michael Jordan leads a chocolate-and-wine pairing featuring samples of several varieties of Vine to Bar dark chocolates matched with a range of wines, from chardonnay to pinot noir. Taste for yourself on Thursday, Feb. 17, and Saturday, Feb. 19, at the Region Wine Bar at The Barlow, 180 Morris St., Suite 170, Sebastopol. Thursday, 4pm; Sat, 2pm. $20. Drinkyourregion.com/events.

Napa

Last Time

Comedian, author, actor and podcast superstar Marc Maron was supposed to appear in the North Bay a few weeks ago, but his show in Napa was postponed. Thankfully for fans of Maron’s comedy, the stand-up show is back on, and he is scheduled to hit the stage this week. For those who don’t know, Maron has written and performed raw and honest comedy for more than two decades, and he’s currently on his “This May Be the Last Time Tour,” so check him out on Friday, Feb. 18, at Uptown Theatre, 1350 Third St., Napa. 8pm. $44–$54. Uptowntheatrenapa.com.

Petaluma

Hands On History

The Petaluma Historical Library & Museum is excited to welcome junior historians to participate in several family-friendly activities during its Junior Historians Interactive Exhibit. This limited-run exhibit invites kids to help build an archive of Petaluma’s history from their perspectives. The exhibit includes a creativity station where kids can color or draw Petaluma-themed art, an interactive map of the town and a scavenger hunt with prizes. This exhibit will take place during two weeks in February, with bonus hours on Presidents’ Day, Friday–Monday, Feb. 18–21 (and Feb. 25–27), at 20 Fourth St., Petaluma. 10am to 3:45pm each day. Petalumamuseum.com.

—Charlie Swanson

Check-in—Addicted to Pot?

Michael Giotis

Feb 15, 2022

Welcome back from “Dry January.” Now that we’ve had a couple of weeks to make good our promise to return to imbibing intoxicating substances, did our minds get clear?

Cannabis-as-medicine is the new paradigm that guides all our conversations about the plant and its uses. Let’s not take anything away from the importance of that shift. Many studies—and common sense—show that crime rates are down in communities throughout the country with cannabis legalization in place, and that as fewer people are fed into the criminal justice system on nonviolent possession charges, whole communities are less traumatized and therefore healthier.

Yet, in my years in and around this “business” since legalization and commercialization has taken off, I hear more and more about the almost magical properties of cannabis to treat stress, depression, social anxiety, sleep disorders and eating issues, not to mention cancer, but very little—and by that I mean zero—discussion of the risks of addiction and other complications from using any mind-altering substance with any regularity.

Look, I’m not trying to harsh anyone’s buzz, but the cannabis industry is just like any other industry: not to be trusted to shed light on the negative impacts of its product.

Don’t get me wrong, smoking weed in my youth—eating gummies these days—has helped me personally with the issues—like stress and social anxiety—above. On the other hand, some of my most anxious moments in a crowd have come right after toking, and I am certainly familiar with the depression that can follow a cannabis binge. At the time, we just called it “our 20s.” Now I can recognize the physiological response to withdrawal of a psychoactive chemical.

Surely, our readers sympathize in part with the occasionally negative reactions to getting high. Sometimes, even a little high is too high. Buzzing too hard to sleep, waking up cloudy and tired for work, stepping outside for the “hair of the dog that bit ya.” Some of us may even occasionally need a bump in the afternoon before our second shift. Agree or not, a week of that fits the textbook definition of addiction.

PLEASE NO SHAME if that looks familiar to you. The thing is, if we talk about the full spectrum of effects honestly, we can best see and help each other when we are in need.

The ancient Greek word for “medicine” is pharmako. The ancient Greek word for “poison” is pharmako. Get my drift?

If you think you are addicted to cannabis, “Rolling Papers” wants to hear from you. Your experience can help others. You can be helped, too. Reach out at le@****un.com.*

Hippie Hooray! Santa Rosa’s 6th Street Playhouse Lets the Sunshine In

Harry Duke

Feb 15, 2022

Hippie Hooray! Santa Rosa’s 6th Street Playhouse Lets the Sunshine In

Remember the good ol’ days when all a teenage boy had to worry about was being drafted into the military, trained to kill and shipped off to a foreign land to die defending corporate interests in the name of democracy? Well, we can relive the grand old ’60s by attending the 6th Street Playhouse production of the musical Hair, running now in Santa Rosa through March 6.

Director Aja Gianola-Norris has assembled a beautifully diverse cast to tell the story of a group of politically-active hippies living a bohemian life in the tumultuous ’60s. As the audience was seated, the troupe wandered the stage, banged on bongos, swayed in the air and blew soap bubbles into the house. As my seatmate noted, that may not be the best choice in the age of Covid.

The show officially began with a robust delivery of “The Age of Aquarius” led by Serena Elize Flores. As the music faded and the audience settled in, the characters introduced themselves via songs that made it clear this would not be a Disney musical.

Berger (Ezra Hernandez) pines for a 16-year-old virgin in the song “Donna.” The tribe sings of a variety of drugs with the song “Hashish.” Woof (Noah Sternhill) croons about “Sodomy.” Hud (Jourdán Olivier-Verdé) defiantly delivers a series of ugly racial epithets with “Colored Spade.” But don’t worry folks, you’ll hear “Good Morning, Starshine” and “Let the Sunshine In” by show’s end.

The music is draped around a bare-bones story about tribe leader Clyde (Jamin Jollo) struggling to decide whether to report for the draft or dodge it. The other hot-button issues of the time—including sexual freedom, environmentalism and racism—are all addressed. Interesting to note how little some things have changed.

Sam Transleau has designed a very functional set on a raked stage with the zodiac at its center. Costume Designer Mae Haegerty Matos had a field day dressing the cast, as did Hair/Wig Designer Roxie Johnson. Lucas Sherman assuredly guided a six-piece orchestra through the raucous score.

Sound continues to be an Achilles heel at 6th Street. A sound designer is rarely credited and often needed. The artists and audiences deserve better.

Hair is a well-performed, good-looking and definitely adult show, with mature themes and content, including nudity. Exclamations of “Oh!” and “Jeez!” could be heard from the audience throughout.

But no one left at intermission.

‘Hair’ runs through March 6 in the GK Hardt Theatre at 6th Street Playhouse, 52 W. Sixth Street, Santa Rosa. Thur, Fri & Sat, 7:30pm; Sat & Sun, 2pm. $22–$38. Proof of vaccination and masks are required to attend. 707.523.4185. 6thstreeetplayhouse.com.

Cheap Eats—My Successful Search for North Bay Low-Budget Goodness

Mark Fernquest

Feb 15, 2022

Cheap Eats—My Successful Search for North Bay Low-Budget Goodness

Wherever I live, I always line up a few cheap local eats that help me establish a culinary budget baseline. Why? Because I like to eat out, and that can be expensive. In a different time and place—say, Santa Cruz in 1990—five dollars would have purchased me a legit cheap meal. In today’s North Bay, 15 dollars is a more realistic figure.

Today’s tour starts in Sebtown’s Barlow District at Blue Ridge Kitchen (brkitchen.com), with its high-quality $9.75 Barlow Burger and $3 add-on fries. Show a little restraint and this meal stretches into lunch and dinner. Also in Sebtown: Namaste Kitchen (www.namastekitchen.com), my favorite Sonoma County Indo-Nepalese/Tibetan restaurant, offers not-to-be-missed pakoras and momos on its starter menu for $5.99–$8.99.

Moving east to Sebastopol Road in Santa Rosa, we encounter Delicias Elenita Taco Truck (www.deliciaselenita.com) and its highly-rated $2 street tacos. My favorite? El pastor, of course. A two-taco lunch leaves me actively drooling, while three have me twitching for one more. Four, and I’m picking my teeth.

Onward now, to Criminal Baking Co. (www.criminalbaking.com), located a few blocks north of Railroad Square, on Donahue Street. The Bacon Apple Scone pairs perfectly with a medium latte, both of which easily fit inside our $15 budget, leaving room for a monster tip.

But with all this drool, let’s not forget downtown Santa Rosa’s Mac’s Deli & Cafe (macsdeliandcafe.com), located on Fourth Street, where a large menu of delightfully old-school sandwiches—averaging around $8 each—beckons. My favorite? No. 28, the tuna and egg salad on sliced sourdough.

Heading north to Windsor, we encounter BurtoNZ Bakery (www.burtonzbakery.com) and authentic New Zealand pies. I’ve been to New Zealand, and these pies are as legit as they are delicious. At about $8 a piece, two stretch our budget, as well as our waistline. The smart move: buy two now and regret it later.

We end this tour 55 miles south at Venice Gourmet, on Bridgeway in sunny Sausalito, which offers an array of very tasty sandwiches. My favorite, the San Francisco Club—built of top round roast beef, cheddar cheese, mayonnaise, lettuce, tomato and red onion—is a bargain at $10.95.

I’m so hungry, now that I wrote this. How much money is in my pocket? Fifteen dollars? Oh, yeah.