Page 263 – Bohemian | Sonoma & Napa Counties

Healdsburg Raises Pride Flag for First Time in City History

Charlie Swanson

May 28, 2021

Healdsburg Raises Pride Flag for First Time in City History

First designed by Gilbert Baker in 1978, the rainbow flag is now the most iconic symbol of LGBTQIA+ Pride.

In the four decades since its debut, the rainbow flag has become an international symbol for Pride Month in June. More rainbow flags have also been designed to celebrate the broader community and the progression of LGBTQIA+ rights.

Now, the city of Healdsburg joins the Pride movement with its first ever official Pride Flag Raising Ceremony on Tuesday, June 1, at Healdsburg City Hall.

The flag that will be raised is called the Progress Pride Flag and was designed in 2018 by Daniel Quasar. The Progress Pride Flag adds a five-color chevron to the six-color rainbow to honor the transgender community and LGBTQIA+ people of color.

Throughout the month of June, all of Healdsburg’s city government buildings will show their Pride and allyship with the LGBTQIA+ community thanks to a new resolution, written by Vice Mayor of Healdsburg Ozzy Jimenez and unanimously approved by Healdsburg City Council.

Jimenez, who owns Noble Folk Ice Cream and Pie Bar, is the first Latinx city councilperson in almost three decades and is believed to be the second-ever openly councilperson.

“This is such a personally meaningful milestone,” says Jimenez. “I’m so proud to see my city make this public display of LGBTQIA+ support.”

On June 1, Jimenez will raise the Progress Pride Flag at Healdsburg City Hall (401 Grove Street) at 6pm, and both he and Mayor Evelyn Mitchell will speak at the ceremony. Afterwards, the public is welcome to walk to Healdsburg Plaza for an all-ages Pride celebration happening 6:30pm to 8:30pm and hosted by LGBTQ Connection and Positive Images–two local organizations that serve the LGBTQIA+ community.

The plaza celebration will feature music, snacks, activities and keynote speakers including councilperson Skylaer Palacios and Noe Naranjo, a young LGBTQIA+ activist from Healdsburg.

The Mother Hips Mark Rock Milestone

Charlie Swanson

May 26, 2021

From their college days to midlife, Tim Bluhm and Greg Loiacono have remained connected at the hip—the Mother Hips, that is.

Since 1991, the two guitarists and singer-songwriters have blazed a trail of West Coast rock-and-roll that put them on the map locally and nationally.

This year, the Mother Hips mark 30 years together, and the group’s label, Blue Rose Music, celebrates with a special, limited-number vinyl reissue of all 10 of the band’s studio albums leading up to the release of a brand-new, still-untitled record in late 2021.

The band is also hitting the road this summer for the first time since Covid-19 canceled live music more than a year ago. The Mother Hips make their next North Bay appearance in a special Cookout Concert on Sunday, July 11, at HopMonk Tavern in Novato.

Bluhm and Loiacono co-formed the Mother Hips while attending college in Chico, and the band was signed to Rick Rubin’s American Recordings before they graduated from school.

“I think about how much music we played all the time,” Loiacono says about college. “Every molecule and minute was spent on the music, and I loved it.”

“I’m recalling those days and reviving those memories now more than I normally would,” Bluhm says. “It’s a good feeling; I enjoy talking about those times, but they were just regular old times, like any other time if you break it down. We were just doing what was in front of us, same as we are now.”

While the band’s lineup and self-described “California Soul” sound shifted around over the last three decades, Bluhm and Loiacono remained the constant core of the Mother Hips.

“We really like making music with each other and the band, and I think it’s as easy as that,” Loiacono says.

Bluhm and Loiacono are taking a trip down memory lane by reissuing their studio albums on vinyl with Blue Rose Music. Many of these albums are being released on vinyl for the first time, and the artists worked with the label to include extra liner notes and photos for the releases.

“It was an exciting undertaking,” Loiacono says. “We are fortunate that Blue Rose—and [label owner] Joe Poletto in particular—not only came up with the idea, but saw it through.”

After spending most of 2020 in social isolation, the Mother Hips worked quickly to record their upcoming studio album, slated for release in November 2021, and they are excited to see fans once again at their often sold-out shows.

“At 30 years, there’s a lot of good vibes going around, a lot of love and support, and that’s probably the main thing that keeps us going,” Loiacono says.

“This band has been a huge part of our lives,” Bluhm says. “So much of my life is written in those Mother Hips songs, and those songs are a part of other people’s lives. Now, someone will walk past me and say, ‘Oh! Mother Hips guy!’ That’s part of my life, I’m Mother Hips guy.”

Motherhips.com / Bluerosemusic.com

Ravitch Recall Election Date Selected

Will Carruthers

May 25, 2021

On May 11, Sonoma County Clerk-Recorder-Assessor-Registrar of Voters Deva Marie Proto concluded that a recall campaign to oust District Attorney Ravitch had gathered 32,128 valid signatures, more than 2,000 signatures over the required amount.

Two weeks later, the Sonoma County Board of Supervisors scheduled the recall election on Sept. 14, 2021. Proto estimates that the election will cost the county between $606,192 and $909,228 to administer.

The recall effort formally started last October. Ravitch, currently serving her third four-year term as district attorney, is not without her critics—but the recall campaign has struck some as a cynical effort to get revenge against the county’s top prosecutor.

Campaign finance forms show that Sonoma County developer Bill Gallaher spent nearly $800,000 by the end of March to bankroll the effort. The campaign’s website focuses on Ravitch’s track record of largely declining to press charges against local law enforcement officers, including her decision not to prosecute the Sonoma County Sheriff’s Deputy who fatally shot 13-year-old Andy Lopez in 2013.

It’s true that Ravitch has garnered criticism from police accountability activists for going easy on police officers, but opponents of the recall effort call into question whether Gallaher actually cares about police accountability.

Instead, they say, the recall campaign was triggered when Ravitch and state prosecutors pursued Gallaher’s retirement care company, Oakmont Senior Living, for failing to keep residents safe at two Sonoma County care homes during the 2017 wildfires. Ravitch and state prosecutors reached a $500,000 settlement with Oakmont Senior Living about two months before the recall campaign was launched.

“This is one angry person bent on revenge, and it is really unfortunate that there are nothing but lies and half-truths being told in support of this effort,” Ravitch told KRON on May 13, after the recall campaign received enough signatures.

Ravitch is not without allies in opposing the campaign. According to its website, an anti-recall campaign titled “Voters Opposed to Recalling District Attorney Jill Ravitch” has raised just over $29,000 and gathered endorsements from all five members of the Sonoma County Board of Supervisors and most other local, state and federal representatives.

Ravitch announced last year that she will not seek another term in office, meaning that the recall campaign, if effective, will simply cut off her last term a little early. If the recall fails, there will be an election for Ravitch’s replacement next June.

Iconic “Art Sheep” Return to Napa Valley

Charlie Swanson

May 25, 2021

Iconic “Art Sheep” Return to Napa Valley

For years, one of the North Bay’s most recognizable roadside landmarks were the painted sheep that seemed to graze on the hillside along the highway between Sonoma and Napa.

Created by artist and art patron Veronica di Rosa, and located at the di Rosa Center for Contemporary Arts, the metal sheep sculptures were a beloved sight for decades, until they were removed due to their deteriorating condition and safety concerns in late 2016.

The flock’s removal caused a stir across the community, and led to several calls for their return. Now, those calls have been answered, and the beloved sheep have come out quarantine this spring to graze along the hillside of di Rosa Center’s Sculpture Meadow.

While the sheep won’t be in the same grazing spot as before, travelers and visitors simply need to leave their cars and take a stroll to the Sculpture Meadow to see the flock, which includes a handful of fluffy white sheep striking various poses and–of course–a lone black sheep.

The sheep’s return was spurred by the center’s recent relocation of Mark di Suvero’s For Veronica sculpture, which was moved from the Sculpture Meadow to a prominent position on the hillside in front of Winery Lake, where it was originally intended to sit.

“Once we moved Mark di Suvero’s sculpture up to the dam it was clear that we had a void to fill in the Sculpture Meadow,” states di Rosa Center Executive Director Kate Eilertsen. “Restoring Veronica’s sheep and placing it in that spot was meaningful to the organization and I hope, to the community.”

Not only can visitors see the sheep in-person, they also have the chance to name the individual members of the artistic flock.

Beginning Friday, May 28, di Rosa hosts a “name the sheep” contest to raise scholarship funds for Camp di Rosa: Art + Nature, the organization’s first-ever summer camp.

Naming opportunities for the white sheep are a $50 donation per entry and black sheep naming opportunities are a $100 donation per entry.

The contest ends June 7 and winners will be announced on June 9. Following the announcement, special collars will be made for the sheep bearing their new names.

“We are counting on some very creative sheep names! I think people will have a lot of fun giving while also supporting a good cause,” states di Rosa Center Director of Development Laura Zimmerman.

di Rosa Center for Contemporary Art is located at 5200 Sonoma Highway, Napa. The campus is open to the public Friday to Sunday, 11am to 4pm. For more information, visit dirosaart.org.