Letters to the Editor: Defending the DA, River Woes and Senior Dogs

Bohemian Staff and Contributors
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Letters to the Editor: Defending the DA, River Woes and Senior Dogs

In Defense

As the first official executive director of the Family Justice Center Sonoma County, I had the pleasure of working under the leadership of District Attorney Jill Ravitch from 2013–2019.

During those years, Ravitch and I worked hand in hand with a committed group of community-based organizations, ensuring victims of family and interpersonal violence received the most comprehensive wrap-around services possible. 

So imagine my shock when I heard there was an effort to recall her just one year before her term ends and after she announced she would not run again. My shock turned into disgust when I found out one wealthy and vindictive developer, who she held to account for endangering the lives of seniors in his care during the Tubbs fire, was behind this entire recall effort. 

Jill is a focused, compassionate and goal-driven leader who always holds the best interests of victims at the fore. She should serve out the rest of her term and retire as the dedicated public servant she is.

Wes Winter, Palm Springs, CA

Unclean

I was surprised to find out that the Petaluma River has been listed as “impaired” by excessive levels of bacteria since 1975 (“Cleaning Up,” June 23). Why then, have there not been public warnings posted in public use areas?

We have been encouraged to use the Petaluma River recreationally by the Friends of the River, several paddle board companies in town, boarding and kayaking development planning in downtown; and yet the entire time Sonoma County Health Officers and Petaluma City Council did nothing to alert families that they and their children were being exposed to potential health concerns. 

That is negligence, and is unforgivable in this day and age of knowledge. Shame on you, Petaluma City Council.

Kerstin Bandner, Petaluma

Fostering Love

Thank you for the article “Finding Love” (June 23). I greatly appreciate you bringing attention to the importance of rescuing and adopting shelter animals and also recognizing the amazing work that the foster volunteers do.

My favorite part of the article was the paragraph highlighting Muttville CEO Sherri Franklin’s work and efforts in rescuing senior dogs. I adopted a senior hospice dog from Muttville a few years ago and I can attest that there is no love quite as precious as the love that a senior rescue dog will give you.

Rose Brennan, Healdsburg

Write to us at le*****@******an.com.

Indie-Rock and Accordions: More North Bay Festivals Planning Live Events

Charlie Swanson
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Indie-Rock and Accordions: More North Bay Festivals Planning Live Events

As California continues to operate at full capacity in a post-pandemic fashion, several local music festivals that were forced to cancel their fun in 2020 are bringing back live shows this summer and into fall 2021.

While Sonoma County Farm Trails is unable to plan for a full-scale Gravenstein Apple Fair this year due to the ongoing uncertainty around state and county guidelines for large events, fair organizers have opted to create a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity to experience the music and spirit of the fair in an intimate setting with The Gravenstein Apple Fair Benefit Concert.

The concert takes place Saturday, Aug 14, at Ragle Ranch Regional Park in Sebastopol, from 11am to 5pm. Several North Bay bands, including the Whiskey Family Band with Alison Harris,  Burnside, and SoloRio will top the lineups. Surprise musical guests are expected as well. Guests will also enjoy farm-fresh food and beverages from top local chefs and producers.

“This year, we’re only able to host a fraction of the usual number of guests that the Gravenstein Apple Fair draws, so we’ve put together a small but amazing event with some of our favorite bands, foods, and vendors from previous fairs,” says Sonoma County Farm Trails Executive Director and Gravenstein Apple Fair Manager Carmen Snyder.  “The benefit concert will give our supporters an opportunity to contribute to bringing back the fair next year, keep our nonprofit afloat, and have a great time doing it.”

The fair historically attracts up to 15,000 attendees each year, connecting visitors to local agriculture and the county’s historical and beloved crop. The fair also provides the bulk of funding for Farm Trails programs like seasonal farm tours and scholarships for young farmers. Additionally, the event provides income for numerous farmers, producers, community nonprofits, local vendors, and service providers. 
 
“We can’t wait to bring the Gravenstein Apple Fair back in 2022,” says Sonoma County Farm Trails Board President Vince Trotter. “In the meantime, we’re really excited about putting on the benefit concert this year and continuing this beloved local tradition in a small but meaningful way.”

In Marin County, the popular music festival Sound Summit announced that it will welcome fans back to the slopes of Mount Tamalpais on Saturday, Sept 11, for a full day of live music. 

Produced as an annual celebration of and fundraiser for Mount Tamalpais State Park by nonprofit organization Roots & Branches Conservancy, Sound Summit is staged at the historic Mountain Theater, a 4,000-seat natural stone amphitheater with stunning views of San Francisco Bay and beyond. To date, Sound Summit has donated $200,000 to Mount Tam.

This year, Sound Summit’s lineup is topped by dynamic Americana group Lukas Nelson & The Promise of The Real and indie-rock sensation Father John Misty. The eclectic lineup of music will also feature retro-cool rock band Allah-Las, high-energy New Orleans brass ensemble Cha Wa, and local powerhouse vocalist Teal Collins.

“Being able to gather with friends and family again and celebrate high atop this treasured mountain after the long and challenging year we’ve all had is a truly joyful and liberating thought,” Sound Summit executive producer Michael Nash says. “We can’t wait.”

Also in September, the 30th annual Cotati Accordion Festival will be taking place once again in La Plaza Park in downtown Cotati.

Originally, the nonprofit festival was planning to celebrate the 30th anniversary milestone by riding the wave of the new “Roaring 20’s.” However, because of the stress and suffering so many in the North Bay have endured the past year, the internationally renowned event is instead centering on “bringing joy back to our lives.”

The Cotati Accordion Festival takes place on Saturday and Sunday, Sept 25 and 26, and will feature a vast array of popular performers such as virtuosos like Cory Pesaturo to Sourdough Slim, and new main stage surprises like Sergei Teleshev and his daughter Maria, Junk Parlor, Hernandez Hideaway and others.

In Sonoma Valley, Gundlach Bundschu Winery sits on the site of the historic Rancho Huichica (pronounced “we-chica”), named by Mexican general Mariano Vallejo. After 150 years of producing distinctive wines, Gun Bun has became a destination for great music in the last decade, hosting unique acts in their outdoor amphitheater.

This fall, Gun Bun welcomes back its signature event, the Huichica Music Festival, on October 15 and 16. The fest boasts a lineup of indie-rock icons, singer-songwriters, DJs and others performing alongside local food and wine vendors and more.

Mac DeMarco, Yo La Tengo (performing two sets) and Devendra Banhart are among the festival’s headliners, and groups and artists like Whitney, Cass McCombs, Wet, Vetiver, Bedouine, Shannon Lay, Kelley Stoltz and others round out the lineup. the Huichica Music Festival and all live events will adhere to the current Covid safety guidelines.

East Coast Cannabis: Grass in Massachusetts

Jonah Raskin
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East Coast Cannabis: Grass in Massachusetts

Nothing theoretical bounced off the four walls of Theory Wellness, a popular cannabis dispensary, not far from the French Cafe on Main Street where I had lingered over a croissant and a cafe au lait. I was in the middle of my vacation. I might have taken a break from cannabis, but what was the point? I wanted to taste the local foods, drink the local spirits and smoke the local weed.

I stood online and gazed around the room.

Yes, the activities were all mercantile and practical, not theoretical. The budtenders talked about products and prices, the medical and recreational marijuana users asked questions about THC and CBD, and paid in cash and with debit cards.

Products flew off the shelves, out the front door and into the parking lot filled with vehicles. It felt good to be 3,000 miles from home and to be able to buy cannabis legally at prices I could afford. No anxiety, no paranoia. I must have been the only Californian inside Theory, but the other consumers seemed like soul mates. We had at least one big thing in common. 

I was doing what cannabis columnists are often obliged to do on vacation. Buying pre-rolled joints. I happened to be in Great Barrington, Massachusetts, which became the 18th state in the U.S. to legalize, tax and regulate cannabis, in 2016. Nearby states like New York still haven’t given their stamp of approval to the crop that has swept across the country thanks to activists, lobbyists, scientists and users.

I asked one of the budtenders, a guy with tattoos and piercings, “Do consumers drive here from other states to get their drug of choice?” He looked at me like I was from Mars. “Are you kidding me?” he said. “People drive hundreds of miles to get to Theory. They come from Pennsylvania, New Jersey and Delaware, President Biden’s state.” Indeed, Massachusetts, otherwise known as “The Commonwealth” and one of the original 13 colonies, is a destination for potheads and medical marijuana users from all over the Eastern Seaboard.

Two dear friends had driven me to Theory. They’re not stoners, but they decided to buy gummies and cannabis-infused chocolates so they could offer them to guests over the Massachusetts’ summer when everything is green, corn grows tall and tourists like me mix with locals who love pot.

In my friends’ home, I fired up a joint, smoked about half and got stoned, pleasantly. It was good to know that Massachusetts weed worked as well and as fast as California weed. There was no point competing. We are all sojourners in the great, unwashed cannabis culture that can be theoretical if you want it to be.

Jonah Raskin is the author of “Marijuanaland: Dispatches from an American War.”

Buzzed: My friends the bees

Mark Fernquest
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Buzzed: My friends the bees

A few weeks ago I heard a strange buzzing on the driveway outside my house, and it generated a numinous feeling inside me. I followed the sound to its source and beheld a swarm of bees hanging off a high tree branch like a giant dollop of honey.

The sight made me giddy.

My neighbor, who is rancherly and knows many things, was quick to obtain a wooden hive and somehow, with the aid of smoke magic, to corral the bees into it. They literally fell off the branch into their new home, as docile as 10,000 mini-Bambis in a UFO beam. Now we have a beehive on the corner of our property. It sits quietly and majestically, and yellow honey bees buzz in and out of it all day long, working their terrestrial magic. They are adorable.

As luck would have it, this is the year I planted a flower garden. As soon as the beehive arrived, I noticed an uptick in the number of bees among the flowers. The count went from two to six on any given morning. Not only that, the new bees looked extra healthy; from a distance they gleamed like my kitty cat’s naughty, golden eyes.

We here at Apple Dog Farm pride ourselves on being quasi-able to get ourselves up to full-farm self-sufficiency in two years if the dung ever hits the propeller, and with Goddess tossing us a bunch of bees, it will take less than two years now. It’s these little carrots that keep a man my age going during interesting times.

I stand barefoot in the garden these afternoons, my toes warmed by sunlight, watching the bees buzz about. On certain days the honey bees become especially excited, darting in and out of flowers with extra viv and zazz. What nice, tiny lives they live.

The honey bees remind me more than a little of Twiddlebugs, if you must know. If you don’t know what Twiddlebugs are, google them now—and shame on you! For many years I secretly wanted a Twiddlebug family in my very own window box, but that, alas, can’t happen, because Twiddlebugs live in the realm of the unreal, and West County ain’t actually Sesame Street, if you know what I mean.

But it doesn’t matter, my wish is fulfilled. The bees arrived, and my kitty and I spend time in the garden with them, all of us enjoying the flowers, together, as friends. As Goddess would want it to be.

Mark Fernquest writes and edits in a glass house in a West County apple orchard. He is for sale.

North Bay Musician Danny Vitali Blooms on New Album

Charlie Swanson
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North Bay Musician Danny Vitali Blooms on New Album

While the Covid-19 pandemic certainly hit the pause button on live music in Marin County last year, it did not break up the scene; local bands are jamming once again as venues reopen and live events return to the North Bay.

One of Marin’s busiest musicians is Point Reyes–based Danny Vitali, who’s playing in a half-dozen groups right now, and who just released his second album under his own name.

Out now as a digital album and soon coming on blue vinyl, Vitali’s Fronds is a seven-track trip of psychedelic-folk that tells the story of, well, everything.

Born in California, but raised in the Midwest, Vitali relocated to West Marin a decade ago, and his debut solo record, 2016’s Invernesia, was heavily influenced by his surroundings.

“In the five years since (Invernesia), I’ve been traveling around California and exploring it,” Vitali says. “I feel like California is so broad and wide, there’s so much to see.”

After taking in sights ranging from Mount Lassen to Death Valley, Vitali used that expanded landscape to fuel his creativity, making Fronds a somewhat musical continuation of Invernesia.

Yet, Vitali plunges his indie-folk style into deeper waters on Fronds, creating his most ambient tones yet—such as the album’s hypnotic instrumental title track—as well as crafting his catchiest song to date, “The Afterglow,” which is a heavy contender for Marin’s song of the summer.

Thematically, Fronds contains a compelling narrative arc that Vitali compares to a sci-fi fantasy story.

“Sort of like an alternate world that you enter in the first song,” he says. “And you go through kind of like a psychedelic trip.”

In that trip, Vitali experiences the death of the ego in the song “The Big Beyond” and finds clarity in the final track “Alturas,” which both refers to the idea of altruism and is the name of a tiny town next to Modoc National Forest in the northeast corner of California.

“I was reading a lot of Ursula K. Le Guin,” Vitali says.

Recorded before the pandemic, in the Bay Area’s acclaimed Tiny Telephone Studios, Fronds features the talents of Rob Shelton (production, synthesizers, keyboards), Luke Temple (co-production, guitar, synthesizer, vocals) Dylan Squires (guitars, vocals, co-writing), Michael Pinkham (drums), Andrew Maguire (percussion), Paul Spring (vocals) and Carly Bond (vocals).

When the pandemic shuttered the North Bay in March 2020, Vitali says he began stress gardening and refocused on completing the album’s production and release. Given that the record was recorded analog and straight to tape, he says the imminently-arriving vinyl is the ideal way to experience Fronds. “It makes a lot more sense when you hear it in that format,” he says. “Really loud.”

Now that West Marin destinations like the Old Western Saloon and Smiley’s Schooner Saloon are reopening, Vitali splits his time by playing with several local outfits including the Haggards, Kelly McFarling’s band, the West Marin Grateful Dead Appreciation Society led by Alex Bleeker and more.

“I’m playing in about eight groups right now, and everybody has a record coming,” Vitali says. “It’s going to be a fun, outdoor-show summer, and I’m looking forward to it all.”

dannyvitali.com

My Life as a Dog

Daedalus Howell
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My Life as a Dog

Bow-wow

It’s been said that there are dog people and cat people. I’m neither. I’m barely a people person. This is ironic since people occasionally comment upon my natural leadership abilities and become disappointed when I don’t pass the Kool-Aid.

I have been known, however, to share the wine, and if you’re seeking a Jim Jones-esque experience, the diminutive size of my expense account relative to affordable plonk could very well yield a killer hangover. And what’s the point? Two’s company … but not a cult.

To that end, I am not, naturally speaking, a top-dog, alpha-male or über-mensch type anyway—unless I’m alone, which makes me all the above with the added bonus of being a “lone wolf.” Then I’m a total badass until I run into another lone wolf. Inevitably, we discuss joining forces and forming our own pack. But running in a pack of lone wolves is rather like attending the anarchy club—oxymoronic at its best, and embarrassing if one actually shows up.

When other would-be top dogs ask me why they have poor pack retention, I point out it’s because they’re stingy with their knowledge.

They rationalize that smart leaders don’t foment their own competition. They think underdogs created concepts like “mentoring,” which is just a way of learning everything necessary to overthrow the person mentoring you. I nod sagely, then I offer them some well-deserved Kool-Aid.

There are other ways to become a top dog, of course. A pal of mine once fell in with a rough pack of feral canines—wolves, really—and later came down with a nasty case of lycanthropy. Now, he does public service announcements: 

“Remember, there is no cure for lycanthropy, and it may be contagious even if there are no symptoms like excessive body hair or a full moon.”

The only headache worse than having a werewolf friend—they eat guacamole right out of the bowl—is when a dog arrives at my doorstep leashed to a pal of mine, who wants to enter my home. With his dog. Though it’s unpopular to admit, I don’t like animals in my house. It sort of defeats the purpose of living indoors, doesn’t it? I mean, we built houses to live apart from the animals, didn’t we?

“But the dog is part of my family,” my friend protests.

And since I’m a gracious host, I welcome them both inside. Then I explain how genetics work while filling their bowls.

Editor Daedalus Howell is the author of the upcoming children’s book about pirate dogs, “Skalliwagz.”

The Simulation

Christian M. Chensvold
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The Simulation

Gaming Fate

When the technology became sufficient, video game designers created open-ended worlds in which characters could roam freely. Obstacles were placed in each character’s way, and if characters overcame them their powers were upgraded. Each character’s “will” was controlled by a higher intelligence, namely the player holding the controls.

Now, where do you suppose the designers got this idea?

In our last column we examined how the universe repeats the same patterns at different levels of resolution. That is also the case with the virtual realities mankind creates. The life lessons offered by sophisticated video games mirror the hard-won wisdom of real life, such as if you encounter a situation that seems unsolvable, there’s probably some key detail you have not noticed. Find your blind spot, and solving the puzzle becomes easy.

Technology’s rise has led some to suggest that reality is a “simulation”; that the material world is designed like a game that ultimately isn’t “real.” The ancients had the same view; they just looked at things metaphysically rather than technologically, believing the world was created by a higher intelligence, and that godly or planetary powers were capable of being upgraded by those who played the game properly.

We moderns think of the world as being matter-based, with Platonic concepts of metaphysical reality belonging to a less-enlightened past. But according to traditional doctrines, the material world is just one plane of reality—the lowest—in a consciousness-based universe. Matter, in this sense, is simply a dense form of consciousness. Hence the saying, “Even a stone is God, it just doesn’t know it.”

This brings up the notion of fate. From the point of view of eternity, past, present and future all exist simultaneously. Ponder this scenario: Say you drop a potato chip in the path of a meandering ant. The ant doesn’t know there’s a chip in its future if it stays on course, but you do. You have a vaster vista of reality, a godlike point of view compared to the ant. Whether it finds the chip or veers on another course is irrelevant to the reality of the chip. Thus, at any moment all future scenarios exist.

You could have chosen not to read this, but you did. And now here you are with a new perspective, wondering what you might do next.

Culture Crush: Five North Bay Events Near You This Week

Charlie Swanson
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Culture Crush: Five North Bay Events Near You This Week

Napa 

After the last year of pandemic stress, a wellness weekend is just what the North Bay needs. Thankfully, that is exactly what the Meritage Resort and Spa, and its neighboring sister property, Vista Collina Resort, are planning for the first-ever Moondance Napa Wellness Weekend. Opening with a reception and drum circle on June 24, the four-day series of packages include yoga and other outdoor activities, spa treatments, meditation, a “Celebration of Spring” concert, healthy meals, artisan markets with wellness vendors and more. Sign up for individual packages, or the whole weekend, Thursday through Sunday, June 24–27, 875 Bordeaux Way, Napa. Meritagecollection.com.

St. Helena

Blue Note Napa and Another Planet continue to present headlining entertainment outside at the Charles Krug Winery, Napa Valley’s Oldest Wine Estate this summer. Normally, the groups present live music; this week, they welcome standup comedian and actor Fortune Feimster– whose first one-hour special, Sweet & Salty, is currently streaming on Netflix and was nominated for Best Comedy Special for the Critics’ Choice Awards–to the outdoor stage for two shows on Friday, June 25, at 2800 Main St., St. Helena. 5:30pm and 8:30pm. Bluenotenapa.com.

Novato

As part of Pride Month, Marin County nonprofit organization the Spahr Center—which serves the LGBTQ+ community and supports those affected by HIV—is holding an LGBTQ+ Pride Rally this weekend at Novato City Hall. The event is being held to thank City and Town Councils throughout Marin, as well as the Board of Supervisors, for flying the LGBTQ+ Pride Flag during the month of June, and to present the center’s LGBTQ+ agenda for Marin. Limited seating is available, and a pop-up tent will accommodate some rally goers. As with all events, masks and social distancing are encouraged for the rally on Saturday, June 26, at 901 Sherman Ave., Novato. Noon. Free. thespahrcenter.org.

Healdsburg

The weather is not the only thing heating up in Healdsburg. This week, recently-opened gallery Legion Projects opens “Heatwave,” a duo show featuring works by San Francisco-based artist Anoushka Mirchandani and Oakland-based artist Taylor Smalls. Mirchandani examines her experiences navigating a multiplicity of identities as an Indian, a woman and an artist in her work. Smalls centers her paintings around the kaleidoscopic range of Black and Brown skin through highly pigmented colors. “Heatwave” runs June 26–Aug. 6 and opens with a reception featuring complimentary wine and a food pop-up on Saturday, June 26, at Legion Projects, 711A Healdsburg Ave., Healdsburg. 1–5pm. Free. Legionsf.com.

Sebastopol

With in-person events making a comeback, local venues like HopMonk Tavern are welcoming bands back for much-needed live music. This weekend, Sonoma County five-piece party-starters Burnside are at HopMonk in Sebastopol and ready to make the crowd move with original tunes that incorporate soul, folk, indie-rock and Americana. Joining Burnside for the show is another popular local figure, singer-songwriter Caitlin Jemma, who will likely perform some songs off her upcoming record True Meaning, due out later this summer. Catch up with the music on Saturday, June 26, at HopMonk Tavern, 230 Petaluma Ave, Sebastopol. 8pm. 21 and over. $18. Hopmonk.com/sebastopol.

Railroad Square Music Festival Captures Local Talent on New Album

Charlie Swanson
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Railroad Square Music Festival Captures Local Talent on New Album

Since the Railroad Square Music Festival is unable to bring the people to the music this summer due to the pandemic, they decided to bring the music to the people.

This month, organizers of Railroad Square Music Festival—which normally takes over the titular downtown district in Santa Rosa for a free day of live music in June—are instead dropping a new compilation, RSMF Records Vol 1: Live at Prairie Sun 2021, featuring 12 eclectic North Bay bands and artists and available online for streaming and as a digital album.

“Because of the pandemic, Mooka (Mark “Mooka” Rennick) and the other managers at Prairie Sun Studio wanted to bring some energy back to the music scene,” says RSMF co-founder Susy Dugan.

In addition to co-founding RSMF with Josh Windmiller, Dugan works as an audio engineer with Prairie Sun Live, the live events branch of Prairie Sun Recording Studios. Each June, Prairie Sun Live provides the audio for the RSMF. With the event canceled for the second summer in a row, the two groups joined forces for this new compilation record.

“This was a perfect collaboration to bring some people into the studio, but also give people a safe space and opportunity to be artists and to create again,” Dugan says.

RSMF Records Vol 1: Live at Prairie Sun 2021 features electro-jazz artist Eki Shola, funk ensemble Bronze Medal Hopefuls, hip-hop artist Kayatta, harmonizing rockers Heartwood Trio, soul star Simone Mosely, lo-fi act Coldest, norteño alternativos Pistoleros Famosos, surf pop-punkers the Happys, Highway Poets’ frontman Sebastian St. James, acoustic R&B duo Jaz and Crow, a new band by Gabe Katz called Bummer Peak and Windmiller’s band the Crux.

“We had four days of recording, and we had three or four bands per day,” Dugan says. “We ran it a lot like we would a live concert, where the bands load in, do a couple takes of their live performance and then we get ready for the next band.”

For some of the bands, this marked their debut at the famed recording studios in Cotati, and Dugan says many of the album tracks were written during the pandemic, so this is the first time audiences will get to hear those tunes.

“Being there for the recording was a moving experience, I had goosebumps the whole time,” Dugan says. “We’re so happy to be able to present local performers, and we’re grateful to Prairie Sun for the opportunity to shine a light on all of the incredible talent in the North Bay.”

The album is available online now, and Henhouse Brewing Company even has a custom From the Heart IPA featuring a QR code on the can to direct folks to the record. In addition to the album, RSMF is also continuing work on its RSMF TV series of videos and eyeing a return to live events in 2022.

“At the Railroad Square Music Festival, our entire focus is to bring more attention to the music community,” Dugan says. “The compilation accomplished that, and it helped me remember why we do this.”

railroadsquaremusicfestival.com/records

Letters to the Editor: News on the Cover and a Numbers Game

Bohemian Staff and Contributors
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0
Letters to the Editor: News on the Cover and a Numbers Game

Prize Worthy

Please extend my congratulations to Eva Chrysanthe for her superb article, “Pushed Around” in the June 9–15 2021 issue of the Pacific Sun. It is well-researched, well-documented and well-written, and deals with a topic—homelessness—that has relevance on the local, state and national levels.

I think it is worthy of consideration for a Pulitzer Prize. Please submit it to the Pulitzer Prize committee for consideration. Again, my congratulations to Eva Chrysanthe for a beautifully written article on a difficult and complex subject.

Sara Godwin, Fairfax

Bad Blood

The article titled “Bad Blood” in the June 9–15, 2021 Bohemian is not referenced on the cover.  

The beauty of “Bad Blood” is its close focus on crimes, lawyers and the example it sets for the country in its detailed, concise and colorful presentation. Easy to miss. This is an issue whose front page features “Vinyl Destination,” “Culture Crush,” “Left Edge Returns” and “Trivia Cafe.”

“Bad Blood” is an exceptionally good article, and hard to find in the Bohemian’s feel-good layout.

Hugh Brady, Sonoma County

Numbers Game 

I’ve never before responded to an article, but I feel “compelled” to share my observation on 50 Up Magazine. Every decade seems to make most people feel “old.” After all, it’s the oldest they’ve ever been. My mother said the same thing in her 80s that I’m going to share here, at 68. Inside, we are still that young, somewhat-awkward person. When I say, “when will I grow up?” I realize this IS me grown up. Still enjoying cannabis 50+ years later, still loving the Beatles and reggae music and live concerts. Enjoying dancing. Wearing tie-dye. At almost sixty-freakin’-nine! I used to think it was just men who didn’t grow up. But I was wrong.

Phyllis Silverberg, Woodacre

Write to us at le*****@******an.com.

Letters to the Editor: Defending the DA, River Woes and Senior Dogs

Petaluma River, California - June 2021
In Defense As the first official executive director of the Family Justice Center Sonoma County, I had the pleasure of working under the leadership of District Attorney Jill Ravitch from 2013–2019. During those years, Ravitch and I worked hand in hand with a committed group of community-based organizations, ensuring victims of family and interpersonal violence received the most comprehensive wrap-around services...
Read more

Indie-Rock and Accordions: More North Bay Festivals Planning Live Events

As California continues to operate at full capacity in a post-pandemic fashion, several local music festivals that were forced to cancel their fun in 2020 are bringing back live shows this summer and into fall 2021. While Sonoma County Farm Trails is unable to plan for a full-scale Gravenstein Apple Fair this year due to the ongoing uncertainty around state...
Read more

East Coast Cannabis: Grass in Massachusetts

Nothing theoretical bounced off the four walls of Theory Wellness, a popular cannabis dispensary, not far from the French Cafe on Main Street where I had lingered over a croissant and a cafe au lait. I was in the middle of my vacation. I might have taken a break from cannabis, but what was the point? I wanted to...
Read more

Buzzed: My friends the bees

A few weeks ago I heard a strange buzzing on the driveway outside my house, and it generated a numinous feeling inside me. I followed the sound to its source and beheld a swarm of bees hanging off a high tree branch like a giant dollop of honey. The sight made me giddy. My neighbor, who is rancherly and knows many...
Read more

North Bay Musician Danny Vitali Blooms on New Album

While the Covid-19 pandemic certainly hit the pause button on live music in Marin County last year, it did not break up the scene; local bands are jamming once again as venues reopen and live events return to the North Bay. One of Marin’s busiest musicians is Point Reyes–based Danny Vitali, who’s playing in a half-dozen groups right now, and...
Read more

My Life as a Dog

Bow-wow It’s been said that there are dog people and cat people. I’m neither. I’m barely a people person. This is ironic since people occasionally comment upon my natural leadership abilities and become disappointed when I don’t pass the Kool-Aid. I have been known, however, to share the wine, and if you’re seeking a Jim Jones-esque experience, the diminutive size of...
Read more

The Simulation

Gaming Fate When the technology became sufficient, video game designers created open-ended worlds in which characters could roam freely. Obstacles were placed in each character’s way, and if characters overcame them their powers were upgraded. Each character’s “will” was controlled by a higher intelligence, namely the player holding the controls. Now, where do you suppose the designers got this idea? In our...
Read more

Culture Crush: Five North Bay Events Near You This Week

Napa  After the last year of pandemic stress, a wellness weekend is just what the North Bay needs. Thankfully, that is exactly what the Meritage Resort and Spa, and its neighboring sister property, Vista Collina Resort, are planning for the first-ever Moondance Napa Wellness Weekend. Opening with a reception and drum circle on June 24, the four-day series of packages...
Read more

Railroad Square Music Festival Captures Local Talent on New Album

Since the Railroad Square Music Festival is unable to bring the people to the music this summer due to the pandemic, they decided to bring the music to the people. This month, organizers of Railroad Square Music Festival—which normally takes over the titular downtown district in Santa Rosa for a free day of live music in June—are instead dropping a...
Read more

Letters to the Editor: News on the Cover and a Numbers Game

Santa Rosa Police Department poetry reading - May 2021
Prize Worthy Please extend my congratulations to Eva Chrysanthe for her superb article, “Pushed Around” in the June 9–15 2021 issue of the Pacific Sun. It is well-researched, well-documented and well-written, and deals with a topic—homelessness—that has relevance on the local, state and national levels. I think it is worthy of consideration for a Pulitzer Prize. Please submit it to the...
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