Page 281 | Bohemian | Sonoma & Napa Counties

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.

Petaluma Music Festival Announces Lineup for In-Person Revival

Charlie Swanson

May 24, 2021

Petaluma Music Festival Announces Lineup for In-Person Revival

Established by Petaluma High School music director Cliff Eveland, the Petaluma Music Festival operates with the singular mission to keep music in the schools. Since its inception 14 years ago, the nonprofit festival has rocked the crowds at the Sonoma-Marin Fairgrounds in Petaluma each summer with eclectic local bands and other family-friendly offerings while raising money for music programs in the town’s public schools.

Last summer, the festival transitioned to a virtual fundraising event due to the Covid-19 pandemic. This year, organizers announced that the festival will return to a live, in-person affair when it takes place at the fairgrounds on August 7, 2021.

In addition to the live date, the Petaluma Music Festival also announced its lineup of popular North Bay and Bay Area acts who are ready to return to the stage.

The full lineup for the 2021 Petaluma Music Festival includes the Motet, Monophonics, Full Moonalice: THC Revue featuring the New Chamber Brothers and T Sisters, Ron Artis II & The Truth, Lebo–Artist at Large (aka Dan Lebowitz), SambaDá, the Commonheart, Mestizo Beat, Sebastian Saint James and the Highway Poets, Bandjango Collectif featuring Stella Heath, Black Sheep Brass Band, Kendra McKinley, Bronze Medal Hopefuls, Dirty Red Barn and Jinx Jones.

Under current guidelines, festival organizers are planning a “Safe/Vaccinated” festival, and will only admit participants and attendees who have been fully vaccinated for Covid-19 at least 2 weeks prior to the festival, OR receive a negative test result for Covid-19 within 72 hours prior to the festival.

“Our first priority will be for everyone to be safe while enjoying the festival,” state organizers. “As with all events happening in the next several months, we will have to work within the Covid-19 protocols and guidelines set forth by the County of Sonoma Health Department and the State of California.”

Tickets to the 2021 festival are available now on Eventbrite. General admission tickets are $55, and VIP tickets are $149. The VIP ticket includes a reserved seat in the shade with complimentary hors d’oeuvres, wine tasting and beer tasting. Teens 13-18 get a ticket for $25 (sold only at the gate), and kids 12 under get in for free.

“Due to the pandemic, the cost of producing the festival has increased dramatically,” state festival organizers. “Please consider making a donation in addition to your ticket purchase to help offset the costs of the festival. We are a non-profit festival and all proceeds are donated to the music programs in our local public schools, so our kids can enjoy making music.”

Check out the official poster for the 14th Annual Petaluma Music Festival below, and get more info and tickets at Petalumamusicfestival.org.

Windsor Mayor Dominic Foppoli Resigns From Office

Will Carruthers

May 21, 2021

Windsor Mayor Dominic Foppoli Resigns From Office

Windsor Mayor Dominic Foppoli resigned from office on Friday, one and a half months after the San Francisco Chronicle first published four women’s sexual assault allegations against Foppoli.

Since the Chronicle published its first Foppoli article on April 8, more women have come forward with a range of allegations against Foppoli. The most recent allegations come from former Sonoma Mayor Rachel Hundley.

Foppoli has denied all of the allegations and remained somewhat involved in Windsor Town Council meetings, even presiding over an April 14 meeting in which dozens of Sonoma County residents called for his resignation from public office.

“It is with a heavy heart that I am resigning, effective today. I have always and will always maintain that I did not engage in any non-consensual sexual acts with any woman. I recently learned that a woman in Palm Beach, Florida is accusing me of non-consensual acts while I was visiting there in March of this year. She made her allegations after she learned of the April 8, 2021 San Francisco Chronicle story. I have no doubt she is making these allegations in an attempt to leverage the situation to her advantage,” Foppoli said in a statement released on Friday morning.

The Chronicle reported on Friday afternoon that Foppoli’s statement came “less than three hours” after Chronicle reporters reached out to the Windsor Mayor for comment on recent allegations by Farrah Abraham, a 29-year-old Los Angeles woman, who contacted the Palm Beach Police Department on April 2, almost a week before the Chronicle published its first article about Foppoli. Abraham is the ninth woman to make a sexual assault or sexual misconduct allegation against Foppoli since April 8.

The California Attorney General’s Office and the Sonoma County Sheriff’s Office are conducting criminal investigations into the allegations raised against Foppoli over the past month.

Foppoli’s full statement is available here.

Napa Supervisors Accept Sheriff’s Resignation Effective Next Month

Will Carruthers

May 21, 2021

The Napa County Board of Supervisors accepted Sheriff John Robertson’s resignation at its meeting Tuesday, marking the end of a 40-year career in law enforcement.

Robertson will depart the sheriff’s office on June 26 and the board appointed sheriff’s Capt. Oscar Ortiz, who serves as chief of the American Canyon Police Department, to carry serve the rest of his term through 2022 at the sheriff’s recommendation.

Robertson joined the Napa County Sheriff’s Office in 1991 after a decade with the San Mateo Police Department and was appointed as sheriff in 2012.

“At a time when public safety was under the magnifying glass, he never shied away from it. He represented Napa County with class and professionalism,” Supervisor Alfredo Pedroza said.