After a year on hold, Festival Napa Valley welcome audiences back for a full program of events this summer. Marking the Festival’s 15th anniversary and celebrating the return to live events, the concert schedule includes opera, chamber music and jazz. Festival Napa Valley kicks off with an Opening Night recital on Friday, July 16, featuring soprano Lisette Oropesa (pictured) at Charles Krug Winery in St. Helena, and the festival’s lineup also boasts highlights ranging from a Tony Bennett tribute to the Arts For All Gala featuring superstar Jennifer Hudson to free symphonic concerts with Festival Orchestra Napa and more. July 16-25, tickets available at Festivalnapavalley.org.
Bolinas
For the last year, Bolinas Museum has partnered with photographers to take black-and-white portraits of Bolinas and Stinson community members for “Together Alone / Alone Together,” a project that is displayed in the museum’s windows. This week, the museum teams with Smiley’s Schooner Saloon for the project’s Together Again Open House. The evening includes a slideshow of portraits from the project and copies of the Together Alone / Alone Together book on hand. There will also be a story booth in which participants can record their own stories. Then, move to Smiley’s to enjoy live music on Friday, July 16, at 48 Wharf Rd, Bolinas. 5pm. Free. bolinasmuseum.org.
Rohnert Park
This past May, the SOMO Grove Dinner Series was one of the first ways for the North Bay to see live music in over a year. The series—which blends locally sourced meals and locally sourced bands at socially distant, outdoor shows—was such a rousing success, it’s returning for four new dates of live music featuring popular local acts. This week, the series hosts stellar vocalist Stella Heath leading the Billie Holiday Project for a night of jazzy tunes and dinner from Heirloom Café on Friday, July 16, at SOMO Village, 1100 Valley House Dr., Rohnert Park. Doors 6:30pm, Show 7:30pm. $35. Tickets at somovillage.com.
Ross
Native Californian explorer and writer Obi Kaufmann examined the state’s most precious resources in his books The California Field Atlas, The State of Water and The Forests of California. Now, Kaufmann returns to Marin Art and Garden Center to share a new presentation, “The State of Nature,” in which he speaks on a number of unfolding crises in California, the nation and the biosphere. Kaufmann will also sign copies of his books—which will be for sale—and he will celebrate the reopening of the center’s newly renovated and wonderfully rustic outdoor Redwood Amphitheater on Sunday, July 18, at 30 Sir Francis Drake Blvd, Ross. 11am. Free. Maringarden.org.
Glen Ellen
Inspired by the seafaring adventures of author Jack London and his wife Charmian, the Jack London Yacht Club has all the trappings of a traditional yacht club, except for the fact that the “yachts” measure 22 inches long. These miniature boats normally sail each spring in the Jack to Jack Yacht Race, though the pandemic canceled this year’s event. In its place, the club is popping mini Champagne bottles at the Anchors Aweigh Yacht Christening. Several small boats will be on display, and new members will christen their vessels, at a gathering with food, live music, auctions and more on Sunday, July 18, at Jack London Lodge, 13740 Arnold Dr., Glen Ellen. 2pm. $55–$70. Jacklondonyachtclub.org.
As we wait, with dread, for this year’s fire season, it is astonishing that not a single dollar of California’s immense $76 billion budget surplus is being allocated for the only means of preventing wildfires from starting, which is burying overhead power lines.
Since 2017, four of the six most destructive fires in the state—three of them here in Norcal—were sparked by overhead power lines. Burying those overhead power lines that pose the highest risk of fires is by far the most important preventive measure that our government can take to protect us from wildfire. It would also eliminate the expanding number of crippling power shutdowns that PG&E orders because of the fire risks that overhead—but not underground—power lines pose.
Senator Mike McGuire and the Wildfire Working Group recently announced a package of new bills to legislatively complement the $2 billion that Gov. Newscom plans to spend on CAL FIRE to prepare for, remediate and fight wildfires after they start.
Yet none of this funding will go toward burying power lines or slowing power shutdowns. That’s why the Sonoma Independent and the Davis Community Vision Alliance formed a grassroots Bury Fire-Causing Power Lines Now! Campaign and a Change.org petition to “Use 2% of California’s Budget Surplus to Bury Highest Risk Fire-Causing Power Lines.”
Please join us in calling on Sen. McGuire and the Senate Natural Resources Committee Chair Henry Stern to ask them to introduce an emergency trailer bill allocation of $1.5 billion to bury the 500 riskiest miles of overhead power lines.
Our proposed bill and related information can be read at SonomaIndependent.org. It requires utility companies to match every $2 of state funding with $1 of their own, and will quadruple the number of risky overhead power lines that are being buried currently.
The legislature will vote on this to append our tax dollars by the end of the month. Let’s make sure that it protects us all with effective fire prevention, and not just preparation and response.
Jonathan Greenberg is the founder and editor of SonomaIndependent.org.We welcome your contribution. To have your topical essay of 350 words considered for publication, write op*****@******an.com.
Thanks so much for your coverage of our public lands, Point Reyes (“Death by Design,” June 30)! It is so valuable for me to find local coverage of the Seashore. Great to see a paper with independent integrity!
Catherine L. Portman, Woodland
Myths of Point Reyes
I appreciate the letter from Dr. John W. Cruz on July 7 regarding the horrors of elk culling in Point Reyes National Seashore. I agree with him that it’s high time to restore Point Reyes.
Where Dr. Cruz writes “The agreements that were made 60 years ago were from a different era … and it’s time to start buying out the ranchers,” I point out that there were no agreements, ever, that ranching should stay in perpetuity in our national park. In fact, the reservations of use were explicitly time-bound—25 years or life—and the lease agreements are legally cancelable by the Interior Secretary at any time.
Furthermore, the ranches were already bought by the public, for the time-adjusted amount of almost $400 million, plus the mentioned period of continued occupancy. It’s a testament to the thickness of the fog of obfuscation generated by the interested parties that such basic facts are misapprehended even by people distinctly interested in the health of the park.
Other persistent myths are that the ranches in Point Reyes are good stewards of the land in Point Reyes—they are documented as significant sources of air and water pollution, soil depletion and erosion, invasive species, etc.—that they preserve and honor history there—they are modern, industrial-scale operations which obscure and disrespect the much older Coast Miwok history—and more. These and other myths are detailed in a recent webinar from the Coalition to Save Point Reyes National Seashore that can be found at savepointreyesnationalseashore.com.
At their Monday, July 12 meeting, the Petaluma City Council will decide whether to kick a controversial resident off of a committee tasked with advising the city on race relations and police policies.
If passed, the resolution would remove Stefan Perez from his appointed seat on the Ad Hoc Community Advisory Committee (AHCAC). Perez, who is one of 28 AHCAC members, has been criticized since late May when a prominent Twitter user began sharing Perez’s past social media posts featuring racist and misogynistic humor.
A resolution prepared by City Attorney Eric Danly explains that, as the creator of the committee, the city council has the inherent power to remove or replace members of it with or without cause. The resolution also cites the council’s power to “declare the office of an [AHCAC] member vacant and appoint a qualified person to fill the vacancy.” In effect, the proposal would amend the council resolution used to form the AHCAC in order to remove Perez from his appointment and abolish his seat.
Although the resolution does not mention Perez’s social media posts or any other specific reason for removing him from the AHCAC, the move appears to be a change of course for the city. Since the criticisms of Perez began nearly two months ago, city officials have remained largely silent despite requests for action.
In a June 9 statement, the City Council urged members of the AHCAC and the public to “refrain from participating in disparaging behaviors on social media” and raised First Amendment concerns about “regulating Committee members’ speech,” an apparent response to residents calling for Perez’s removal from the AHCAC.
Asked for comment on the July 12 agenda item, Roy Miller, Perez’s attorney, stated in an email Friday that “Mr. Perez is considering attending the council meeting and/or providing a statement to the council about the issue.”
Mayor Teresa Barrett, city manager Peggy Flynn and city attorney Danly did not respond to a request for comment on Friday.
Arising out of the racial justice protests in 2020, the city council formed the AHCAC in early 2021 to discuss what makes community members—particularly those from marginalized groups—feel unsafe in Petaluma and provide recommendations to the city council on city and police policies aimed at improving race relations.
After a virtual town hall listening forum in June 2020 attended by more than 300 community members, the city of Petaluma hired Tracey Webb as a Diversity, Equity and Inclusion consultant and facilitator, first tasked with interviewing BIPOC community members and gathering their recommendations for next steps. The AHCAC was created based on Webb’s listening sessions and analysis.
Bringing together more than 20 Petaluma representatives of local organizations serving communities of color and other marginalized groups, the AHCAC would meet for six monthly meetings facilitated by Webb. In addition to the 22 committee members who were recommended by community organizations, several more individuals who were unaffiliated with those groups were considered for appointment by the City Council, based on their expressed interest in participation.
In a Feb. 25 letter to the council, Perez requested a seat on the committee, stating that “I believe having another indigenous citizen would help bolster the council’s goal to have a committee made up of BIPOC citizens, particularly from Petaluma.”
At the time, several Petaluma residents spoke in support of Perez while others raised concerns about Perez’s social media posts and online interactions over the past year, including comments he made raising alarm about racial justice protests where he alleged that BLM activists and “antifa” members were dangerous.
Ultimately, Councilmember Dr. Dennis Pocekay appointed Perez to the AHCAC at a March 15 meeting. In all, 28 people were appointed in March. So far, the committee has met three times.
On May 20, Perez became the center of an Internet-fueled scandal when many of Perez’s social media posts featuring Nazi imagery, racist and misogynistic humor, were shared by Chad Loder, an activist and Twitter user with a sizeable following.
Loder also alleged that Perez, who owns a video production company, ran several Golden State Nationalist social media accounts.
[Read ‘Bad Blood,’ the Bohemian’s June 9 article, for more information about Loder’s allegations.]
In early June, Roy Miller, an attorney representing Perez, denied that Perez runs the Golden State Nationalist accounts. When asked about a particular post on Perez’s personal Twitter account, Miller stated that Perez’s “entire Twitter feed is made up of jokes and dark humor for the most part so the reader shouldn’t necessarily take them seriously.”
As Perez’s social media posts began to circulate in Petaluma, many residents called for Perez’s removal from the AHCAC, but the City Council remained largely quiet. At a Monday, June 7 meeting, Pocekay apologized “for being the person who put Stefan’s name out there.” The other council members did not address the issue at the meeting.
Two days later, the city released a letter signed by three members of the city council—Mayor Teresa Barrett as well as councilmembers Mike Healy and D’Lynda Fischer—addressing the allegations circulating online on behalf of the entire council. Although the letter does not name Perez, it was widely understood to be in reference to him.
“We strongly urge that all AHCAC members and our entire community refrain from participating in disparaging behaviors on social media and elsewhere, and stay engaged with what we set out to do from the onset–undertake the challenging and essential work of discussing race relations in Petaluma,” the letter states in part.
The letter goes on to state that, because the AHCAC process is considered a government action, “the First Amendment prohibits the City from regulating Committee members’ speech, or participation in the AHCAC based on protected speech.” The letter adds that the council hopes it will not be necessary “to initiate actions which could include removal of Committee members or represented organizations from this important process.”
Although Perez did not attend the AHCAC’s June 15 meeting, the committee spent considerable time discussing his behavior and what some viewed as the City Council’s lack of support for committee members who felt threatened or disappointed by Perez.
At the meeting, AHCAC member Eric Leland attempted to pass a motion to “censure” Perez. Leland’s motion failed to gain enough support in a straw vote after City Attorney Eric Danly raised legal concerns about the phrasing of the motion and other AHCAC members said they would rather move on with the committee’s intended work instead of lingering on Perez.
—
NOTE: The final paragraph of this article previously stated that an AHCAC member proposed a motion to “censor” Perez. The motion was meant to “censure” Perez.
This article is part of the Bohemian’s ongoing series about the fallout from the April pig’s head vandals and the surrounding intrigue. Read the first part of the series here.
Thoughts, news tips or comments? You can reach Will Carruthers at wc*********@*****ys.com.
There once was a girl named Sunny, whose smile was as bright as the California sky, until she lost her spark and became depressed. She began meditating in the park every day, but the answer to her troubles never came to her. “Oh my God, what’s wrong with me?” she asked herself. Then one day an old friend saw Sunny and laughed. She said that meditation was useless and to come have a few drinks and just forget her troubles.
Sunny did, but that night something strange happened. She didn’t know if it was a bad dream from too much wine, but a man appeared in her room and said his name was Michael and that he had a message for Sunny. “The message is from God,” he said. “He wants you to know that when you go to the park each day in search of answers, is it not He who summons you there?”
This tale of the girl, whose inner spark went out, comes from an old Arab proverb, and like the Archangel Michael I, too, bear a message. May is Mental Health Month, during which the stars have aligned for the Bohemian to launch a new column on spirituality, metaphysics, ancient wisdom and the secret laws of the cosmos that will help you cultivate the strength and tranquility you need for navigating these uncertain times.
Problems of the heart and mind, after all, can also be called problems of the soul and spirit. Overcoming them requires expanded consciousness; a broader frame of reference based on transcendence of the merely human. This is what is meant by the notion that you are not your thoughts, but rather the being that has thoughts. But when you’re despondent, you become identified with the gray clouds in the sky—rather than the sky itself. This is why the world’s spiritual traditions focus so much on what you mean when you say, “I.”
Prince Siddharta—the man who became known as the Buddha or Enlightened One—was a lot worse off than you. He left his palace and family to wander for six years, nearly starving himself to death, before finally he saw through the illusion of his misery and could say, “Enlightenment means the end of suffering.”
It has been wisely said that we are not human beings seeking a spiritual experience, but spirit beings having a human experience. Think of me as a fellow adventurer, a travel writer with a map to inner awakenings and flashes of insight that can guide you on your hero’s journey. Because whether you know it or not, you’re on one.
Christian Chensvold blogs about the world’s wisdom traditions at trad-man.com.
In the beginning was the creation of light, a prism that disperses the seven colors of the rainbow.
Seven is a rather magical number that belongs to that mysterious architecture of the cosmos called sacred geometry. Seven astral bodies are visible from earth with the naked eye, for which the days of the week are named. There are seven energy wheels called chakras in the body, and seven heads on a hydra, so watch out. The Sound Of Music teaches us do-re-mi-fa-so-la-ti, which are the seven tones in the musical scale that Miles Davis used to write “Seven Steps to Heaven.” In the Old Testament, Salome performs the dance of the seven veils, and in the Babylonian myth Ishtar descends to the underworld through seven gates, there to find all the used VHS copies of Ishtar.
Twelve is another special number. Two sets of 12 make the 24 hours of the day, half for the sun and half for the moon. There are 12 apostles of Christ, 12 gods of Mount Olympus, 12 signs of the zodiac and 12 donuts in a dozen, but don’t eat them all because the gods punish small things quickly.
Sacred geometry shows us that the universe repeats the same patterns at different levels of resolution. A spiral can be as small as a snail’s shell or as vast as a galaxy. Sacred geometry even comes through sound waves, since stroking a violin bow on a metal sheet covered with sand causes the sand to create a snowflake pattern. Change the tonal frequency of the stroke and the snowflake changes. Even the vastness of space is mirrored in the emptiness of the atom.
The earth’s movement is also full of mystery. It rotates daily and orbits the sun annually, but it also wobbles on its axis, which is tilted at 23.5 degrees. This causes the spring equinox to cycle backward through the 12 signs of the zodiac over the course of 26,000 years in what’s known as the precession of the equinoxes. Jesus of Nazareth was born in the age of Pisces and is thus closely associated with the symbol of the fish. The 1967 musical Hair hails the dawning of the Age of Aquarius.
The universe is a majestic place, and how fortunate we are to live in its eternity for a speck of time. The ancients said the bulk of mankind lives in a state of limited awareness akin to sleep, and the process of opening one’s consciousness is called the doctrine of awakening. So close your eyes, open your mind and begin to see.
In March 2021, Sonoma Valley Museum of Art (SVMA) announced that Mexican-born and Santa Rosa-raised artist Maria de Los Angeles would create two major murals as part of a building rehab project in Glen Ellen.
This month, the murals will finally go on display; and SVMA–along with sponsors Holly and Stephen Sorkin–hosts a daylong gathering to celebrate the occasion. The free event happens on Saturday, July 10, from 11am to 4pm, at the murals’ location at 13647 Arnold Drive in Glen Ellen.
Currently living on the East Coast, De Los Angeles immigrated to the North Bay from Mexico at age 11 with her family. She began making art as a child and graduated from Santa Rosa High School in 2006. Bolstered by selling artwork to friends and neighbors in Santa Rosa, De Los Angeles continued her art education at Pratt Institute and then earned an MFA at Yale University.
She has subsequently taught at the Pratt Institute in Venice, and participated in artist-in-residence programs at Los Angeles County Museum, MASS MOCA and elsewhere. De Los Angeles wrote about her childhood and early adult experiences in the feature article, “A Dreamer’s Diary,” published in the Bohemian in March 2017.
De Los Angeles’ colorful work often reveals simultaneous narratives that slowly unfold to the viewer. Themes often reference ancestors, transition, journey, and basic humanity, among other themes, and often also include a positive focus on serenity, love, and peace.
The murals coming to Glen Ellen are part of a building rehab project, and the artwork includes historical and cultural iconography that is specific to the Sonoma Valley.
Earlier this year, de Los Angeles spent several months researching the history and culture of the region, including interviewing the many diverse community members for inspiration.
Following the research process, de Los Angles actually painted the murals in her New Jersey studio by utilizing an innovative process known as the mural cloth process. The cloth process allows her to create the murals in her art studio rather than painting them directly onto a building or wall facade.
After delivery from the artist’s studio, the mural cloth will be mounted by local installer Sarah Zbinden. De Los Angeles will then retouch the murals in Glen Ellen as needed after the installation.
“It’s a public work to promote conversation about shared experience,” says de Los Angeles.
De Los Angeles will be on hand for this week’s community celebration on July 10, and the event will unveil the murals with an afternoon of music, dance, art projects, food and presentations by local dignitaries.
“SVMA is delighted to curate this special public art project,” says Linda Keaton, SVMA executive director. “These murals are a great way to explore and discuss the cultural history of Glen Ellen. Maria and the entire team have done extensive research and outreach about the region, and Maria has incorporated that research into the mural design.”
“We are grateful to SVMA for curating this visually engaging and culturally relevant public art,” says co-sponsor Stephen Sorkin. “These murals provide an opportunity for the community to celebrate those who have built Glen Ellen and explore the complex history of Sonoma Valley.”
Get details on the upcoming community celebration at SVMA.org.
Soon after a soft opening on May 1, Cede Hunter, 23, the daughter of cannabis superstar, Dennis Hunter, gave me a tour of Cannadel, the only dispensary on Santa Rosa’s Eastside. The grand opening, with music, food trucks and deals on products, will be in mid-June. You might put it on your calendar.
The name “Cede” is pronounced like Sadie. “Think, ‘Mercedes,’” she tells me. Clean, well-lighted and stocked with a wide array of products, Cannadel appeals to young hipsters and to old-timers who live in nearby Oakmont. It’s also close to Trione-Annadel State Park. Hence the name Cannadel.
The Oakmont Cannabis Club supported the dispensary’s application for a permit. Some neighboring businesses weren’t enthusiastic at first, but they’ve come around. Trail House, an adjacent bike shop with a café and a bar, has supported Cannadel all the way, and Cannadel goes out of its way to say that cannabis goes well with biking, hiking and dog walking in some designated areas of the 5,200-acre park.
Hey, you don’t have to be a couch potato. You can puff or rub or chew a gummy and explore the park, which includes an 8.5-mile section of the Bay Area Ridge Trail and offers spectacular views of the Santa Rosa Plain and Sonoma Valley. Hiking to Lake Ilsanjo is divine. Birding at Ledson March is spectacular.
Cede Hunter grew up in Humboldt County’s cannabis culture and was probably destined to go into cannabis retail sales, though she might have run the other way. One of her earliest memories is of her father, Dennis, being arrested and going to jail. What a difference legalization makes!
“Cannadel was two years in the making,” Cede tells me. “There was some backlash from surrounding businesses that thought we weren’t a good fit, but then they realized that many of their employees were coming here and buying our products, so they changed their tune. They realized you can smoke weed and be active, too.”
The dispensary promotes products for cats and dogs, who seem to benefit from a little CBD. Cannadel also offers weed from the brand “Farmer and the Felon.” Proceeds go to the Last Prisoner Project, which helps people incarcerated for marijuana offenses.
“For some people who come here, it’s their first time in a dispensary, and it can feel intimidating,” Cede says. She makes them feel right at home, as she did with me. She adds, “Newcomers want to know where to start, and what products to try. Fortunately, we’re shoppable. You can pick up and touch, like in a grocery store.” When you’re in the neighborhood—4036 Montgomery Dr.—stop and shop and tell Cede, “Jonah sent me.”
Jonah Raskin is the author of “Marijuanaland: Dispatches from an American War.”
I thought it was following me, but maybe I was following cannabis. When I moved to San Francisco recently, I learned that my neighborhood store, Other Avenues, carries a popular CBD beverage from Tamalpais Beverage Company.
Greg Moore founded the company in 2019. Now, he makes five different organic drinks which might help with relaxation but not inebriation. All the beverages are named for trails on Mt Tam. The ingredients are beneficial for the body.
“We sell our products at colleges and universities, like SF State,” Greg tells me. “They’re popular with students who sip and go to class without being on edge.”
The drinks are in stores both big and small, from San Jose to Sacramento. They come in five flavors: Blueberry Pomegranate — “Eldridge”; Orange Mango— “Hoo-Ko-E-Koo”; Apple Tumeric— “Dipsea”; Peach Ginger—“Bolinas”; and Coconut Melon—“Miwok.”
Greg explains: “Our products have a slight hemp taste. The people who seem to like them the most want an alternative to alcohol. That’s what we offer. Over the last year we’ve provided a natural way to help people relax. Our biggest competition is from the sparkling drinks that have CBD, but usually don’t have a taste profile.”
He’s been in the beverage biz for much of his adult life, often as a consultant. Raised in Marin, he attended Marin Catholic High School and UC San Diego. Now he lives in Mill Valley.
Greg enjoys beer and wine, but he often prefers a non-alcoholic drink that provides a sense of relaxation and that also contains wellness ingredients such as ginger, turmeric, l-theanine and electrolytes.
He does some of the distribution himself, aided by his team. That means driving in Bay Area traffic, which can be hellish. “I like visiting stores and talking with customers,” he says. “We donate a portion of our sales to local arts and recreation programs.”
The CBD in his beverages comes from the full spectrum of the hemp plant so you get the entourage effect. Greg tells me: “The whole plant has many benefits, including terpenes, adaptogens, and cannabinoids like CBN and CBG that are as beneficial as CBD. We keep it real, the way nature intended.”
Greg himself is a walking-talking advertisement for Tamalpais Beverage Company, which is headquartered in Sausalito, not far from the iconic mountain that overlooks much of the county.
When you’re ready to hike, Mt. Tam State Park offers 69 trails, including the Dipsea which lifts you up and takes you down gently. Bring a beverage, like “Coconut Melon Miwok” for hydration and relaxation, and, when you’re at Ocean Beach in San Francisco, visit Other Avenues, a great local food store and only a ten-minute walk from the Pacific.
Jonah Raskin is the author of Marijuanaland: Dispatches from an American War.
I read the news today, oh boy. Maybe, you did, too. It was all over the place, and, though it struck me as rather sad, I had to laugh, especially after talking with longtime, cool-headed marijuana grower Jamie Ballachino, who has appeared previously in this column.
I thought Jamie would moan and groan. After all, the county board of supervisors voted 5–0 to require costly and time-consuming analysis of the impacts of pot cultivation on the environment.
To some growers, the vote sounded like the beginning of the end. Not to Jamie, though he points out that Sonoma County is “Grape-Nuts,” with 65,000 acres of grapes and 10 acres of marijuana, and that vineyards consume much more water than pot. Jamie even praises Supervisor David Rabbitt, who called for environmental review years ago.
Like most marijuana growers in the county, Jamie doesn’t have a permit for the quarter-of-an-acre that he cultivates on a sunny hillside. He has followed all the rules. “Hands in the Earth,” the name of his company, sits outside the town of Healdsburg.
Jamie harvests weed four times a year with help from three employees. He has harvested ever since 2006, when he began to grow under Prop. 215, which allowed for medical cannabis. “Marijuana will never leave Sonoma County,” Jamie tells me. “As long as it’s here, it’s going to fight to expand its canopy.” He offers a quip from cannabis maven, Ed Rosenthal: “Cannabis isn’t addictive, but farming it sure is.”
The 5–0 vote has not stopped Jamie or anyone else from growing, distributing and selling weed all over NorCal.
He and other pot farmers worry that Sonoma County will open a big barn door to corporate cannabis and close the door to modest growers, and that it may not require stringent environmental review for the big guys. Jamie thinks there’s a double, and even a triple, standard. He uses no electricity, except for a well pump and a few five-watt bulbs, and no harmful pesticides or herbicides. Indeed, Jamie protects the environment.
He believes in outdoor, not indoor, cultivation. “We are farmers, not factory workers,” he tells me. “We belong in the sun, our hands belong in the earth. We take care of the land. Growing in a factory is asking for climate change to get worse. Does anyone notice that the climate is changing around us due to our careless industrial practices?”
What recommendation does he have for the supervisors? “The best thing is for them to smoke a joint and watch the sunrise,” he says. Jamie and dozens of farmers like him deserve a far better deal than the county has so far offered. And get cranky pot foes off their backs.
Jonah Raskin is the author of “Marijuanaland: Dispatches from an American War.”
Napa Valley
After a year on hold, Festival Napa Valley welcome audiences back for a full program of events this summer. Marking the Festival’s 15th anniversary and celebrating the return to live events, the concert schedule includes opera, chamber music and jazz. Festival Napa Valley kicks off with an Opening Night recital on Friday, July 16, featuring soprano Lisette Oropesa...
By Jonathan Greenberg
As we wait, with dread, for this year’s fire season, it is astonishing that not a single dollar of California’s immense $76 billion budget surplus is being allocated for the only means of preventing wildfires from starting, which is burying overhead power lines.
Since 2017, four of the six most destructive fires in the state—three of them here...
Local Coverage
Thanks so much for your coverage of our public lands, Point Reyes (“Death by Design,” June 30)! It is so valuable for me to find local coverage of the Seashore. Great to see a paper with independent integrity!
Catherine L. Portman, Woodland
Myths of Point Reyes
I appreciate the letter from Dr. John W. Cruz on July 7 regarding the horrors...
At their Monday, July 12 meeting, the Petaluma City Council will decide whether to kick a controversial resident off of a committee tasked with advising the city on race relations and police policies.
If passed, the resolution would remove Stefan Perez from his appointed seat on the Ad Hoc Community Advisory Committee (AHCAC). Perez, who is one of 28 AHCAC...
Mental Health Month
There once was a girl named Sunny, whose smile was as bright as the California sky, until she lost her spark and became depressed. She began meditating in the park every day, but the answer to her troubles never came to her. “Oh my God, what’s wrong with me?” she asked herself. Then one day an old...
A world of wonder
In the beginning was the creation of light, a prism that disperses the seven colors of the rainbow.
Seven is a rather magical number that belongs to that mysterious architecture of the cosmos called sacred geometry. Seven astral bodies are visible from earth with the naked eye, for which the days of the week are named. There...
In March 2021, Sonoma Valley Museum of Art (SVMA) announced that Mexican-born and Santa Rosa-raised artist Maria de Los Angeles would create two major murals as part of a building rehab project in Glen Ellen.
This month, the murals will finally go on display; and SVMA–along with sponsors Holly and Stephen Sorkin–hosts a daylong gathering to celebrate the occasion. The...
Of parks and puffs
Soon after a soft opening on May 1, Cede Hunter, 23, the daughter of cannabis superstar, Dennis Hunter, gave me a tour of Cannadel, the only dispensary on Santa Rosa’s Eastside. The grand opening, with music, food trucks and deals on products, will be in mid-June. You might put it on your calendar.
The name “Cede” is...
Tam Beverage Bottles CBD
I thought it was following me, but maybe I was following cannabis. When I moved to San Francisco recently, I learned that my neighborhood store, Other Avenues, carries a popular CBD beverage from Tamalpais Beverage Company.
Greg Moore founded the company in 2019. Now, he makes five different organic drinks which might help with relaxation but not...
Farms not factories
I read the news today, oh boy. Maybe, you did, too. It was all over the place, and, though it struck me as rather sad, I had to laugh, especially after talking with longtime, cool-headed marijuana grower Jamie Ballachino, who has appeared previously in this column.
I thought Jamie would moan and groan. After all, the county board...
