In December of 2019, the Sonoma County Board of Supervisors passed a Socially Responsible Investing Resolution requesting that you, Mr. Roeser, our county treasurer “…make no new or renewed investments in fossil fuel development corporations to the extent that other, more socially responsible investments achieve substantially equivalent safety, liquidity, and yield.”
The major banks that finance the fossil fuel industry are listed in the annual Fossil Fuel Finance Report. It has come to our attention that, since the passage of this Resolution, you have to date invested over a half billion into the major commercial banks that invest in and profit from “fossil fuel development corporations.”
Given the urgency of the climate crisis and our County’s ongoing experience of devastating climate-driven drought, wildfires and flooding, the Sonoma County Climate Activist Network—comprised of over 50 Sonoma County climate activist groups and hundreds of local group members—request that you make no future investments with our tax dollars into banks listed in the Fossil Fuel Finance Report.
We urge you to respect the direction of your Board of Supervisors and of the people of Sonoma County whom you represent.
Sonoma County Climate Activist Network
Guerneville Gab
Why on earth would you say that “Guerneville is not a tourist town” (“Go Guerneville,” June 2)? All of San Francisco and residents of far-flung cities, and all those visitors enjoying Johnson Beach, renting air BnBs, eating in the restaurants, drinking in the bars and shopping certainly come as tourists. Otherwise, thank you for your appreciation of our small river town.
Here in Sonoma County, you don’t have to travel far or look very hard in order to find your little slice of Eden. I found mine at a forested eddy on the banks of the Russian River.
This spot has completely transformed since I was last here a couple of months ago. Back then the earth was on the cusp of awakening, now spring has arrived in all her glittering, green glory. The trail down to the river is overgrown with blackberry vines, thimbleberry and willow branches.
This place is well hidden—invisible—unless, like me, you know where to look. The river is in no hurry today and moves past me at a snail’s pace. The water’s subtle hue reflects the deepening shades of green from the surrounding forest. Tiny leaves drift butterfly-like to the surface; they make an inaudible splash creating small ripples that spread slowly to the shore.
The Ludwigia weed on the opposite bank is in full bloom. A mighty shake from God’s paintbrush has dotted the tops of the plants with bursts of brilliant yellow. The dappled light beneath the trees where I sit is in constant motion and shifts with each gentle breeze.
When I arrive today I’m greeted by the wood fairy flute notes of the Swainson’s Thrush.
Beginning on a low note, its song gradually rises in pitch and speed, spiraling up and up, note by note, until the sound disappears into the forest air. This elusive and difficult-to-spot songbird appears in our area right around this time every year and is one of the indicators that summer is on the way. In this crazy and unpredictable world, it’s reassuring to know that some things can still be counted on.
Everything here moves at its own deliberate pace. The sights, sounds, smells and feelings combine to create the perfect recipe for quiet meditation. Like Monet in his garden and Vincent with his sunflowers, I see something new every time I visit this magical place.
Louie Ferrera is a retired elementary school teacher in Santa Rosa who publishes writing at musingsofalatebloomer.net.We welcome your contribution. To have your topical essay of 350 words considered for publication, write op*****@******an.com.
As the state reopens its economy, the North Bay is starting to put live music back on the calendar. In Napa, both nationally touring acts and local favorites are hitting stages for a summer of shows that’s starting to look lively.
Currently, Napa’s Blue Note Jazz Club is road-tripping to St. Helena and the Charles Krug Winery for a lineup of live, outdoor concerts featuring chart-topping bands.
This weekend features four shows over two nights with soul-funk outfit Karl Denson’s Tiny Universe, June 18 and 19. Next weekend, Blue Note and Charles Krug Winery host an evening with R&B and jazz singer-songwriter Jody Watley on June 26. Watley’s performance is presented in partnership with Napa Valley Pride, and Blue Note Napa will donate a portion of the ticket sales to local nonprofit organization LGBTQ Connection Napa.
“We are ecstatic to be the venue of choice for her first live performance since the pandemic halted live music last year,” says Blue Note Napa owner Ken Tesler in a statement. “For such an iconic artist like Jody Watley to join us in our first wave of shows is really special for us.” (bluenotenapa.com)
In July, one of the city’s most popular summer events series returns to the stage when Napa City Nights kicks off a seven-week schedule of shows. Formed by local musicians and music lovers in 2008, the nonprofit Napa City Nights concert series is a free, family-friendly tradition that takes place outdoors at the Veterans Memorial Park Amphitheater in downtown Napa.
Last year, the series was canceled due to the pandemic, though this summer is looking clear for distanced shows, and Napa City Nights opens its 2021 concert series on Friday, July 9, at 6:30pm, with a funky, soulful show featuring Joy & Madness, Sweet HayaH and Vince Costanza.
Following weeks include headliners like party rock ensemble The Pat Jordan Band on July 16, R&B outfit The Soul Section on July 23, country duo Crossman Connection on July 30 and old-school rock band The Hots on August 6. (napacitynights.com)
Later this summer, Blue Note’s Entertainment Group teams up with Another Planet Entertainment to produce a genre-spanning outdoor concert series at Oxbow RiverStage in downtown Napa.
This year’s Oxbow RiverStage concert series, running from August through October, marks the venue’s first full season. The series launched its first season in 2019 with four ticketed concerts. Following that, a full 2020 concert series was announced, but then postponed due to the pandemic.
The 2021 concert series will feature world-class performers and kicks off on August 14 with a co-headlining show featuring Mt. Joy and Trampled by Turtles. The legendary Billy Idol will perform on August 21, followed by a free show featuring Brett Dennen on August 22.
Oxbow RiverStage’s calendar also features Rodrigo y Gabriela on September 11, Death Cab for Cutie on September 17, Gary Clark Jr. on September 18, Herbie Hancock on September 25, and STS9 performing two nights on October 8 and 9.
The venue entertains up to five thousand attendees at each show and will feature reserved seating, general admission, or a combination of both based on the event. A Gold ticket option is offered at every concert through a partnership with Feast It Forward, featuring a wine bar lounge, a dedicated entrance, and more. (oxbowriverstage.com)
This Labor Day Weekend features the return of BottleRock Napa Valley, presenting three days of live music, food, wine and beer in the heart of Napa. The festival is already sold-out, yet BottleRock has more shows up its sleeve, and the festival has announced a series of “BottleRock AfterDark” shows in Napa, San Francisco, Berkeley and Sacramento, featuring many of the 2021 BottleRock Napa Valley musical artists and other special guests.
These intimate performances, produced by BottleRock Presents, take place beginning Thursday, September 2, and runs through the festival weekend. All four Napa concerts happening as part of “BottleRock AfterDark” will take place at the JaM Cellars Ballroom, located on Main Street in downtown Napa.
The show schedule includes veteran power-pop rockers Jimmy Eat World on September 2, German alternative band Milky Chance on September 3, Texas-based psychedelic soul band Black Pumas on September 4 and Foo Fighter drummer Taylor Hawkins’ acclaimed cover band Chevy Metal on September 5. (bottlerocknapavalley.com.)
While the Luther Burbank Center for the Arts never technically closed during this past year of lockdowns by hosting drive-in movies, presenting virtual programs, and transforming into a vaccination site; the center’s Ruth Finely Person Theater and other stages have been dark for nearly 16 months while social gatherings were halted in the face of Covid-19.
This summer, as the state reopens the economy, the Luther Burbank Center for the Arts prepares to bring back live events and entertainment in a safe and responsible manner, following state and local guidelines.
Beginning in August, the LBC engages live audiences by launching 25 new performances by acclaimed artists in various genres including music, dance, comedy and more.
“For the past year, we have been postponing or cancelling shows. We are beyond excited to bring back the music, bring back the arts, and the energy of that shared experience that only live performance can create,” says LBC Director of Programming Anita Wiglesworth, in a statement.
The first live concert at the LBC is the rescheduled performance of Carlton Senior Living Symphony Pops’ “Remember When Rock was Young: the Elton John Tribute” on August 29.
Additional programs include the return of the popular San Francisco Comedy Competition and humorous appearances by Randy Rainbow, Lewis Black, Bianca del Rio, John Cleese and Tape Face; conversations with Fran Lebowitz, award-winning chef Yotam Ottolenghi and Poet Laureate Billy Collins; concerts from Black Violin, Pink Martini, Buddy Guy, Chicago, Vintage Trouble, John Hiatt and Jerry Douglas Band, Amy Grant and Postmodern Jukebox; and dance performances by Alonzo King LINES Ballet, Calidanza Dance Company and Ailey II. Get the full schedule of shows on the venue’s website.
“We want to ensure that we reopen safely, as the health of our patrons, performers, staff, and volunteers is our top priority,” says LBC President and CEO, Rick Nowlin in a statement. “However, we’ll need the support and patience of our community as we navigate and adapt to the evolving state and county guidelines.”
When the theater reopens, the LBC will be implementing additional safety measures including increased ventilation and air filtration, enhanced cleaning and sanitization, options for a touchless experience, and limited concessions until guidelines change.
Due to the rapidly changing guidelines from the state, the venue is unable to guarantee what the exact protocols may be by the end of August at the time of this announcement. Patrons should expect changes in health and safety protocols, the most restrictive may be the requirement to provide proof of Covid-19 vaccination or negative Covid-19 test result, and when not eating or drinking, wearing a mask. The LBC requests that patrons check its website or contact the venue for the most up-to-date information.
Tickets for all performances are available by calling the LBC’s ticket office Tuesday through Sunday, 10am – 6pm, at 707.546.3600; or by visiting the venue online at lutherburbankcenter.org.
In early June, Rep. Jared Huffman invited 100 constituents to register online to attend his first in-person town hall since the pandemic struck. Attendees were told to wear face masks and bring proof of vaccination to enter the San Rafael Community Center on Tuesday evening. Chairs were spaced six feet apart. “Large signs” and “banners” were declared verboten. Questions for Huffman were to be submitted online or on written forms prior to the show.
The town hall was a carefully planned effort to control not only the possibility of Covid infection, but the content of questions and the media presence. Shortly before the event, Huffman aides barred a television reporter from EnviroNews from entering, according to EnviroNews. They allowed a cameraman from Fox News KTVU to enter, however.
This reporter had scored a seat online, and submitted a question asking Huffman to explain why he has banked more campaign funds from weapons manufacturers and agribusiness corporations than from environmental groups. But half of the spaced seats were empty and most of the attendees appeared to be eligible for Medicare. It looked to be a dull event.
Huffman’s effort to control the venue backfired in a big way when minutes after the meeting commenced about 200 enraged, shouting anti-vaccination protestors stormed into the room. They were mask-free, some wore buttons proclaiming unvaccinated status. Flags included the Stars & Stripes, and banners stating, “Don’t Tread on Me” and “Fuck Joe Biden”.
Placards announced, “Marin Voters Against Vaccine Segregation,” “No Medical Apartheid,” “My Body, My Choice,” “Jab Mandate is Fascist,” “Vax Passports Illegally Discriminate,” “Freedom of Movement is a Human Right,” “Huffman, brought to you by BioMarin.”
After the anti-Vaxxers took the hall with putsch-like fervor, about a dozen people who had stood outside the center with signs protesting Huffman’s support for the culling of Tule elk at Point Reyes National Seashore edged into the hall. Wearing masks, the elk-supporters took seats, quietly, obviously astonished that they were inside, especially with large placards criticizing Huffman’s stance on the elk.
The politically adrenalized crowd flowed crazily around the room. A protestor jumped on the stage and sat down in front of Huffman waving a sign proclaiming, “All the ferrets died.”
Huffman did not call on the police, even though a squad was staged a few blocks away. He told people who were wary of getting Covid from what was just transformed into a probable super-spreader event, that they might want to exit. And then he gamely proceeded to conduct his town hall, which was streamed on Facebook. The congressman methodically answered a series of preselected questions, (which, sadly, did not include this reporter’s campaign fundraising query).
Despite the chaos, Huffman waxed professorial, seeming to delight in relaying the technical details of his legislative efforts to his few, seated, mask-wearing supporters. But faced with unremittent and loud chattering, chanting, and outbreaks of booing, the congressman paused to tell the crowd, which appeared to be local to Marin County, that they were “disrespectful of democracy, the law, and science.” They jeered.
At one point the “All the Ferrets died” protester tried to rip off the mask of an elderly man, but stopped when Huffman called her out. There were no placards or flags bearing the Trump logo, but as the meeting progressed it became clear that most of the anti-vaxxers were fervent supporters of the disgraced, white supremacist, electorally-defeated ex-president, who transformed denial of Covid-19 into a test of political fealty and the Republican Party into a fascistic mob unmoored from empirical reality and human decency. But we digress.
After Huffman criticized the U.S. Senate’s refusal to formally investigate the Jan. 6 insurrection with a commission, sections of the crowd booed, yelling, “Biden is an illegitimate president” and “no segregation” and “we want the filibuster.”
In a hallucinatory moment, a smiling woman shepherded several children wearing blue-tinged fairy wings and bearing anti-Vax signs in a march around the room to much applause.
As Huffman doggedly used the power of his microphone to explain his stances on the political issues of the day, the crowd, as if it shared an animalistic mind, repeatedly chimed in with its views. It opposed peace with Iran, universal Medicare, taxing the super rich. A snarling murmur of discontent roiled through the room as Huffman praised Biden’s diplomatic efforts in the Middle East. The masked elk supporters, however, cheered that effort, and Huffman thanked them for being polite. At which point the friends of the Tule elk began chanting pro-elk slogans and jumping up and down trying to ask more questions.
The hormonally-charged crowd calmed a bit when Huffman announced obtaining a total of $24 million to extend the SMART train to Healdsburg and to fix local infrastructure and to prevent wildfires with improved forest management. There were no snarls and chants when he spoke of improving the Postal Service. But when he noted that the population of California is growing, the crowd booed madly, presumably supposing that the growth is not of white middle class people such as themselves, but of Latino immigrants from Venezuela or Mars.
In fact, there was not a brown or black face to be seen in the anti-Vaxxer throng. Outside the center, however, a young woman wearing a Black Lives Matter shirt, held a singularly distinctive placard. One side noted that “we are standing on land stolen from the Miwok people”. The other side asked people to wear masks, because Covid is killing her people. When I photographed this brave person, a white woman accosted me with her suddenly realized grievance, demanding, “Why are you only taking pictures of her?”
As the town hall wound down, the anti-vaxxers gathered outside for a conspiratorial talk about how scores of ferrets injected with Covid vaccines have died from the treatment, which is not true. And then, satisfied with the pseudo scientific foundations of their cause, the mask-less mass marched through downtown San Raphael waving their cursing flags, chanting incoherently about the greatest hoax in the history of humankind.
The 14th annual Sebastopol Documentary Film Festival, presented entirely online for the second year in a row, presents 67 feature and short films that address diverse subjects from a range of perspectives. Among these titles are Academy Award nominees, Pulitzer Prize winners, jury awards, premieres and audience favorites from the festival circuit. The festival lineup also includes the OUTwatch Film Festival as part of Sonoma County Pride, a number of exclusive filmmaker interviews and discussions which address topics of interest to both filmmakers and film patrons. The festival takes place online Thursday, June 10, to Sunday, June 13. sebastopolfilmfestival.org.
Pride Panel
Napa Valley Pride Month continues this week with two family-friendly activities. First, teens and their parents can participate in an online LGBT Q&A Panel, led by the 2021 youth leadership team at LGBTQ Connection, on Friday, June 11, at 5:30pm. The online panel will be a safe space to ask any and all questions about queer identity and experiences. Then, LGBTQ and ally families can come together for the annual Pride Month Rainbow Play Date at Fuller Park in Napa on Saturday, June 12, at 10am. The play date includes a short parade, arts and crafts, and more. The play date is limited in capacity, so register online at napavalleypride.org.
At the Table
Nonprofit organization Food For Thought provides healthy meals to more than 4,000 residents in Sonoma County. To do so, the organization depends on the support of the community, and this weekend, Food For Thought hosts its biggest fundraising event of the season, Our Virtual Table. This live-streaming event will include music by King Street Giants, an inspirational keynote speaker, engaging videos and giving opportunities. There will also be to-go food and wine options and a great online auction that the public can bid on from the comfort of home. Join the virtual table on Sunday, June 13, at 7pm. fftfoodbank.org.
Listen In
Recently, the crew at the Railroad Square Music Festival teamed up with Prairie Sun Recording to create a new compilation album of diverse Sonoma County artists. The album, Live at Prairie Sun 2021, features popular artists like hip-hop star Kayatta, surf punks The Happys, funk outfit Bronze Medal Hopefuls, electro-jazz performer Eki Shola and many more. Now, in lieu of the live-music festival, RSMF is hosting an online listening party for local music lovers on Facebook and YouTube so fans can listen in and digitally enjoy this fresh creation together. Tune in to the party on Sunday, June 13, at 4:20pm. Facebook.com/RSMFest.
New Heights
Before the hip-hop musical Hamilton became a global phenomenon, Lin-Manuel Miranda shook up Broadway with a little show called In the Heights. In a new book, In the Heights: Finding Home, Miranda and co-writers Quiara Alegría Hudes and Jeremy McCarter tell the story of the show’s humble beginnings and how it rose to success. This month, Copperfield’s Books hosts Miranda, with Quiara Alegría Hudes and Jeremy McCarter, in a virtual book launch for In the Heights: Finding Home on Tuesday, June 15, at 5pm. $43-$47, includes the book shipped to available for pickup. Copperfieldsbooks.com.
When the Covid-19 pandemic closed most of the North Bay’s retail shops in March 2020, many music aficionados feared they would lose their connection to the region’s array of locally-owned record stores.
Thankfully, the past year has proven profitable for vinyl purveyors, as many shops like Red Devil Records and The Last Record Store reported strong sales amid the pandemic. Now, several new shops are throwing their racks into the ring and opening in Sonoma and Marin counties.
To the best of Bolinas resident Brian Ojalvo’s memory, there’s never been a record store in West Marin, until now. Last month, Ojalvo and business partner Dylan Squires opened Loose Joints Records in Point Reyes Station, selling a highly curated collection of classic albums suited for eclectic musical tastes.
“People in West Marin are excited,” Ojalvo says. “The young folks in town just can’t believe we’re there.”
Physically connected to the Old Western Saloon at 11205 Highway One, Loose Joints Records is already connecting musically to the local community Fridays to Sundays, 11am to 6pm, and on select Thursday evenings. The store also connects to customers online at instagram.com/loosejointsrecords.
A winemaker and co-owner at West of Temperance Winery by day, Ojalvo is also a self-described audiofile and the owner of some 8,000–10,000 records. Squires, who works for Point Reyes Farmstead Cheese Company, is best known in the North Bay as a member of several popular bands like the Haggards.
Last year, as evacuation warnings spread through West Marin during wildfires, Ojalvo and Squires trucked thousands of their personal records back and forth to each other’s houses to save them from potential flames.
“We were making light of that situation by saying, ‘It would be easier if we just had a place to sell records instead of moving them all around,’” Ojalvo says. “The store was hatched a bit like that.”
Decked out with seafoam-colored walls, checkered floors and custom-made wooden racks, Loose Joints Records is establishing itself as a comfortable, inviting and popular spot for locals and visitors alike.
“There’s a daytime tourist walk-in crowd, but there’s also a local atmosphere where we have lots of our friends and musicians who are stoked to have us there,” Ojalvo says. “We offer a section just for them, where their records can be sold. We’ve had some major success here in the last five weeks. Records are at a high and people are excited.”
When Kirk Heydt, proprietor of Petaluma-based Spin Records, decided to relocate to Idaho last year, local record lovers James Florence, Jon Del Buono and Gabriel Hernandez jumped at the chance to take over the space.
Now, the trio keeps Petaluma rich in vinyl at Rain Dog Records, featuring hand-picked classic albums covering many genres. The store is a lifelong dream job for the three band members-turned-business partners.
“It was always a fantasy,” Florence says. “And then, all of a sudden, we’re record store owners.”
When Covid hit last year, the trio originally came up with the idea of selling records out of the back of a pickup truck in pop-up shop fashion.
In December 2020, Florence, Del Buono and Hernandez realized their brick-and-mortar dream when they picked up the keys to Heydt’s retail location. They quickly revamped the space and opened Rain Dog Records in February.
“We spend our evenings with a price gun and a pile of records,” Florence says. “And we love it. We strive to be everything for everybody. We really want to have all different kinds of music. It’s very rewarding to be able to provide this place and this positive experience.”
Rain Dog Records is open at 1060 Petaluma Blvd. N. in Petaluma, 11am to 6pm on weekends and noon to 6pm on Mondays, Thursdays and Fridays. On June 19, the store will host an all-ages grand opening party from noon to 5pm. The party kicks off with DJs—including store co-owner Hernandez—and features local vendors including the new Star Light Hot Dogs, the Bus Shoppe mobile fashion boutique and retro video game store Nostalgia Alley. Additionally, a silent auction will benefit KPCA Radio, which will broadcast live from the party. See more at instagram.com/rain_dog_records.
In Santa Rosa, record collectors are discovering vintage vinyl at the recently opened Radio Thrift record store and vintage clothing shop. Open most weekends at 1005 Cleveland Ave., Radio Thrift recreates the thrill of finding beloved albums at thrift stores, and customers can get details on hours and records at instagram.com/radiothrift.
Also in Santa Rosa, The Next Record Store opens its doors this month at 1899 Mendocino Ave., as the new iteration of The Last Record Store.
Doug Jayne and Hoyt Wilhelm originally opened The Last Record Store in 1983. Earlier this year, Wilhelm announced his retirement from the business, and the store re-established itself as The Next Record Store, now owned and operated by Jayne, his wife Barrett, son Ethan and longtime store employee Gerry Stumbaugh, who has worked the counter at the Last Record Store for more than two decades.
The store will be opening for limited capacity during the upcoming Record Store Day Drops event on Saturday, June 12, by appointment in the morning and for walk-up business in the afternoon. Get details at instagram.com/thenextrecordstore.
Other locally-owned and operated North Bay record stores participating in this first of two Record Store Day drops events on June 12 include Mill Valley Music in Mill Valley, Watts Music in Novato and San Rafael stores Red Devil Records and Bedrock Music & Video.
Launched in 2007, Record Store Day and the recent Record Store Day Drops events annually support independent record stores throughout the U.S. and around the world with special shopping events featuring limited-release records and collectible re-issues of classic albums. Get full details on Record Store Day deals and Record Store Day Drops at recordstoreday.com.
I’m not an engineer or a water expert and I was lucky to be a C+ student, but with our water situation today, in the past and future, some common sense kicked in!
What about a desalination plant at the mouth of the Petaluma River? After all, it is an estuary. Or maybe even build a plant on a barge that could move up and down the river. A pipeline could run from the river to Atherton Avenue on to San Marin Drive to Novato Boulevard and end up at the Stafford Dam. The drought is an obvious major concern with glaciers and polar caps melting causing sea levels to rise.
Now is the time for desalination. An oil pipeline from Texas to the Eastern seaboard is 5,500 miles long! This proposed pipeline could be between 30-40 miles long using monies from California’s current massive bankroll! Let’s stop wasting time. I know there are drawbacks from desalination, but what other options do we have?
And please remember: It’s not the oil, it’s the water that is the giver of life!
John Christopher Baseheart, Novato
Peace Talks
This June 16th, President Joe Biden and Russian President Vladimir Putin will meet each other in Geneva, Switzerland for talks on Russian-U.S. relations.
The world community must speak out with the strongest, most unified voice to insist that these world leaders finally make nuclear disarmament and the survival of humanity their sole focus.
The continuous possibility of a nuclear holocaust between our two nations has created untold and incalcuable hell for humanity. And no lasting progress in solving global warming, increasing poverty and hunger, and the increase in terrorism all over the world can be made until the United States and Russia finally agree to become world partners instead of eternal enemies.
Two young women, Carol Joan Klein, age 79, and Anna Mae Bullock, age 81, will join the pantheon of performing artists being inducted as solo performers into the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame.
Who are these two women? Both came from families that arrived from distant shores to America. Both were born and raised here, but in dissimilar environments—one in the urban enclave of New York City’s streets, the other in the rural, unincorporated community of Nutbush, Tennessee—both developing the styles and musical sensibilities that reflected their respective places and cultures of the time.
Perhaps they would be better recognized by their stage names: Carole King and Tina Turner!
Ms. King was a fixture at New York City’s legendary Brill Building—which housed numerous songwriters and publishers—writing dozens of pop hits for solo performers and groups; while Ms. Turner’s persona blossomed onstage in steamy nightclubs and on the Chitlin’ Circuit. Both put their life experiences into their music, front and center, before their audiences.
During the late 1950s and into the 1960s, these two women began their illustrious careers—along with their male partners at the time. Ms. King, with her formidable song-writing skills and melodies, and Ms. Turner, with her physicality and voice, prompted us to stop, look and listen up.
And as they each jettisoned the past—and took the risk to go solo—their fans and the universe applauded.
They both achieved well-deserved success during their careers; were forced to remake themselves, as all true artists do; and suffered the “slings and arrows” that life hands everybody—whether it be through difficult relationships or coping with illnesses.
And they survived—and more than survive, they thrived—and are still revered. These are two tough and tender women! And brilliant examples for women and for men—how to be honest and humble, to believe in oneself and one’s abilities, and to be generous in spirit, in sharing oneself with the world.
You Go, Girls!!!!
E. G. Singer lives in Santa Rosa.We welcome your contribution. To have your topical essay of 350 words considered for publication, write op*****@******an.com.
On April 17, a Santa Rosa home was vandalized with splattered pig’s blood and a pig’s head. Soon after, a large white sculpture of a hand in front of Santa Rosa Plaza mall was also covered with animal blood.
Santa Rosa Police Department (SRPD) issued a press release explaining that they believe the home was targeted because it is a past residence of Barry Brodd, a former SRPD training officer who, days before, had testified in defense of Derek Chauvin, the Minnesota police officer who killed George Floyd.
Brodd stated that he felt that Derek Chauvin was justified and acting with objective reasonableness and within policy when he knelt on Floyd’s neck for over nine minutes, killing him in the process.
This stance infuriated many civilians and was an unpopular perspective even among police departments throughout the U.S., which have spent the year following Floyd’s murder under increasing public scrutiny, amid calls for reform, defunding and abolition. The day Brodd testified, SRPD Chief Rainer Navarro issued a statement saying that Brodd’s comments do not reflect the department’s values and beliefs.
Twelve days after the blood vandalism took place, with no arrests made in the case, ABC7 News journalist Dan Noyes published a video report titled “EXCLUSIVE: Trump supporter shares what he uncovered after infiltrating anti-fascist group in Sonoma Co.”
The news piece featured an interview with a man wearing polarized sunglasses, a black face mask and a black cap emblazoned with the words “Golden State.” The man, whom Noyes identifies only as a Sonoma County business owner and Trump supporter, sits in front of a conference table as Noyes listens to his claims that he has “infiltrated” a local group calling itself “SoCo Radical Action.”
Social media accounts describe the “radical group” as focused on “antifascist, antiracist, anticapitalist direct action.”
“I read their manifesto. And I could tell they were a threat to the community. Somebody needed to do something about this,” the anonymous man tells Noyes in the video.
The source later plays Noyes’ recordings from calls and displays screenshots from private conversations with the group’s members. Two voices are heard, mentioning that they decided against naming their group “SoCo antifa” out of concern the name might land them on an FBI watch list. In a different recording played during the segment, viewers hear the same voices say, “Let’s kill some cops.” Although Noyes says it’s hard to tell whether the comments are a “twisted joke or a serious proposal,” the speakers are both heard laughing.
Noyes says that the members of the group declined to be interviewed for the story.
The same day the ABC7 clip aired, an Instagram user going by the name Golden State Nationalist posted a flashily-edited video montage containing news coverage of Santa Rosa racial justice protests, the cover of an issue of the Bohemian, images pulled from SoCo Radical Action’s social media page and posts from other Sonoma County activists. The post was captioned, “Who the hell are these #antifa people that keep terrorizing our community? Why won’t anybody speak out against them? Maybe it’s about time somebody did. #subscribe to find out more.”
CRIME SCENE On April 17, a Santa Rosa home was vandalized with splattered pig’s blood and a pig’s head. Soon after, a large white sculpture of a hand in front of Santa Rosa Plaza mall was also covered with animal blood, according to police. Photo: Santa Rosa Police Department
On Gab, a hard right-wing alternative to Twitter that explicitly permits hate speech, the Golden State Nationalist’s page promised a “Full video exposing my local antifa soon.”
Online response to Noyes’ story was swift. Some right wing Twitter users took the story at face value and decried the recordings as more evidence of society’s downfall at the hands of Antifa. The Golden State Nationalist shared the content about the arrests using the hashtag #DomesticTerrorists.
Meanwhile, other users questioned the journalistic integrity and value of the story. The story amounts to a one-source critique of a group with opposing political beliefs and plays into a well-worn narrative about the much-hyped war between antifa and Donald Trump supporters.
The most prominent Twitter critic of the story was Chad Loder, who quickly began investigating the identity of the anonymous source and Noyes’ history covering right-wing groups, often without offering complete summaries of his subjects’ beliefs. The timing of Noyes’ clip and subsequent Golden State Nationalist post, as well as aesthetic similarities and overlapping interests between the source in the clip and the Golden State Nationalist, led Loder to feel confident that the masked subject was also the person behind those social media accounts.
Instagram and Youtube pages featured posts about Sonoma County racial justice activists as well as a post that read “Fuck your laws” above an image of an assault rifle, an image of a flag design glorifying Capitol insurrectionist Ashli Babbitt and a bio that proclaimed, “the only identity that matters is the American identity.”
All told, the story amounted to an “embarrassing breakdown in journalistic ethics” because Noyes and ABC7 “granted anonymity to a member of a violent hate group so they could run a ludicrous story about ‘antifa,’” Loder wrote.
Loder went on to publicly ask Noyes questions about the story on Twitter. Noyes defended the facts presented in the story but largely side-stepped questions about the story’s importance as a piece of journalism.
“You are NOT saying any of the report is inaccurate. I know the source, checked him out, and found no indication he is part of any extremist group,” Noyes responded to Loder. He later called Loder’s claims outlandish.
The Bohemian spoke to Ed Wasserman, the former dean of the UC Berkeley Graduate School of Journalism, to get his perspective on the Noyes piece, especially his use of anonymity.
Wasserman said, “My first question is, ‘Who are these people [on the recording?] Which is of particular concern because, to his credit, Noyes has told his viewers that his source is a Trump supporter; it’s obvious the source is doing this explicitly to disparage and discredit these people. So if there’s editing done—if there’s careful selection of how much of the recording to share—it’s being done by somebody who clearly has an axe to grind.”
Noyes did not respond to a request for comment on the story.
ANONYMOUS A recent ABC7 News segment features an anonymous man who claims to have recorded conversations between members of SoCo Radical Action, whose social media accounts describe the group as focused on “antifascist, antiracist, anticapitalist direct action.”
Three activist women arrested
On May 11, SRPD shared a media release announcing they had arrested three women for the pig’s blood incident on charges of conspiracy to commit a crime and two counts of felony vandalism. Amber Lucas, Rowan Dalbey and Kristen Aumoithe are Sonoma County residents who have been active in the Black Lives Matter protests over the past year. Lucas and Dalbey are Black and Aumoithe has Black children.
The Golden State Nationalist accounts shared a video taunting the arrested women.
None of the three have criminal records. All have been candid and public in their criticism of law enforcement, calling for abolition of police and prisons. Lucas, a professional wine influencer on social media, was featured in a San Francisco Chronicle cover story on the “disruptive power of influencers” less than a week before her arrest. She is an appointed member of the Sonoma County Commission on the Status of Women.
An SRPD press release announcing the arrests says the blood and pig’s head were estimated to cost thousands of dollars in damage, meaning the crime exceeds the $400 cost required for felony vandalism charges. On May 26, the SRPD arrested two more people, Colin Metcalfe and Christina Henry, in relation to the vandalism case.
Nearly a month after the three women were arrested, the Sonoma County District Attorney’s office has not pressed charges against any of the five suspects. The Bohemian could not reach Metcalfe or Henry for comment.
Brian Staebell, a chief deputy district attorney, said the prosecutor’s office is “in the process of reviewing all of the evidence provided to us by law enforcement regarding these incidents to determine what, if any, criminal charges are appropriate to file against which individuals.” The suspects in the vandalism cases are scheduled to make an initial appearance in court in mid-August.
Although many print media outlets, including the Santa Rosa Press Democrat and San Francisco Chronicle, did not publish the womens’ booking photos with articles about the arrests, the photos were released by law enforcement and soon surfaced online. A few right-wing outrage merchants with large social media followings quickly shared the images, characterizing the womens’ alleged crime as “attempted witness intimidation,” which spurred thousands of hateful—and often racist—comments about the women.
Aumoithe, who asserts her innocence, says that reading the comments after she was released was terrifying, “especially as the mother of Black boys, to know that there are white supremacists who want to do me harm.”
Lucas echoes this. “I have been frightened,” she says. “I have felt deeply troubled at being falsely accused.”
Aumoithe says that after the arrest she was excited to get back to her routine, especially visiting her local gym, Crossfit Proprius, which had been a home away from home for her. Instead, Aumoithe received a message from the gym, which is also known as Sonoma Strength Academy, informing her that her membership had been placed on hold “until the criminal case is resolved,” according to a copy of the exchange reviewed by the Bohemian.
The gym did not immediately respond to a request for a comment on Thursday afternoon. The article will be updated with their response.
Lucas says the professional impact has been positive, with clients and customers coming to her aide. “I’m blessed in that I have clients that know me, and stand with me,” she says.
On May 20, four prominent Bay Area attorneys—Tony Serra, Omar Figueroa, Lauren Mendelsohn and Vincent Barrientos—announced in a statement that they would defend the women for free, stating that they were falsely accused.
“The evidence will show that this is the work of an agent provocateur,” Barrientos says in the statement.
Since then, the women and their attorneys have characterized the arrests and possible charges as an attempt by local law enforcement to discourage them from participating in activism. Despite increased attention and online harassment, the three women have returned to organizing public protests, including leading two public poetry readings.
“I refuse to be forced into silence over false accusations,” Lucas told the Bohemian. “I am proud of the work I have poured into this community, and I understand that I have a responsibility to both myself and my community to continue to speak up.”
Source Unmasked?
Also on May 20, Loder returned to dissecting Noyes’ April 29 news piece. This time, they alleged that Noyes’ anonymous source and the person creating the Golden State Nationalist social media channels is a Petaluma man named Stefan Perez.
Among the information Loder presented to support their theory was the following:
– Perez owns a videography company and possesses the video editing skills necessary to create the videos uploaded by the Golden State Nationalist.
– Through his personal Facebook and Nextdoor accounts, Perez raised concerns about SoCo Radical Action and BLM, the same activist groups the Golden State Nationalist and Noyes’ masked source targeted.
– Weeks before Noyes’ piece aired, when the Golden State Nationalist Instagram had just 45 followers, one of them was Perez’s longtime friend and collaborator Anthony Guzman, a Viking cosplayer and singer who recently appeared on American Idol.
– The masked subject’s hands, which are visible, and voice—when pitch-corrected—appear to match those of Perez.
After Loder presented their evidence online, the Bohemian found a personal YouTube account belonging to Perez under the user name Fettman69. Here, Perez left a comment last August on a years-old video of then-candidate for Petaluma City Council Dr. Dennis Pocekay presenting at a TEDx event about the effects of racism in healthcare. Perez commented, “Despite there being ‘hundreds of studies’, most of his pieces of evidence doesn’t (sic) cite any sources. Hurm.” Four months later, the Golden State Nationalist posted a similar comment to now-Councilmember Pocekay’s Instagram page, challenging a message Pocekay shared about racism.
The Bohemian also found a Bandcamp page that appears to belong to Perez. Although no name is public on the account, the username is Fettman63, which is the same name Perez uses on the film review website Letterboxd. Among the fewer than 10 artists followed by the Bandcamp account, is French music producer Perterbator, whose music is used in a video montage created and shared by the Golden State Nationalist.
Loder presented numerous disturbing images of memes and comments Perez shared on his personal social media pages in the past couple of years. These images mostly traffic in racist humor. In 2018, Perez, who frequently shared images of Hitler and allusions to Nazis, tweeted “Facebook and Twitter took out all the Nazi and Hitler GIFs dammit!!!”
In February 2020, Perez tweeted an image of Isla Vista mass murderer Elliot Rodger grinning in the makeup of the Joker, the infamous Batman-series villain embraced by the alt right and heavily featured in their memes. In 2014, Rodger killed six women and himself after detailing his intentions in a misogynistic manifesto he uploaded to Youtube.
In an emailed statement, Santa Rosa Attorney Roy Miller, who represents Perez, told the Bohemian that Perez does not run the Golden State Nationalist social media accounts.
“It’s incredibly easy to make stuff up and just toss the bombs out onto the net. There’s zero accountability and very little fact checking,” Miller commented. Miller also denied that Perez was the anonymous source in the ABC7 piece.
Asked about Perez’s post using an image of Elliot Rodger as the Joker, Miller said 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.”
Fallout
Despite Perez’s denial, scrutiny of his social media accounts alarmed Petaluma residents and, seemingly, his employers.
In the wake of Loder’s allegations, Santa Rosa High School’s principal announced that the school had placed Perez on paid administrative leave from his video arts teaching position for the remainder of the academic year. Citing confidentiality rules, a Santa Rosa School District spokesperson declined to state the reason Perez was placed on leave.
Around the same time, Dan Fornace, a video game designer whose company, Aether Studios, often featured Perez’s online content, distanced the company from Perez. “After seeing some of his past social media posts, we have decided to no longer include Stefan in any new official Aether Studios video content. Our community is no place for discrimination or hate speech,” Fornace wrote on Twitter on May 26.
Still, Perez remains associated with one organization formed as part of Petaluma’s reaction to last year’s racial justice protests. At a March 15 meeting, Petaluma City Council appointed Perez to the Ad Hoc Community Advisory Committee (AHCAC), a group of more than 20 community members whose task is to “study and discuss issues contributing to community members not feeling safe or welcome in Petaluma and to develop recommendations to improve diversity, equity, and inclusion,” with the intention that their recommendations will be considered when the city reviews police policies.
Although most members of the committee were suggested by community organizations, Perez was not. Instead, at the March 15 meeting, Perez and several other people speaking on his behalf suggested that he be appointed to the committee. Perez cited that he is a member of the Federated Indians of Graton Rancheria, however the tribal council did not endorse him nor any other member to the AHCAC.
Miller said that Perez joined the AHCAC “to bring an outsider’s perspective onto the committee to address racial animosity that is growing in Petaluma.”
Before his appointment, community members raised concerns to the city council about Perez’s social media posts and direct interactions he had with them and other community members.
Ultimately, Councilmember Dr. Dennis Pocekay agreed to nominate Perez for a seat on the committee after his fellow Councilmember Mike Healy used his single nomination for a different person.
Despite calls from community members to remove Perez from the committee in response to Loder’s allegations, the city council has yet to discuss the issue publicly.
At a Monday, June 7 meeting, the first since the allegations against Perez became public, a discussion of Perez and the AHCAC was not placed on the agenda, but 13 individuals—eight spoken comments and five written comments—respectfully called for Perez’s removal. There were no public comments in support of Perez.
Pocekay was the only council member to speak about Perez during the meeting. He offered a public apology “for being the person who put Stefan’s name out there.” Pocekay said he is available for anyone who wants to talk further about Perez’s appointment to the committee.
EDITOR’S NOTE: The section of this article referring to Kristen Aumoithe’s gym membership was updated on June 10 to more accurately describe the gym’s response to Aumoithe’s arrest.
This is Part 1 of a series on the mystery of the pig’s head vandals and the surrounding intrigue.
Thoughts, tips or comments? You can reach Will Carruthers at wc*********@*****ys.com.
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