Sonoma County Pride Cancels 2020 Festival & Parade

Sonoma County has been ordered to shelter-in-place until at least April 7, meaning all concerts, festival, events, conferences and other social gatherings have been canceled. Though, event organizers throughout the North Bay are looking ahead and canceling events through May, and now into June, as the coronavirus continues to spread in the Bay Area.

Sonoma County Pride is the latest group to change it’s summer plans, officially announcing the cancellation of the 2020 Pride Festival & Parade that was scheduled for June 6.

The decision came after a meeting on March 20, in which the Sonoma County Pride Board of Directors stated they would “focus our efforts on helping those in need as a result of this terrible pandemic.”

Other summer events, such as the Pride Youth Picnic in July, are still on the books, though details are subject to change. Read the full statement below:

We have all been watching the rapidly deteriorating situation caused by the recent global outbreak of the COVID-19 virus. We have been monitoring local, state and federal announcements and guidelines encouraging hand washing and social distancing.

No one knows how long this emergency will last, but it is certain there will be significant disruption and pain inflicted on many in our community. We also know the public, our sponsors, our vendors, and our parade participants depend upon us to produce a safe and healthy Pride for the whole community, including those in people in vulnerable risk categories.

We are saddened by the fact that our community is forced to endure yet another emergency and realize that many of our Sonoma County friends and neighbors are facing unemployment and many of our local businesses are temporarily forced to close and may never reopen.

With so many headwinds and unknowable factors before us, we have determined that the best for Sonoma County Pride and for our community is to align with public health policy and official health agency guidelines and take a proactive, responsible stance in support of those efforts.

The Sonoma County Pride Board of Directors met on March 20, 2020, and made the difficult decision to cancel the 2020 Pride Festival & Parade scheduled for June 6, 2020, and focus our efforts on helping those in need as a result of this terrible pandemic.

Despite our disappointment, LGBTQI+ Pride is not just a weekend party, it’s a state of being that never ends. Even now we are planning a new community event with hope for the future. Assuming the situation allows for events by early summer, join us as we all celebrate and renew our spirits together:

· July 26: Pride Youth Picnic and Pet Parade at Rincon Valley Community Park – Great food and drink, games, entertainment, pet contests, and adoption

· October 10: SCP Wine Festival in Old Courthouse Square – Food, music, silent auction and 100+ wineries pouring some of the best wines produced in Sonoma County

· October 11: National Coming Out Day Party & LGBTQI+ History Celebration in Old Courthouse Square AIDS Quilt display, SC LGBTQI history exhibit, music, food, entertainment, community speakers and more. 

Sonoma County Supervisors to Consider ‘Eviction Defense’

On Tuesday the Sonoma County Board of Supervisors will consider legislation to delay evictions caused by lost wages and medical bills related to the coronavirus until 60 days after the county’s COVID-19 declaration of emergency is lifted.

If passed, the proposed legislation, the COVID-19 Eviction Defense Ordinance, will shield residential renters from eviction during the crisis if they can provide proof that they were unable to pay rent due to the economic and/or health impacts of COVID-19.

The county’s ordinance comes after Gov. Gavin Newsom passed an Executive Order last week that allows local governments to pass eviction bans and “requests” that banks stop foreclosure and resulting evictions tied to the COVID-19 crisis. Because Newsom’s order does not directly provide any additional tenant protections, local governments are scrambling to do so.

Some cities, including San Francisco, Sacramento and San Diego, have already passed eviction moratoriums. On Tuesday, the Marin County Board of Supervisors will consider a similar ordinance which covers commercial and residential renters throughout the county—those living in unincorporated areas and within city boundaries.

Here are the highlights of Sonoma County’s ordinance:


Scope: In general, the county’s control over land-use decisions is limited to unincorporated areas outside of city boundaries. However, counties are allowed to implement protections covering cities during a declared health emergency.

For instance, Marin County’s ordinance explicitly states that all renters throughout the county are covered, whether or not they live within city bounds.

Alegria De La Cruz, the chief deputy Sonoma County counsel who wrote the ordinance, says the county believes that renters living within city boundaries will be able to use Sonoma County’s ordinance as a legal protection.

Proving Lost Income: Under Sonoma County’s ordinance, tenants will have to provide their landlord with proof that they have faced a significant loss of income due or out-of-pocket medical expenses related to COVID-19. Landlords will then use the information to file for mortgage relief.

Payments Delayed, Not Forgiven: The Sonoma County ordinance stresses that “nothing in this ordinance shall relieve a Tenant of the obligation to pay rent, nor restrict an Owner’s ability to recover rent due.”

Time Lag: One of the mysteries of the current wave of eviction moratoriums is how tenants will be able to pay their rent once they return to work after the public health crisis has ended.

Sonoma County’s ordinance requires tenants to repay missed rent within 60 days after the county’s emergency declaration is lifted.

Marin County’s proposal does not define a timeline for repayment.

However, depending on how long the crisis lasts, both proposals could leave tenants with massive bills once life returns to relative normalcy.

Throughout the state, many tenants are already rent burdened, meaning they pay more than 30 percent of their income in rent. As a result, it is difficult to imagine how tenants will be able to catch up on missed payments within 60 days of the crisis, even if they return to work immediately after the county’s shelter-in-place order is lifted.

Workers who are not eligible to receive state or federal unemployment benefits during the crisis will find themselves in an even more difficult predicament.

Because of this, tenant advocacy groups at the local, state and federal levels are asking for rent and mortgage payments during the crisis to be forgiven or covered in economic-relief packages.

Locally, the Sonoma County Tenants Union and North Bay Organizing Project are asking lawmakers to consider passing “a moratorium on all evictions, rent increases, and foreclosures extended to at least three months after the COVID-19 outbreak is over” in addition to direct rental and mortgage assistance for county residents.

The groups are also requesting that the county “work with banks and credit card corporations to suspend all fees, foreclosures and payments, including mortgages, for residents and small businesses.”

Meanwhile, Tenants Together, a statewide advocacy group, is circulating an online petition requesting in part that “any mortgage relief/deferment must include corresponding rent relief for tenants.”

Odds and Ends: Sonoma County’s ordinance will also allow the Sonoma County Housing Authority to extend application deadlines for certain public housing programs during the crisis.

The Board of Supervisors’ agenda is available here.

The COVID-19 Eviction Defense Ordinance (Item 38), will be considered around 11:30am, according to the agenda.


The meeting will be live streamed online here.

ABC’s COVID-19 Response: Cocktails To Go!

Thanks to a recent relaxation of California alcohol laws, Margaritaville is closer than ever.

Cocktails can now be ordered to-go and delivered curbside to customers courtesy of the Department of Alcoholic Beverage Control (ABC) and its response to COVID-19

The department enacted the regulatory relief to “support the alcoholic beverage industry in its efforts to assist California in slowing the spread of the virus while assisting the industry in dealing with the economic challenges it is facing as a result,” it said in a statement.

The ABC arrived at this decision after careful consideration of the public’s health safety or welfare and whether it be negatively affected. “Exercised on a temporary basis,” the ABC thinks not. There are rules, however—to-go cocktails can only be purchased with a matching meal, whether that be through a drive-thru, pick up or delivery. Other adult beverages available in this manner include wine and beer.

“Any such alcoholic beverages must be packaged in a container with a secure lid or cap and in a manner designed to prevent consumption without removal of the lid or cap (e.g., no lids with sipping holes or openings for straws),” reads the ABC’s “notice of regulatory relief.”

Naturally, consumers acquiring cocktails and other alcoholic beverages are discouraged from drinking them while driving or break open container laws by allowing non-drivers to do so.

Get Lit: Writing an eternal, boozy truth

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I’ve written a few drunk scenes—pretty much any action in my novel Quantum Deadline is preceded by a bout of booze. For that matter, I’ve written while drunk and might have even accidentally written literature once or twice but the combo of these efforts is weak sauce next to the depictions of drinking in literature by my forebears.

Some intoxicating examples are included in this brilliant sampling culled from “A Short History of Drunkenness” in the Guardian. My favorite from this lot is Lord Byron’s:
“Like other parties of the kind, it was first silent, then talky, then argumentative, then disputatious, then unintelligible, then altogethery, then inarticulate, and then drunk.”

First off, why aren’t we using the term “altogethery?” And, second—damn, do I miss the kind of writerly roundtables Byron recounts. I seem to recall that some days at Aram’s Cafe in Petaluma were downright Algonquin but I might be looking back with rosé-tinted glasses in lieu of hindsight.

Regardless, I’ve been daydreaming about ginning up my own private press club to be fueled by booze, banter and bylines. Who’s in?

I admit this is a bit sentimental for my usual temperament. As I’ve written before, I’m more of a lone wolf hip to hang in a lone-wolf pack and vacillate between being the alpha and omega dog. But people can change, right? Especially if there’s alcohol involved. And drinking and literature is almost as good as drinking in literature, which is the logical next step. If anyone can remember anything worth recounting. As Byron summed up the end of one of his epic evenings:

“I carried away much wine, and the wine had previously carried away my memory; so that all was hiccup and happiness for the last hour or so, and I am not impregnated with any of the conversation.”

Cheers to that, mate.

Governor Supports PG&E’s Bankruptcy Exit Plan

Gov. Gavin Newsom has reportedly signed off on PG&E’s latest plan to exit bankruptcy, over a year after the utility filed for bankruptcy protection.

The news brings PG&E one step closer to exiting bankruptcy protection by June 30, the deadline that the publicly-traded utility needs to meet in order to access a $21 billion state “wildfire fund” established by AB 1054, state legislation signed into law last summer.

Under AB 1054, the utility still needs to gain final approval from the bankruptcy court and the California Public Utilities Commission (CPUC), a state regulatory agency, by June 30 in order to access the funds.

Additionally, under PG&E’s deal with Newsom, the utility will appoint a “chief transition officer” and begin a process to sell the company, Bloomberg reported Friday.

“This is the end of business as usual for PG&E,” Newsom said in a statement Friday. “We secured a totally transformed board and leadership structure for the company, real accountability tools to ensure safety and reliability, and billions more in contributions from shareholders to ensure safety upgrades are achieved.”

The largest remaining hurdle may be winning approval by the CPUC, which has yet to determine whether or not PG&E’s plan meets the guidelines laid out in AB 1054.

Among those guidelines is a requirement that the utility’s plan does not burden ratepayers with additional costs.

“We really want to make sure that … ratepayers aren’t going to be charged more for PG&E getting out of bankruptcy, that there’s not going to be a bail-out of the PG&E bankruptcy,” Mark Toney, executive director of The Utility Reform Network (TURN), told Utility Dive on Tuesday.


Surviving the ‘Shelter-in-Place’ Weekend

Sonoma, Marin and Napa County are all under ‘Shelter-in-Place’ orders due to the Coronavirus pandemic, keeping most of us at home for the first weekend in Spring. Here’s a couple ways to spend the next two days from the comfort of your couch.

Access the Library from Home
All branches of the Sonoma County Library and Marin County Library are closed and programming at Napa County libraries is suspended due to health concerns.

If you can’t go to the library, you can bring the library to you. A quick trip to sonomalibrary.org, marinlibrary.org or countyofnapa.org will guide you to a collection of digital materials and online services that includes eBooks and audiobooks, digital magazines, streaming movies and TV, and online learning services that are all free with your library card.

Don’t have a library card yet? Apply for a card online and start using digital services immediately.

Streaming Movies Online
Now is not the best time to be out and about, though locals can see some of their favorite Sonoma and Napa County spots in several movies, some of which are available to watch online. For wine connoisseurs, two movies in particular are perfect to put on while pouring a glass of Cabernet.

On Netflix, the 2019 comedy Wine Country (pictured), starring “SNL” alums Amy Poehler, Maya Rudolph, Rachel Dratch and others, shows off Calistoga in style. On Amazon Prime, the 2008 feel-good true story of Napa Valley’s entry into the world of winemaking, Bottle Shock, features locations in both counties.

For fans of science fiction, action and horror, Marin is on the scene in two particularly great flicks. First, sign up for a free trial of horror movie streaming service Shudder to see John Carpenter’s The Fog, filmed entirely on location in Point Reyes and Inverness. Over on Amazon Prime, the surprisingly heartfelt 2018 Transformers spin-off Bumblebee rolls through locations such as the Marin Headlands.

Podcasts
If podcasts are still foreign to you, now is the perfect time to start listening to one of the millions of free online shows, and three North Bay podcasts demonstrate the breadth of content within the medium.

The Wine Country Women Podcast is an inspiring conversation show in which Michelle Mandro talks to ladies like winemaker Heidi Barrett and Charter Oak Winery proprietor Layla Fanucci.

Web series The Cult Show celebrates classic horror and sci-fi films with filmmaker guests and loads of fun at thecultshow.com.

Award-winning podcast Ear Hustle tells stories from inside San Quentin to reveal the nuanced life inside and the journey for those who must reintegrate to society once they are released.

Clean Your Room
There is much to learn about the novel coronavirus that causes COVID-19, but based on what is currently known, transmission occurs via respiratory droplets and coronavirus may remain on surfaces for hours or even days.

That means it’s time to not only wash your hands with soap, it’s time to start cleaning surfaces you may touch around the house. Don’t forget to use disinfectants on tables, doorknobs, light switches, handles, remote controls, desks, toilets, faucets, sinks and anything that may come in contact with your hands.

For instructions on cleaning products and further preventative measures, visit cdc.gov/coronavirus.

Governor says ‘Stay Home’ except for essential needs

Late Thursday evening, California Gov. Gavin Newsom issued execute order N-33-20, which mandates that all Californians remain in their homes or places of residence until further notice.

The order precludes most activities apart from those that

Essential services, however, will remain open — these include gas stations, pharmacies, grocery stores, farmers markets, food banks, convenience stores, take-out, and delivery restaurants, banks, and laundromats and laundry services. Essential state and local government functions will likewise remain open.

Read the full Executive Order here (pdf).

“That directive goes into effect this evening,” said Gov. Newsom during a livestream via Twitter, which can be seen here:

[embed-1]

“If we meet this moment, we can truly bend the curve,” said Newsom. “We don’t see this through the lens of rural or urban. We certainly don’t see it through the lens of Republican and Democrat. I think we’re all human beings deeply capable of loving one another meeting this moment and beginning to love ourselves enough to recognize it’s our individual decisions that are going to determine our capacity moving forward.”

Among the themes the governor reiterated is the need for social distancing.

“You can still take your kids outside practicing common sense and social distancing. You can still walk your dog. You can’t still pick up that food at one of our distribution centers at restaurants and at drive-thrus,” he said. “Social pressure is leading to social distancing,” he added during a Q&A with reporters.

For more information, go to covid19ca.gov.

Failed Goldilocks

It’s fair to describe Hillary as a warts-and-all portrait. The four-part documentary shuttles between the 2016 presidential campaign and Hillary Rodham Clinton’s life. The title montage of photos shows her aging from child to grandmother, set to a rave-up by the Interrupters.

Hillary as punk rock? It’s a hell of a story, how the daughter of a maid who left home at 14 became one of the world’s most powerful women and endured a 2016 presidential campaign that seemed impossible to lose. The consequences of that loss are perhaps obvious to a nation now housebound and hoarding toilet paper.

Hillary’s life exemplifies the Goldilocks test: you’re always either too this or too that. Every episode begins with her being dolled up for the camera—she once calculated she spent 26 days in the cosmetician’s chair during her campaign.

Her life proves you can graduate from Yale law school and still be asked by an Arkansas judge to do a twirl in the courtroom. You can be secretary of state for four years and still have a male passerby tell you to smile more. During her failed 2008 run, men heckled her with signs that read, “Iron My Shirt.”

Facebook seethed over a passage where Hillary described Bernie Sanders as a man nobody likes: “Honestly, Bernie drove me crazy.” Perhaps director Nanette Burnstein was a little too won-over by HRC to acknowledge the public good Sanders did by holding Hillary’s centrist feet to the fire. At the end, the failed candidate lists the should’ve-beens, the reason for her 2016 loss: “Maybe I should have talked more about the economy.” You think?

But again, who knows the key to her defeat. Was it anything more complicated than the factors that dogged her forever, the problem of her being too sweet or too shrill, as well as emails and Benghazi skullduggery?

Of the covertly-gathered clips here, maybe the best is Obama warning her by phone that she had to succeed in 2016 or we’d have “a fascist in the White House.” This is intensely watchable work. It’s an invaluable study not just of a pioneering political career, but of the mistakes that were made and may be made again.

‘Hillary’ is streaming on Hulu now.

Interesting Times

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May you live in interesting times” is an English expression which purports to be a translation of a traditional Chinese curse. While seemingly a blessing, the expression is normally used ironically; life is better in “uninteresting times” of peace and tranquility than in “interesting” ones, which are usually times of trouble.

The Chinese word for “crisis” is frequently invoked in Western motivational speaking as being composed of two Chinese characters signifying “danger” and “opportunity” respectively.

It is a foregone conclusion that we in America live in interesting times, with events that contain both danger and opportunity, and have been for much of the 20th century, and into the first two decades of the new millennium.

Wars, fires, floods and now various plagues, worldwide, are seemingly the order of the day—nothing new here. To want situations to be other than they are—to make sense of what appears to be the “reality”—is wishful thinking. Yet, we are all human beings, with the need (perhaps fantasy) that we can actually control our environment, no less our thoughts and behaviors. It is wired into us, it is our survival instinct. If it has not yet become apparent throughout history that all civilizations have been the “victims” of these occurrences, then perhaps now a lesson can be learned.

But to focus only on the crises these events fostered, rather than to see the opportunities that developed as a result of them, would be a mistake. Simply stated: no wars, no peace treaties; no floods, no dikes; no illnesses, no cures; no poverty, no social and economic reforms; etc., etc. …

We will get through this. But it will take its toll, no doubt, in peoples’ lives in countless ways. There will be blame enough to be shared by all looking back, and presently. The question is not whether we will live in interesting times in the future—we will! The answer will be that we see this event and future events not as crises, but as opportunities!

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.

Coastal’ Error

I was reading the Feb. 12 issue with the article “Going Coastal” and I wanted to bring to your attention some errors in your reporting.

The article references and erroneously credits Mark Malicki as the chef of the menu on Monday night, when in fact the chef on Mondays is Holly Carter, and has been for many years. She posted the same menu that you referenced on her Instagram page that very day.

Mark, while a really great guy and a wonderful chef, is not the head chef as a typical restaurant would have. He creates the nightly dinners on weekends only. The Casino hires out different chefs on a contractual basis; it is not technically a restaurant.

Thank you for highlighting our wonderful and vibrant local culinary scene, but please check your sources and give credit where credit is due!

Follow @theHollyAndTaliShow on Instagram for Monday–Thursday dinners.

Santa Rosa

To Your Health

School closings, sports event cancellations, food hoarding … . We live in a new, coronavirus-induced world. Yet some personal health facts remain unchanged.

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) offer good advice for preventing community spread and personal infection: apply social distancing, sanitize surfaces, wash your hands, don’t touch your face. But, there’s more …

Does anyone wonder why uncounted numbers of infected people develop no symptoms and only 20 percent of symptomatic people require hospitalization? It’s because they have an effective immune system able to fight off the virus. But the CDC does not talk about that, perhaps for fear of offending powerful animal food industries.

Fortunately, good advice on boosting our immune system is readily available on the internet from trusted sources like WebMD and Healthline. And the advice is always the same.

Increase consumption of fruits and vegetables, including citrus fruits and leafy greens. Refrain from dairy, other fatty animal products and sugar-laden foods. Maintain daily exercise of 30–60 minutes. Minimize your stress level and get adequate sleep.

Did I mention that this advice works great for all other nasty bugs as well?

Santa Rosa

Sports Talk

I read with amusement Mr. (Barry) Bonds’ lament about not getting into the Hall of Fame.

I grew up in the City and saw Barry Bonds’ father Bobby play. Bobby Bonds had class and never cheated in baseball. Barry has a long way to go before he approaches the status of his father. Keep him out of the Hall.

Santa Rosa

Write to us at le*****@******an.com.

Sonoma County Pride Cancels 2020 Festival & Parade

June celebration is latest to cancel in wake of coronavirus fears.

Sonoma County Supervisors to Consider ‘Eviction Defense’

On Tuesday the Sonoma County Board of Supervisors will consider legislation to delay evictions caused by lost wages and medical bills related to the coronavirus until 60 days after the county’s COVID-19 declaration of emergency is lifted. If...

ABC’s COVID-19 Response: Cocktails To Go!

Thanks to a recent relaxation of California alcohol laws, Margaritaville is closer than ever. Cocktails can now be ordered to-go and delivered curbside to customers courtesy of the Department of Alcoholic Beverage Control (ABC) and its response to COVID-19 The department enacted the regulatory relief to "support the alcoholic beverage industry in its efforts to assist California in slowing the...

Get Lit: Writing an eternal, boozy truth

I’ve written a few drunk scenes—pretty much any action in my novel Quantum Deadline is preceded by a bout of booze. For that matter, I’ve written while drunk and might have even accidentally written literature once or twice but the combo of these efforts is weak sauce next to the depictions of drinking in literature by my forebears. Some...

Governor Supports PG&E’s Bankruptcy Exit Plan

Gov. Gavin Newsom has reportedly signed off on PG&E’s latest plan to exit bankruptcy, over a year after the utility filed for bankruptcy protection. The news brings PG&E one step closer to exiting bankruptcy protection by June 30,...

Surviving the ‘Shelter-in-Place’ Weekend

Locally-made podcasts, movies and library services are available online.

Governor says ‘Stay Home’ except for essential needs

Late Thursday evening, California Gov. Gavin Newsom issued execute order N-33-20, which mandates that all Californians remain in their homes or places of residence until further notice. The order precludes most activities apart from those that Essential services, however, will remain open — these include gas stations, pharmacies, grocery stores, farmers markets, food banks, convenience stores, take-out, and delivery restaurants,...

Failed Goldilocks

It's fair to describe Hillary as a warts-and-all portrait. The four-part documentary shuttles between the 2016 presidential campaign and Hillary Rodham Clinton's life. The title montage of photos shows her aging from child to grandmother, set to a rave-up by the Interrupters. Hillary as punk rock? It's a hell of a story, how the daughter...

Interesting Times

May you live in interesting times" is an English expression which purports to be a translation of a traditional Chinese curse. While seemingly a blessing, the expression is normally used ironically; life is better in "uninteresting times" of peace and tranquility than in "interesting" ones, which are usually times of trouble. The Chinese word for "crisis" is frequently invoked in...

Coastal’ Error

I was reading the Feb. 12 issue with the article "Going Coastal" and I wanted to bring to your attention some errors in your reporting. The article references and erroneously credits Mark Malicki as the chef of the menu on Monday night, when in fact the chef on Mondays is Holly Carter, and has been for many years. She posted...
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