Word Crimes

God bless all the actors who aren’t there because of their looks.

The literally catty tragicomedy Can You Ever Forgive Me? commences nicely with Melissa McCarthy playing Lee Israel, surly, shabby and frumpy at a publisher’s office—meeting a deadline at 3am with the help of a big glass of something on the rocks. She’s fired for drinking on the job, even at that hour. As she leaves, a younger employee mutters, “If I ever get like that, kill me.” Israel snaps back: “If you ask me nicely, I’ll kill you now.”

This true-life tale of a drinker with a writing problem is set in 1991. Print hasn’t keeled over quite yet, but Israel, who’d previously published a number of celebrity bios, is having trouble landing an advance.

When vet bills for her ancient cat press her, Israel goes to sell a prized possession: a personal note from Katherine Hepburn from the days when the two had collaborated on an autobiography.

The money is good enough that Israel falls into a unique field of crime: forging celebrity letters to sell to the local bookstores. She recruits her seedy drinking buddy, Jack, played by Richard E. Grant in a performance that’s been generating Oscar buzz. His untrustworthy barfly is the kind of man who introduces himself as “Jack Hock: big cock”—dodgy and gay and British and drunk, a mountebank with fingerless Fagin gloves. Jack and Israel’s scam turns out to have consequences, however, and also blights the author’s potential friendship (friendship, or more) with pretty bookstore owner Anna (Dolly Wells), who has writing ambitions of her own.

The elegant soundtrack sports jazz crooner Blossom Dearie, the ill-fated country rocker Spade Cooley and a bit of Justin Bond covering Lou Reed’s “Goodnight Ladies” in a deserted cabaret. Ornery and salty as the film is, it has a cool counterpoint of loneliness to it. And it shows how lost even the recent past is—it has the sense of New York when it was New York, when it was gritty and bad, and seemingly every business sign was missing a letter or a light.

‘Can You Ever Forgive Me? opens Friday, Nov. 2, at Summerfield Cinemas, 551 Summerfield Road, Santa Rosa. 707.525.8909.

Tom Steyer and Kamala Harris reportedly latest pipe-bomb targets as U.S. Rep. Jared Huffman tees off on Trump’s complicity

As Sen. Kamala Harris and billionaire philanthropist Tom Steyer have emerged today as two of the latest targets in a string of bombs sent to prominent Democrats and Trump critics, U.S. Rep. Jared Huffman called in from the road to express his outrage and disgust at the disturbing week of domestic terrorism. “Several people I know and consider friends” have been targeted, says Huffman, citing Harris and Steyer as he called upon  Donald Trump to “basically shut up. He is not a credible messenger when it come to de-escalating this political wildfire. He needs to just tone everything down while others try to set another tone.”

Huffman’s not convinced that others in the GOP will stand up and denounce the attacks as he accused members of the Republican Party of playing Trump’s game and deflecting blame to the media. “I wish I was hearing from a whole bunch of Republicans in a candid and fulsome way.” he says, “but unfortunately, too many of them are following Trump’s lead on this and suggesting that the media had a role.” 

Yesterday the reality-show president tweeted that if it weren’t for the media—the enemy of the people, as he’s said before—maybe his supporters wouldn’t be so angry that they’d be driven to try and murder public officials that Trump himself has vilified using extremist rhetoric.  “A very big part of the Anger we see today in our society is caused by the purposely false and inaccurate reporting of the Mainstream Media that I refer to as Fake News. It has gotten so bad and hateful that it is beyond description. Mainstream Media must clean up its act, FAST!”

Or else?

Steyer, the San Francisco hedge-fund billionaire, has been an out-front proponent of impeaching President Donald Trump. He was identified this afternoon, Huffman says, as another target of the Florida individual, Cesar Stoyoc, who was arrested earlier today in connection with the string of pipe bombs, whose other targets included Joe Biden, Hillary Clinton, James Clapper, Barack Obama, John Brennan, Maxine Waters, Eric Holder and others. Huffman says he that he was “sort of waiting” for Steyer to be targeted and wasn’t surprised to hear on the radio today that he’s another apparent target of the pro-Trump bomber.

“There is a straight line from this deranged bomber to President Donald Trump,” says Huffman—who has supported articles of impeachment against the reality-show president, “and there is no way you can separate the bombs from the bombast.”

Huffman also pushed back against any argument equating the series of bombings with the shooting last year of Louisiana Republican Congressman Steve Scalise.

“It’s preposterous to attempt at any moral equivalency,” he says, noting that no-one—not Bernie Sanders, not Maxine Waters, not Eric Holder, has called for violence against their political opponents. Holder recently quipped at an event, “When they go low, we kick them,” and immediately noted that he was joking and that his comment was intended as metaphor. Waters has called for verbal confrontations of Republican enablers of Trump, and while Huffman says he “disagrees with some of the tactics—there is a massive quantum difference and to try and conflate these things is dishonest and dangerous.” 

Warren Miller’s Face of Winter

Sponsored By: WARREN MILLER ENTERTAINMENT

Winter is just around the corner, and Warren Miller Entertainment is ready to kick off the season with its 69th installment ski and snowboard film, Face of Winter, presented by Volkswagen. The late, great Warren Miller built his legacy capturing the essence of winter magic, and today that legacy launches the start of the ski and snowboard season every year. In the 69th feature film, celebrate the man who became known as the face of winter throughout the industry, and the places and people he influenced along the way.

This year, new and veteran athletes come together to pay tribute to the man who started it all, including Jonny Moseley, Marcus Caston, Seth Wescott, Forrest Jillson, Kaylin Richardson, Dash Longe, Anna Segal, Michael “Bird” Shaffer, and featured athletes of the U.S. Cross Country Ski Team, including gold medalist, Jessie Diggins. Watch as they visit some of Warren’s favorite places from Engleberg to Chamonix, British Columbia to Alaska, Chile, Iceland, New Zealand and more.

“The film is for anyone whose life (whether they realize it or not) was impacted by Warren Miller,” says WME Managing Director Andy Hawk. “We are all the face of winter—from the athletes to the audience to the locals in far-off destinations or even at our home mountain. Warren recognized this, and this year’s film celebrates that.”

All fans, young and old, are invited to come together and carry on the tradition of the official kickoff to winter during the 2018 national tour. Film attendees will enjoy lift ticket and gear savings from Warren Miller resort, retail, and other brand partners. And, all moviegoers will be entered to win nightly prizes like swag and ski vacations.

Sponsors of the 2018 Warren Miller Tour
Volkswagen, Mount Gay Rum, L.L. Bean, Helly Hansen, Marmot, Switzerland Tourism, Ski Portillo, K2, Black Crows, Marker Dalbello Völkl USA, Blizzard Tecnica, and SKI Magazine.

Featured Athletes
Dash Longe | Jim Ryan | Forrest Jillson | Jess McMillan | Simon Hillis | Kaylin Richardson
Dennis Risvoll | Michael “Bird” Shaffer | Camille Jaccoux | Bruno Compagnet
Brennan Metzler | Francesca Pavillard-Cain | Amie Engerbretson | Jonny Moseley
Anna Segal | Kevin Bolger Paddy Caldwell | Sophie Caldwell | Jessie Diggins
Simi Hamilton | Ida Sargent | Marcus Caston Johan Jonsson | Rob Kingwill | Seth Wescott

Film Destinations
Alaska | British Columbia | Chamonix | Chile | Iceland
New Zealand | Switzerland | Washington

Wed., Nov. 7, 7:30pm – Palace of Fine Arts Theatre, San Francisco Buy Tix

Thurs., Nov 8,  7:30pm – Palace of Fine Arts Theatre, San Francisco Buy tix

Fri, Nov. 16, 7:30 – Castro Theatre, San Francisco Buy Tix

Sat,, Nov. 17, 8pm – Marin Center, San Rafael Buy tix

Fri., Nov. 23 7:30pm – Mystic Theatre, Petaluma Buy tix

EVERYONE ATTENDING RECEIVES A FREE LIFT TICKET TO MOUNT SHASTA SKI PARK, PLUS TWO FOR ONE OFFERS FROM SQUAW VALLEY-ALPINE MEADOWS AND JACKSONHOLE! TICKETS ARE NOW ON SALE AT SPORTS BASEMENT.

This post has been sponsored by Warren Miller Entertainment. If you’d like to sponsor an existing or future post, please contact our advertising team.

Report: Catholic church sent sex abusers to Marin County

A report released this week by the law firm Jeff Anderson & Associates has identified 17 members of the Roman Catholic clergy assigned to serve the church in Marin County who had demonstrable child sexual-abuse histories that in some cases dated back to the 1960’s.

The findings from the law firm lists more than 200 clergy members who served in either the Oakland, San Francisco or San Jose Catholic dioceses and who have been alleged to have committed sexual offenses against minors.

A review of the law firm’s thumbnail sketches of the clergymen gives insight into what Spotlight highlighted—that for decades, the Catholic Church dealt with its pedophilia problems by shuffling sex-abusing clergy from one diocese to another. And it indicates that numerous California Catholic clergy sex abusers got away with their crimes because of a  2003 Supreme Court ruling that rejected a California attempt to retroactively eliminate statutes of limitations for certain sex crimes, including those perpetrated against minors. 

Here are the 17 clergy members of the Roman Catholic church who at one time or another were assigned to schools and churches in Marin County, and who are alleged to have committed sexual assault against children, according to Anderson & Associates, which specializes in clergy sex crimes:

Msgr. Peter Gomez Armstrong, according to the law firm’s report, has been accused of sexually abusing at least one child. He worked at the St. Vincent School for Boys in San Rafael between 1975-79 and died in 2009.

Fr. James W Aylward was subject to a civil suit alleging sexual abuse against a minor, which the law firm reports was settled by the San Francisco Archdiocese. After assignments to San Francisco, Millbrae, San Mateo, Washington D.C., and Pacifica, he arrived at St. Sylvester’s in San Rafael in 1990 and stayed on for five years. Aylward was then sent to Burlingame for a few years and then to Our Lady of Mt. Carmel in Mill Valley from 1998-2000. His whereabouts are currently unknown, says the law firm report.

Fr. Arthur Manuel Cunha was assigned to Our Lady of Loretto in Novato and served there between 1984 and 1986. He was absent on sick leave in 1986-87, his whereabouts were unknown from 1987-89 according to the law firm, he was absent on leave again from 1989-91 and his whereabouts have been unknown since then. The law firm reports that Cunha was “arrested in 1986, pleaded guilty, and was sentenced to 60 days in jail and four months of counseling in connection with sexually abusing two boys.” He’s been named in multiple civil lawsuits.

Fr. Sidney J. Custodio was assigned to St. Raphael’s Church in San Rafael in 1955; sex-crime allegations against him were lodged while he worked at St. Gregory in San Mateo County. According to the law firm, his whereabouts have been unknown since 1975.

Fr. Pearse P. Donovan was assigned to Marin Catholic High School in San Rafael from 1953-55 and allegations of sexual abuse against him were levied when he later worked at St. Clement in Hayward. He’s been named in at least one civil lawsuit, reports Anderson & Associates. He died in 1986.

Msgr. Charles J. Durkin is reported to have retired in 2002, “a month after the San Francisco District Attorney’s Office requested 75-years-worth of church records related to abuse allegations,” reports Anderson. He worked at St. Sebastian’s in San Rafael in 1962 and lived at the Nazareth House in San Rafael after he retired in 2003. He died in 2006 and was the subject of an accusation of sexual assault that occurred while he was at the Star of the Sea in S.F., where he served from 1956-1961, and again from 1996-2003.

Fr. Arthur Harrison was charged with criminally abusing a 10-year old when he was assigned to Our Lady of Loretto in Novato, in 1960. The case was dismissed because of the statute of limitation but the Diocese of San Jose lists Harrison as a clergy-member “with credible allegations of sexual abuse of children,” according to the law firm report. He died in 2006.

Msgr. John. P. Heaney served from 1971-74 at the Marin Catholic High School in Kentfield, and again at St. Rita’s in Fairfax from 1974-79, according to the firm. Allegations against Heaney arose while he was the SFPD chaplain between 1976 and 2002 and he was criminally charged, in 2002, with multiple felony counts of child abuse that were dropped because the statute of limitations had run out. He died in 2010.

Gregory G. Ingels got his start as a clergyman at Marin Catholic High School in Kentfield in 1970 and was also assigned to St. Isabella church in San Rafael in 1982. “Multiple survivors have come forward alleging sexual abuse” by Ingels from 1972-77, reports the Anderson law firm, while he was at the Kentfied school. He too was criminally charged with child sexual abuse, but the charges were dropped owing to the 2003 Supreme Court ruling. His whereabouts since 2011 are unknown, says the law firm.

Fr. Daniel T. Keohane was assigned to St. Anthony of Padua, in Novato, from 2006-2009—a sexual-abuse allegation was made against him for activities he allegedly committed while he was at the Epiphany church in S.F. in the 1970’s. The S.F. diocese deemed the allegations credible as it recommended further investigation. He took a leave of absence in 2015 and his whereabouts since then are unknown, reports the law firm.
Fr. Jerome Leach served at St. Patrick’s church in Larkspur from 1980-1983 and the Anderson report notes that he was alleged to have committed sex crimes there and at All Souls in San Francisco. In 2002, he was arrested and charged with child sexual abuse but again—the statute of limitations had run out.

Fr. Guy Anthony Mrunig spent his career as a clergyman at St. Sebastian’s in Kenfield-Greenbrae from 1971-1973; at Marin Catholic High School in Kentfield from 1972-1978, and at the Serra Club of Marin County from 1973-1977. The report says that multiple survivors have come forward alleging sexual abuse while he was at Marin Catholic in Kentfield. He reportedly left the priesthood to marry a former student from the High School and his whereabouts since 1979 are unknown, says the law firm.

Msgr. John O’Connor was placed on leave by the Archdiocese of San Francisco in 2002 “after it received an allegation of improper contact with a boy occurring more than thirty years ago,” the law firm reports. During his career he was mostly assigned to churches in San Francisco but was at St. Isabella’s in San Rafael between 1964 and 1971. He was “absent on leave” between 2005 and his death in 2013.

Fr. Miles O’Brien Riley was assigned to St Raphael’s in San Rafael from 1964-1968 and also worked as a chaplain at San Quentin State Prison during that time. He was accused of sexually abusing a girl when she was 16, and the Anderson & Associates document notes that the Archdiocese of S.F. permitted Riley to retire quietly, in 2003.

Fr. John Schwartz was ordained in 1981 and, after assignments in Oregon, wound up at St. Anselm’s in Ross in 2004-2006. No further information is provided by the Anderson report on allegations against Schwartz, whose whereabouts since 2012 are unknown, says the law firm.

Fr. Kevin F. Tripp was ordained in 1968 and spent much of his career in Massachusetts, where, in 2002 the district attorney in Fall River released a list of priests under investigation for sexual abuse, and Tripp was on the list, according to the law firm. The Massachusetts D.A.’s finding alleged that there were two persons who had been victimized by Tripp. The law firm determined that as of 2003, and according to a San Francisco Faith newsletter, Tripp was the executive director of the Marin Interfaith Council in San Rafael.

Fr. Milton T. Walsh’s first clergy assignment was at Our Lady of Loretto in Novato before heading to Rome to get his doctorate in 1982. He reportedly returned to Novato on a break from his studies, “where he allegedly sexually abused a boy whose family he had grown close with during his time working at Our Lady of Loretto,” reads the law firm report; he was at Loretto between 1978-1980. Walsh was arrested for the sexual assault in 2002 after being caught in a Novato police-department telephone sting where he admitted to the sexual abuse of a minor—but the charges were dropped. Yes, the statute of limitations case, again. His whereabouts since 2015? Unknown, says the law firm.

Go to Church

0

Sonoma County musician, promoter and festival organizer Josh Windmiller has long sought out ways to help artists and musicians share their stories and their art. He founded the North Bay Hootenanny to connect North Bay acts and audiences through events and online media, and he founded and continues to run the annual Railroad Square Music Festival in Santa Rosa to showcase the region’s eclectic talent.

Now Windmiller is working with San Francisco nonprofit organization the Lost Church to create a new live performance venue in the heart of downtown Santa Rosa.

“The mission behind the Lost Church is to keep beautiful, intimate performance spaces alive,” Windmiller says. “That’s what this is.”

The Lost Church began life in San Francisco’s Mission District, when musicians Brett and Elizabeth Cline moved into an irregularly shaped house built by Bay Area artist David Ireland and turned the living room into a live venue.

Now a fully fledged nonprofit, the Lost Church is looking to expand its model of creating, sustaining and defending spaces like the San Francisco venue with a network of “Performance Parlors” that can host and nurture local and touring artists, and they’re starting with Santa Rosa.

Located in the vacant ground floor of the building at
427 Mendocino Ave., just off Courthouse Square, the Lost Church Santa Rosa will be an intimate, all-ages venue, with a 100-person capacity, and will focus on live music, theater, comedy and other acts. Windmiller will act as director of the venue, and says both local and touring performers will be featured.

“It’s not going to be a cafe or a bar that’s open all day,” Windmiller says. “We have some great spaces like that already. But one of the things that we could improve on in our community is a place specifically for experiencing performance together. It’s very difficult to start a venue, but this feels like a firm foundation to support the arts in the area and insert it more into daily life.”

The Lost Church is opening the Santa Rosa space in early 2019, though locals can get a sneak peek with an open house fundraiser on Saturday, Nov. 3, that will feature more than a dozen performers and bands, with presentations and discussions on the venue’s vision and future. “I think it will be an inspiring time to imagine what we can do with this space,” says Windmiller.

“We want to celebrate the community we have here.” —Charlie Swanson

Bruisers & Mash

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It was an otherwise quiet Saturday afternoon at the Toad in the Hole, the downtown Santa Rosa English pub off of Railroad Square. Couples hovered over pints of ale and plates of pasties, conversations steered toward “What the hell happened to you last night?” and there was subdued talk to my left that was centered around a wacko possum that had apparently gone nuts the night before near a fire pit.

Then the roller-derby women rolled in. And just like that, the Toad in the Hole was slammed, was rocking, was transformed, as about eight members of the Sonoma County Roller Derby, along with a couple of male hangers-on and a junior roller, wheeled in decked out in phreaky-hip Halloween attire for a photo shoot.

The solo bartender snapped into gear as Swole Deztroyer rolled past my table and dropped a postcard that announced the Sonoma County Roller Derby’s next match on Nov. 17 at the Sonoma County Fairgrounds.

It should be a good one. The theme of the latest SCRD match is “Harvest,” and when the NorCal Vigilantes square off against the Ol’ Derby Bastards—the North Bay Bruisers will also do battle with the Wine Country Wreckers—well, know that there’s also a food drive underway under the lights of Grace Pavilion, just in time for Thanksgiving. Donations will be accepted at the match (doors open at 4pm) for the nonprofit Redwood Empire Food Bank.

Speaking of being hungry, I lingered for a while over a Toad in the Hole cheeseburger, whose sturdy countenance was verily meatloaf-ian, in an enjoyable and very British and stolid manner, and watched with amusement as various platters of sausages and salads, beers and other bevies, arrived at the boisterous Roller Derby table. As she rolled by again, I asked Swole Deztroyer if I could take a few pictures—and the crew, to say the least, was accommodating, as our cover photo this week amply demonstrates.

The local roller derby league is part of the national Women’s Flat Track Derby Association, founded in 2004 as Riot Grrrrl–inspired roller-derby redux took hold across this great land. The Derby Association is a business-league organization—a nonprofit in its own right—that exists to “promote and foster the sport of women’s flat track roller derby by facilitating the development of athletic ability, sportsmanship and goodwill among member leagues,” says Wikipedia, “and its governing philosophy is ‘by the skaters, for the skaters.'” I’d give the SCRD high marks in the goodwill-to-reporter department.

The SCRD club was itself formed in 2007—the same year, as it happens, that the Toad in the Hole opened for business (though given the homey vibrato that jukes this joint, it feels like the bar has been here forever). I grabbed a to-go box for the second half of the hamburger and the side of steak fries, and finished off the last of the pint and thrummed my pen for a while over a notebook—with an ear and eye tuned to the proceedings, now amusingly frantic and loud.

The bartender was getting a little harried but he’s a total pro. A platter of abandoned sausage tidbits hit the floor as a four-top prepared to pay their tab. On the TV screens behind the bar, men beat the crap out of each other in various sports postures.

And at the long table under the Toad’s chalkboard menu announcing $14 steak pasties, the SCRD women were totally whooping it up, polishing off pints, whaling away on greasy sausages and adjusting their wigs and their fake Dracula teeth for maximum photo effect. Nobody’s hungry on this otherwise quiet Saturday afternoon in this popular downtown bar for tattooed miscreants—and thanks to the efforts of the Redwood Empire Food Bank, nobody needs to go hungry during the holidays.

Letters to the Editor: October 24, 2018

Trump’s
Magnificent Gift

Freud told the story of the toddler who, impressed with his own turd, made a gift of it to his parents. Donald Trump puts me in mind of our National Toddler. On a daily basis, the Donald drops a turd, and then wishes to make a gift of it to the American public. “Oh, look at my turd,” says our president. “Is it not the most spectacular, the most magnificent turd ever?”

Windsor

Earth-
Friendly Diet

Right on the heels of utter devastation wrought by hurricanes Florence and Michael comes an alarming report in the prestigious journal Nature that says mitigation of global climate change will require a massive switch to plant-based eating.

The report concludes that global warming threatens the world’s very food supply, in addition to generating scorching heat, raging wildfires, devastating hurricanes, massive flooding and rising sea levels. It was compiled by an international panel of 23 climate experts and follows the latest warning about rising temperatures by the United Nations Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change.

A 2010 United Nations report blamed animal agriculture for 19 percent of greenhouse gas emissions, 70 percent of freshwater use and 38 percent of land use. Carbon dioxide is emitted by burning forests to create animal pastures and by operating factory farms. The more damaging methane and nitrous oxide are released from digestive tracts of cattle and from animal waste cesspools, respectively.

In an environmentally sustainable world, just as we replace fossil fuels by wind, solar and other pollution-free energy sources, we must also replace meat and dairy products in our diet with vegetables, fruits and grains.

Our next supermarket visit offers a superb opportunity to get started.

Santa Rosa

Not Too
Big to Fail

Kudos to Sen. Elizabeth Warren for continuing to focus on the shameful conduct of Wells Fargo Bank.

If any others stole personal information and used it to their advantage, they would be put in jail; but not those responsible at WFB.

If any others altered the documents of business clients, as the Wall Street Journal reported Wells Fargo did, they would be put in jail; but not those responsible at WFB.

If any others conducted investor protection violations and used it to their advantage, they would be put in jail; but not those responsible at WFB.

If any others conducted wages and hour violations and used it to their advantage, they would be put in jail; but not those responsible at WFB.

This bank is not too big to fail.

Santa Rosa

Yes on Proposition 12

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My mother fed the pigeons. It wasn’t popular. People would yell at her in the parking lot near Nordstrom in Seattle. She would speak loudly back.

When she died, I found a big bag of bird seed in the back seat of her ’93 Toyota. But I learned very early how miraculous animals are.

I am writing this because animals can’t speak for themselves. Have a little heart. Can we just take a second to vote so they get a little more room to move around? It only takes a second to vote yes on Proposition 12.

Why would anyone want to hurt or cause more harm or discomfort to animals? And if that doesn’t bother you enough, realize that we get cancer from animals that are anxious or living in unclean conditions. And trust me, there is a correlation between animal and human abuse. In other words, if people mistreat animals, they are probably doing that to humans. Check out the National Link Coalition for more information on this.

If these creatures are miserable, so will we be. As George Monbiot writes in the Oct. 4, 2017, edition of the Guardian, “What will future generations, looking back on our age, see as its monstrosities? We think of slavery, the subjugation of women, judicial torture, the murder of heretics, imperial conquest and genocide, the first world war and the rise of fascism, and ask ourselves how people could have failed to see the horror of what they did. . . . There are plenty to choose from. But one of them will be the mass incarceration of animals, to enable us to eat their flesh or eggs or drink their milk. While we call ourselves animal lovers and lavish kindness on our dogs and cats, we inflict brutal deprivations on billions of animals that are just as capable of suffering.”

All you have to do is have empathy. Is that asking too much in a world that is spinning on its axis?

Katy Byrne lives in Sonoma. See the Paper, p8, for more on Proposition 12.

Open Mic is a weekly feature in the ‘Bohemian.’ We welcome your contribution. To have your topical essay of 350 words considered for publication, write op*****@******an.com.

Day of Durell

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The first single-vineyard Syrah that I remember having was a Kendall-Jackson wine from the Durell Vineyard in Sonoma Valley. It was way back in the 1990s, but the silky, sinuous wine proved memorable.

Later, I saw that a grapevine nursery was offering a Syrah clone called “Durell.” Must be some special vineyard, right? So I was delighted to accept an invitation to Destination Durell this month, a pilgrimage to the home of the mother vine of a great California Syrah.

At the parking area, I hop on an electric cart that whirs toward a low hill topped with vineyard rows. But the tour stops at an oak-shaded grove. This event, hosted by Three Sticks Wines, is more of a wine club party (signing up to the list will also net you an invitation) than the educational tour I’d hoped for. But onward: there’s an educational opportunity at the first winetasting station I visit after slurping a candied splash of Three Sticks 2016 Pinot Blanc ($50) offered at check-in.

At the “Durell Zone,” there’s 2016 Durell Vineyard Chardonnay ($55), as crisp and rich as a toasty butter cookie, and 2016 Pinot Noir ($70), which in this vintage is a rich baritone to the tenor of the winery’s Gap’s Crown Pinot Noir ($70). But where’s the Syrah?

I ask the guy pouring the wines if he can help. Yes he can, since Rob Harris is director of vineyard operations for the whole outfit owned by venture-capitalist-turned-vintner Bill Price. Harris gives me the bad news about the original Syrah: “It’s no longer with us.”

But mourn it not: cuttings from the original vines live on in a block sold to Ram’s Gate Winery by Ellie Phipps Price, who bought it in 1998 with then-husband Bill. The other block of Syrah, sold to Chateau St. Jean for a single-vineyard bottling, is just some more common Syrah, like clone 1, says Harris.

Ah, the plot thickens. Durell’s Syrah originated from a test vine from UC Davis’ Foundation Plant Services (FPS) planted in 1973, then called Shiraz 1 because it came from Australia. Later cuttings got the Durell designation after growers requested it by that name, and it came back to the wine world via FPS as Syrah clone 8.

Durell is mainly a Pinot Noir and Chardonnay vineyard, after all, but Three Sticks pays homage to this complicated history with a red field blend of white and red Rhône varieties called Casteñada ($45). A mélange of Syrah, Grenache, Grenache Blanc, Viognier and Marsanne, it’s refreshingly uncomplicated.

Find Durell Vineyard wines at Three Sticks Wines, Chateau St. Jean, Ram’s Gate Winery, Dunstan Wines and others.

Dance Macabre

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Halloween falls on Wednesday of all nights this year, so the North Bay has decided that Saturday night’s all right for frightening—at least when it comes to Halloween concerts. This Saturday, Oct. 27, dozens of parties take place in Sonoma and Napa counties, with costume contests, outrageous entertainment and hair-raising hijinks.

In Rio Nido, the cowboys are coming home to roost at the Haunted Honky-Tonk Festival, featuring beloved Americana act the Easy Leaves and several others. Currently on tour with Pacific Northwest staple Karl Blau, the Easy Leaves—usually a duo of bassist Kevin Carducci and guitarist Sage Fifield—bring a full band with them for this hometown appearance.

For his part, Blau will mesmerize the crowd with a Waylon Jennings tribute set, while Seattle-based Gus Clark & the Least of His Problems play a crooning set of classics and originals, and Brothers Comatose frontman Ben Morrison performs solo. The family-friendly daylong event kicks off at 4pm at Rio Nido Roadhouse.

In Petaluma, several local artists and bands are taking the opportunity to dress like their favorite bands for the Phoenix Theater’s annual Halloween Covers Show. Included in the lineup is local punk band the Happys performing as Sublime, San Francisco psychedelic outfit Down Dirty Shake taking on the Spice Girls, and other acts transforming into the likes of Third Eye Blind and Ace of Base for a blowout night of music that benefits the Phoenix.

For those who want a mind-altering dance party, head over to the House of Rock in Santa Rosa and get ready for a night of underground art, live music, circus, drag, burlesque, comedy and more at the Quantum Cabaret. This adult-only party features swing-punk band Van Goat, 20-person marching band the Hubbub Club and others, who will be making noise while freaky fashion shows, robotic demos and more open the doors of perception, and it’s all hosted by Jake Ward, who recently took home the Bohemian‘s Norbay Award for Best Promoter.

In Napa, several shows are sure to be a scream this Saturday. At the Blue Note Jazz Club, Napa surf-rock revivalists the Deadlies, best known as the house band for longtime late-night horror-movie showcase Creepy KOFY Movie Time, play two sets of music as part of a Halloween bash. At Silo’s, seven-piece Napa party band N2L infuse equal doses of pop and rock covers featuring three-part female vocals for a concert that includes a costume contest, games and prizes.

For more info on these and other shows, see the Concerts and Clubs & Venues listings, p19.

Word Crimes

God bless all the actors who aren't there because of their looks. The literally catty tragicomedy Can You Ever Forgive Me? commences nicely with Melissa McCarthy playing Lee Israel, surly, shabby and frumpy at a publisher's office—meeting a deadline at 3am with the help of a big glass of something on the rocks. She's fired for drinking on the job,...

Tom Steyer and Kamala Harris reportedly latest pipe-bomb targets as U.S. Rep. Jared Huffman tees off on Trump’s complicity

As Sen. Kamala Harris and billionaire philanthropist Tom Steyer have emerged today as two of the latest targets in a string of bombs sent to prominent Democrats and Trump critics, U.S. Rep. Jared Huffman called in from the road to express his outrage and disgust at the disturbing week of domestic terrorism. "Several people I know and consider friends"...

Warren Miller’s Face of Winter

Sponsored By: WARREN MILLER ENTERTAINMENT Winter is just around the corner, and Warren Miller Entertainment is ready to kick off the season with its 69th installment ski and snowboard film, Face of Winter, presented by Volkswagen. The late, great Warren Miller built his...

Report: Catholic church sent sex abusers to Marin County

A report released this week by the law firm Jeff Anderson & Associates has identified 17 members of the Roman Catholic clergy assigned to serve the church in Marin County who had demonstrable child sexual-abuse histories that in some cases dated back to the 1960's. The findings from the law firm lists more than...

Go to Church

Sonoma County musician, promoter and festival organizer Josh Windmiller has long sought out ways to help artists and musicians share their stories and their art. He founded the North Bay Hootenanny to connect North Bay acts and audiences through events and online media, and he founded and continues to run the annual Railroad Square Music Festival in Santa Rosa...

Bruisers & Mash

It was an otherwise quiet Saturday afternoon at the Toad in the Hole, the downtown Santa Rosa English pub off of Railroad Square. Couples hovered over pints of ale and plates of pasties, conversations steered toward "What the hell happened to you last night?" and there was subdued talk to my left that was centered around a wacko possum...

Letters to the Editor: October 24, 2018

Trump's Magnificent Gift Freud told the story of the toddler who, impressed with his own turd, made a gift of it to his parents. Donald Trump puts me in mind of our National Toddler. On a daily basis, the Donald drops a turd, and then wishes to make a gift of it to the American public. "Oh, look at my...

Yes on Proposition 12

My mother fed the pigeons. It wasn't popular. People would yell at her in the parking lot near Nordstrom in Seattle. She would speak loudly back. When she died, I found a big bag of bird seed in the back seat of her '93 Toyota. But I learned very early how miraculous animals are. I am writing this because animals can't...

Day of Durell

The first single-vineyard Syrah that I remember having was a Kendall-Jackson wine from the Durell Vineyard in Sonoma Valley. It was way back in the 1990s, but the silky, sinuous wine proved memorable. Later, I saw that a grapevine nursery was offering a Syrah clone called "Durell." Must be some special vineyard, right? So I was delighted to accept an...

Dance Macabre

Halloween falls on Wednesday of all nights this year, so the North Bay has decided that Saturday night's all right for frightening—at least when it comes to Halloween concerts. This Saturday, Oct. 27, dozens of parties take place in Sonoma and Napa counties, with costume contests, outrageous entertainment and hair-raising hijinks. In Rio Nido, the cowboys are coming home to...
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