Owner Beware

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Owner Beware

Cannabis regulation in California is heavily focused on local control. As predicted, new lawsuits are cropping up all over challenging the authority of local governments to take certain actions as they pertain to cannabis.

Our firm, Harris and Bricken, has generally discouraged clients from taking a litigious approach toward government regulation of cannabis, because the often meritless lawsuits we saw before the Medical and Adult Use Cannabis Regulation and Safety Act of 2017 rarely resulted in victory for cannabis entities, were largely detrimental to property owners and turned the majority of local legislative bodies against the cannabis industry.

However, there are constitutional and statutory limits to what governments can do, and one troubling practice we are seeing in California is cities leveeing excessive fines and penalties against property owners who lease (knowingly or unknowingly) to cannabis tenants. Local governments are charging property owners excessive fines and penalties and recording them against the property as a lien or special assessment.

State law allows local governments to declare activity in contravention of the municipal code a public nuisance, take action to abate that nuisance and then recover the cost of abating the nuisance via a lien or special assessment against the property.

This practice, however, is frequently abused. A staggering number of cities misinterpret these laws to mean that they are entitled to impose fines (sometimes up to $10,000 or $20,000 per day!) for code violations against businesses and property owners. If these fines go unpaid, cities record them as a lien or special assessment against. The result is a massive fee, sometimes upwards of $1 million, tacked on to an owner’s property tax bill. If that goes unpaid for three years, the local government can seize and sell the property.

This is a nightmare for property owners leasing to cannabis businesses. We have spoken to many owners in this scenario who were either unaware that cannabis activity violated the local code, or unaware that their tenants were cannabis businesses.

This practice on behalf of cities in most cases is unlawful under our analysis. The Government Code does not authorize cities to attach liens or impose special assessments to collect outstanding nuisance fines or penalties. We are actively fighting for our clients who have been wrongly assessed excessive fines and penalties and are in jeopardy of losing their properties. Stay tuned.

This article was originally published at cannalawblog.com.

Failing Grade

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Failing Grade

For this latest primary, Sonoma County hit 50 percent turnout among registered voters. That is disappointing.

By all accounts, this election cycle is a referendum on Trump, police, housing, our watershed, education and wages, the very trajectory of our lives. Nobody lacks opinions on those topics, yet only half our registered voters chose November’s candidates, decided our sheriff, approved bonds, tolls and other measures. Unfortunately, 50 percent turnout is a typical primary for us.

Maybe primaries are misunderstood as practice, not “real.” After all, we average 80 percent turnout in general elections, eking out a B– grade in civic engagement. OK, I suppose, but even that’s a misrepresentation.

For me, the true indicator of democratic health is ballots cast compared to voting age population. Only two-thirds of Sonoma County’s voting population is registered, meaning those 50 percent and 80 percent registered turnouts above are dismal 37 percent and 57 percent actual turnouts, respectively.

This isn’t a jab at nonvoters. Of co-workers and friends I asked, all community members with reasonable opinions and legitimate desires to influence their future, half voted. Nonvoters are people—busy with lives, perhaps disengaged, but still deserving their voice.

As a project engineer at a local company, the basic tenets of my job are to trust solid data, trust stakeholders’ opinions and to work hard for both. Government shouldn’t be any different.

So how can Sonoma County become that ideal of representative democracy? For starters, our supervisors can actively register all residents as vote-by-mail with pre-stamped ballots. They can support more polling locations. Similar to jury duty, another civic responsibility, they can pay voters $10 for their time to cast ballots in primaries and general elections. They can advertise and hire staff dedicated to achieving full turnout among every demographic.

Against Sonoma County’s $1.6 billion budget, the price of these ideas total less than 1 percent. I can already hear the board’s response that with the wildfires and housing crisis, with pensions and appeals—not now, money is tight. To that I say, no time is better than now. We are living this too, and to truly represent our needs, you must hear us—all of us.

Iain Burnett lives in Forestville.

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.

Letters to the Editor: July 18, 2018

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Letters to the Editor: July 18, 2018

Mother and Child

What a beautiful, inspiring cover (“Fierce Love,” July 11).

—Linda Morand

Via Bohemian.com

Banned Boys

Maybe society should see young boys as valuable as young girls these days (“Fierce Love,” July 11). Boys are growing up without their dads more and more, and mothers and women can’t satisfy their needs. With this crazy feminism today, boys are going their own way because there is nothing left for them.

—Trixie

Via Pacificsun.com

Bird Brains

Quite a masterful piece of journalism, Tom (“Birds and Blobs,” July 3). As to the forewarning of birds attacking humans: could it be related to the intentional fouling of the air, such as the continued petrochemical releases into the atmosphere from combustion engines and the nearly 1,000 refinery discharge stacks that the Bohemian dramatically photographed about a year ago with the colors black and red filling up the sky? Who says a picture isn’t worth a thousand words?

—Joel Taylor

Via Bohemian.com

Swamp
Creatures

Donnie Doofus, our Potty POTUS, with the help of the Republican majority in Congress, now heads what has become the largest cartel on Earth, U.S.A. Inc. Some call it MAGA. I call it SWAMP: Some Wealthy A**holes Making Policy.

The cartel members include clean coal, drug manufacturers and distributors, chemical companies, Wall Street and of course the kowtowing, quivering Republicans who are so proud to have passed their “Economic Growth, Regulatory Reform and Consumer Protection Act,” sponsored fittingly by Sen. Mike Crapo, R-Idaho, part of their war on the poor. No luck with Obamacare yet. I hope that all my fellow Americans enjoyed our national holiday and enjoyed the freedom to celebrate this great nation, and I encourage all to be registered and able to vote for the good of America and the world, and against the Trump Reich.

—Paul ‘Pablo’ Simmons

Santa Rosa

Supreme Disappointment

Oh, how we’ll love our new Judge Kavanaugh, another porcine man of the people and a magnificent profiteer who (à la Dick Cheney) wallows deep in the filth that is the confluence of Big Business and Big Government. And he comes right out of cosmetics, too. It’s too perfect.

—Craig J. Corsini

Sebastopol

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

Tesla CEO accuses British hero diver of pedophilia as company lobbies CPUC for latest Powerwall project with PG&E.

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Tesla CEO accuses British hero diver of pedophilia as company lobbies CPUC for latest Powerwall project with PG&E.

Have you been following the news about Elon Musk? The internet is abuzz with
news that the California-based founder of Tesla Inc. teed off on one of the heroes of the recent cave rescue of those Thai kids and their coach—by accusing a British diver on the scene of being a “pedo,” which is short for pedophile.

Musk levied his charge at Vernon Unsworth, whose sin against Musk was in dismissing the billionaire’s vainglorious attempt to be the Thai-cave rescue hero, via a mini submarine he built that was supposed to lead the kids out of the cave. In the end, the submarine was impractical for the rescue situation—a jagged, winding cave with numerous tight spaces for rescuers to negotiate, and no room for a submarine. Unsworth said as much, earning the wrath of Musk via a Tweet. 

Now Musk is facing the wrath of investors and demands that he apologize for his crack against Unsworth, as Tesla stocks dropped at news of his unsubstantiated accusation. Numerous media reports on the episode concluded that Unsworth may have a defamation case at hand against the inventor-entrepreneur, whose auto factory is based in Fremont. The company is itself headquartered in Palo Alto and has several proposed projects in the California pipeline.

One of those projects, first reported by the online source Electrek finds Tesla teamed up with Pacific Gas & Electric and at work on a “massive ‘up to 1.1 GWh Powerpack battery system.”

Fred Lambert, editor-in-chief at Electrek and the site’s main writer broke the news in late June. Here’s what he reported: “Pacific Gas and Electric Company (PG&E), one of the largest electric energy companies in the United States covering nearly 16 million people in Northern and Central California, submitted 4 new energy storage projects to the California Public Utilities Commission (CPUC) for approval today. Three are third-party owned projects to be connected to PG&E’s grid, but the fourth one is ‘a proposed utility-owned 182.5 MW lithium-ion battery energy storage system (BESS) located within PG&E’s Moss Landing substation.'” (The Moss Landing substation is located just north of Monterey along Highway 1.)

If approved by state regulators at the CPUC, Lambert noted that this would be the third Powerpack project undertaken between Tesla and PG&E.

For different reasons, both companies have watched their stocks lose value in recent days and months. PG&E has been rocked by fallout from the October wildfires and has set out to limit its fire-related liability. Tesla’s founder is being accused of being some kind of weird hybrid of Donald Trump and disgraced pizza racist “Papa” John Shattner.

Fortunately Tesla and PG&E share a lobbyist in Sacramento who is looking out for their best interests.

According to records on file with the California Secretary of State, and as previously reported on this blog, the Tesla Motor Company and PG&E are both represented in Sacramento by the lobbying firm Platinum Advisors. The firm was founded by Platinum president Darius Anderson, the Sonoma County Democratic power broker, real-estate developer, and investor in Sonoma Media Investments.

 

Tasmanian Tigress

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Tasmanian Tigress

The surprise in monologist Hannah Gadsby’s comedy, as seen in the remarkable Netflix special Nanette, commences with her arrival. Gadsby is a plump, dimpled, bespectacled figure originally from the sticks in Tasmania. She looks small on the bare stage of the Sydney Opera House.

Gadsby’s delivery is what they used to call “button-down comedy”—laid-back, gentle. She makes one think of Bob Newhart, actually. The jokes are friendly and unthreatening. At first.

As a gay woman—”a little bit lesbian,” she says—she claims to be too reticent for pride parades; she’d rather be home with her tea kettle. And as an art history major, she’s not keen on the way the colors on the rainbow flag clash. We settle in for her modest, keenly dry observations, and that’s how the audience steps into Gadsby’s trap.

When the tables turn, it’s stunning. Gadsby seems to be joshing when she says she’s quitting comedy, that it’s just something else she’s amusingly griping about. In fact, she’s opposed to something deeper and more wrong in the format: the problem of a story only being funny if you end it before telling the full truth. Her pain is rooted in growing up gay on a small island where laws against homosexuality were on the books well into the 1990s. And as Gadsby gets into the heart of the matter—her disenchantment with Picasso because of his misogyny, her outrage that van Gogh is thought to succeed because of his mental illness instead of despite it—she gets forceful. The camera closes in on her, and the jokes evaporate. What’s left is a fury for justice.

Standup comedy is one of the burners underneath the melting pot of liberal democracies, a way for the underrepresented to make themselves “normal” and disarming. Arrestingly, Gadsby goes against the process, refusing to process her own rage as a series of jokes. Nanette isn’t for someone who wants to laugh a lung out, and yet it’s something everyone should see.

‘Nanette’ is available for streaming from Netflix.

Bell Ringer

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Bell Ringer

The Hunchback of Notre Dame was originally scheduled last season at the Spreckels Theatre Company. The musical, whose development started in Germany and ended in New Jersey, is an atypical Disney production. More Les Misérables than Little Mermaid, it’s an interesting amalgam of Victor Hugo’s gothic novel and music from the 1996 Disney film.

Spreckels’ decision to replace The Hunchback—a far darker version than one would expect from a production with the Disney name semi-attached—with a more “family-friendly” production of Peter Pan is understandable. It’s also regrettable, because as the production running now in San Francisco and produced by Bay Area Musicals reveals, it’s a very good show.

Hugo’s 15th-century-set tale of the Notre-Dame Cathedral’s bell ringer Quasimodo (Alex Rodriguez), his guardian, the Archdeacon Frollo (Clay David), and a Gypsy girl named Esmeralda (Alysia Beltran) contains enough thematic elements for a half-dozen shows. Religious extremism, class differences, bigotry, sex, lookism, repression and oppression are all explored in Hugo’s story and Peter Parnell’s book, and through Alan Menken (Little Shop of Horrors) and Stephen Schwartz’s (Wicked) score.

After the lush (and lengthy) “Bells of Notre Dame” provides the backstory, the narrative kicks in. A band of Gypsies has come to Paris, and its newest member, Esmeralda, has caught the eye of both Quasimodo and Archdeacon Frollo. Quasimodo is taken by her kindness while Frollo is taken by “impure thoughts.” Add a dashing French soldier to the mix (Jack O’Reilly), and you have one helluva triangle.

Rodriguez makes for a heart-breaking Quasimodo, and David gives a striking performance as the conflicted Frollo, who utters a few comments about immigrants and borders that might seem prescient. Director Matthew McCoy and his team bring creative solutions to most of this production’s technical challenges. How they present a flood of molten lead poured over a rioting crowd is ingenious.

The Hunchback of Notre Dame is no children’s show, talking gargoyles to the contrary. Operatic at times, classic American musical at others, it’s a worthy addition to the season of any company with the talent, facility and budget to do it as well as this production.

Rating (out 5 five): ★★★★

Raisins in the Sun

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Raisins in the Sun

If our summers seem to have become one endless heat wave, one high pressure system after another chasing away the North Bay’s saving grace—the cooling incursion of ocean breeze and fog—wine drinkers can at least seek relief from oppressively lingering evening heat with a glass of chilled rosé, or at least wet their hat with a spritz of Pinot Grigio. But how are those grapevines holding up?

The vines are going to be fine; it’s the wine that we should be worried about, as a report published in the journal Science Advances earlier this year failed to address. Don’t blame the authors for the misleading headlines that online outlets picked for stories on the study, one reading, “Cheers! Climate change will not destroy grapevines,” another, “Worry not, wine drinkers”—although the report itself bears the somewhat click-baity title: “Drought will not leave your glass empty: Low risk of hydraulic failure revealed by long-term drought observations in world’s top wine regions.”

You don’t need to understand the super-sciencey terms in the report to know that the word “quality” is entirely missing. And wine quality is entirely the point: we drink wine because it tastes good, not because the vineyard managed to not die from hydraulic failure. Wine flavor, and its perceived freshness, is indeed affected by higher temperatures—nighttime low temperatures in particular, which multiple other studies have shown are rising faster than daytime highs.

Hoping to gain insight into what the future holds for wine in a hotter climate, I recently attended a tasting presented by a winemaker with experience in the sun-scorched hellscape of Arizona. Actually, though, compared to Phoenix, it’s often 20 degrees cooler in the Willcox AVA, a main winegrowing region of Arizona, according to Aridus Wine Company’s Lisa Strid. The press and consumer event was the first in a new series of visits by winemakers from other American regions hosted by Napa Valley Wine Academy, which offers classes and certifications in wine education.

But even the higher elevation Chiricahua Foothills area isn’t cool enough to produce interesting Chardonnay, Strid concedes, and it’s not at all unusual to bring grapes to the winery at a pH of 4.0, “or thereabouts.” Standout reds from Aridus include a lushly blackberry fruited Graciano and a convincingly stemmy, grapefruity Sauvignon Blanc. The wines are mostly sold through the tasting room, so look them up next time you’re walking around Scottsdale, seeking relief from hydraulic failure.

Napa Valley Wine Academy, 2501 Oak St., Napa. 855.513.9738. napavalleywineacademy.com. Aridus Wine Company, ariduswineco.com.

Beer, Not Borders

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Beer, Not Borders

To many, Santa Rosa is the microbrew capital of the country, a constant fixture on top 10 lists thanks to the quality and sheer number of local breweries in the area.

Another significant figure in Santa Rosa is the number of Latinos who make up the city’s population, accounting for nearly 30 percent overall, second only to Santa Rosa’s white majority population.

With the craft beer market and the Latino population thriving in such close proximity to one another, it’s a wonder that the two have yet to brew up more of a collaboration.

Peter Lopez, 38, owner and operator of Santa Rosa’s Juncture Taproom, believes young Latinos will change the industry’s complexion by assuming a majority role in craft beer’s future. “It’s just a matter of the next generation,” he says. “The seeds have already been planted, and you’re going to see those flowers bloom really soon.”

Lopez, the son of immigrant parents, got his start in the wine industry at age 19, working in a wine-distribution warehouse.

“I had no palate for wine. The only pallet I knew was the one we were putting boxes on,” Lopez says.

Lopez has climbed the wine and spirits ladder, and says he met skepticism that came with being a Mexican-American in a Caucasian-dominated industry.

“When I worked in the wine industry,” says Lopez, “clients would always tell me they wanted to speak to the person in charge of wine recommendations. When I said that person was me, they almost wouldn’t believe it. It’s been an uphill battle for sure.”

Inside Juncture Taproom, the reaction is quite different. The beer bar hosts a loyal, tight-knit community of local supporters eager to enjoy one of the 20 rotating beers on tap and chat with the affable Lopez, who possess an impressive knowledge of craft beer.

“When you’re an immigrant or the son of an immigrant, it can be off-putting to be considered a beer snob,” Lopez says. “The idea of this pretentious world that exists in beer culture now—that used to be wine snobs; now it’s beer drinkers.”

Lopez sees the aversion to the “beer snob” and the Latino community’s general lack of interest in craft beer fading away with coming generations. “There are a lot of people home-brewing right now who are Mexican,” he says, “so that’s something we are going to see in the future.”

Mexican-style lagers have recently grown popular in the craft-beer world, something Lopez considers the “first step in change.” The beers are a clever way for an industry eager to connect with the largely untapped Latino market.

“Anderson Valley was actually one of the first brewers to start the Mexican-style lager trend with their Summer Solstice release,” Lopez says. “The beer said ‘cerveza crema’ on it, and it was pretty much made for their friends in the Latino community working in the fields.”

Lopez takes pride being the only Latino to own and operate a taproom in Sonoma County. “I love being a part of breaking down some of those barriers for Latinos,” he says. However, the son of Jalisco-born parents makes it a point to honor his family’s heritage.

“Each night when we close the taproom we always listen to one mariachi song. It’s tradition,” Lopez says. “My father passed away before he could see Juncture, so it’s a way to honor him.”

In addition to opening the Juncture Taproom, Lopez created NorCal Beer Geeks in 2012, which started as a Facebook page for local craft beer enthusiasts. The group, which began with 12 members, now numbers more than 1,800.

One NorCal Beer Geek is Roseland native Noel Pesqueda Lemus, who goes by the Instagram handle “@roseland_bg” (“bg” for beer geek). Operating an Instagram page devoted to craft beer is nothing new, though Lemus’ account, which has more than 3,500 followers, is significant in that it’s run by a Mexican-American millennial.

“Being Mexican-American, we grow up seeing our families enjoying cheap, light beer, especially at family gatherings,” Lemus says. “These beers always make it to the party: Corona, Modelo, Pacifico, Coors Light and Bud Light. You get a lot of beer without breaking the bank. When you have a large family, I guess it has to be quantity over quality.”

Currently, Lemus’ Instagram is like a highlight reel of the latest flavors and styles concocted by breweries across the country, with a local focus on Sonoma County. In Santa Rosa’s Roseland area, the options for craft beer are limited.

“I would love to see a brewery in Roseland. I know it would get a lot of support from myself and the locals,” he says. “It will help the area financially because it will bring in a lot of people, like the Mexican restaurants and markets do.”

Juncture Taproom, 4357 Montgomery Drive, Santa Rosa. 707.293.9702.

Randall Walker out at SCSO

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Randall Walker out at SCSO

The Sonoma County Sheriff’s Office says Assistant Sonoma County Sheriff Randall Walker is retiring.

Walker, the former warden at the SCSO Main Adult Detention Facility (MADF), was suspended from his post in early April and placed on paid leave.

The details of his suspension are shielded from public view because of state laws governing the release of personnel files or information about law enforcement officials.

The Bohemian has a public records request in with the county to see if there’s any aspect of the Walker suspension and subsequent retirement that is open to public review.

In the meantime, says SCSO spokesman Spencer Crum, Walker will be replaced by SCSO Captain Al Vernon. The new warden will assume his post on July 17. Captain Clint Shubel has been the interim warden since Walker was put on paid leave in early April.

In June, Sonoma County settled a lawsuit brought by numerous inmates which centered on the controversial practice of “yard counseling’ inmates. Interim Sheriff Rob Giordano and incoming Sheriff Mark Essick have both disavowed the practice. The county settled with the inmates for $1.7 million.

It is unknown whether fallout from the “yard counseling” suit had anything to do with Walker being put on paid leave.

Vernon will also be responsible for continue an effort that was pursued by Walker to work with the National Institute of Corrections on an inmate-behavior management program, she says, describing the training program as a “cutting edge” approach to managing the incarcerated.

The NIC program sets out to address fallout from an historical approach to incarceration which puts an emphasis on the physical containment of inmates “over actively supervising them and managing their behavior,” the NIC website reports. “This has resulted in problems commonly associated with jails, such as violence, vandalism, and unsanitary conditions. These problems create dangerous conditions for both staff and inmates and can be costly for taxpayers. To address this issue, the National Institute of Corrections has developed training programs, technical assistance, and information to help jails better manage inmates.”

A Seat at the Table

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A Seat at the Table

Taxpayers and victims may foot the bill for future natural disasters caused by utilities companies if proposed state legislation passes, wildfire survivors and local government representatives said at news conference in Santa Rosa July 11.

Supervisors from Sonoma, Napa and Mendocino counties joined wildfire survivors in front of where Wikiup resident Brad Sherwood’s fire-destroyed home once stood, urging lawmakers block the proposed legislation, which would make it more difficult for victims like those of the October, 2017 wildfires to sue for damages against utility companies.

The legislation, currently under review by a special committee of state legislators, would abolish “inverse condemnation” laws, a cornerstone in establishing liability for investor-owned utilities like Pacific Gas and Electric. Under inverse condemnation, public utility companies, which work closely with local and state governments, are held liable for any damages to property they cause, regardless of negligence.

“[The legislation] would essentially shift their liability onto the taxpayers in the event of damage and destruction,” said Cyndi Foreman, fire prevention officer for Rincon Valley/Windsor Fire Protection District.

Foreman said 80 percent of those who lost their homes were under-insured by an average of $300,000. The scope of the damage raised the price of rebuilding in a county where housing costs were already prohibitive.

Sherwood said local governments, particularly those impacted by the recent wildfires, need to be included in discussions that would affect them.

“I don’t want to be standing in front of my house talking about this with the media,” Sherwood said. “We would love to have this conversation with PG&E.”

“We’re going to stand united with this group here to make sure all our voices are heard loud and clear. The fact is, they need to bring more local representatives to the table to represent wildfire survivors—bottom line.”

Wildfire survivor and former Sonoma County public works director Phil Demery said, “Changing utility liability laws will have a direct impact on our ability to stay in our community and to rebuild our lives. We can’t let that happen.”

Supervisor Gore listed three demands for the state legislature: that local governments be included in the conversation; that proposed changes to liability laws be slowed; and that partnerships form between local governments and public utilities to prevent and respond to wildfires.

“We’re not here to talk about PG&E being a good company or a bad company. Any talk about ending inverse condemnation or other things—we need to be there,” Gore said.

“We need to work hand in glove with the governor’s office and our legislative representatives to get it done right. They’re in it to do the right thing, but we need to be at the table helping them to get there.”

Graham Knaus, executive director of California State Association of Counties, said liability laws protect victims of utility-caused natural disasters.

In a July 10 letter to Gov. Jerry Brown, Knaus defended inverse condemnation because it incentivizes utilities companies to act in the public interest while giving private citizens and local governments a fighting chance in legal battles against powerful companies.

The proposed legislative changes would not work retroactively, so they would not affect October wildfire victims. The official’s main concerns were that legal changes would adversely affect communities in future disasters.

According to Cal Fire, utility equipment caused 16 of the 2017 North Bay wildfires. Of those 16, Knauss said, 11 are under criminal investigation.

The state legislature, currently on summer recess, will reconvene in August for its final bill-passing session of 2018.

Owner Beware

Cannabis regulation in California is heavily focused on local control. As predicted, new lawsuits are cropping up all over challenging the authority of local governments to take certain actions as they pertain to cannabis. Our firm, Harris and Bricken, has generally discouraged clients from taking a litigious approach toward government regulation of cannabis, because the often meritless lawsuits we saw...
Read more

Failing Grade

For this latest primary, Sonoma County hit 50 percent turnout among registered voters. That is disappointing. By all accounts, this election cycle is a referendum on Trump, police, housing, our watershed, education and wages, the very trajectory of our lives. Nobody lacks opinions on those topics, yet only half our registered voters chose November's candidates, decided our sheriff, approved bonds,...
Read more

Letters to the Editor: July 18, 2018

Mother and Child What a beautiful, inspiring cover ("Fierce Love," July 11). —Linda Morand Via Bohemian.com Banned Boys Maybe society should see young boys as valuable as young girls these days ("Fierce Love," July 11). Boys are growing up without their dads more and more, and mothers and women can't satisfy their needs. With this crazy feminism today, boys are going their own way...
Read more

Tesla CEO accuses British hero diver of pedophilia as company lobbies CPUC for latest Powerwall project with PG&E.

Have you been following the news about Elon Musk? The internet is abuzz with news that the California-based founder of Tesla Inc. teed off on one of the heroes of the recent cave rescue of those Thai kids and their coach—by accusing a British diver on the scene of being a "pedo," which is short for pedophile. Musk levied his...
Read more

Tasmanian Tigress

The surprise in monologist Hannah Gadsby's comedy, as seen in the remarkable Netflix special Nanette, commences with her arrival. Gadsby is a plump, dimpled, bespectacled figure originally from the sticks in Tasmania. She looks small on the bare stage of the Sydney Opera House. Gadsby's delivery is what they used to call "button-down comedy"—laid-back, gentle. She makes one think of...
Read more

Bell Ringer

The Hunchback of Notre Dame was originally scheduled last season at the Spreckels Theatre Company. The musical, whose development started in Germany and ended in New Jersey, is an atypical Disney production. More Les Misérables than Little Mermaid, it's an interesting amalgam of Victor Hugo's gothic novel and music from the 1996 Disney film. Spreckels' decision to replace The Hunchback—a...
Read more

Raisins in the Sun

If our summers seem to have become one endless heat wave, one high pressure system after another chasing away the North Bay's saving grace—the cooling incursion of ocean breeze and fog—wine drinkers can at least seek relief from oppressively lingering evening heat with a glass of chilled rosé, or at least wet their hat with a spritz of Pinot...
Read more

Beer, Not Borders

To many, Santa Rosa is the microbrew capital of the country, a constant fixture on top 10 lists thanks to the quality and sheer number of local breweries in the area. Another significant figure in Santa Rosa is the number of Latinos who make up the city's population, accounting for nearly 30 percent overall, second only to Santa Rosa's white...
Read more

Randall Walker out at SCSO

The Sonoma County Sheriff’s Office says Assistant Sonoma County Sheriff Randall Walker is retiring. Walker, the former warden at the SCSO Main Adult Detention Facility (MADF), was suspended from his post in early April and placed on paid leave. The details of his suspension are shielded from public view...
Read more

A Seat at the Table

Taxpayers and victims may foot the bill for future natural disasters caused by utilities companies if proposed state legislation passes, wildfire survivors and local government representatives said at news conference in Santa Rosa July 11. Supervisors from Sonoma, Napa and Mendocino counties joined wildfire survivors in front of where Wikiup resident Brad Sherwood’s fire-destroyed home once stood, urging lawmakers block...
Read more
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