Murder, Poetry and the Color Blue

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Larkspur
Noir to See Here

The Lark Theater steps into the shadows with a week devoted to film noir, serving up murder, crimes of passion, double-crosses and enough chiaroscuro to make everyone look suspicious. The sprawling program reaches from canonical darkness—including Fritz Lang’s M, The Lady from Shanghai, The Asphalt Jungle, Key Largo, Touch of Evil, In a Lonely Place and The Night of the Hunter—to neo-noir descendants such as Chinatown, Angel Heart and Sin City, plus genre-bending outliers Who Framed Roger Rabbit and The Cheap Detective. Especially close to home is Impact, the 1949 noir partly shot in Larkspur, offering local moviegoers the rare pleasure of watching their hometown acquire a suitably shady past. Wednesday-Monday, Sept. 2-7, at the Lark Theater, 549 Magnolia Ave., Larkspur. Individual showtimes vary. larktheater.net

San Rafael
Queerly Spoken

Poetry gets proudly personal at “Queerly Spoken,” an evening celebrating LGBTQ+ identity through the written and spoken word. The lineup features Marin Poetry Center Youth Poet Laureate Ambassadors Ezra Buell and Frances Sveinson alongside acclaimed poet Shelley Wong, whose As She Appears won the Lambda Literary Award for Lesbian Poetry, and poet, attorney and librettist Karen Poppy. Poppy will also honor the late Marin County Poet Laureate Joseph Zaccardi with a photo presentation and readings from his work. The evening includes an open mic inviting attendees to share their own LGBTQ+ poetry. Light snacks and beverages provided. 6-8pm, Saturday, Aug. 29, at Marin LGBTQ Center, 709 Fifth Ave., San Rafael. Free. All are welcome. marinlgbtqcenter.org

Healdsburg
Vines & Roses

Sonoma County’s Wine Country landscape gets a painterly valentine in “The Days of Vines and Roses,” a new collection of oils by longtime local artist Donna Schaffer. Drawing on three decades in the region, Schaffer turns her attention to roses spilling across vineyard trellises, punctuating rows of vines and brightening the hills and woodlands beyond. Upstairs Art Gallery pairs the exhibition with Tosya Shore’s Stairway Showcase, “It’s Black and White with a Splash of Color,” featuring expressive watercolors stripped to essential contrasts of light and dark alongside colorful new oil paintings inspired by the Carmel coast. Meet both artists at the opening reception, with refreshments served. 3-6pm, Saturday, Sept. 5. Exhibition runs Aug. 31-Sept. 27 at Upstairs Art Gallery, 306 Center St., Healdsburg. Open daily, 11am to 6pm. upstairsartgallery.net

Graton
Feeling Blue

Artists have until Sunday, Sept. 13, to get the blues—and deliver the art they inspire to Graton Gallery. The gallery’s upcoming juried exhibition, “The Blues,” invites artists to interpret blue however inspiration strikes: as color, mood, music, planet or something altogether unexpected. Original 2D and 3D works in any medium or style are eligible, with up to three entries per artist. Works must be available for purchase, ready to exhibit and hand-delivered; the entry fee is $20 per piece. Accepted artists will be announced online by midnight Wednesday, Sept. 16, with the exhibition opening the following day and an artists reception that weekend. Submissions accepted 11am to 4pm, Thursday-Sunday, Sept. 10-13, at Graton Gallery, 9048 Graton Rd., Graton. ‘The Blues’ runs Sept. 17-Oct. 25; artists reception 1-4pm, Saturday, Sept. 19.More info at gratongallery.net.

Peak Meals: Butter, Eggs and Salsa with Amy Svendberg 

Raised in Chicago with French-Canadian roots and a family passion for food, Amy Svendberg seemed destined for the restaurant world.

After studying French business and translation at Northern Illinois University she spent five years in Paris before returning home, eventually managing Kimpton’s Atwood Café.

In 2007 she moved to San Francisco, becoming managing partner of Poggio, then of Copita Tequileria y Comida in 2012, and later expanding with Convivo at the Santa Barbara Inn and the new Copita in San Jose in 2023. Amy serves on the Downtown Sausalito Association board and belongs to Les Dames d’Escoffier, while still finding time to climb mountains and spend time with loved ones.

Amber Turpin: How did you get into this work?

Amy Svendberg: When I graduated from college, I moved to Paris to begin my master’s in hotel management. In order to make ends meet, I got a job waiting tables at a Tex Mex restaurant … the irony, I know. In Paris, markets are the heart of everyday life, and I became enamored and inspired by the quality, simplicity and authenticity found in the streets of Paris. Before long, I was promoted to manager and never looked back.

What is your favorite thing to cook (or eat) and why?

Without a doubt, when I have time, I love long-cooked meals—a blanquette de veau or osso buco, or anything that simmers slowly and fills the kitchen. They are forgiving if you forget one or two ingredients, and the process is almost therapeutic. When I am in a hurry, I always lean on eggs: a French omelet, poached eggs or a sunnyside fried egg on a protein bowl. It’s one of the advantages of having chickens in my backyard.

What ingredients do you use or eat the most?

Having a background in French, and 20 years at Poggio, I will always lean on the classics: butter, cream, eggs and flour. At home we’re big Mexican-food people and have a jar of salsa macha that goes on practically everything.

What are some of your go-to places to go out for a sit-down meal? What about take-out?

Sushi Ran is always a go-to for us—the food is consistently excellent and Yoshi is the OG of Sausalito. We recently discovered The Speakeasy in Novato, which speaks to my Chicago roots. As for take-out … does getting fish right off the boat from my chef partner Ben Balesteri count? There is nothing better than when Ben comes back with halibut, crab, rock fish and on a rare occasion, bluefin.

Last meal on Earth?

The meal would be at my mom’s cabin in Quebec, and we would be having a cabane à sucre. If you know, you know.

Poggio, 777 Bridgeway, Sausalito, 415.332.7771, poggiotrattoria.com; and Copita,739 Bridgeway, Sausalito, 415.331.7400, copitarestaurant.com.

Unworkable Paradox: Build More Nukes to Negotiate Reductions

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Daniel Poneman, a former U.S. Secretary of Energy—a position that includes supervision of America’s nuclear weapons—gave a talk called “Prospects for Nuclear Proliferation,” in which he argued that in an ever more dangerous world, the best chance for security is to bolster the U.S. deterrent.

In other words, build more and better weapons and delivery systems. Poneman advocated for more arms control. But is that not a performative contradiction?

An unworkable paradox has operated all along in American arms strategy and for other nuclear powers also: Build more so that one is in a better position to negotiate reductions.

While deterrence may have had some residual effect in making some nations more cautious, it contains a fatal dilemma: In order to never be used, everyone’s weapons must be kept on hair-trigger alert, and so they become accidental apocalypses waiting to happen.

Detonation of only a small fraction of nuclear weapons over large cities would be sufficient to raise enough soot into the upper atmosphere to bring on a decade-long nuclear winter.

One does not have to love one’s enemies to realize that one’s own survival depends upon their enemy’s and their enemy’s upon their own. That applies equally to both nuclear weapons and climate effects.

There are alternatives, some of which are politically risky, but their time has come. Four possibilities for our own nation:

First, the U.S. should stand down its entire land-based ballistic missile force, as a good-faith gesture toward the reality of what the future could look like with a change of direction.

Second, the U.S. should sign the UN Treaty on the Prohibition of Nuclear Weapons as a further gesture toward a nuclear-free future.

Third, we should call an international conference of political, military and non-governmental stakeholders to explore the no-exit nature of our present direction on Earth.

Fourth, we are invited to elect political representatives that offer feasible plans for addressing climate change and are eager to work with other nations on agreements that ensure equal burden sharing.

When are we going to understand that power no longer resides in military might, but instead in mutual understanding of what leads to common survival? When we admit this to ourselves, the door to new visions of security will open.

Winslow Myers is a retired teacher and the co-author with Libby Traubman of ‘One: One Humanity, One Earth, One Future.’

Free Will Astrology, Aug. 26-Sept. 1

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ARIES (March 21-April 19): On the sci‑fi TV show Stargate SG‑1, benevolent aliens known as the Asgard visit Earth to seek assistance from a secret U.S. government team. The ultra-advanced, hyper-intelligent Asgard have been unable to defeat their great nemesis, another alien species called the Replicators. Their hope is that their primitive partners, the humans, might stumble onto some basic, straightforward answer that their own sophisticated minds can’t see. The gamble pays off. One of Earth’s leading physicists, a naive amateur by Asgard standards, devises a rough, unsophisticated strategy that works wonderfully. Treat this as your parable, Aries: Put your faith in simple, uncluttered approaches, and don’t underestimate “beginner-level” fixes.

TAURUS (April 20-May 20): During one of my visits to the annual Burning Man festival in the Nevada desert, I encountered a prankster named Mother Very Superior. This nonbinary performer was dressed like a nun and wore a prominent chastity belt. Wielding a toy whip, they gently lashed me on my shoulders and prayed over me, saying, “I absolve you of all your sins. Therefore, you are now free to commit a raucous slew of new sins.” I hope you get a similar dispensation, Taurus. To be fully available for the rollicking delights you’re eligible for, it would be wise to reduce your karmic debt.

GEMINI (May 21-June 20): Archaeologists studying ancient Roman shipwrecks found that sailors deliberately made their vessels heavier by stowing rocks in the hull. This reduced the profitability of their voyages, since it reduced their cargo capacity. On the other hand, it meant they wouldn’t capsize during storms. An excellent trade-off! Let’s use this scenario as a metaphor for your life right now, Gemini. I’m going to suggest that you will benefit from adding more ballast. Seemingly burdensome elements could keep you steady if conditions become unruly. Consider this: Not everything heavy is holding you back. Some of it’s keeping you strong and stable.

CANCER (June 21-July 22): During the Baroque era, Cancerian artist Artemisia Gentileschi painted powerful biblical and historical women who killed tyrants and delivered their people from violent domination. By channeling her creative passion into figures of righteous fury, she transformed her personal trauma into psychological power. I invite you to be inspired by Gentileschi as you reconfigure your own story in the coming weeks, Cancerian. Wouldn’t it be fun and potent to transform the way you imagine both the past and future plot threads of your destiny?

LEO (July 23-Aug. 22): In traditional sourdough baking, a small portion of fermented dough called a starter is saved and refreshed regularly. Some bakeries maintain the same lineage for years. The starter is a living culture of wild yeasts and lactic acid bacteria that feed on flour and water, producing acids and gases that leaven the dough and create bread with complex flavor, aroma and texture. Let’s use this as a metaphor for your life, Leo. What long-running resource can you use to help create situations that will empower you to thrive in interesting ways during the coming months?

VIRGO (Aug. 23-Sept. 22): The coming months could be a legendary turning point you will celebrate in the future: a pivotal time when you finally outsmart an old adversary and untangle a knotted inheritance, clearing the way to pursue your true calling with undiluted devotion. Or, on the other hand, the days ahead could be another round in the long saga of “almost”: a decisive phase when you avoid a challenge that has been begging for your full brilliance, leaving your future without shining clues for how to further decode the ancient riddle. Which destiny will you accomplish, dear Virgo? Will you answer the call to adventure? Or ignore it until it fades away?

LIBRA (Sept. 23-Oct. 22): Some of my most useful revelations arrive in the dark. Once, while hiking in a wooded canyon at dusk, I lost the trail and had to feel my way forward by the sound of the creek. In that blind descent, an insight about a personal riddle I’d been pondering for months appeared unbidden, as if it had been waiting in the shadows for me. As I followed the stream bank to safety, I celebrated by singing Leonard Cohen’s song, “Hallelujah.” The moral of the story is that some lessons can be best learned by going down: into the body, into confusing feelings, into the rich compost of mysteries we may be hesitant to explore. How about you, Libra? In my professional opinion, your next pivotal breakthroughs lurk in the fertile darkness rather than the brilliant heights. I hope you’re brave enough to descend. The treasure is buried, as treasure often is.

SCORPIO (Oct. 23-Nov. 21): In 1912, Scorpio meteorologist Alfred Wegener proposed the theory of continental drift. It’s the idea that Earth’s continents were once joined in a single supercontinent and have gradually drifted apart to their present positions over millions of years. Most scientists initially rejected his hypothesis because he couldn’t explain how the movement occurred. He didn’t live long enough to receive vindication, but decades later, his novel hypothesis was fully accepted. I’m pleased to report that your wait will be far shorter, Scorpio. Please keep your faith in the novel ideas and perceptions that others don’t understand yet. The world’s almost ready for your innovations.

SAGITTARIUS (Nov. 22-Dec. 21): There is a kind of lightning called a “sprite.” It’s a ghostly red discharge that blossoms high above thunderstorms. I suspect you may soon experience your own personal versions of this wonder. Fleeting insights may appear in unexpected places. Emotionally rich revelations could arrive out of nowhere. Because the moments could pass quickly, it will be crucial to notice them when they arrive. They could stimulate major shifts in your understanding. Keep your perceptive powers highly attuned.

CAPRICORN (Dec. 22-Jan. 19): Fertility clinics store frozen human embryos. Numbering in the hundreds of thousands, they are suspended in a long, chilly pause, awaiting instructions from the people who created them. This accumulation of potential life on hold makes me think of you. If you would thaw and reclaim the neglected, untouched regions of your own imagination, you would become an even more formidable generator of focused creative power. The encouraging news is that the coming weeks will be an unusually favorable phase to expedite this process.

AQUARIUS (Jan. 20-Feb. 18): Some earthquakes unleash energy in violent bursts, but others are incremental commotions that unfold gradually over days or even weeks. The way they reorganize the Earth’s crust is kinder and gentler. Let’s regard these slow quakes as an apt metaphor for the initially disruptive but ultimately constructive transformations underway in your beautiful life, Aquarius. You may not see spectacular evidence that change is percolating, but I guarantee that it is. Old structures are in a transitional phase of subtle disarray, creating conditions for new dispensations you can’t imagine yet. My prediction: The rearrangement of your landscape will be healing.

PISCES (Feb. 19-March 20): The Sargasso Sea is the only sea on Earth without a land boundary. It’s defined entirely by four strong Atlantic Ocean currents that circle it. Its edges aren’t solid walls but slowly shifting rivers of water. I think this anomalous body of water is always a vivid symbol of your world, Pisces, and even more so these days. Your boundaries are currents, not coastlines. You hold your shape through movement, not through rigid definition. This is more challenging to maintain than solid borders, but it’s also a great potential strength. Use it with aplomb!

Homework: Write yourself a love letter. 

tinyurl.com/FreeStuffFromMeToYou

Stu Allen & Mars Hotel Tickets

Enter for a chance to win a pair of tickets to Stu Allen & Mars Hotel at the Inn at Occidental View’s Sunset Concert Series on Sunday, October 11, 6:00 PM.

Since 1995, guitarist and vocalist Stu Allen has dedicated himself to keeping the spirit and music of the Grateful Dead alive on stage. He’s earned a reputation as one of the most authentic interpreters of the Dead’s music. With Mars Hotel, Allen leads a rotating lineup of standout Bay Area musicians who share that same improvisational spirit. Songs stretch, shift, and evolve night to night, with constantly changing setlists and fresh interpretations that keep even the most familiar tunes exciting.

The Inn at Occidental welcomes back their Sunset Concert Series for 2026. Join on select Sunday evenings as live music fills the courtyard and the sun sets over West Sonoma County. The outdoor bar will be pouring local wines, craft beers, and seasonal spritzes, with a rotating lineup of local food offerings available each night.

Drawing Date for this Giveaway is Monday, October 5, 2026.
Winners notified by email and have 48 hours to respond or forfeit.
Must be 18+ to win.

State of the Arts: Autumnal Culture and Creativity

It wasn’t much of a summer, was it? The weather stayed far too hazy and cool, and the kids are already back in school. Yet everyone in and around Sonoma County knows that fall is the best season as the weather often stays warm if not hotter, and a new season of local arts is always intriguing and fun.

The slate for fall arts in Sonoma County appears to show another potpourri of the interesting and entertaining, the thought-provoking, the wildly creative and the just plain fun, so let’s take a tour of some upcoming events. This is by no means comprehensive, but a representative list of the offerings available.

The Spreckels Performing Arts Center, at 5409 Snyder Lane in Rohnert Park, has two very different shows lined up for fall.

First up, Playwright Bill Cain’s all-too-timely Equivocation invades Spreckels Aug. 28-Sept. 13. The plot involves an insecure king in 1600s England who claims a terrorist plot is brewing to take him out of power. Sigh. Please note, aside from being all too current, this play is not recommended for children.

Additional fall theatrical programming can be found in last week’s Bohemian edition (‘Curtain Rises: North Bay Theater Companies Unveil 2026/27 Season Openers.

The Luther Burbank Center for the Arts, located at 50 Mark West Springs Rd. in Santa Rosa, always offers a deeply diverse range of programming and its fall schedule is no different. Living legend Roger Daltrey, of the Who, gets much more intimate playing solo on Friday, Sept. 4. Then, a few weeks later on Sunday, Sept. 19, from 1-7pm, is the 17th Annual Fiesta de Independencia. A free family event organized by the Center’s Latino Advisory Council, the festival honors Latin American countries that recognize their independence during this month.

Other fall highlights include the 50th Annual San Francisco Comedy Competition Semi-Finals on Saturday, Sept. 19; author Kristin Hannah in conversation with local author Ellen Sussman on Saturday, Sept. 26; another rock-and-roll hall-of-famer, Pat Benatar, performing alongside Neil Giraldo on Tuesday, Sept. 29; and the great Lily Tomlin on Thursday, Oct. 8.

More info at lutherburbankcenter.org.

Sonoma State’s Weill Hall, in the Green Music Center at 1801 E. Cotati Ave. in Rohnert Park, keeps its lively entertainment lineup rolling right into fall. Saturday, Sept. 5, New Orleans funk meets Delta Blues as Trombone Shorty and Keb’ Mo’ bring their tour to Sonoma County. Then, a few weeks later on Friday, Sept. 18, Bay Area legend Boz Scaggs brings the “Lowdown” and more with his Rhythm Review show.

Other highlights include author Anne Lamott in conversation on Wednesday, Sept. 23; jazz great Wynton Marsalis on Saturday, Sept. 26; 24-year-old Mexican singing sensation Lucía on Friday, Oct. 2; and Grammy- and Emmy-nominated singer/songwriter Ingrid Michaelson on Sunday, Oct. 18.

More info at gmc.sonoma.edu.

A much-anticipated exhibition takes place Jun. 27-Nov. 8 at the Museum of Sonoma County at 425 Seventh St. in Santa Rosa, with “Christo and Jeanne-Claude: Running Fence at 50 Years.” The 4-year journey to bring the living art project to life will encompass an immersive design, powerful visuals and firsthand accounts. It invites visitors to experience a one-of-a-kind moment in Sonoma County history.

More info at museumsc.org.

Starting Aug. 14 and running through Oct. 31, downtown Santa Rosa hosts a very cool new pilot program with Ross Street Live. Taking place on and around Ross St., the event closes off a section of the block behind the Corner Store Collective down to Mendocino Avenue, with a stage, food trucks, games and more. 

See the schedule online at downtownsantarosa.org.

Speaking of fun sprawling and inspiring art-related treks, the Santa Rosa Open Studios fall lineup happens Sept. 12, 13, 19 and 20 from 10am to 4pm each day. A preview of who is involved runs from Jun. 29-Sept. 2 at the Finley Center, at 2026 W. College Ave. in Santa Rosa, and a complete list of participating artists is available now at sropenstudios.com.

The Occidental Center for the Arts has really stepped up its already impressive programming and this fall one of its signature events, Occidental Jazz Festival, returns Sept. 18-19. This year’s lineup features Glass Brick Boulevard, Paul Hanson, Michael Manring and Scott Amendola, Ken Cook Trio, Junior Jazz All-Stars, Jaycie Grady 4Tet, and Jose Neto and Netoband. Tickets are available for the whole weekend or for individual days.

More info at occidentalcenterforthearts.org.

After a lengthy search for a new location, the Sebastopol Gallery is now open at 186 North Main St. in Sebastopol. The new location merely means the same great, locally centered shows where one can meet and check out original artwork by some of Sonoma County’s finest artists, as well as join a class, a demonstration or an artist talk through the fall and beyond.

More info at sebastopolgallery.com.

Healdsburg’s Raven Theater, at 115 North St. in Healdsburg, continues to knock out an impressively mixed schedule of live performances this fall. Ravi Coltrane—son of John—arrives in town with his quartet on Sunday, Sept. 20, while Tuesday, Sept. 22, sees the United States Air Force Commanders Jazz Ensemble hit the stage. The theater veers again on Sept. 25-27 with the annual Healdsburg International Short Film Festival and then guitar legend Bill Frisell and his Harmony Five ensemble come to town on Tuesday, Sept. 29.

More info at raventheater.org.

What better way to cap off this round-up of fall arts than to mention the Railroad Square Music Fest? It returns on Sunday, Sept. 20, to celebrate its 11th year running in Santa Rosa’s Railroad Square. The free event is open to all ages, and a sampling of acts includes the Sam Chase & the Untraditional, Second Hand Funk & Friends, Dark Matter Lives! with Kayatta, Erica Ambrin, LBZ, Toast Machine, Grapevine Line Dancing, Kalei Yamanoha, LBC, Mariachi, Ballet Folklorico, Nick Otis Orchestra, sicksentz, Pazifico, Kemist, ulyssescfm, Princess Boutique Fashion Show and XO_Chips_XO. Want to really see how we do it in Santa Rosa? Take the SMART Train and enjoy everything the festival has to offer.

More info at railroadsquaremusicfestival.com.

Zillions of Zins: Project Zin & Clay Mauritson

Clay Mauritson’s family has farmed here for six generations. But equally notable is Project Zin, the event he and his wife founded in 2011 with chef Charlie Palmer after their son Brady was diagnosed with Down syndrome.

That first year raised $25,000 for the Down Syndrome Connection of the Bay Area and the event’s been going strong ever since, culminating in over $4 million in donations. Brady won’t attend this year’s event, which happens Aug. 22 at Appellation Healdsburg. But that’s actually good news; he was accepted to ClemsonLIFE at Clemson University and starts college this week!

Amber Turpin: How did you get into this work?

Clay Mauritson: My family has been growing grapes in the Dry Creek Valley since 1868, so I guess you could say I was born into it. Starting the winery was a way for me to expand our family legacy but still be deeply connected to our roots.

Did you ever have an “aha” moment with a certain beverage? If so, tell us about it.

Two stand out: In 2000 I was traveling through France with my friend, Ian Blackburn. We had the incredible opportunity to spend a day with Jacques Lardiere, “the master of Burgundy.” He pulled a 1962 Clos des Ursules from the Louis Jadot cellar. It was dusty and full of cobwebs. The bottles did not have labels on them. I could barely understand a word Jacques said, but the wine transcended language and time.

On my wife and I’s first anniversary, we ate at Charlie Palmer’s Dry Creek Kitchen. A few years earlier I had been gifted a bottle of Krug Clos du Mesnil … what better occasion to open that special bottle than your first anniversary? To this day, it is one of the greatest wines I have ever tasted. That night also cemented a friendship with Charlie that a decade later became Project Zin.

What is your favorite thing to drink at home?

We always have a bottle of sauvignon blanc open in the fridge—it’s what I sip on when I’m cooking. We drink more zinfandel than any other varietal—it’s such a dynamic food wine. And I love a bourbon after dinner.

Where do you like to go out for a drink?

I love Dry Creek Kitchen’s focus on Sonoma County wines, and I think they have one of the best collections of Sonoma wines in the world. Baci and Catelli’s also have good by-the-glass programs that are hyper-local. It’s hard to beat the Matheson’s wine wall, and the clarified margarita upstairs at Roof 106 is dangerous. On the rare occasion that wine isn’t the focus, the Gun Club in Geyserville and Lo and Behold in Healdsburg are some faves.

If you were stuck on a desert island, what would you want to be drinking—besides fresh water?

Champagne seems fitting for the one drink till the end of my days!

Mauritson Wines, 2859 Dry Creek Rd., Healdsburg. 707.431.0804. mauritsonwines.com

Your Letters, Aug. 19

Strange Land

People are lame, but tourists are lamer. This is what I sing to myself (sorry Mr. Morrison) when I’m stuck behind a giant Rivian doing three miles an hour while its driver hawkeyes yet another tasting room on what was once an arterial thoroughfare. Now it’s a permanent sidewalk sale for the “experience economy.”

I hate Millennials. Call me ageist. Don’t care.

I’ve lived in this county long enough to remember when “farm-to-table” was called dinner. Now I’m a stranger in a strange land, called “my home town.”

I expect to be stopped at the county line and asked whether I have reservations.

I do have one advantage over our visitors: Eventually, they go home.

Then again, judging by the real-estate prices, apparently some of them don’t.

Cassady Caution
Petaluma

Where’s the beef?

Well, ain’t this delicious! The Secret Service hid Donald Trump in a catering truck while in Ankara, Turkey, to get him off his Qatari Bribe Airlines jet and safely home on an Air Force C-32A military plane.

When was the last time that catering truck carried 280 pounds of baloney?

Bob Canning
Petaluma

Grassroots Spotlight: Robert Hubbell’s Substack

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A chorus of political rants both online and on cable news so loud and discordant that truth is MIA.

Media continues to frequently underreport grassroots campaigns to extinguish authoritarian wildfires. Where to turn for cogent insights—especially with the midterms around the corner? Political analyst Robert Hubbell stands out as a critically important voice worth listening to now.

Since January 2017 he’s published a newsletter on Substack, Today’s Edition. But it started accidentally, Hubbell says, as an email for family: “my effort—as a father and husband—to provide hope and perspective … after the unexpected results of the 2016 election.”

Soon, Hubbell recalls, what he wrote to his family was being forwarded to friends. It “became a community of like-minded citizens devoted to preserving American democracy.” Today, upwards of 80,000 people read Today’s Edition.

Rather than stoking outrage or unsubstantiated assertions, three consistent pillars guide Hubbell’s writing, the Daily Next reported:

  1. Careful sourcing of claims from credible news outlets
  2. Legal and constitutional context for major political events
  3. A tone of cautious optimism, even when the news is difficult

Where Hubbell particularly excels is in capturing the depth and breadth of the grassroots resistance movement—especially contextualizing its successes. He stands out for consistently exposing the mainstream media’s blind spot in regularly failing to cover citizen activists’ tireless efforts to protect U.S. democracy under attack.

At the end of each day’s edition—which one can also listen to him narrate—he posts dozens of pro-democracy protest photos: people on highway overpasses, in small-town squares and on big-city streets holding an array of colorful banners and clever signs. It’s proof positive that a democracy brigade is alive and well.

But here’s what all of us can do: take 15 minutes to read Today’s Edition. Then forward it to a sister-in-law, a coworker, a city councilor—to anybody in one’s life who is aware of the dire threat facing our democracy.

A five-alarm autocratic wildfire rages. It isn’t necessary to be an activist to feel the hot flames of fascism licking the edges of the Constitution. Robert Hubbell has donned his firefighting gear and stepped into the fray. What about the rest of us? What are we going to do?

Rob Okun is editor emeritus of Voice Male, which has long chronicled the profeminist men’s movement.

Art, Poetry, Stone and Wine With Dogs

Healdsburg
Let There Be Light

Healdsburg artist Jake Messing turns his attention to the narrow sliver of the electromagnetic spectrum humans can actually see in “Visible Light,” a new exhibition of paintings exploring color, perception and the mysteries hiding in plain sight. Flowers, birds, bubbles, crystals and reflective surfaces become vehicles for studying how light transforms the natural world, with Messing drawing inspiration from the Dutch Masters’ use of illumination to suggest deeper emotional and spiritual meanings. A Parsons School of Design graduate and former NYU instructor, Messing has exhibited internationally and created work for clients ranging from Tiffany & Co. to Nike. The opening reception includes light hors d’oeuvres and wine available from Grapeseed. 5-7pm, Friday, Aug. 21. ‘Visible Light’ runs Aug. 21-Oct. 4 at Paul Mahder Gallery, 222 Healdsburg Ave., Healdsburg. paulmahdergallery.com.

San Rafael
Queerly Spoken

Poetry gets personal at “Queerly Spoken,” an evening celebrating LGBTQ+ identity through verse at the Marin LGBTQ Center. The lineup features Shelley Wong, whose As She Appears won the Lambda Literary Award for Lesbian Poetry; poet, attorney and librettist Karen Poppy; and Marin Poetry Center Youth Poet Laureate Ambassadors Ezra Buell and Frances Sveinson. Poppy will also honor the late Marin County Poet Laureate Joseph Zaccardi with a photo presentation and readings of selected poems. An open mic invites attendees to share their own LGBTQ+ poetry, making the evening as much community gathering as literary showcase. The free event includes light snacks and beverages. 6-8pm, Saturday, Aug. 29, at Marin LGBTQ Center, 709 Fifth Ave., San Rafael. Free. marinlgbtqcenter.org

Ross
Stone Stories

The gardens become a gallery at Marin Art and Garden Center, where a collection of contemporary Zimbabwean sculpture brings the work of 10 artists into the landscape. At the heart of the exhibition is Dominic Benhura, one of Zimbabwe’s most celebrated sculptors and a mentor to a new generation of artists. Each piece is carved by hand from Zimbabwean stone, with works ranging from intimate sculptures tucked throughout the gardens to monumental pieces. Presented by the nonprofit House of Stone in collaboration with Slab of Africa, the exhibition also supports efforts to sustain artistic communities in rural Zimbabwe. On Aug. 25 House of Stone founder and Executive Director Arnd Herz leads a free Art Walk and Talk exploring the artists, their materials and the traditions behind the work. 6:30pm, Tuesday, Aug. 25, at Marin Art and Garden Center, 30 Sir Francis Drake Blvd., Ross. Exhibition continues through September. Free. maringarden.org

Napa
Raise a Glass, Wag a Tail

Wine tasting goes to the dogs—in the best possible way—at “Wag, Wine & Dine,” a Napa Valley fundraiser pairing regional vintners with four-legged philanthropy. More than 20 Napa and Sonoma wineries pour throughout the afternoon at the Meritage Resort & Spa, while a VIP hour offers premium wines and elevated bites. Well-behaved dogs are welcome, naturally, and can strut their stuff in a Pooch Pageant offering prizes and canine bragging rights. The all-inclusive event benefits Waggin’ Trails Rescue Foundation, which rescues at-risk dogs and cats from overcrowded shelters and supports their transportation, veterinary care and placement. In other words, drinking wine here may actually help save a puppy. Finally, a compelling argument for that second glass. 1-5pm general admission, Sunday, Aug. 23, at Meritage Resort & Spa, 875 Bordeaux Way, Napa. Tickets at waggintrailsrescue.com/events.

Murder, Poetry and the Color Blue

Peter Lorre portraying a serial killer in Fritz Lang’s 1931 film M.
LarkspurNoir to See Here The Lark Theater steps into the shadows with a week devoted to film noir, serving up murder, crimes of passion, double-crosses and enough chiaroscuro to make everyone look suspicious. The sprawling program reaches from canonical darkness—including Fritz Lang’s M, The Lady from Shanghai, The Asphalt Jungle, Key Largo, Touch of Evil, In a Lonely Place and...

Peak Meals: Butter, Eggs and Salsa with Amy Svendberg 

Amy Svendberg smiling outdoors in a white top and grey blazer with greenery behind her
Raised in Chicago with French-Canadian roots and a family passion for food, Amy Svendberg seemed destined for the restaurant world. After studying French business and translation at Northern Illinois University she spent five years in Paris before returning home, eventually managing Kimpton’s Atwood Café. In 2007 she moved to San Francisco, becoming managing partner of Poggio, then of Copita Tequileria y...

Unworkable Paradox: Build More Nukes to Negotiate Reductions

Microphone on stand
Daniel Poneman, a former U.S. Secretary of Energy—a position that includes supervision of America’s nuclear weapons—gave a talk called “Prospects for Nuclear Proliferation,” in which he argued that in an ever more dangerous world, the best chance for security is to bolster the U.S. deterrent. In other words, build more and better weapons and delivery systems. Poneman advocated for more...

Free Will Astrology, Aug. 26-Sept. 1

Free Will Astrology
ARIES (March 21-April 19): On the sci‑fi TV show Stargate SG‑1, benevolent aliens known as the Asgard visit Earth to seek assistance from a secret U.S. government team. The ultra-advanced, hyper-intelligent Asgard have been unable to defeat their great nemesis, another alien species called the Replicators. Their hope is that their primitive partners, the humans, might stumble onto some...

Stu Allen & Mars Hotel Tickets

Stu Allen & Mars Hotel Tickets
Enter for a chance to win tickets to Stu Allen & Mars Hotel at the Inn at Occidental View's Sunset Concert Series on Sunday, October 11. Drawing Date is October 5, 2026.

State of the Arts: Autumnal Culture and Creativity

Artist painting on a canvas outdoors beside an easel at sunset
It wasn’t much of a summer, was it? The weather stayed far too hazy and cool, and the kids are already back in school. Yet everyone in and around Sonoma County knows that fall is the best season as the weather often stays warm if not hotter, and a new season of local arts is always intriguing and fun. The...

Zillions of Zins: Project Zin & Clay Mauritson

Clay Mauritson in a vineyard
Clay Mauritson’s family has farmed here for six generations. But equally notable is Project Zin, the event he and his wife founded in 2011 with chef Charlie Palmer after their son Brady was diagnosed with Down syndrome. That first year raised $25,000 for the Down Syndrome Connection of the Bay Area and the event’s been going strong ever since, culminating...

Your Letters, Aug. 19

Strange Land People are lame, but tourists are lamer. This is what I sing to myself (sorry Mr. Morrison) when I’m stuck behind a giant Rivian doing three miles an hour while its driver hawkeyes yet another tasting room on what was once an arterial thoroughfare. Now it’s a permanent sidewalk sale for the “experience economy.” I hate Millennials. Call me...

Grassroots Spotlight: Robert Hubbell’s Substack

A microphone on a small stand.
A chorus of political rants both online and on cable news so loud and discordant that truth is MIA. Media continues to frequently underreport grassroots campaigns to extinguish authoritarian wildfires. Where to turn for cogent insights—especially with the midterms around the corner? Political analyst Robert Hubbell stands out as a critically important voice worth listening to now. Since January 2017 he’s...

Art, Poetry, Stone and Wine With Dogs

Colorful flowers and bubbles in Jake Messing’s acrylic painting “Bubbling Blooms”
Healdsburg Let There Be Light Healdsburg artist Jake Messing turns his attention to the narrow sliver of the electromagnetic spectrum humans can actually see in “Visible Light,” a new exhibition of paintings exploring color, perception and the mysteries hiding in plain sight. Flowers, birds, bubbles, crystals and reflective surfaces become vehicles for studying how light transforms the natural world, with...
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