Dec. 10: Christmas Divas in Napa

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Dec. 10: Christmas Divas in Napa

Between the many Nutcracker ballets, Santa photos and TV specials geared toward the young ones this time of year, it seems like adults don’t get much holiday entertainment for themselves. This week, adults are invited to enjoy four dynamic California vocalists sharing the stage in the Soul 4 the Season concert. Lydia Pense, lead singer of the classic R&B band Cold Blood, world-class blues artist Paula Harris, versatile Mr. December frontwoman Dana Moret and jazz diva Terrie Odabi belt out a night of old favorites, new favorites and spiritual numbers in the spirit of the season. The ladies team with Grammy Award-winning saxophonist Tony Peebles and pack a soulful punch on Wednesday, Dec. 10, at City Winery, 1030 Main St., Napa. 8pm. $20-$28. 707.260.1600.

Bloodsucking Beauty

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Bloodsucking Beauty

You won’t see many movies as cool and beautiful as Ana Lily Amirpour’s A Girl Walks Home Alone at Night, though the film still needs a little sifting to distinguish its accomplishments. Writer and director Amirpour isn’t a pioneer of the avant-garde, black-and-white vampire movie; this year alone, Jim Jarmusch released his own vamp film, Only Lovers Left Alive.

Jarmusch is likely an influence in at least one of Amirour’s ideas: the way the film pauses to let us listen to the British tune “Death” by White Lies. The song speaks, as it were, for Amirour’s lonely and lovely female vampire of few words, “the Girl” (a startlingly expressive Sheila Vand).

In Amirpour’s voluptuous recreation of a half-empty Iranian oil town nicknamed “Bad City” (Taft and Bakersfield provide the desolation), the Girl stalks the streets as parasite and avenger, which the director depicts with a surprising visionary eye. The vampire’s hijab transforms into a cape on her rounds, and we see her commandeer a skateboard so she can glide just like Dracula.

As a troubled young drug dealer, Arash Marandi charms the Girl with a soulful comedic side that counteracts the otherwise horror-show material. Marandi’s character suffers from family angst; mother (Mozhan Marno, recalling Melina Mercouri) is a witchy prostitute, father (Marshall Manesh) is a junkie, and there’s even something uncanny about the family cat too.

Amirpour’s good taste shows in hiring director of photography Lyle Vincent, equally superb at illuminating the blurry edges of the night or in using a fine enough grain to highlight the dust motes in a moribund man’s apartment. This is a film in the tradition of Josef von Sternberg’s Morocco and Orson Welles’ Touch of Evil, as well as Michael Almereyda’s Nadja and Abel Ferrara’s Addiction—movies made almost a generation ago—which depicted the quest for numbness by those young and hurt by love.

‘A Girl Walks Home Alone at Night’ opens Friday, Dec. 5, at the Christopher B. Smith Rafael Film Center, 1118 Fourth St., San Rafael. 415.454.5813.

Have Courage

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Have Courage

Singer and songwriter John Courage is one of the most recognizable figures on Sonoma County’s music scene, with his shock of red curls perched atop a six-foot-five frame. As frontman for John Courage & the Great Plains over the last decade, he’s produced a dynamic array of country, folk and rock jams, but about a year and a half ago he hit pause.

Now John Courage is ready to return to the stage and, seated at the small counter at Flying Goat coffee in Santa Rosa, he talks about where he wants to go musically.

“I went through some pretty hard stuff, personally. My cousin and close friend Jimmy died in a freak accident last year. I never experienced personal loss that close. I’m just now getting through that,” says Courage.

“I’ve been a total recluse, holed up and getting back to the drawing board,” he says. “And I’ve been practicing the shit out of the electric guitar.”

On Dec. 5, John Courage & the Gremlin Family Band hit the stage at the Yard in Santa Rosa with a 10-year retrospective show. “Earlier this year, we put out a project called Old Gremlin, and it definitely has a more rock-and-roll bent,” explains Courage. “It’s where I’m at mentally, a reaction to the saturation of Americana right now. I’m waiting for a return to a rock-oriented sound.”

Joining John Courage onstage will be Ashley Allred on vocals, Francesco Catania on bass, Jef Overn on guitar and baritone, and Sean England on drums. It promises to be an interesting mash-up of melodic chords and power-rock riffs.

“We’ll be playing stuff from the last 10 years and three records,” says Courage. “I see it as a closing to that chapter and an opening to the next chapter.”

The Yard is at Ninth and Wilson streets in Santa Rosa. It’s been a hydroponic store and is now a yoga studio, but is set to be demolished for the Smart Train. “We have a terrible record for playing the last show at places,” laughs Courage. “Santa Rosa keeps losing venues; I hope we can get some new ones.” Courage points to the hopeful sight of construction happening within the former Last Day Saloon as a possible new spot for live music in town.

Beyond performing, Courage is hoping to contribute more to the Santa Rosa music scene, and he’s starting at home with his Gremlin Studios, an all-analog set-up. The studio just finished recording the first of a three-part EP by local act the Crux, who open the show this weekend.

Nineteenth Century Onstage

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Nineteenth Century Onstage

When Jane Austin died in 1817, she’d just completed Persuasion, one of her lesser novels best known for its unique heroine, who’s far less plucky than the average Austen female.

In a new stage adaptation at Ross Valley Players, Persuasion is resurrected by Bay Area writer Jennifer Le Blanc, who passes Austen’s witty narration from character to character like a plate of cookies at a holiday ball. Clever, if overlong, Persuasion, directed with a keen eye by Mary Ann Rodgers, revels in its deep appreciation of Austen’s clever and funny language.

The story is confusing and a bit flat, but full of colorful characters revolving around Anne Elliot (an excellent Robyn Grahn), the wisest of three sisters. Persuaded years ago by her family to break off her engagement with a poor sailor, Anne has regretted it ever since. When her father’s extravagant spending forces the family to relocate to the city of Bath, Anne is accidentally reunited with Captain Wentworth, the man she spurned. The results are perhaps predictable, but genuinely affectionate and heartwarming.

Rating (out of 5): ★★★½

In Austen’s day, the stage melodrama was one of the more popular forms of stage entertainment. 6th Street Playhouse has created its own melodrama, though this one, despite the enthusiastic efforts of its cast, is unlikely to spur a renaissance of the art form.

Titled Jolly Juliana, or Her Fruitcake Has Nuts, written and directed by Larry Williams, is nothing if not big-hearted. An occasionally hilarious but severely overstuffed effort, the two-part extravaganza begins with the title play, in which April Krautner (entertaining as usual) goes for broke as the title character, a fruitcake-baking savant who’s home will be lost if she doesn’t marry the evil Lucifer Bellows (Williams, happily hamming it up like a Christmas dinner on steroids). A pleasant enough diversion, it’s the best part of the show.

The unnecessary second half of the night, unfortunately—described as a “holiday vaudeville”—is a problem. Designed as an 19th-century variety show, it quickly wears out its welcome. It feels like a half-hour of filler padded with 45 minutes of placeholder.

Rating (out of 5): ★★★

Dry Times

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Dry Times

Inside the Crane Melon Barn on Petaluma Hill Road in Santa Rosa, Rick Crane, 63, listens to the patter of the rain on the roof and wonders if the first real rainstorm of the year might signal the end of the drought.

“The weather here seems to shift every 15 to 20 years,” he says. “Sometimes it’s wetter and sometimes it’s drier. Last year we had nine inches in about 12 hours; much of it was runoff. What we need is efficient rain that soaks into the ground.”

Crane’s great-grandfather Oliver Crane dry-farmed the Crane melons that he developed at the start of the 20th century (and that are named after him). Rick dry-farms, too, though dry-farming is still rare in vineyards and on farms. “What we lose in weight by not irrigating we gain in quality,” he says. “We live or die with quality. For taste, you can’t beat our melons or the wine that’s made from our grapes.”

Guy Davis turns Crane’s near-perfect fruit into majestic Pinot Noir under the WHOA label. It sells for about $60 a bottle.

Nearly a year after Gov. Jerry Brown declared a drought state of emergency and urged Californians to conserve—and at the end of a wet November with rainfall exceeding norms—Northern California is still too dry to breathe a sigh of relief. From Sacramento to Santa Rosa and beyond, farmers, ranchers and homeowners expect the worst and hope for the best. Crane doesn’t like to complain, but he learned a long time ago that with water—too much or too little—comes worry. There’s more to worry about now than in the days when he was a boy, when farms and ranches stretched up and down Petaluma Hill Road, all the way to 101.

A living history book, Crane conveys the sweep of the past and provides sharp images of places and people, including himself. “I’m a dinosaur,” he says with a laugh. A dinosaur with a good memory who doesn’t aim to impose the norms of yesteryear on the present. They just won’t fit.

“In 1900, the farmers around here didn’t start to plant until it started to rain,” he said. “The ground was too hard. Now you can’t wait for the rain because rain narrows your options. You can’t get into the fields when they’re sogged.”

He gazes at the rain that’s falling slowly, steadily and efficiently. It seems to make him happy.

“When I was a boy, we’d plant oats before Thanksgiving and then again after Thanksgiving,” he says. “We’d plant on Thanksgiving Day before we ate turkey, and then we’d go out into the fields and plant more oats after we had turkey.”

Nobody lives and works that way anymore. Certainly not Crane, though he practically lives on the five-acre parcel of grapes that he cultivates as though they’re his own children. He doesn’t pick the grapes. A crew does that in no time; he stands back and marvels at their speed and accuracy.

In the old days, Crane points out, nobody irrigated, not even Luther Burbank. His great-grandfather’s contemporary was the horticultural wizard of Santa Rosa, who developed hybrid potatoes, tomatoes and plums, and who experimented with drought-resistant plants, including spineless cactus that could feed cows.

For more than a half-century, Crane has kept track of rainless days and endless downpours, and while he accepts the idea that human beings have altered weather patterns, he doesn’t entirely buy into the idea of global climate change.

Sonoma County’s crazy weather patterns have given him fits and starts, but he’s learned to keep his cool in face of the uncertainties. The happiest day of the year, he explains, isn’t Thanksgiving, Christmas or New Year’s, but that special day in fall when the grapes have been picked, loaded onto trucks and headed for the crush.

“If we escape drought, flood, freezing and every other natural disaster, then I can breathe a sigh of relief,” he says.

Water—not too much and not too little—usually spells relief.

One hundred years or so ago, his forefathers dug a 30-foot well with picks and shovels. For decades that shallow hole provided all the water that the Cranes needed for their crops, their animals and their personal needs.

Then Rohnert Park drilled down hundreds of feet, and the old well ran dry. Crane went down 200 feet to find enough water to supply his farm and his family. Now he’s worried again as new houses rise up along Rohnert Park Expressway.

“We’re told to conserve water,” he says. “But 1,300 new units around the corner from me aren’t going to help the water table here. The casino sucks up vast quantities of water too. No one around here seems to want to say no to development that brings in money.”

After a couple of hours, it’s still raining, and Crane is still worrying. He’s too old and perhaps too wise to carry buckets of unlimited optimism in his head.

“If reservoirs are full by the end of this rainy season it will be as if no drought ever happened,” he says. “People tend to forget. But if the drought here lasts year after year, it’ll be all over for California. I’d hate to see that day. Maybe this drought will serve as a wake-up call. We’ve been kicking the same old bucket for decades. We have to revamp the whole water system. It’s time for something new.”

Local Knowledge

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Local Knowledge

Last week, we gave you Jessie Janssen’s well-chosen gift guide. This week we crowdsource gift ideas by leaning on a handful of North Bay locals. If you can’t find a few gift ideas between these two issues, we can’t help you. You’re on your own.
—the Bohemian elves

Carol Noack is the director of communications at the Raven, in charge of marketing for the theater in Healdsburg and the new space in Windsor. She is also the producer and director of the popular Mr. Healdsburg event. This weekend, the Raven Theater in Windsor debuts its family-friendly holiday musical
‘The Best Christmas Pageant Ever,’ running Dec. 5–21.

One of my favorite spots is the Healdsburg Center for the Arts (130 Plaza St., Healdsburg; 707.431.1970), especially at Christmastime. They feature smaller works perfect for the holidays, and there’s high-end pottery and glass and such. The artists also make their own stationery, if you’re interested.

For more unusual items,
I go to Options Gallery
(126 Matheson St.; 707.431.8861) in Healdsburg. They have exclusive contracts with their artists, meaning that what you find there cannot be found anywhere else for many miles. I also like to give food gift sets, and for all my local food I shop at Oakville Grocery (124 Matheson St., Healdsburg: 707.433.3200). They work with local farmers and producers and they have great gift packages that I get for family and friends.

Michael Houghton is a graphic designer, who just so happens to have designed this week’s cover. His shirts and artwork can be found at www.designedbymonkeys.com. On Dec. 20, Houghton hosts Nostalgia Fest, with several former favorite North Bay bands reuniting for one special show, at the Phoenix Theater in Petaluma. Here are his picks for holiday shopping.

Criminal Baking Co. & Noshery (463 Sebastopol Ave., Santa Rosa; 707.992.5661) makes ridiculously tasty treats. Nearly everything is made on-site, and there are all kinds of gluten-free items—great for taking to a party or bringing a little basket of yummies as a gift. And they do gift certificates. Plus, you can hang out and get yourself an excellent meal there while you’re shopping.

Bee Kind (921 Gravenstein Hwy. S., Sebastopol; 707.824.2905) just smells amazing when you step through the door—all kinds of local honey, and shelves and shelves of beeswax candles in all sorts of super-fancy shapes. Beeswax candles are really good for cleaning out the air when you burn them, and they smell so comforting.

Little Luma (500 First St., Petaluma; 707.658.1940) is a children’s clothes and toy store that stocks work from lots of local artist and craftspeople (full disclosure: they carry my shirts too), and their toys are beautiful and well-designed, and center around learning. There’s a really bright and happy feel to the store, and you can tell they really love what they do.

We get our CSA box from Laguna Farms (1764 Cooper Road, Sebastopol; 707.823.0823), which basically means we get two overstuffed bags’ worth of farmers market–quality veggies and fruits every week for $27. You could give someone a huge gift of health for the year, and buy them a subscription, or just get them hooked with the local produce from a gift basket. Or you could get yourself a special order for cooking holiday meals. There’s quite a few other CSAs in Sonoma County too.

Bennett Valley Gardens
(2780 Yulupa Ave., Santa Rosa; 707.569.8624) is a cute little garden center with all kinds of plants. In the springtime, they’re the only place I can find some of the odd and rare plants I like to get, like Mexican oregano. They also have a weird and wonderful selection of succulents, which make great gifts for people who may not have the greenest of thumbs but who can appreciate having a Seussian plant-beast to sit on their windowsill.

I’ve got some relatives who love beer and are super-jealous of all of our local nationally known breweries. I think they’d love to get a selection of small brewery’s beers, a Lagunitas T-shirt or jacket, or a package of Pliny from Russian River.

Made Local Marketplace
(531 Fifth St, Santa Rosa; 707.583.7667) is a super-cute shop with a pretty wide variety of products, all made by local folks. Really homey and friendly on the inside—it’s guaranteed that most of the things there are hand-made and not likely to be available anywhere else.

There’s nothing like the smell of real books. No matter how convenient the Kindle is, it just doesn’t replace the sensual experience. I’m always trying to push my favorite books on people, and especially with gift buying, I try to keep my money local, from Copperfield’s (copperfieldsbooks.com) and Treehorn Books (625 Fourth St., Santa Rosa; 707.525.1782).

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Michele Anna Jordan is an author with over a dozen books on food and cookbooks. Her latest, ‘More Than Meatballs,’ explores over 50 recipes that celebrate the versatility of meatballs, fritters and other bite-sized rounds of deliciousness, and is available at local bookstores. She appears and reads on
Dec. 9, at Sonoma Cutlery’s new store at 555 Mendocino Ave. in Santa Rosa.

Craft Fairs are always a great source, and one I’m looking forward to in Sebastopol is Bijoux Holiday Open House (Dec. 6–7, 10am–5pm; 583 Harrison St., Sebastopol; 707.326.6874). All the artists have interesting stuff; one of my favorites is Annie Roberts. She makes these—she would call them hats—but they’re these indescribable, whimsical things that go on your head.

I like going to farmers markets and artists studios. Showing at the Sebastopol Farmers Market (every Sunday, 10am; Weeks Way and McKinley Street, Sebastopol; 707.522.9305) is ceramics artist Hiroko Ishida. I’m in love with her stuff. I also look for Bodega Pastures there as well. They sell their wool, so for example (spoiler alert!) I got my daughters some handmade wool pillows.”

For anything cooking- or cookware-related, I go to Cultivate (186 N. Main St. #120, Sebastopol; 707.824.1400) or Hardisty’s (1513 Farmers Lane, Santa Rosa; 707.545.0534) in Santa Rosa. Hardisty’s has been around over a hundred years, and is local, and it’s all about shopping local. I never go to the mall except to go to the Apple store, and no one is getting any electronics from me this year.

—Charlie Swanson

Christopher Hill is a St. Helena resident and owner of the Christopher Hill Gallery.

Napa Valley Vintage Home

Having been raised in the U.S. as well as Austria, I really like this beautiful store. They have fantastic decorative items from Germany and Austria, true Old World heirlooms. Their incense smokers also make great gifts. (1201 Main St., St Helena; 707.963.7423.)

AF Jewelers

All St. Helena jewelers are great. Owners Carlo and Kiki Furst Antonini are Italian, and their jewelry is very elegant. I recommend a great pair of hand-crafted earring. Not too expensive. (1309 Main St., St Helena; 707.967.9138.)

The Napa Valley Olive Oil Manufacturing Co.

Organic and wonderful. I’d make a gift set out of their olive oil jugs, wonderful Italian dried meets and other culinary accouchements. Plus, a lot of their products truly from the valley here. (835 Charter Oak Ave., St., Helena; 707.963.4173.)

Naomi Chamblin, owner of Napa Bookmine (Napa’s best used books store according to the Bohemian Readers Choice awards 2014)

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Yarns on First

If you have a knitter-crocheter in your life, they will help you
find a fabulous pattern and suggest the perfectly paired yarn. I’ll also be eyeing their knitting book and magazine selection as well. (1305 First St., Napa; 707.257.1363.)

Shackford’s Kitchen Store

Napa is so lucky they have this gem of a store. I actually ran into my husband there last year because we were doing some major holiday shopping for each other. An epic kitchen store, where anything could be a holiday gift. (1350 Main St., Napa; 707.226.2132.)

Miyamo

This funky boutique always has great party jewelry I’d get for a good friend. Like all my other recommendations, it’s very reasonably priced. Shopping local doesn’t have to be expensive. (1128 First St., Napa; 707.251.9058.)

Jen Kruch, graphic designer and illustrator, co-owner of Napa’s Shipwright & Co. Letterpress + Design

Rancho Gordo

It’s the most amazing specialty food store, with emphasis on produce from the Napa Valley. Their beans are fantastic and will make beautiful stocking stuffers. I’ve also had my eye on their cookbook Heirloom Beans for my mom! (1924 Yajome St., Napa; 707.259.1935.)

The Grand Hand Gallery

They specialize in American craft and feature local Napa artists. They have these amazing handmade Minnemocs (tiny moccasins) I want to buy for every baby I know. Not to mention colorful hand-knit hats for kids by Yolotli. They look like elf hats! (1136 Main St., Napa; 707.253.2551.)

Ritual Coffee Roasters

I used to work for Ritual and designed a limited edition Gibraltar glasses (rocks glasses for coffee or bourbon!) that come in a custom wooden box made by Napa Wooden Box Co. A perfect gift for dad. (610 First St., Napa; 707.253.1190.)

Indra Fortney, owner of Napa’s Boho Lifestyle design and clothing store, lifestyle blogger at Inspireyourlifestyle.com.

The Roost

This design and vintage store sells a lot of great stocking stuffers, such as ornaments, Paddywax soy candles, cute holiday-themed coasters and coffee mugs with Napa Valley writings. They add pretty feathers to the gift wraps, pretty elegant—small things like that can make a small gift fun. (1407 Second St., Napa; 707.224.5600.)

Antiques on Second

For something unique, I’d get a piece of vintage sterling silver or turquoise jewelry, for a one-of-a-kind gift for someone special. (1370 Second St., Napa; 707.252.6353.)

West End Napa

Their glassware is great, the owner has a great eye and has a beautiful collection. (1460 First St., Napa; 707.254.9500.)

—Flora Tsapovsky

Bruce Burtch is the author of ‘Win-Win for the Greater Good’ and a San Rafael–based consultant who works with nonprofits throughout the North Bay, helping them to maximize their community impact with fruitful liasions. We caught up with Bruce at his annual awards ceremony for nonnonprofits in November at the Marin Country Club, the Partnership Prizes.

His holiday shopping regime: “I do a mix of online and local stores.”

Two favorite brick-and-mortar stop-ins are in San Rafael: the indie-chain bookstore Copperfield’s (850 Fourth St., San Rafael; 415.524.2800) and Toys ‘R’ Us (600 Francisco Blvd. W., San Rafael; 415.721.7188), which has a cute giraffe in the window. Burtch has also been known to slip a copy of his book into a stocking or two, we hear.

Joni Rosinski and her husband Norm are the owners of ‘North Bay Biz,’ the leading regional business journal that covers Napa, Marin and Sonoma counties—been around almost 40 years. The couple are residents of Santa Rosa, and while Rosinski says she hasn’t started shopping yet, when she does, “We got to the mall, the Santa Rosa Plaza” (1071 Santa Rosa Plaza, Santa Rosa. 707.575.0115).

My inner suburbanite was pleased to no end at this admission, since I happen to love that mall without a shred of irony or shame. It could use an Orange Julius, however.

—Tom Gogola

Liquid Santa

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Liquid Santa

Gifting a bottle of booze is a no-brainer, but the rub is just that: who wants to look as if they haven’t put some thought into it? A recently manufactured bottle of Pinot Grigio is fine for a party, where it’ll end up lost on the sideboard, but folks higher up on your gift list—at least those who prefer a nice nip over, say, garage-stuffing junk—call for a little something different. Let’s explore the margins: the arty, rare, old, sweet, beery and oily.

The Arty In 1975, Kenwood Vineyards had a go at aping Château Mouton Rothschild’s famed series of artist labels. We’re partial to the collectible 2006 Artist Series Cabernet Sauvignon ($75), if only because the label features “La Bohéme” by California artist Sylvia Ji.

The Rare Wish you could bring them a coveted bottle of allocated wine now, instead of languishing for years on the waiting list? Sophie’s Cellars can offer a limited supply of Williams Selyem’s 2011 Precious Mountain Pinot Noir ($175) because owner John Haggard trades some of his time working in the vineyards for the winery.

The Old Wineries—they have better cellars than you do. Jordan’s kept their 2001 Alexander Valley Cabernet Sauvignon ($89) in prime, gently aged condition. Far Niente’s Cave Collection includes a 2002 Oakville Cabernet Sauvignon ($400), and Silver Oak offers a 2003 Napa Valley Cabernet Sauvignon magnum ($285) that’s signed by David R. Duncan.

The Sweet This time of year sweet is on the menu, so go for it. Lots of late-harvest wines to choose from, but how about late-harvest walnuts? I have no idea what to mix with Nocino della Cristina’s Napa Valley Walnut Liqueur ($30 for 375ml), but the intense flavor makes me too crazy to worry about it.

The Beery Dipped in red wax, Moylan’s whiskey-barrel-aged imperial stout ($10) presents a holiday-fancy beer package and imparts a fancy feeling to anyone who finishes an entire bottle.

The Oily Send a wine country gift without the extra cost of sending wine—Benziger’s 2013 organic estate olive oil ($24 for 375ml) still has a wonderfully fresh, grassy aroma.

The Last Word Is a corkscrew the ultimate, lamely obvious wine gift? Not at all. This world is lousy with crappy corkscrews. They break, they get lost, they require entirely unnecessary upper-body strain. A waiter’s double-hinged corkscrew is the simplest way to open a bottle. Currently, I am using a spring-action, stainless steel model that retails for $16 at the tasting room—but it was a gift. Thank you, Chateau Montelena.

Reservoir Cogs

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Reservoir Cogs

Stop the presses! It’s raining, and that’s a good thing for this seemingly endless drought.

But these late autumn storms that have visited the North Bay—two over the past week, another on its way—offer a more complicated picture than simple drought-busting drops of joy.

The Debriefer is here to help de-complicate matters, with an assist from Brad Sherwood, spokesman for the Sonoma County Water Agency (SCWA).

Sherwood says of course the rain is a good deal for the North Bay. How could it not be? The ground is bone-dry, so “there’s a lot of room for saturation to take place—and we’re seeing that: a lot of saturation. Now with this third storm coming in, we’re looking at more runoff for our reservoirs.”

That’s just ducky, but here’s the rub-a-dub: too much rain too fast could trigger a federal move to drain “excess” water from regional reservoirs.

Sherwood explains that the region’s two main reservoirs—Lake Sonoma and Lake Mendocino, in Ukiah—are co-managed by the SCWA and the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, like a layer cake. The lower depths are county-managed—the “water-supply layer” for the parched peoples of Sonoma County.

But when the rains come in a big torrential gush, the water will rise into the second layer of the reservoir. That’s when the Army Corps of Engineers takes control of the spigot. Why? The Corps is in charge of flood-dam safety.

The problem is when you get a lot of rain at once, and then it all goes to dust again. That’s what happened in December 2012.

“There was a huge storm that year,” Sherwood explains, “and the reservoirs filled up.”

So much so that the “Army Corps had to release a whole bunch of water for flood-dam purposes.” But it didn’t rain again, so the water pumped out of the reservoirs was never replenished.

Ideally, says Sherwood, there’s a steady flow of cloud-nectar throughout the winter. “You want a good rain to saturate everything and get the runoff,” he says. “You want January to fill up the reservoirs, and then in February and March, you have the supply that you need for the hot summer ahead.”

To avoid the Corps-driven water-waste in future drought years, the county teamed up with the Scripps Institution of Oceanography to create better weather forecasting systems so big blasts of rain don’t get wasted.

Sherwood explains that most everyone relies on Doppler radar for making predictions, but the rainmaker-weather that matters in the North Bay often flies below the (Doppler) radar, in the form of a low-lying “atmospheric river” (you may know it as the Pineapple Express). Better weather forecasting would allow the county to ask the Army Corps to lay off draining water if more rain isn’t coming.

Problem is, “in large part, the atmospheric river is not captured in a lot of the forecasts,” says Sherwood.

He says “nailing down the atmospheric river forecasts is a huge priority for the agency”—it’s the biggest potential drought-buster in the county kitbag.

The Proposition 1 water bond that voters passed this year, he adds, has some funding streams that could help the project along. “If we had that in 2012, we could have said to the Army Corps, ‘Let us keep the water.'”

Letters to the Editor: December 3, 2014

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Letters to the Editor: December 3, 2014

Hog Wild

Thanks for the inside information (“Hog Heaven,” Nov. 19)—it was a pleasure to read it and be a tiny part of that story. I know Tim very well.

I live in the Netherlands, and the eight pregnant sows mentioned in the article came to me from the Mangalica Farm in Hungary (from Péter Tóth, president of the Hungarian Mangalica Breeder Organization), all from different bloodlines. They gave birth in my quarantine stable, and I cared for the 50 piglets for almost three months. The 18 best—10 reds and eight blonde—were selected for the States, and eight of the reds went to Tim in California. He is one of the most dedicated breeders I know! Tim truly loves the breed, and he is willing to sacrifice all that is needed to establish a healthy breeding base in America with Wilhelm Kohl of Pure Mangalitsa, Michigan.

Tim works closely with Pure Mangalitsa, which arranged the first import of original Hungarian livestock to the states. Pure Mangalitsa was also the first to import the blonde Mangalitsa from Austria in 2010. Until the beginning of this year, it was not possible to get breeding stock from the Hungarian herdbook, because the Mangalitsa is a protected breed in Hungary, so no breeding material was allowed to leave Hungary.

It took Wilhelm Kohl almost two years to build a stable relationship with the Hungarian Mangalica Breeder Organization before they permitted the first export of Mangalica ever! So what we see here is also a very important moment of Mangalitsa history, written in our days. Most people don’t know this, but I guess it’s interesting for some. The other two reds are in Michigan at Pure Mangalitsa as well as the six blondes, two of which went to Atlanta to Justin King’s Farm.

Pure Mangalitsa has a unique position in the United States when it comes to the original Hungarian lines. They are the only ones that have the contracts for importing these “royal Hungarian Mangalitsas” to the States. Why royal? The Mangalitsa was only bred for the Habsburg dynasty, so it’s truly a pig for royalty.

—Barbara Meyer zu Altenschildesche

The Netherlands

Completely disgusting.

—Lisa Soldavini

Via online

Nothing like stupid online comments from people who know nothing about raising pigs, or nature for that matter. Guess they’d rather have seen the breed go extinct. The reality is that you can’t maintain the species without having a meat program since (1) pigs are very prolific, and (2) only the best genetics are bred. In nature, with predation, that’s how hardy breeds are maintained. Without apex predators, man assumes that role.

—Stefhan Gordon

Via online

Shame on Us

I like Utah Phillips definition of the
1 percent: “The Upper Crust . . . a bunch of crumbs held together by a wad of dough.” The fake conversation about the Democrats vs. the Republican’s is getting tiresome, don’t you think? The media, largely the mouthpiece of the 1 percent and no way representative of the rich diversity of our society, stirs the pot by creating an artificial tug-of-war between these wealthy armies. And thanks to the most political Supreme Court in modern history rendering the most partisan political decision in modern times, the floodgates of influence have been appropriated by a handful of greedy, self-serving fanatics. Of course, we let them do this. We bought their distraction about Dems and Republicans. And we run with it. But any real candidate who dares name the real issue—the struggle between the super-rich and the rest of us—is marginalized by the corporate owned media and slandered into obscurity. Bernie Sanders not withstanding.

A word of caution: As fascinating as the electronic toys are nowadays, when used in a personally unregulated way they create increasing social and emotional disconnect. In other words, we are less involved, concerned, interested in each other.

Additionally, way back in the 20th century, Jerry Mander wrote a book called Four Arguments for the Elimination of Television in which he said a prophetic thing. I’ll paraphrase. He said if there ever comes a day when humans confuse the experience of watching a video of nature on a screen with the actual experience of being in nature, we will be in deep doo-doo. In other words, the more we diminish, or miss, the real experience of people and places, the more at risk for exploitation those people and places will be.

Elizabeth Warren is right: the game is rigged. But not just rigged against college students; it’s rigged against all of us. It’s the old bait-and-switch.

And evidence from our last election seems to indicate that their strategy of distracting us with toys or boring us with lies works—the lowest voter turnout in years. They have convinced us that the one thing that could make a real difference doesn’t. We surrender our most potent expression of dissatisfaction with government and, by indifference or impotence, hand the keys of the kingdom to the corporations that ignore the common good, shamelessly purchase the congressional votes needed to pass laws that put them beyond reproach and squeeze the life out of our once thriving middle class. Shame on us all.

—Kevin Russell

Santa Rosa

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

Green Friday

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Green Friday

On the morning of Black Friday, I arrived at my retailer of choice only 15 minutes early, expecting about the same from the crowd. At 9am, Santa Rosa’s Organicann would be opening its doors to hundreds of medicinal marijuana patients, eagerly anticipating “Green Friday.”

I followed the car in front of me for a couple of blocks past the dispensary before we were able to find parking. Taking my time getting out, in order to gauge the pace of the person in front of me, I noticed the driver was a sweet old lady. We exited our cars almost in sync.

“I hope you’re not going to be trying to cut in front of me,” she said, staring me down with a smile.

I laughed. “Maybe we can walk together! It sounds like we’re heading to the same place.”

We walked and talked for the couple of blocks, taking our time along the way. We shared stories, as well as anticipation for the deals and specials that awaited us. As we approached the facility, a multitude of cars passed by in the opposite direction—8:57am and here comes the rush. More excited, yet sleepy, patients arrived right on (stoner) time.

We were not going to miss this opportunity. Nine o’clock arrived. And what happened next? Pushing, shoving, mayhem, chaos? Not exactly. Calm friendly faces, hundreds awaiting in an orderly line, slowly made their way forward. One by one they entered, and inside there was more peace to be found—and weed, there was a lot of weed to be found.

During my time at Organicann on the morning of Green Friday, there were no dirty looks, arguments, fights or tears. Well, maybe tears of joy. Helpful employees, thankful customers, a little compassion and THC made all the difference.

So I guess marijuana is dangerous. Especially when it’s not being enjoyed.

Greyson Gibson is a Sonoma County based writer. His first novel is ‘Nowhere to Go But Everywhere.’

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.

Dec. 10: Christmas Divas in Napa

Between the many Nutcracker ballets, Santa photos and TV specials geared toward the young ones this time of year, it seems like adults don't get much holiday entertainment for themselves. This week, adults are invited to enjoy four dynamic California vocalists sharing the stage in the Soul 4 the Season concert. Lydia Pense, lead singer of the classic R&B...
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Bloodsucking Beauty

You won't see many movies as cool and beautiful as Ana Lily Amirpour's A Girl Walks Home Alone at Night, though the film still needs a little sifting to distinguish its accomplishments. Writer and director Amirpour isn't a pioneer of the avant-garde, black-and-white vampire movie; this year alone, Jim Jarmusch released his own vamp film, Only Lovers Left Alive. Jarmusch...
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Have Courage

Singer and songwriter John Courage is one of the most recognizable figures on Sonoma County's music scene, with his shock of red curls perched atop a six-foot-five frame. As frontman for John Courage & the Great Plains over the last decade, he's produced a dynamic array of country, folk and rock jams, but about a year and a half...
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Nineteenth Century Onstage

When Jane Austin died in 1817, she'd just completed Persuasion, one of her lesser novels best known for its unique heroine, who's far less plucky than the average Austen female. In a new stage adaptation at Ross Valley Players, Persuasion is resurrected by Bay Area writer Jennifer Le Blanc, who passes Austen's witty narration from character to character like a...
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Dry Times

Inside the Crane Melon Barn on Petaluma Hill Road in Santa Rosa, Rick Crane, 63, listens to the patter of the rain on the roof and wonders if the first real rainstorm of the year might signal the end of the drought. "The weather here seems to shift every 15 to 20 years," he says. "Sometimes it's wetter and sometimes...
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Local Knowledge

Last week, we gave you Jessie Janssen's well-chosen gift guide. This week we crowdsource gift ideas by leaning on a handful of North Bay locals. If you can't find a few gift ideas between these two issues, we can't help you. You're on your own. —the Bohemian elves Carol Noack is the director of communications at the Raven, in charge of...
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Liquid Santa

Gifting a bottle of booze is a no-brainer, but the rub is just that: who wants to look as if they haven't put some thought into it? A recently manufactured bottle of Pinot Grigio is fine for a party, where it'll end up lost on the sideboard, but folks higher up on your gift list—at least those who prefer...
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Reservoir Cogs

Stop the presses! It's raining, and that's a good thing for this seemingly endless drought. But these late autumn storms that have visited the North Bay—two over the past week, another on its way—offer a more complicated picture than simple drought-busting drops of joy. The Debriefer is here to help de-complicate matters, with an assist from Brad Sherwood, spokesman for the...
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Letters to the Editor: December 3, 2014

Hog Wild Thanks for the inside information ("Hog Heaven," Nov. 19)—it was a pleasure to read it and be a tiny part of that story. I know Tim very well. I live in the Netherlands, and the eight pregnant sows mentioned in the article came to me from the Mangalica Farm in Hungary (from Péter Tóth, president of the Hungarian Mangalica...
Read more

Green Friday

On the morning of Black Friday, I arrived at my retailer of choice only 15 minutes early, expecting about the same from the crowd. At 9am, Santa Rosa's Organicann would be opening its doors to hundreds of medicinal marijuana patients, eagerly anticipating "Green Friday." I followed the car in front of me for a couple of blocks past the dispensary...
Read more
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