‘Fools’ Paradise (Lost?)’ at MVFF and More

Mill Valley

Wild Love

Catch the world premiere of documentary feature Fools’ Paradise (Lost?), from Sebastopol filmmaker Alexandra Lexton, at 5pm, Oct. 12 at Sequoia Cinema, 25 Throckmorton Ave., Mill Valley. Part of the 47th Mill Valley Film Festival, this powerful film—billed as “a love letter to our wild”—explores the healing potential of reconnecting with nature in the face of climate change and environmental degradation.The film delves into scientific inquiry, sustainable business practices and nature therapies, illustrating how personal reconnection to the natural world can lead to both individual and planetary healing. Featuring stories from a nature photographer, a science writer, an Indigenous scholar and Marin’s own “Planetwalker,” Dr. John Francis, Fools’ Paradise (Lost?) offers a message of hope and possibility. Following the screening, Lexton will be present for a Q&A to discuss the film’s journey and its deep exploration of sustainable living and personal action. Tickets are $16 for MVFF members and $18.50 for the general public. For more info and to purchase tickets, visit mvff.com/program/fools-paradise-lost.

Santa Rosa

Beagle Scouts

Snoopy and his loyal Beagle Scouts will be celebrating 50 years at the Charles M. Schulz Museum’s latest exhibition, Here Come the Beagle Scouts!, running now through March 12, 2025. This nostalgic tribute to the Beagle Scouts’ adventures features original Peanuts comic strip art, vintage collectibles, animation clips and plenty of surprises—no compass needed. The exhibition highlights the Beagle Scouts’ June 9, 1974 debut, with over 160 appearances in Peanuts, and showcases their lasting influence, including inspiration for the new AppleTV+ show Camp Snoopy. Visitors can explore rare memorabilia, including figurines, Colorforms and a collection of Scout-themed embroidered patches. Archival photos of Schulz, from his military service and outdoor trips, provide insight into his personal inspirations. Interactive features include a “Beagle Scout Certification” station and a campfire photo op with Snoopy. It’s possible to take a photo, get a memento stamped and immerse oneself in the spirit of these iconic characters. Charles M. Schulz Museum is located at 2301 Hardies La., Santa Rosa. Admission is $12 adults, $8 seniors, $5 children (ages 4-18), free for children under 4 and museum members. schulzmuseum.org.

Fairfax

Hernan Diaz Live

On Wednesday, Oct. 16, at 7pm, Pulitzer Prize-winning author Hernan Diaz will celebrate the release of a special hardcover edition of his novel, In the Distance, at the Fairfax Pavilion, 142 Bolinas Rd. A perennial bestseller and finalist for the Pulitzer Prize, In the Distance is a tale of a young Swedish boy, separated from his brother, who becomes a legendary outlaw as he journeys across America. Set against the backdrop of 19th-century America, the novel follows the boy as he travels eastward, encountering criminals, naturalists and lawmen while defying the conventional boundaries of historical fiction. Diaz’s storytelling challenges stereotypes and examines the extremes of the human condition. Tickets are $5, and registration is required for this event, held in collaboration with Point Reyes Books and Fairfax Recreation. ptreyesbooks.com.

Healdsburg

Ghosted

What’s more intriguing than a ghost? Four of them. Ghost Quartet, Dave Malloy’s haunting and imaginative ghost-story-musical, comes to THE 222 in H’Burg, live (well, in a spiritual sense), with an opening night on Friday, Oct. 25. Programmed by Aldo Billingslea, this life-affirming piece is a  “song cycle about love, death and whiskey,” weaving an intricate tale spanning seven centuries. The story includes a murderous sister, a treehouse astronomer, a bear, a subway and the ghost of Thelonious Monk. Featuring a wide variety of musical genres—from gospel to folk ballads and jazz—the show incorporates an eclectic mix of instruments, including the cello, dulcimer, Celtic harp and more. Grammy-nominated violist/cellist Keith Lawrence and Rinde Eckert bring this haunting performance to life. Ghost Quartet performances are 7pm, Friday, Oct. 25 and 26; and 2pm, Sunday, Oct. 27, at THE 222, 222 Healdsburg Ave., Healdsburg. For ticket information, visit the222.org.

Free Will Astrology: Week of Oct. 9

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ARIES (March 21-April 19): In the coming weeks, you may be tempted to spar and argue more than usual. You could get sucked into the fantasy that it would make sense to wrangle, feud and bicker. But I hope you sublimate those tendencies. The same hot energy that might lead to excessive skirmishing could just as well become a driving force to create robust harmony and resilient unity. If you simply dig further into your psyche’s resourceful depths, you will discover the inspiration to bargain, mediate and negotiate with élan. Here’s a bold prediction: Healing compromises hammered out now could last a long time.

TAURUS (April 20-May 20): Question #1: “What subjects do you talk about to enchant and uplift a person who’s important to you?” Answer #1: “You talk about the feelings and yearnings of the person you hope to enchant and uplift.” Question #2: “How do you express your love with maximum intelligence?” Answer #2: “Before you ask your allies to alter themselves to enhance your relationship, you ask yourself how you might alter yourself to enhance your relationship.” Question #3: “What skill are you destined to master, even though it’s challenging for you to learn?” Answer #3: “Understanding the difference between supple passion and manic obsession.”

GEMINI (May 21-June 20): In 1819, Gemini entrepreneur Francois-Louis Cailler became the first chocolatier to manufacture chocolate bars. His innovation didn’t save any lives, cure any diseas or fix any injustice. But it was a wonderful addition to humanity’s supply of delights. It enhanced our collective joy and pleasure. In the coming months, dear Gemini, I invite you to seek a comparable addition to your own personal world. What novel blessing might you generate or discover? What splendid resource can you add to your repertoire?

CANCER (June 21-July 22): Ayurnamat is a word used by the Inuit people. It refers to when you long for the relaxed tranquility that comes from not worrying about what can’t be changed. You wish you could accept or even welcome the truth about provocative situations with equanimity. Now here’s some very good news, Cancerian. In the coming weeks, you will not just yearn for this state of calm, but will also have a heightened ability to achieve it. Congratulations! It’s a liberating, saint-like accomplishment.

LEO (July 23-Aug. 22): Healing will be more available to you than usual. You’re extra likely to attract the help and insight you need to revive and restore your mind, soul and body. To get started, identify two wounds or discomforts you would love to alleviate. Then consider the following actions: 1. Ruminate about what helpers and professionals might be best able to assist you. Make appointments with them. 2. Perform a ritual in which you seek blessings from your liveliest spirit guides and sympathetic ancestors. 3. Make a list of three actions you will take to make yourself feel better. 4. Treat this process not as a somber struggle, but as a celebration of your mounting vitality.

VIRGO (Aug. 23-Sept. 22): The Beatles were the best-selling band of all time and among the most influential, too. Their fame and fortune were well-earned. Many of the 186 songs they composed and recorded were beautiful, interesting and entertaining. Yet none of the four members of the band could read music. Their brilliance was intuitive and instinctual. Is there a comparable situation in your life, Virgo? A task or skill that you do well despite not being formally trained? If so, the coming months will be a good time to get better grounded. I invite you to fill in the gaps in your education.

LIBRA (Sept. 23-Oct. 22): In 2010, Edurne Pasaban became the first woman to climb the world’s tallest 14 mountains, reaching the top of Shishapangma in China. In 2018, Taylor Demonbreun arrived in Toronto, Canada, completing a quest in which she visited every sovereign nation on the planet in 18 months. In 1924, explorer Alexandra David-Néel pulled off the seemingly impossible feat of visiting Lhasa, Tibet, when that place was still forbidden to foreigners. Be inspired by these heroes as you ruminate about what frontier adventures you will dare to enjoy during the next six months. Design a plan to get all the educational and experimental fun you need.

SCORPIO (Oct. 23-Nov. 21): Alnwick Garden is an unusual network of formal gardens in northeast England. Among its many entertaining features is the Poison Garden, which hosts 100 species of toxic and harmful plants like hemlock, strychnine and deadly nightshade. It’s the most popular feature by far. Visitors enjoy finding out and investigating what’s not good for them. In accordance with astrological omens, Scorpio, I invite you to use this as an inspirational metaphor as you take inventory of influences that are not good for you. Every now and then, it’s healthy to acknowledge what you don’t need and shouldn’t engage with.

SAGITTARIUS (Nov. 22-Dec. 21): Sagittarian Tom Rath is an inspirational author who at age 49 has managed to stay alive even though he has wrangled with a rare disease since he was 16. He writes, “This is what I believe we should all aim for: to make contributions to others’ lives that will grow infinitely in our absence. A great commonality we all share is that we only have today to invest in what could outlive us.” That’s always good advice for everyone, but it’s especially rich counsel for you Sagittarians in the coming months. I believe you will have a special capacity to dispense your best gifts to those who need and want them.

CAPRICORN (Dec. 22-Jan. 19): Capricorn writer Susan Sontag was a public intellectual. She was an academic with a scholarly focus and an entertaining commentator on the gritty hubbub of popular culture. One of my favorite quotes by her is this one: “I like to feel dumb. That’s how I know there’s more in the world than me.” In other words, she made sure her curiosity and open-mindedness flourished by always assuming she had much more to learn. I especially recommend this perspective to you in the coming weeks.

AQUARIUS (Jan. 20-Feb. 18): The Salem Witch Trials took place in Massachusetts from 1692 to 1693. They were ignorant, superstitious prosecutions of people accused of practicing witchcraft. The modern holiday known as Freethought Day happens every October 12, the anniversary of the last witch trial. The purpose of this jubilee is to encourage us to treasure objective facts, to love using logic and reason, and to honor the value of critical thinking. It’s only observed in America now, but I propose we make it a global festival. You Aquarians are my choice to host this year’s revelries in celebration of Freethought Day. You are at the peak of your ability to generate clear, astute, liberating thoughts. Show us what it looks like to be a lucid, unbiased observer of reality.

PISCES (Feb. 19-March 20): A YouTube presenter named Andy George decided to make a chicken sandwich. But he didn’t buy the ingredients in a store. He wanted to make the sandwich from scratch. Over the next six months, he grew wheat, ground it into flour and used it to bake bread. He milked a cow to make cheese and butter. He got sea salt from ocean water and grew a garden of lettuce, cucumber, tomato and dill for toppings. Finally, he went to a farm, bought a chicken, and did all that was necessary to turn the live bird into meat for the sandwich. In describing his process, I’m not suggesting you do something similar. Rather, I’m encouraging you to be thorough as you solidify your foundations in the coming months. Gather resources you will need for long-term projects. Be a connoisseur of the raw materials that will assure future success in whatever way you define success.

Homework: What have you denied yourself even though it would be good for you? Write a note giving yourself permission. Newsletter.FreeWillAstrology.com

Time to Laugh: David Ives comedies at SRJC

As a graduate of a University Theatre Arts program, I well remember how important it was to have an audience fill the seats at our performances. Having an audience, a real audience (not just one composed of friends and family and students looking for some easy extra credit for their English class) made all the difference in the world to a bunch of young and not-so-young humans like me, insane enough to actually pursue a degree in Theatre.

All of the post-secondary education institutions of higher learning in the North Bay have vibrant theatre programs. Napa Valley College, College of Marin, Santa Rosa Junior College, and Sonoma State University (for now) all mount productions that welcome the public’s attendance and support. The state-of-the-art facilities at all four campuses are some of the best venues in the area to enjoy a live performance.

Santa Rosa Junior College’s Burbank Auditorium has two theatres: the 400-seat Main Theatre and the 200-seat Frank Chong Studio Theatre. The studio theatre has fast become one of my favorite North Bay venues. It’s modern yet comfortable and has all the bells and whistles one expects when it comes to lighting and sound.  

Those bells and whistles are put to good use by a bunch of current and former student designers in the SRJC’s production of All in the Timing: An Evening of David Ives Comedies. The show runs on the Santa Rosa campus through October 13.

The show is a collection of six one-act comedies that gives the student cast the opportunity to play a variety of roles, from a couple of folks chatting at a coffee shop to monkeys sitting at typewriters to Russian revolutionary Leon Trotsky to two mayflies looking to make the most of their 24 hours on Earth.

Sure Thing plays like an improv comedy sketch as two people (Maya Tuchband and AJ Correa) meet in a coffee shop and engage in a conversation. The conversation literally turns on a bell.

Words, Words, Words is Ives’ take on the infinite monkey theorem. That theorem states that a monkey hitting keys at random on a typewriter keyboard for an infinite amount of time will almost surely type the complete works of William Shakespeare. Ives puts three monkeys (Cameron Sundberg, Ethan Fuller, Emerson Reynolds) to work on Hamlet.

The Universal Language introduces the audience to Unamunda, a nonsensical language being hawked by a shady huckster named Don (Orion Pudoff) to an unsuspecting woman named Dawn (Nataly Garduno) who’s trying to overcome a speech impediment.

The Philadelphia features two gentlemen (Will Mosier, Kasey Vannoy) and a waitress (Mariah Burgos) living in a world where you can never get what you ask for.

Variations on the Death of Trotsky is just what its title indicates. The Russian revolutionary lived 24 hours after a mountain climber’s axe was smashed into his skull, so Ives gives us Trotsky (Gavin Sellors), his wife (Samantha Rokes), and his gardener/assassin Ramon (Juan Torres Ibanez) in a number of Monty Python-esque bits, all with the axe protruding from Trotsky’s head.

Time Flies features two mayflies (Maya Tuchband, James Maverick Cheney) trying to get it on under the watchful eyes of Sir David Attenborough (Orion Pudoff).

Director Leslie McCauley’s young cast handles Ives’ often intricately amusing wordplay extremely well. For folks who like their comedy a bit more on the physical side, the casts of Words, Words, Words and Time Flies deliver the goods, with Sundberg’s work as monkey ‘Milton’ particularly funny.

The utilitarian set by Nathaniel George Gillespie allows for quick scene changes and crisp projections (also by Gillespie) announce each play. The cast is well-supported by the lighting and sound designs by Alex Clark and Grace Reid. If you’ve ever wondered what mayflies on the make look like, costume designer Reynalda Cruz gives them a Las Vegas lounge singer look (with antennae).

With a running time of less than two hours and ticket prices of only $15 – $25, this well-produced, well-performed, and often very amusing show is an absolute bargain. It would be time (and money) well spent.

‘All in the Timing’ runs Thurs–Sun through October 13 in the Santa Rosa Junior College Burbank Auditorium Frank Chong Studio Theatre, 1501 Mendocino Ave., Santa Rosa. Thurs–Sat, 7:30 pm; Sat & Sun, 2 pm. $15–$25. 707.527.4307. theatrearts.santarosa.edu

Blind Scream Haunts Drew Dominguez

It is a scary world out there. And the level of anxiety that most of us carry is such that we hold a scream in our chest.

We spend a lot of energy trying to hold that scream in. But if one lets it out—in safety—it is the quickest way to relief. One might find oneself laughing and feel a bit of peace. For this, let me recommend the master of horror, Drew Dominguez, who together with his business partner, Judy Groverman Walker, operates Blind Scream haunted house.

It’s in Santa Rosa, on the cursed ground of the old Sears Tire Center. And one can trust Dominguez, as he’s a safety rep. for Kaiser Permanente construction—this will be therapeutic.

CH: Drew, even though you are seasonal (with Blind Scream), I see you have held the building lease more than 10 spooky years.

DD: That allows us the ability to build all year, so it has a whole different feel than most haunted houses that are around. It used to be that each year we would have to find a building for a short-term lease, set it up for a month, run it for a month and tear it down for a month.

CH: There is a deep depth of detail. I could spend an hour in the first room—a gruesome carnival concession stand—pouring over the details. That is, if I weren’t running in terror.

DD: We want to submerge you in the story and suspend your disbelief. Most haunts are kind of flat in comparison.

CH: And you change 25% of the haunt each year! Drew, I saw a cast list with 35 different parts. There were some classics like chain-saw maniac and séance ghost, but there seem to be a lot of original characters too.

DD: The haunt tells the continuing story of a family called the Hunters, led by patriarch Doc Hunter and his wife, Mama Santé.

CH: They’re pretty twisted. I see their story coheres the themed rooms as a whole—but then you also liken visitor experience to a roller coaster ride?

DD: There are highs and lows—desensitization, rooms that feel calmer, misdirection—like in a magic show or film-making. I will guide people to look at something—a squeaking creature in a cage—so I can get them from behind! 

There’s so much more. I wasn’t able to mention the in-house special effects studio, the terrifying animatronic monsters, the original music and field-recorded sound effects. One will just have to go and see! linktr.ee/blindscreamLINKS.

Prescribed: Protect access to meds for seniors

America’s poorest seniors could soon find it much harder to get the necessary medicines.

That’s because Medicare’s Low-Income Subsidy program—which provides millions of seniors with prescription drug coverage with no monthly premium—is eroding. Recent changes made in the Inflation Reduction Act are partly to blame.

The number of “benchmark” LIS plans—which offer coverage without a monthly premium—plummeted 34% last year alone. As a result of some plans being discontinued or increasing their monthly premium, over 1.3 million seniors were reassigned to a different plan by Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS).

Many other seniors had no choice but to opt for more expensive alternative plans that require monthly premiums, jeopardizing their access to life-saving medicines—or reducing what they can spend on necessities like groceries and rent.

The Low-Income Subsidy program is a lifeline for roughly 13 million Americans. Low-income seniors are disproportionately burdened by chronic health conditions like diabetes and heart disease, so whether they can afford prescriptions can be a matter of life and death. Only seniors whose annual earnings are less than 150% of the federal poverty line—about $22,500 for a single person or $30,500 for a couple—qualify for the program.

By the numbers, communities of color are primarily reliant on these subsidies. Combined, Black and Hispanic beneficiaries make up just 20% of Medicare drug plan enrollees. However, within the subsidy program, Black and Hispanic beneficiaries total 37% of enrollees.

Low-income subsidy enrollees are increasingly having to turn to higher-premium plans. Since last year, the number of people who now have to pay premiums has increased by more than one million.

Just as concerning is the fact that premiums across all Medicare prescription drug plans are rising. Average monthly premiums are projected to increase by at least 21% by the end of this year.

It’s a concerning situation. Without swift action from the CMS and Congress, America’s poorest seniors risk losing access to the medicines they need to live healthy lives.

Dr. Yanira Cruz is the president and CEO of the National Hispanic Council on Aging.

Smart Art with Jeffrey Ventrella at IceHouse

While half the world’s artist population frets over a looming tech apocalypse (looking at you, A.I.), Petaluma artist Jeffrey Ventrella has already achieved mastery over the machines.

His work, with lunar-like leitmotifs of mandala-like forms, appears both ancient and futuristic, organic and technological. The sense of scale reels between the minute and the vast, as some works evoke the vignetting of a microscope slide or peering into a telescope. Ventrella achieves these results with an artist’s eye and a coder’s acumen for telling algorithms what to do, and as such, is among a new wave of computer-aided creators who are blurring the lines between artist and medium.

Some of Ventrella’s work is featured in “Paint and Pixel,” an exhibition of artworks by painter Doug Ballou and Ventrella that opens with a reception at the IceHouse Gallery in Petaluma on Oct. 5 and continues through the month.

It’s no accident that Ventrella’s work is paired with that of Bailou, a traditional painter whose penchant for similar forms and detail is shared by Ventrella. Their juxtaposition isn’t oppositional but complementary and underscores a premise implicit in their pairing that, indeed, paint and pixels can exist together in harmony. 

The Bohemian had a chat with Ventrella about his process.

Bohemian: Your work represents an exciting combination of art and technology—when and how did you discover this symbiosis for yourself?

Jeffrey Ventrella: The critical seeds of discovery started a few moments after birth when I was neither artist nor programmer. I’ve been trying to keep that naive perspective—I just turned 64. In my case, art was very prominent in my family, but I’ve always had a nerdy obsession with geometry and biology. When I discovered fractal curves at age 25, and a snippet of code that magically generated complex, malleable organic forms, I was instantly converted.

B: For that matter, for a little background, when you’re not working on art, what kind of work have you been doing lately (day job, contract work, etc.)? How does one skill set inform the other?

JV: I am at the tail-end of a kaleidoscopic career in software development and design, specializing in computer graphics, virtual worlds, scientific data visualization and physics-based interactive animation for games and artificial life research. I am currently developing a custom virtual reality application for biological research. I am building everything in code, including an immersive user interface. I’m using the Unity game engine and the HTC Vive Pro virtual reality headset. 

B: How does one skill set inform the other? 

JV: My training in art and design (a BFA, an MFA and a MS from the MIT Media Lab) informs my software development, not just in terms of the end-user experience but in the actual process of evolving a software project. My approach notoriously runs counter to the way many developers (having degrees in computer science) write code.

Conversely, the technical skills I’ve built up over a career of tech employment have been great for me as an artist. Software, unlike paint or clay, is a cognitive medium; I can write code while napping.

B: Can you describe your creative process, from conception to execution—how does the magic happen?

JV: Napping has a lot to do with it. I have to manage all parts of my brain to feed the creative process, including the flow of dopamine, adrenaline and a few external molecules of note. Writing software is not easy. The nutsy-boltsy nature of code messes with one’s ability to see the big picture. My work is about mixing bottom-up processes (like the way crystals grow or the way ants forage for food) with top-down processes (like how a large shape and a combination of colors can be made to evoke a misty landscape or a lumbering animal). 

So I try to yo-yo my attention in and out from the details to the grand view as I work. Shifting perspective is critical. In most cases, I have a collection of ideas and techniques that I continually recycle over the years. The magic emerges somewhere in the process.

B: The titles of your pieces suggest an inherent juxtaposition in their creation (“Organic Algorithms,” for example). Do you feel the resulting art reconciles this, or does a tension persist within the art?

JV: Juxtaposition is kind of my jam. From up-close, my art looks like geometry (because it is), but from a distance, something organic and lifelike emerges. When the eye-brain has to work to make out what’s going on, the imagination is kicked up a notch. I am influenced by abstract expressionism and surrealism. I try to grow images that resemble the forms of Gorky, Klee, Miro and Motherwell.

B: Have you shown with Doug Ballou before? What is complementary about your individual oeuvres, and how did the joint exhibit develop?

JV: Amazingly, I only met Doug a few weeks ago. Bill Kane and Joe McDonald, who run the IceHouse Gallery, invited me and Doug to be in a show together. I think we’re a great match in terms of imagery, but also in terms of process and overall attitude. I think Doug has a thoughtful, dedicated process for developing his imagery. Process is also important for me. But in my case, process is specified in algorithms that function as seeds for growth—like genetics and embryology. 

Doug and I will display several of our pieces next to each other. I would be delighted if viewers didn’t know at first if they were seeing something made from pixels or from paint. We are both aiming for a similar visual experience, and we want to emphasize the complementarity of our work.

B: What do you hope viewers of your work take away from this exhibit?

JV: I would like to give viewers an opportunity to see computer software as an expressive medium on par with fine art painting. I want viewers to approach these works as they might approach a painting or drawing. My algorithms generate original artworks that benefit from a lifetime of meticulous tuning, tweaking and refining of the genetic seeds for my vision. 

I am a fan of “process art” in the sense of an artwork that expresses something about its own making. I want people to feel the growth process behind my imagery as if they were seeing a botanical form or a developing embryo. It’s part of a bigger process that has been going on for about 30 years now.

To view more work by Ventrella, visit ventrella.com/art. Works by Ballou can be found online at Calabi Gallery (calabigallery.com/artists/douglas-ballou) and Instagram (instagram.com/dugbalu).

The opening reception of ‘Paint and Pixel’ is 5 to 8pm, Saturday, Oct. 5, at IceHouse Gallery, 405 East D St. (at Lakeville), Petaluma.

Your Letters, 10/2

Yes on Measure I

As a past commissioner on the Status of Women and chair for four years, the work I am most proud of has been giving voice to Sonoma County women and families and their concerns. Voices of Sonoma County Women was a pre-pandemic project that included live listening sessions and surveys, asking what the top issues were concerning women in our county. Access to quality, affordable childcare was a top concern.

The 2021 Voices of Sonoma County Women survey revealed access to quality, affordable childcare as an important challenge across the economic and racial spectrum of respondents and highest among Latinx (39%) and AAPI (38%) families.

Additionally, 33% of Black or African American respondents, 25% of American Indian/Alaska Native respondents and 19% of white respondents reported that access to quality, affordable childcare was one of their most critical challenges.

Besides supporting women’s ability to provide for their families and their own professional growth, quality childcare and early childhood education improve a child’s readiness for kindergarten. 70% of Sonoma County kids are starting school unprepared. Let’s set them up for long-term success by voting yes on Measure I.

Janice Blalock

Santa Rosa

Felicitous Complicity

Donald Trump warned he will jail election officials he considers cheats, is complaining Pennsylvania’s voting is already a fraud, vowed to pardon January 6 rioters, railed against women who accused him of sexual misconduct, and spent hours in recent days on sometimes incoherent rants that raised questions about his state of mind. HOW is he avoiding being sentenced as an insurrectionist? Oh, wait—a complicit judiciary and Congress.

Gary Sciford

Santa Rosa

Your Culture Crush, 10/2

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Mill Valley

Lights, Camera and – COLOR!

Rina Neiman and Marsha Heckman are friends, artists and writers who turned their experience into a photography exhibition and self-professed “artnership.” Throughout the Covid pandemic, these local ladies decided to take up a new medium (along with their face masks) and hit the streets with cameras. Now, the photos they took are ready to be seen by the eyes of Marin’s art-loving community, in a Mill Valley Arts Commission exhibit called “Fantastic Voyage.” Heckman has lived in Mill Valley for 60 years and is the author and designer of eight lifestyle and flower books. Alongside being invited as the guest florist at the Obama White House, she has displayed pieces at St. Mary’s Cathedral and the de Young Museum in San Francisco, the Boston Museum of Fine Arts and the Kauai Museum. Neiman is a writer, artist and event producer who spent 10 years in Mill Valley before moving to the East Bay. She works in collage, jewelry making and design, mixed media and micro-dioramas. Nieman also published a book, titled Born Under Fire. To learn more about the exhibit, visit millvalleyrecreation.org. Rotating Art in The Depot Plaza is being presented at 87 Throckmorton Ave. in Mill Valley.

Sebastopol

Case for Bass

Jen Runs is a Bay Area-based bassist, singer and songwriter who will soon regale the guests of HopMonk Tavern with an evening demonstration of her many musical talents. Runs is most notable for a prolific bassist career that’s taken her across the globe for performances…and now, she’s home with her aptly-named band, Jenerator. Her genres include folk, Americana, reggae, Grateful Dead (a genre unto itself) and “psychedelic jam funk.” All of these and more can be expected at the upcoming HopMonk performance, which is entirely free. Jenerator will play at HopMonk Tavern in Sebastopol from 6 to 8:30pm on Wednesday, Oct. 2. Visit jeneratormusic.com or hopmonk.com/sebastopol to learn more. This performance is located at 230 Petaluma Ave. in Sebastopol.

Napa

Inertia in Image

The upcomingMoving Pictures” exhibition at di Rosa Center for Contemporary Art is an artistic experience unlike any other. This expansive collection of mixed-media pieces comes together to tell the story of some pretty serious concepts spanning 30 years within the political, global and social landscape of the world, the nation and the North Bay. Fast forward to today, and all that comes together in “Moving Pictures: A Survey Exhibition of Works by Deborah Oropallo and Collaborators.” These collaborators include fellow Bay Area artists and thinkers Michael Goldin, Jeremiah Franklin and Andy Rappaport. Climate change, political uprising and gender identity are only a few themes to take away from the artwork. The “Moving Pictures” exhibition will last from Oct. 5 through March 30 of next year. An opening reception for ‘Moving Pictures’ will take place from 5 to 7pm on Saturday, Oct. 5. Those who are not di Rosa patrons or members may attend the opening reception from 6 to 7pm at a cost of $10. To learn more about the di Rosa Center for Contemporary Art, visit dirosaart.org. The di Rosa is located at 5200 Sonoma Hwy. in Napa.

Occidental

Leave It to Beaver

Beavers–most everybody loves them, but how much do they actually understand beavers? Sure, they’re furry, water-dwelling creatures and dam adorable…but what about their origin story, history and place in the ecosystem? Where did they come from, where are they going and, most importantly, how can we help protect the beaver in years to come? Those who want to learn all they can about beavers won’t believe their luck, since the Acorn MusEcology Project is bringing the North Bay a concert series entitled, to no one’s surprise, “Beavers.” The Acorn MusEcology Project is a 22-voice choral ensemble based right in Sonoma County. The “Beavers” concert series is debuting this October and was put together by music director Sarah Dupre and creative director Robin Eschner. Lyrics include writing from William Stafford, Barry Lopez, Annie Dillard, Robin Eschner and Chris Jones, who is the founder of the Cornwall Beaver Project in England. Tickets to the Acorn MusEcology Project’s ‘Beavers’ event cost $25 per adult, while children aged 12 and younger are free. Friday’s show takes place at 7pm on Oct. 4, while Saturday and Sunday’s performances are at 3pm on Oct. 5 and 6. To learn more, visit occidentalcenterforthearts.org. Occidental Center for the Arts is located at 3850 Doris Murphy Ct.

You’ve Got a Friend at the ‘Carole King’ musical in Rohnert Park

As jukebox musicals go, Beautiful: The Carole King Musical is pretty darn good, and the production at the Spreckels Performing Arts Center in Rohnert Park through Oct. 13 is pretty darn good, too.

While most jukebox musicals use a flimsy book as connecting material for a plethora of songs by a particular artist or genre, Beautiful has the advantage of having a genuinely interesting biography as its base and one helluva songbook.

It’s the story of the transformation of plucky 16-year-old college student Carole Joan Klein (Julianne Bretan) from future teacher-to-be to multi-award-winning singer/songwriter Carole King.

After selling a song to music impresario Donny Kirshner (Keith Baker), Carole connects with fellow college student and aspiring playwright Gerry Goffin (Noah Vondralee-Sternhill). Goffin also dabbles in lyric writing; they’re collaborating in no time flat. That collaboration leads to a daughter, a marriage and many hit songs.

Also in Kirshner’s orbit are Barry Mann (Drew Bolander) and Cynthia Weil (Tina Traboulsi). A friendship and competitive rivalry with King and Goffin ensue, with Mann and Weil’s story and songbook deserving of their own jukebox musical.

As one relationship grows, the other falters, and soon, King is solo. Never one to see herself as an on-stage performer, she finally comes into her own with the release of her classic album, Tapestries.

King and Goffin wrote a lot of the familiar hits of the ’60s, and those numbers are interspersed throughout the story with appearances by such groups as the Shirelles (Kellie Donnelly, Aja Gianola, Simoné Mosely), the Drifters (Jim Frankie Banks, Daniel Marchbanks, Malik Charles Wade I, Phillip Percy Williams) and the Righteous Brothers (Malcolm March, Michael Arbitter), with performances of such songs as “Will You Still Love Me Tomorrow?”, “On Broadway” and “You’ve Lost That Loving Feeling.”

Director Sheri Lee Miller no doubt had her hands full casting a show this diverse and has a nice blend of North Bay regulars with talent from throughout the Bay Area.

Bretan is perfectly cast as King, convincingly portraying the transformation from a teen to a mature, independent woman. Vondralee-Sternhill is equally compelling as the troubled Goffin, and both deliver strong vocal work.

This is also true of Bolander and Traboulsi (Traboulsi, in particular, continues to impress with her work on local stages). Much of the show’s humor comes from these two characters, and both performers display significant comedic chops.

North Bay veterans Baker as Kirshner and Mary Gannon Graham as King’s not-very-supportive-until-she-is mother Genie also provide humor.

Lucas Sherman leads a strong but not overpowering nine-piece on-stage band and does the heavy lifting with his keyboard work.

Choreography was a big part of early ’60s musical acts, and choreographer Karen Miles put the ensemble to work recreating those movements with somewhat mixed results. While the ensemble’s work is generally strong (with a slight edge given to the work by the ladies), it could stand to tighten up over the show’s run.  

It’s also nice to see Phillip Percy Williams back on stage.

Overall, Beautiful: The Carole King Musical is a very pleasant trip down musical memory lane.‘Beautiful: The Carole King Musical’ runs through Oct. 13 in the Codding Theater at the Spreckels Performing Arts Center, 5409 Snyder La., Rohnert Park. Thurs-Sat, 7:30pm; Sun, 2pm. $12-$42. 707.588.3400. spreckelsonline.com.

Campuses Brace for ‘Severe Consequences’ as CSU Budget Gap Looms

California State University is anticipating state spending cuts of nearly $400 million next summer and a delay in promised state support of more than $250 million. Sonoma State University is among the CSU campuses that will be affected. 

The projected budget gap may prevent the system from enrolling new students, offering employee raises and spending more money to boost graduation rates.

Cal State’s board of trustees heard system senior finance staff detail the grim fiscal outlook last week at a public meeting. They presented figures that show a 2025-26 budget hole of about $400 million to $800 million—a sizable chunk of Cal State’s estimated operating budget of $8.3 billion next year.

“I think we’ve got a lot of broken calculators in Sacramento,” said trustee Jack McGrory at the hearing. “We’re expected to increase enrollment, fulfill the needs of the labor market and continue to grow the economy, and at the same time, we’re facing these incredibly massive cuts.”

He added: “What happens to our 500,000 students with these incredibly massive cuts? … We’re talking layoffs. Everybody’s got to face up to that.”

McGrory and others stressed that the system has been in a state of fiscal distress for several years. Last year, the trustees indicated that Cal State spends $1.5 billion less than it should to adequately educate its students—a figure that predates the austerity measures that may be on the horizon.

The smaller, $400 million amount is the projected budget hole from mandatory new expenses and state cuts, minus new revenue from the tuition hikes the board approved last year. Those tuition increases—growing 6% annually from this year to at least 2028-29—aren’t enough to counteract the state cuts that lawmakers said they’d enact next year. The mandatory expenses include $60 million more for health insurance premiums for workers and $55 million in increased financial aid for students.

The proposed $400 million cut is equal to the money the system spends to educate 36,000 students. Cal State enrolled more than 450,000 students last fall.

“Cuts would particularly affect the most vulnerable students, limiting their access to academic support tools, advising, counseling and engagement programs,” the agenda document reads. Also at risk is the system’s efforts to improve graduation rates for Black students, a population Cal State has struggled to serve.

A trustees committee last week approved a budget request to Gov. Gavin Newsom that would largely avoid the projected deficit. In January, Newsom will debut his budget proposal for the next fiscal year. He and lawmakers will negotiate a final budget in June of next year.

That one-two punch of potential cuts and funding delays was spelled out in the budget deal that the Legislature and Newsom finalized this summer. It could have been worse: Initially, Newsom wanted to apply cuts to Cal State this budget year to address California’s multi-billion-dollar deficit. But lawmakers pushed back to buy the university another year to prepare for the cuts and possibly avoid them if the state’s revenue picture brightens. Steve Relyea, the top finance officer at Cal State, said system leaders should get credit for advocating for that reprieve.

Still, Cal State officials are setting a foreboding tone, warning of “severe consequences for students, staff and faculty across all CSU universities” that “could lead to larger class sizes, reduced course offerings, diminished student services, layoffs and hiring freezes,” the system’s 2025-26 budget proposal reads.

Some campuses have already laid off workers this year or plan to. Meghan O’Donnell, a lecturer at Cal State Monterey Bay and a senior officer in the systemwide faculty union, said that the jobs of hundreds of lecturers have been totally slashed or reduced because campuses are cutting the overall number of classes they offer.

Lecturer job cuts have occurred at the campuses of Chico, East Bay, Humboldt, Los Angeles, Monterey Bay, San Bernardino, San Francisco, and, of course, Sonoma. Lecturers have fewer job protections than faculty with tenure or who are on the tenure track.

The union expects to see formal system data about faculty job loss and work reductions in November. O’Donnell said Cal State Monterey Bay put its faculty on layoff notice last year. But the union was able to negotiate, and five faculty marked for layoffs instead got voluntary separation agreements. Meanwhile, in her academic department of humanities and communications, four tenured faculty at Monterey Bay took early retirement packages while three others quit and found university jobs outside the Cal State system. 

Meeting the state’s goals of enrolling a higher number of new students than past years is also at risk, officials said.

“Enrollment growth is very challenging at a time when you’re not getting the resources,” Relyea, the top finance officer at Cal State, said. “You can’t bring in additional students if you don’t bring in faculty to teach the students”

Already the system is working to close an operating deficit of $218 million this academic year—even after new revenue this year from the tuition hikes and some extra state support. It’s a repeat of last year’s situation of ever-higher revenues but even higher expenses. And like last academic year, campuses are coping by pulling from reserves, not filling vacancies and combining under-enrolled classes or outright cutting them.

Several trustees also noted that the system doesn’t adequately sell its story to lawmakers and the public about the impact the reductions have had on the system. “We’ve almost been too effective at making these cuts year over year over year,” said Diego Arambula, vice chair of the board.

“A hiring freeze is a hiring freeze, and that does impact students if we’re not bringing someone into a role that we know is important,” he said. “It’s impacting our staff, who are taking on more to try and still meet the needs of the students who are here.”

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You’ve Got a Friend at the ‘Carole King’ musical in Rohnert Park

As jukebox musicals go, Beautiful: The Carole King Musical is pretty darn good, and the production at the Spreckels Performing Arts Center in Rohnert Park through Oct. 13 is pretty darn good, too. While most jukebox musicals use a flimsy book as connecting material for a plethora of songs by a particular artist or genre, Beautiful has the advantage of...

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