By Nikki Silverstein
Hero: While many of us prepared turkey and fixings for friends and family on Thanksgiving eve, Pal Sroa hosted the 12th annual free dinner for his neighbors. For four hours, Lotus Cuisine of India in San Rafael and Café Lotus in Fairfax opened their doors and served a buffet of traditional Indian cuisine. Both restaurants were committed to feeding all who wanted a meal, so Sroa and his staff kept the food coming and never ran out. Meg Tierney, who attended the Fairfax feast, was delighted with the wonderful food and Sroa’s generosity, which brought out the best in everyone. “This is our way of saying thank you to our community,” Sroa said. Well, Mr. Sroa, this is the community’s way of thanking you.
Zero: Linda Garb, of San Rafael, watched a young woman place her medium-sized dog inside a grocery cart and proceed to shop at the Safeway on B Street in San Rafael last Friday. Though not required by law, there was no indication that the pooch was a service animal, but Garb points out that she’s never seen one riding in a shopping cart. Neither have we. For the record, a service animal must be trained to perform a specific task for their person. While it’s not Safeway’s fault that it’s easy to buy a service dog designation online and abled people are abusing the right, Garb wants the grocer to clean the cart after the animal is pushed around the store in it. They didn’t. Yuck.
