By Nikki Silverstein
Hero: The World’s Largest Turkey flew the coop and landed at the Town Center in Corte Madera, where it has been welcomed with open wings. For 23 years, this giant fowl has roosted in the shopping center courtyard during the month of November and delighted folks with its bobbing head and hatch, which are perfect for the collection of donated non-perishable food and toiletries. We encourage Marinites to trot over to the magnificent turkey and feed it a few cans of food. The SF-Marin Food Bank uses these contributions to fill holiday baskets for those in need. Our feathered friend has collected more than 33,100 pounds of food over the years, which equates to 50,000 meals. That’s a lot of gobble, gobble.
Zero: The city of Larkspur issued a $25,000 fine to a resident who removed a century-old redwood from his front yard, without a permit, just to make it easier to drag his race car in and out of his garage. Don Baumbach admitted at his appeal hearing before the City Council last week that he didn’t apply for a permit, because he thought that Larkspur wouldn’t grant it. Oy, does this guy have chutzpah? An arborist reported that the old-growth tree, one of eight on Baumbach’s property, reached a height of 100 feet and a circumference of 94 inches. Bad news for Baumbach. Though he felt entitled to chop down the heritage redwood, the wise Larkspur City Council disagreed and unanimously upheld the $25,000 punishment.
