By Nikki Silverstein
Hero: When Alton Sterling was killed by police in Baton Rouge earlier this month, it touched close to home for Marin City resident Shronda Cage. Originally from Baton Rouge, she lost a relative there 20 years ago to police brutality. The determined young woman took action by organizing a Peace Rally in Marin City last weekend. “We need to change how we treat each other,” she says. Community leaders, including Pastor Rondall Leggett, Felicia Gaston, founder of Performing Stars of Marin, and representatives from Kate Sears’ office and the Marin County Sheriff’s department, came together to rally around her cause. “Once we find peace and love in our community,” Cage says, “it will trickle out to the police and the rest of the world.” We say amen.
Zero: Are we going to keep squeezing local residents and business owners out of Marin County with the ridiculously high cost of housing and commercial leases? Already many of our police officers and firefighters live in neighboring counties. Now, we have landlord Peter Strober kicking out Casa Manana restaurant in Fairfax, which has been in the same location for more than 17 years, and giving the owner Josiah Alderete just 60 days to leave. A big order for a small business that needs time to find new digs, let alone build out a new restaurant. Supporters of Casa Manana are signing petitions to appeal to Strober’s conscience and eke out more time for Alderete to relocate. We sure hope they’re successful in delaying the eviction.
