The trouble with living in California is that the winter rain lasts for two or three weeks and then we are gifted with an early, dry spring, which leads directly into fire season. Every single year. This would not be a problem … except that it is. Hugely. Sometimes a person needs to experience a real winter, with rain, just so they remember water exists. I am that person. And when I feel the need for actual moisture, I drive to Oakland, climb into a flying cigar, close my eyes and materialize in Seattle two hours later.
Ahhhh, Seattle. Where the sun rarely shines for 6 months of the year. They say Alaska makes for a rough winter, but I’ve been to Alaska and I’ve been to Seattle, and Seattle is also rough. I tried braving the Winter of ’17 in Seattle. That was a frozen, snowy winter, and however fun snow is to a Coastal Californian, it grows tiresome after about two days without skis, on pavement. Truth.
But snow is not the real problem. The cold is. I never knew how much I disliked the cold until I lived in it, day after day. Cold air has a smell; a sharp tang, like metal. I do not like that smell.
But the cold was not the real problem, either. The lack of sun was. Summer ended and the sun just … went away. When it did occasionally appear through the clouds—and they were storm clouds, not puffy white California clouds—I literally changed into a short-sleeved shirt and ran outside to embrace its precious rays until it disappeared 10 minutes later. I cannot describe how much the sight of the sun, and the feel of its light and warmth on my skin, meant to me. And that is how I learned, with certainty, that I am—and always will be—a California baby.
And yet, negatives aside, Seattle rocks. It has an incredible array of interesting neighborhoods, my favorites of which are artsy Fremont, with its Lenin statue, rocket and Dumpling Tzar, and post-industrial Georgetown, with its vintage stores and parking lot Trailer Park Mall. And Seattle is an economic powerhouse, something that never ceases to blow my mind. It’s like the Bay Area 2.1. It’s a majestic hub, is what it is; the jewel of the Northwest.
Oh, and it rains and rains and rains and rains up there.
All of which is to say, to anyone wanting a damp winter: Go to Seattle. I go for a week every December or January, and it cures me of my seasonal California regret. I enjoy the entire wet experience.
And the best thing about it? The California spring that greets me when I come home.
Mark Fernquest lives and works in West County. He imagines he is a writer.
A fixture of the Bay Area music scene since the 1970s, musician, producer, songwriter and raconteur Johnny Colla has seemingly done it all.
He got his start on stage performing with acts like Van Morrison and Sly & the Family Stone before co-forming a little rock group in Marin called Huey Lewis & the News back in 1978. Not only did Colla play saxophone and guitar in the News, he co-wrote and co-produced many of the band’s biggest hits, and toured the world 10 times over with them.
Even though the News stopped playing in 2018 due to Lewis’ hearing loss, Colla still works as the group’s archivist, and he writes and plays for various other projects out of his Marin home studio.
So, it may come as a surprise to fans that Colla just released an album that he wanted to make for more than 40 years.
Available now, Johnny Colla’s new CD, I Hear Other Voices!! (Hardly Strictly A Cappella), is—as the name implies—a mostly a cappella collection of classic pop, R&B and doo-wop songs.
“‘I Hear Other Voices’ is really the a cappella record I always wanted to make with Huey Lewis and the News,” Colla says. “I broached the subject with the guys several times over the years, and Huey’s line was always, ‘Let’s keep that one in our back pocket.’”
Of course, Huey Lewis & the News incorporated several classic pop elements into their music, crafting throwback hits in the ’80s and singing a cappella tunes in live shows. Yet, the band never got the chance to make that a cappella record. That’s why Colla did it.
Colla originally made a record in 2012, titled I Hear Voices!, featuring full-band arrangements of classic songs that he grew up on. Recently, he revisited that album during the pandemic shutdown.
“I started looking at my stuff in my home studio and I thought, ‘That thing needs to be redone the way I always wanted to do it, which was an almost pure a cappella effort,” Colla says. “So I opened up that can and started digging away.”
Remixing the original recordings from the 2012 album, Colla stripped down the songs to their vocals, kept a few instruments, added percussion and reworked the track listing to create a new listening experience for fans who’ve followed him all these years.
With the new record out now and restrictions lifting on live events, Colla hopes to get back on stage soon to perform. He’s also still working with Huey Lewis & the News on potential upcoming releases of previously unheard performances and more.
“I’d like to put a little band together,” Colla says. “Probably next year.”
“I Hear Other Voices!! (Hardly Strictly A Cappella)” is available now at johnnycolla.com.
The name Maria Callas means little these days to people unversed in the world of opera, but to those in the know the American-born Greek soprano will always be “La Divina.”
Callas passed away in 1977 at the age of 53. Memories of her might have faded completely from the stage but for playwright Terrence McNally’s Master Class, currently running on the Rotary Stage at the Sonoma Community Center. The Carl Jordan-directed production runs through Feb. 27.
A master class is a class given to students of a particular discipline—such as music—by an expert of that discipline. Callas taught a few of these at the Juilliard School in the early 1970s, where playwright McNally was apparently in attendance. Twenty-five years later, McNally’s fictional take on that experience opened on Broadway and won the Tony for Best Play.
Andrews Hall is turned into a rehearsal hall/classroom, and the audience into students, as Callas (Libby Oberlin) prepares to take on three singers. The grand dame enters and assures the audience that the evening is about the students and not about her.
Riiiiiiiight.
The first student, Sophie (Emily Evans), is cut off after a single note. A young, doltish Southern California-educated Tenor (Robert Dornaus) puts Callas off with his desire to be rich and famous. Sharon (Morgan Harrington) exits after Callas insults her dress, but returns and ends up giving Maria as good as she gets.
Callas is blunt, caustic, withering and unequivocal in her critiques of the students. They all have the ability and the talent, but what they all lack is the essence of truth required of great art. That truth is born of pain and sacrifice, and Callas delivers several interior monologues that speak to the pain she’s suffered and the sacrifices she’s made for her art.
Oberlin is first class in Master Class. Oberlin’s background in teaching was a definite asset in interpreting the role, particularly in a moment of incredulity when she discovers a student has failed to bring a pencil to class, though I’m not sure Callas’ method of tearing-down-to-build-stronger would fly in today’s world.
The students’ musical performances, when they were allowed to deliver them, were also first rate, as was the accompaniment of John Partridge.
Audiences with an interest in any art form will appreciate the passion Callas had for her work and the overall excellence put into this simply-staged production.
“Master Class” runs through Feb. 27 at Andrews Hall in the Sonoma Community Center, 276 E. Napa St., Sonoma. Thurs–Sat, 7:30pm; Sun, 2pm. $25–$37. Proof of vaccination with ID and masks required. 866.710.8942. sonomaartslive.org
In addition to its renowned Wine Country reputation, Napa Valley is becoming a home for world-class beers and brewers. Several of those breweries are participating this weekend in the third annual Napa Beer Mile. The walkable event invites beer aficionados to spend the day leisurely exploring six downtown Napa craft breweries, all of which will offer special half-off pricing on glasses of beer. Those who can make it to the end—responsibly—will also receive a commemorative cap. The Napa Beer Mile begins on Saturday, Feb. 26, at St. Clair Brown, 816 Vallejo St., Napa. Noon. $25. Napabeermile.com.
Sonoma
Making Magic
Award-winning, New York-based performer, lecturer and creator, Mario “The Maker Magician,” who has been seen on Sesame Street and live on tour with David Blaine, returns to the North Bay with a new show featuring illusions mixed with the Maker movement. Mario “The Maker Magician” Marchese is well known for his robotic creations, upcycled props and new-school slapstick character; all of which he brings with him for an interactive and inspiring experience on Saturday, Feb. 26, at Sebastiani Theatre, 476 First St. E., Sonoma. 2pm. $15–$20. Proof of vaccination required. Sebastianitheatre.com.
Occidental
Music History
Occidental Center for the Arts celebrates Black History Month this weekend with an exciting homage to Motown’s greatest songs and stars. The award-winning tribute band Sha’Motown will take the stage, featuring angelic songstress Ariel Marin, who grew up around Bay Area recording artists ranging from the Grateful Dead to Tony Saunders. Joining her will be musical arranger and platinum producer James “Jae-E” Earley and a full band that’s sure to get the crowd dancing on Saturday, Feb. 26, at 3850 Doris Murphy Court, Occidental. 7:30pm. $25–$30. Proof of vaccination required. Occidentalcenterforthearts.org.
Online
New Tales
Margaret Atwood is the author of more than 50 books, including the 1985 classic, The Handmaid’s Tale, and her writing encompasses fiction, poetry and critical essays. This March, Atwood unveils her latest collection, Burning Questions: Essays and Occasional Pieces, 2004 to 2021, in which she offers funny, curious and prescient takes on everything from debt to the climate crisis to granola. To mark the book’s release, Atwood appears online in a conversation with author Judy Blume (Are You There God? It’s Me, Margaret) hosted by Book Passage on Tuesday, March 1, at 5pm. $40, including a book. Bookpassage.com.
A photojournalist who was arrested by Sausalito police officers last year while filming at a City-sanctioned homeless encampment is suing the City, police department, police chief and four officers for alleged civil rights violations.
The lawsuit, which asks for $21 million in compensatory and punitive damages, was filed in the U.S. District Court of Northern California last week on behalf of Black journalist Jeremy Portje by Charles A. Bonner, a prominent civil rights attorney, and Charles Dresow, who served as Portje’s criminal attorney after his arrest.
The complaint asserts that, on Nov. 30, Sausalito police officers conspired against, physically assaulted and injured Portje as he filmed a police action at the encampment for a documentary about homelessness in Marin County. Portje was then arrested and detained without proper legal justification, according to the lawsuit.
“The police had zero probable cause to arrest Jeremy,” Bonner said in an interview.
Other claims arise from the police obstructing Portje’s work as a journalist and seizing and searching his equipment, in violation of state, federal and constitutional laws protecting journalists and their unpublished materials.
In addition to the monetary award, the lawsuit seeks to bar Sausalito from violating the rights of journalists and illegally seizing or searching their property in the future. The lawsuit also requests that the City be required to implement, with court oversight, appropriate training and policies to ensure these protections.
While two different stories have emerged about events leading up to the arrest, Portje has always believed the video he was shooting during the confrontation with officers would vindicate him. The police returned Portje’s camera on Jan. 20 and it appears to back up the lawsuit’s allegations. However, the police maintain Portje instigated a confrontation with Sgt. Thomas Georges and injured him.
In a police affidavit—a sworn declaration of facts—that was used to obtain a search warrant for Portje’s equipment in December, Georges alleged Portje circled around him, bumped into his back twice with a camera and shined a bright light into his face. Georges continued to retreat from Portje and was eventually backed up against a fence. Portje then intentionally struck Georges in the face with the camera, which caused a laceration, bleeding, bruising and swelling above the officer’s left eye, the affidavit claims. Medical attention was required.
Georges and Portje proceeded to struggle for control of the camera, according to the affidavit. Officer Sean Smagalski then assisted Georges and was able to take the camera from Portjes. Georges “took control of Portje’s head, hair and upper torso,” and Portje dropped to his knees. Portje resisted as Georges and Smagalski tried to handcuff him. Officer Nick White performed crowd control.
“Minimal force was used against Portje as he was not punched, kicked or taken to the ground during this incident by officers,” the affidavit says.
Most of the facts presented in the lawsuit diverge from those presented in the officers’ affidavit. According to the lawsuit, Georges, White and Smagalski conspired to incite Portje to commit a crime. The incident began when the three police officers huddled together behind a car in the parking lot next to the homeless encampment and looked at Portje, who was standing in front of a fence on the narrow roadway next to the parking area. The officers abruptly split up and moved in separate directions.
Georges approached Portje, stood in front of the journalist’s camera and pushed his back against the lens. Portje stepped away. The officer followed, pushed his back against the camera again, then moved to the side and leaned his body against Portje.
“Why are you doing this?” Portje asked. In response, Georges lunged at Portje, grabbed the tripod and hit himself in the face with the camera, causing a laceration. Georges began throwing punches at Portje and grabbed his dreadlocks.
Another officer told Portje to let go of his camera, as the officer had a hold of it. Georges moved behind Portje and pinned Portje’s arms behind his back while shouting, “stop resisting.” Portje said he wasn’t resisting, but Georges used “upward pressure on the shoulder lock, tearing into his [Portje’s] rotator cuff.” Portje dropped to his knees and was firmly subdued, with an officer continuing to apply pressure to Portje’s shoulder.
Officers handcuffed Portje and placed him in a police car. Responding to Portje’s concerns about his equipment, an officer said he could retrieve it later. Portje was transported to the Sausalito police station, where Chief Rohrbacher guarded him and assisted Georges with the arrest paperwork. By doing so, Rohrbacher “perpetuated and joined the conspiracy” started by the three officers, according to the lawsuit.
Portje was taken to the hospital for shoulder pain. Later that evening, he was booked into Marin County jail and held on $15,000 bail. When Portje was released the following morning, he learned the police had seized and kept his camera, memory storage disks and iPhone.
Four weeks later, after a significant amount of press coverage of Portje’s arrest, Marin County District Attorney Lori Frugoli announced her office would not be filing charges against Portje. Prosecutors determined, after reviewing video footage from bystanders and the officers’ body cameras, that the prosecutorial burden was not met, Frugoli said in a Dec. 28 statement.
Frugoli did not indicate what prosecutors saw on the videos. The police never made a statement about the body camera footage, and Rohrbacher refused to release the videos to the public.
While Portje’s camera was not entirely steady during the incident, watching the video frame by frame does show Portje backing away from Georges, and it captures Georges swinging his fists at the journalist.
Based on his experiences with the Sausalito police, Portje said he wants the City to establish a police oversight and review board. He serves as vice chair of Novato’s Police Advisory & Review Board, which reviews citizen complaints against police officers. Sausalito had a similar board previously, but it is now defunct.
Portje is still processing the series of events that began on Nov. 30. As a result, he is suffering from post-traumatic stress disorder, and the ordeal has had a substantial impact on his family, too.
“I have increased anxiety and loss of sleep,” Portje said in an interview. “I’ve received death threats, and I don’t like to leave the house because there’s a feeling of not being safe. It has brought my family closer, but we’re all individually going through stuff.”
Rohrbacher did not respond to questions from the Pacific Sun. Sausalito Mayor Janelle Kellman said, in an email, that the City has not yet received the lawsuit.
“We are aware that Jeremy Portje held a press conference during which disturbing allegations were made against the Sausalito Police Department,” Kellman said. “There has been a review of credible evidence in this matter, and we have found no information to support any indication that this incident was about race, as alleged.”
Bonner is just as certain that race was a factor in the altercation and arrest.
The complaint mentions that, during a political discussion between Smagalski and Portje on the day of the altercation, the journalist angered the officer by asking whether he “was a member of the white supremacist organization, the “Oathkeepers.” Smagalski, Georges and White then conspired to provoke “Portje to commit a crime in order to rough him up and arrest him.”
Bonner wants Georges, Smagalski and White criminally prosecuted for their actions.
“These officers absolutely committed crimes,” Bonner said in an interview. “They committed assault and battery and false imprisonment. They intended to commit crimes against Jeremy, and they did. I will be presenting it to the district attorney of Marin County, the attorney general of California and also to Merrick Garland, the attorney general of the United States of America.”
In its nearly 50-year history, Sweetwater Music Hall in Mill Valley has featured some of the most prominent artists in rock and blues. Last year, the internationally renowned music venue opened its doors after more than a year closed due to Covid-19; and while some shows over the last few months were delayed or canceled due to the pandemic’s latest surge, the venue is back on track this week with three consecutive nights of rock, blues, funk and more from local and touring acts.
On Thursday, Feb. 24, San Francisco’s modern classic rock band Spirit Hustler celebrates the release of their self-titled debut album. Featuring singer/songwriter Jimmy Leslie (Guitarfish, Shana Morrison), slide ace Jules Leyhe (Allmond Brothers), bassist Steven La Bella (Pamela Parker), drummer Adam Briere (New School of Jazz) and percussionist Jeremy Hoenig (Melvin Seals & JGB); the group that spawned from the Guitarfish Family Band now performs imaginative songs inspired by actual experiences.
Earlier this week, Spirit Hustler released the first single from the forthcoming debut album, “The Spirit of 69,” about how technology’s rapid advancement since the Moon Landing on July 20, 1969, has transformed human existence on Earth. The first MP3 copy of “The Spirit of ’69” was actually taken up into space by Dr. Chris Boshuizen, who was on the Blue Origin mission famously accompanied by William Shatner.
Blues guitarist Jules Leyhe and the Family Jules Band opens the show and adds some funky flavor to Spirit Hustler’s album-release show on Thursday, Feb. 24. Get tickets to the show here.
The next night, a co-headlining show brings together veteran guitarist and songwriter Eric Krasno and eclectic blues-rock outfit Son Little to Sweetwater’s stage on Friday, Feb. 25.
A two-time Grammy winner, Krasno is best known for co-founding groups Soulive and Lettuce, and he’s worked with everyone from Norah Jones to 50 Cent. He is currently touring in support of his recently-released solo album, Always.
Son Little is the music-making moniker for Los Angeles songwriter Aaron Earl Livingston, who’s latest album, aloha, blends classic soul and old-school R&B. Son Little began writing and assembling the album’s demos in Petaluma. However, after his hard drive fried and he lost nearly a dozen detailed demos, he was forced to write aloha in only eight days at a tiny house and its adjacent barn before the album was recorded at Paris’s iconic Studios Ferber with producer Renaud Letang.
Eric Krasno and Son Little welcome opening act The Assembly with James the Eighth, when they co-headline Sweetwater on Friday, Feb. 25. Get tickets to that show here.
Rounding out the weekend, Sweetwater Music Hall presents San Francisco psychedelic soul group Moonalice on Saturday, Feb 26. The band will release their forthcoming studio EP, Full Moonalice Vol. 1, on April 20. The six song record is the group’s first full body of work since transforming into a ten-piece in 2019 through the addition of Lester Chambers and Dylan Chambers of the New Chambers Brothers, and Erika, Rachel, and Chloe Tietjen of the T Sisters. Get tickets to the show here.
Entry into all Sweetwater Music Hall events will require proof of full vaccination for Covid-19. Every attendee will be asked to show their vaccination card (photos acceptable) along with their ID before being admitted. Get more details on the venue’s Covid-19 health and safety policy here.
How was everyone’s week? Looking lovely, enjoying the surreal and problematic-but-beautiful weather? Strange, sunny times. But let’s not get too caught in the Dali-esque dreamscape we call reality. I have a fun fashion event to promote.
The Sonoma Community Center is hosting their 12th Annual Trashion Fashion Show, to be held on April 2, coincidentally my birthday. The Trashion Fashion show is an opportunity to showcase any creative skills we might have, active or dormant, and to create wearable artwork.
I spoke with the Community Center’s Creative Programs Manager Eric Jackson, who adopted the show in 2018, and is described by his colleagues as the mastermind behind Trashion Fashion’s epic energy. Jackson came from Broadway—swoon—and is thrilled to bring his skills and experience in art and theater to the show.
“It’s about creative sustainability,” Jackson said. “The whole angle of the Center is arts and culture, and this is our way of giving back, especially during April—Earth month—in a creative way. Taking what we normally think of as trash and giving it a new life and new purpose helps us reconsider our quick decisions to throw something away. And in addition to the wild and playful trash fashion, we also have a Ready-to-Wear category, honoring outfits built from items from a thrift store or the back of a closet. It’s our way of combating fast fashion and fiber waste. It’s fun, and it makes a difference.”
Better news still, this year the Community Center is hosting open studios for those interested in entering the Trashion Fashion Show but unsure of where to start, short on materials or in need of an uninterrupted creative space. Feb. 19 and 26, and March 5 and 12—all Saturdays—from 1pm to 3pm, register to spend time in Studio 201 and access their great tools, a focused space and some fellow Trashion designers. These sessions could be the thing that takes your designs to the next level!
The Trashion Fashion Show is a competition and in-person runway show and is accepting entries through March 1. Friday, April 1 will be a rehearsal with a runway coach for all submissions accepted—come prepared to strut! All ages are welcome and encouraged to submit.
For more information on the event as well as rules and entry forms, visit trashionfashionsonoma.org or www.sonomacommunitycenter.org.
Looking good, everyone!
Love,
Jane
Jane Vick is a painter, writer and journalist who has spent time in Europe, New York and New Mexico. She is currently based in Sonoma County. View her work at janevick.com.
It’s February, and some strange items are floating into theaters, including a steady flow of horror quickies like Strawberry Mansion.
As conceived by veteran actor-writer-producer-director Kentucker Audley (Funny Bunny, Her Smell, Holy Land, Saul at Night) and Albert Birney, maker of such low-budget head-scratchers as Sylvio, the 2021 production Strawberry Mansion is a fantasy/sci-fi character study being advertised as a Sundance audience favorite. It tells the story of James Preble—played by filmmaker Audley—a government bureaucrat in the year 2035, whose doubts about his job take him over the edge. In this particular setting, every citizen has an electronic console mounted next to their bed, monitoring their dreams and, after the citizen awakes, billing them for the experience. The dreams themselves are absurd commercials for fried chicken and soft drinks, electronically implanted in the citizens’ minds while they sleep.
One day Preble drives to a flamboyant Victorian house in the country to investigate the case of its owner, a senior citizen named Bella who is played by longtime TV and stage character-actor Penny Fuller. Bella owes back-taxes on her dreams. Worse, she disdains the internet and relies on her collection of outmoded VHS tapes for entertainment. Worse still, her dreams are defiantly her own. Bella offers the awestruck Preble a place to stay for the night, after asking him to lick a magic ice cream cone. Down the rabbit hole he goes, in a whirlwind of hallucinations involving fanciful imaginary creatures, most intriguing of which is Young Bella (Grace Glowicki), a gregarious, charming manifestation of Bella in her youth.
We can’t help looking at the naive Strawberry Mansion on its own terms. Movies and TV shows are full of dystopian visions. But Audley, Birney and company are intent on overcoming the negativity with a sweet hippie grandma and all the talking flies, frog waiters, rat sailors and giant blue demons the screen can hold. The effect is comfy, romantic and gratifyingly illogical.
In their way, Birney and Audley counter the message of O’Brien, the grand inquisitor of George Orwell’s 1984: “If you want a picture of the future, imagine a boot stamping on a human face—forever.” Strawberry Mansion instead offers a future in which a government agent who drives a 1961 Corvair falls in love with a woman he sees at two different stages of her life, and chucks the world of force-fed consumer dreams for his own private wonderland. What an alternative.
At the Roxie, in San Francisco, beginning Feb. 18; streaming and VOD Feb. 25.
A certain paid advertisement has appeared in our pages that has raised both the eyebrows and the ire of some readers—not to mention those of us staffers who, it should be noted, only manage the editorial content of the Bohemian and Pacific Sun. We are not involved in determining what advertising, advertorials or other promotional materials appear in our publications. That said, we appreciate and acknowledge your justifiable concern and encourage you to keep the letters coming.
— Daedalus Howell, Editor
Ironic Ad
Page 3 of your Feb. 9–15 edition contains some uncanny unintentional (maybe?) irony. First there is Tom Tomorrow’s satirical “This Modern World” cartoon about the absurdities of internet-generated “misinformation” and lies. Right next to that is a paid advertisement from a chiropractor containing multiple examples of that very problem, primarily about COVID and vaccines.
As a longtime former Pacific Sun contributor and even longer-term public health specialist and ethicist, I urge you to be more judicious and responsible in what you choose to publish. Refusing ads—even though they help pay the bills—that contain demonstrably false and dangerous inaccuracies is not “censorship,” but is responsible publishing, especially during a pandemic. I trust you wouldn’t publish denialism of, say, climate science, the Holocaust or anything containing undeniably vile hate speech. With the number of Americans alone dead from COVID now approaching one million and so many still at risk, fact-based information on health is crucial as well.
Please don’t let your readers down in this important regard.
Steve Heilig
West Marin
Slippery Slope
It is surprising and a bit disappointing that the Bohemian decided to print a paid advertisement which makes no common sense, as alluded to by the author.
It is not that free speech and free scientific inquiry have become controversial now, as the good doctor states—it has always been controversial! Yet “good doctor, Harte,” under the auspices of freedom of speech, is accusing the government—among other entities—of engaging in misinformation to mislead the general public. By cherry-picking statistics to uphold his argument, he leaves out many important facts regarding the overall efficacy of the vaccine and other attempts to mitigate the risks to the population, and casts blame. Surely, the good doctor must know that science almost always lags behind when it comes upon new and unfamiliar medical issues—and must rely on research data compiled over time to postulate what policies might promote an effective response regarding the populace.
I am not a proponent of censorship, and do believe in free speech, but with the caveat laid forth by Senator Daniel Moynihan, who years ago stated, “You are entitled to your own opinions, (‘good doctor,’) not your own facts.”
E.G. Singer
Santa Rosa
Misguided
The Feb. 9–15 edition’s page 3 Harte paid ad is an abomination for Pacific Sun to have published without caveat. While newspapers certainly are desperate for needed income and have the right to publish viewpoints, placement of this true mis-information is misguided and dangerous in the current pandemic.
It could be said that, given the high vaccination rate in Marin and Sonoma, [and the high rate of] education and media-savvy, it may be safe to promulgate such blather. If the piece tips one person on the fence or causes them to repeat the opinions as fact, leading to spread of Covid and potential illness, etc., then the Pacific Sun becomes an anti-vax vehicle. The “This Modern World” “gravity is a hoax” comic strip on the left side of the page provides good context, but the damage is done. Please open your eyes.
The trouble with living in California is that the winter rain lasts for two or three weeks and then we are gifted with an early, dry spring, which leads directly into fire season. Every single year. This would not be a problem … except that it is. Hugely. Sometimes a person needs to experience a real winter, with rain,...
A fixture of the Bay Area music scene since the 1970s, musician, producer, songwriter and raconteur Johnny Colla has seemingly done it all.
He got his start on stage performing with acts like Van Morrison and Sly & the Family Stone before co-forming a little rock group in Marin called Huey Lewis & the News back in 1978. Not only...
The name Maria Callas means little these days to people unversed in the world of opera, but to those in the know the American-born Greek soprano will always be “La Divina.”
Callas passed away in 1977 at the age of 53. Memories of her might have faded completely from the stage but for playwright Terrence McNally’s Master Class, currently running...
By Jan Forslow
The King of the Boardwalk
A Poem About a Neighborhood Skunk
He walks down the boardwalk like he owns this place.
There is nothing in this neighborhood he cannot face.
Fashionably dressed in a black-and-white striped suit,
There is no one that can stop this fashionista’s pursuit.
A slight problem, though, is his unmistakable smell.
Even he himself would agree that it stinks like...
Napa
Drink a Mile
In addition to its renowned Wine Country reputation, Napa Valley is becoming a home for world-class beers and brewers. Several of those breweries are participating this weekend in the third annual Napa Beer Mile. The walkable event invites beer aficionados to spend the day leisurely exploring six downtown Napa craft breweries, all of which will offer special...
In its nearly 50-year history, Sweetwater Music Hall in Mill Valley has featured some of the most prominent artists in rock and blues. Last year, the internationally renowned music venue opened its doors after more than a year closed due to Covid-19; and while some shows over the last few months were delayed or canceled due to the pandemic's...
Hi, “Look” family!
How was everyone’s week? Looking lovely, enjoying the surreal and problematic-but-beautiful weather? Strange, sunny times. But let’s not get too caught in the Dali-esque dreamscape we call reality. I have a fun fashion event to promote.
The Sonoma Community Center is hosting their 12th Annual Trashion Fashion Show, to be held on April 2, coincidentally my birthday. The...
By Kelly Vance
It’s February, and some strange items are floating into theaters, including a steady flow of horror quickies like Strawberry Mansion.
As conceived by veteran actor-writer-producer-director Kentucker Audley (Funny Bunny, Her Smell, Holy Land, Saul at Night) and Albert Birney, maker of such low-budget head-scratchers as Sylvio, the 2021 production Strawberry Mansion is a fantasy/sci-fi character study being advertised...
Dear Readers
A certain paid advertisement has appeared in our pages that has raised both the eyebrows and the ire of some readers—not to mention those of us staffers who, it should be noted, only manage the editorial content of the Bohemian and Pacific Sun. We are not involved in determining what advertising, advertorials or other promotional materials appear in...
