‘I’ of the Beholder

-
0
‘I’ of the Beholder

“What do you mean,” a Spirit reader asked, “when you say the ego feels deeply threatened by the so-called sacred marriage of the sun and moon?” It’s quite simple: The ego—or what our conscious mind thinks it means when it says “I, Joe,” or “I, Jane”—views certain qualities as belonging to itself but not to others. It classifies that which belongs to itself as subject, or “I,” and that which doesn’t as object, or “not-I.”

And so we seek certain qualities in the opposite sex because we believe we don’t have those qualities and need to find them. Likewise, we may resent people who are strong, sexy and successful because we don’t believe those traits apply to us. In Jungian terms, the undeveloped qualities we categorize as “not-I” belong to the shadow, while contrasexual characteristics belong to the anima for males and the animus for females.

But in the inner journey of the ars regia or “Royal Art” of alchemy, such oppositions are broken down and cooked in a cauldron. Before rebirth can occur, however, there is a long period bordering on madness as the ego no longer knows what it is, resists transformation and fights to hold on to its familiar self-construct.

Epistemology is the study of how we know what we know. On the path of the wisdom tradition, we encounter the doctrine that in order to truly know something one must experience the thing, and in order to do that, one must become it.

Take the movie The Karate Kid. The weakling who could never imagine standing up to a bully wants to feel confident, but in order to feel that he must know he can defend himself, and in order to know that, he must be able to actually do it. Transcending this paradox is the very nature of hero mythology, as the weakling-subject becomes the distant object, or tough kid, that he never thought he could be. The breaking down of the seemingly unbridgeable gulf between “I” and “not-I” is a recurring theme of metaphysics, as in the ancient texts from India known as The Upanishads.

So with the inner union of sun and moon, or masculine and feminine energies, we may come to the realization that the long-sought object of our desire is in fact merely a dimension of our own personality. But it is trapped in our unconscious and therefore experienced as an object, or “not-I.”

Achieving such a knowledge of oneself should help eliminate projecting onto others, so we can see who they truly are and not what we want them to be.

Genre Saves: Zombies Don’t Read

-
0
Genre Saves: Zombies Don’t Read

Do you know how to survive a zombie apocalypse? I don’t—despite the fact that genre fiction has been teaching how to for the past 30 years.

Like every self-respecting ’80s-era bohemian, I nurtured a healthy disrespect for any notion of “genre.” While my plebeian friends devoured Stephen King horror novels, I choked down Existentialism from Dostoevsky to Sartre and contemplated the void of my own navel. 

I realize now that I likely would’ve learned more about existentialism and life in general from reading, say, The Stand, or even my mother’s mystery novels, which always seemed downmarket from the lofty literary heights of James Joyce—from whom she plucked my name. 

In his paper, “Existentialism and Art-Horror,” scholar Stuart Hanscomb points out that the “uncanny atmosphere” of existential lit—think Gregor Samsa turning into a bug in Kafka’s The Metamorphosis—is akin to such “nihilistic art forms” as “absurdist theater, film noir, and beatnik literature” and ultimately the “horror genre.” In my self-styled cafe curriculum, I ticked all those boxes except the last because A) I was a snob, and B) I’m a slow reader, and the prospect of reading one of King’s doorstops scared me.

Mind you, this was before the geeks inherited the earth and made everything that was once dorky—comic book heroes, Star Wars, monster movies—cool. Admittedly, had I been less of an elitist and kept up on pop culture in my formative years, I would have been better prepared for this brave new world.

It was with this personal failure in mind that I received an email from the boss listing the Best Cities for Surviving a Zombie Apocalypse—he’s always looking out for us. Coming in at No. 92 is Santa Rosa, CA, which is comforting enough to at least rank a news peg. It is also where the Bohemian is ostensibly headquartered, though, truth be told, since the pandemic, I’ve been editing from various cafes throughout Petaluma and Marin, my car, and, at present writing, in bed. Now, for once, I really wish I was in Santa Rosa.

Inspired by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention’s Zombie Preparedness 101—your tax dollars at work—online grass site Lawn Love “dug through the data graveyard to rank 2021’s Best Cities for Surviving a Zombie Apocalypse.” They compared the 200 biggest U.S. cities on 23 key indicators of zombie-preparedness, which included the share of the “living population in good health to the share of available homes with basements to hunting-gear access.”

So, when the shit comes down—any day now—you can find me at the downtown branch of the Santa Rosa library, in the horror section, editing the paper and catching up on some reading.

Join Daedalus Howell’s list at DaedalusHowell.com.

Eyes on Change: Artist Tess Felix Reflects

-
0
Eyes on Change: Artist Tess Felix Reflects

It was the fall of 2020, and I was on the phone with longtime Stinson Beach resident and celebrated environmental artist Tess Felix. Our conversation ranged from her creative endeavors to the immediate context—the upcoming presidential election, the most critical in American history; the cost of living, or not, in a place like Marin for her children’s generation; and the fires. It was during the pandemic, before the vaccine. The long breath we held before the votes. And in the thick of it, one artist shared—as she had for many years—what she saw. Her lens is at once unique and ubiquitous: Plastic trash.

When we picked up in recent weeks, I wondered: Had the long-planned Malta exhibition happened? With a laugh, Felix replied, “No.” Americans still can’t visit the island nation on account of Covid-19. She was supposed to lead a plastic-Jesus billboard project to wryly encourage the Maltese to waste less plastic. The Book of Mormon in San Francisco was obviously abandoned, but what about her show at the de Young Museum, the one that was slated, then canceled, then rescheduled, then canceled? Also a “No.”

So, like many seeking ways to grapple with the twin forces of a preventable pandemic and economic collapse, Felix turned her focus to home. Though she has always loved exploring the human experience with her hands—she’s a highly sought-after costume and theatrical craftsperson in addition to a working fine artist—she found new solace in gardening at her seaside home in Stinson, where she’s lived with her family for three decades. “I’ve kept that up,” she said with a chuckle. “Me too,” I replied. The orchard I planted with my family last year is on the verge of bearing a shocking amount of fruit this year—well, all right, the orchard planting I stage-directed.

During much of the California lockdowns, West Marin drew more people who wanted to be closer to the beach and to be able to get outside, and issues with everything from water to parking were notoriously difficult to manage for local residents. “The message was, ‘don’t come,’” Felix said. “But what are you going to do, if you’re stuck in a small apartment? People need to be able to get out and enjoy the fresh, natural air. But hundreds of people would come to the park or the beach, and there’s no parking and no bathroom usage—it was really a challenge.”

In a very real way, Felix has always expressed herself at home, connecting our shared global urgency of climate change with the beaches of her environment. In this sense, Felix is not really an environmental artist so much as an artist reflecting our collective choices back at us.

It all began one day when Felix took one of her daily beach strolls. “I began to notice all the trash,” she told me. “It was just everywhere.” Plastic: It’s not just a patch in the Pacific. It defines our existence, and Felix finds that unacceptable.

It is important to make a distinction: Felix did not come to her work as an environmental activist, and still does not consider herself one, though her art is obviously centered on messages of waste and ocean conservation. Her career has included fascinating nomadic stints, from studying the arts and crafts in London to working on Hollywood film sets. But the work that resulted from that day on the beach has become her hallmark over the past decade.

She simply began collecting the waste: Doll parts. Broken toys. Bottle caps and pen caps. Beads and bits. Décor-turned-to-detritus. Over time, she gathered so much refuse from Stinson Beach she had to sort the items by color in bins in her home. Her pieces are assemblages of the plastic pieces, always depicting a face looking back at the viewer. “I’m fascinated by faces; not as a critique, but as an observer,” she said.

The works take considerable time to build. They are vivid and disconcerting, with unflinching, yet not hostile, gazes. One early work, which garnered significant critical attention, features colorful, life-size mermaids. They are sensual, yet carry an edge: They’re armed with plastic toy guns, which one could imagine they’ve filched, like so much treasure, from a sunken ship. They are themselves plastic waste. They carry, and represent, collected and collective pain.

In the years since, Felix’s works have been featured in dozens of exhibitions and galleries, from the U.S. to China and beyond. She also does commissioned work, often large in scale. Earlier collages are tight and intricately arranged. As her work has evolved, the collages have become more organic, even a bit “loose,” according to Felix. If the first works are emotionally charged in their precision, subsequent pieces are more vulnerable.

For we are more vulnerable. I’m struck by how little has really changed since this time last year, from an environmental standpoint. So, in spite of Felix’s work in several instances being put on hold, I am inspired by how she continues to explore new forms of expression. She was recently featured in an award-winning short film series, Every Second Breath, an ocean preservation project. And, when she wasn’t working on private commissions and digging in the soil during the pandemic, she challenged herself to paint—for the first time in many years—with the added requirement of painting faces upside down. Our exclusive cover depicts another fearless effort, a self-portrait Felix notes is not especially flattering because of the foreshortened angle, but one that makes a more interesting perspective. The artist is looking.

For more about Tess Felix: www.artworksforchange.org/portfolio/tess-felix/

Marin Nonprofit Distributes Batteries as Part of Emergency Preparedness Effort

-
0
Marin Nonprofit Distributes Batteries as Part of Emergency Preparedness Effort

With another fire season underway, it’s high time to get disaster plans ready for you and your loved ones. As has become abundantly clear in recent years, a wildfire or even a power outage, can be disruptive—or even deadly—especially for people who rely on electronic medical devices.

To help fill the need, Marin Center for Independent Living (MCIL), a nonprofit based in San Rafael which serves seniors and people with disabilities, is aiming to distribute 200 portable batteries in the coming weeks.

“As fire season is now something that is recurring and sustained for all of us, we anticipate a greater need. Power outages can be doubly dangerous for those of us that rely on the support of medical devices,” MCIL’s executive director Eli Gelardin said.  “As we have seen throughout the pandemic, the health and safety of our community members must continue to be prioritized.  It’s all about building resiliency.”

The batteries come in two sizes. Both models have 6 outlets and a power light to make finding the battery in the dark easy.

MCIL’s Maurice Pollard, who manages the distribution of batteries, is urging Marin County residents to apply while supplies last.

“I would hate for anyone in Marin who needs a battery not get one this year. If you apply now, you can have [the battery] on hand and be ready,” Pollard said.

For more information about the program and to see if you qualify, visit marincil.org/prepare.

Marin Sheriff’s Office Arrests Suspected Tire Slashers

-
0
Marin Sheriff’s Office Arrests Suspected Tire Slashers

Two San Rafael men were arrested last week for slashing the tires of over a dozen motorhomes and other vehicles belonging to homeless people parked on Binford Road in unincorporated Novato.

James Michael McNair, 19, and Nathan Kaemon McDonald, 20, were booked into the Marin County jail on suspicion of felony vandalism, according to the Marin County Sheriff’s Office.

Interviews with witnesses, video evidence and follow-up investigations led to the arrests of McNair and McDonald, in San Rafael, on Friday Aug. 6, Sergeant Brenton Schneider, a Sheriff’s Office spokesperson, said.

The tire slashings occurred on Saturday, July 31, at about 1:45am. A camera mounted on one of the parked vehicles caught grainy video of two perpetrators in a dark-colored Jeep Wrangler. A camper came outside to confront the men as they pulled away.

Robbie Powelson and Jason Sarris, both members of the Marin Homeless Union, met with some of the victims and photographed the flat tires on the day of the slashings. The witness, who wants to remain anonymous, told the activists that he waited all morning for the perpetrators to come back after he saw  the Jeep travel toward the dead end of Binford Road. It was his belief that the Jeep was hidden in a warehouse located on Binford Road.

As if on cue, a black Jeep, with blue tape covering its license plate, suddenly appeared while Powelson and Sarris were at the scene. Though they followed the suspects, the Jeep quickly sped away; however, they were able to photograph it.

A black Jeep Wrangler with an obscured license plate was seen speeding away from the scene of the tire slashings on Binford Road in unincorporated Novato on July 31. Photo by Robbie Powelson.

“We consider this an act of domestic terrorism,” Powelson said. “Vigilantes are trying to create a climate of fear and intimidation. Unhoused people across Novato have basically been harassed.”

Indeed, the tire slashings weren’t the only recent action targeting homeless people in Novato. A person’s vehicle was shot with a paint gun in The Square shopping center on Novato Boulevard, a tent was egged at the Lee Gerner Park homeless encampment and big trucks have been circling people late at night, Powelson and Sarris said.

The investigation into the tire slashings on Binford Road continues. Anyone with information is encouraged to contact the Marin County Sheriff’s Office at 415.473.7250.

Golden Gate Village Residents Push for Representation on Housing Board

-
0
Golden Gate Village Residents Push for Representation on Housing Board

For more than a decade, the Marin County Board of Supervisors has reappointed the same two men, term after term, to serve on a commission tasked with overseeing public housing and housing vouchers within the county.

With both seats on the Marin Housing Authority’s Board of Commissioners now open again for a two-year term, many in the community are calling for a changing of the guard.

The seven-person commission is comprised of the five members of the Board of Supervisors and two members who must either reside in public housing or hold a housing choice voucher—formerly called section 8.

Residents and supporters of Golden Gate Village in Marin City, the largest public housing development in the county, are urging the supervisors to select two new members who will represent the interests of public housing tenants.

Neither of the appointed incumbent members, Rob Simon and Homer Hall, reside in public housing. Simon and Hall both hold vouchers and live in private rentals.

Dozens of people typically submit applications for the two appointed seats. Still, the supervisors have overlooked the applicants from public housing, instead continually reappointing Simon, who has sat on the commission since 2009, and Hall, who has served since 2011. Last year, the supervisors unanimously voted for the two men, failing to even interview other candidates.

“It begins to look like lifetime appointments,” Golden Gate Village volunteer Barbara Bogard said.

Members of the commission determine policy regarding public housing and other programs run by the Marin Housing Authority. The two open seats will hold influence over the controversial planned redevelopment of the 60-year-old Golden Gate Village, which houses approximately 700 residents.

Rather than performing vital repairs to the 300 units in Golden Gate Village, the Marin Housing Authority proposes to hire a private developer based in New Jersey, The Michaels Organization, to demolish 16 existing units and replace them with two new high-rise towers containing 156 units. The Marin Housing Authority and its commissioners have ignored the residents’ revitalization plan.

The residents and their supporters hope the supervisors give a voice to Golden Gate Village during the upcoming term by selecting at least one public housing tenant to serve on the commission. To that end, they endorse two candidates, Sarah Canson of Golden Gate Village, and Cathy Cortez of Bradley House in Tiburon.

The deadline to apply for a seat on the Marin Housing Authority Board of Commissioners is Friday, Aug. 13. For more information about the process and an application, visit https://tinyurl.com/8ey684h6.

Three’s a Charm

-
0
Three’s a Charm

Three is a special number, for it transcends two opposing paths by offering a third alternative. Every time you think you’re caught between the devil and the deep blue sea, remember there’s always a third way you have only to imagine.

Those who answer the call of awakening, repeatedly come up against the tertiary structure. The traditional division of a human being into body, soul and spirit becomes experienced and known. A keen way to think of it is that the body stands for necessity, the soul for destiny and the spirit for Providence. Life will obviously be infused with a much greater sense of purpose and power if you believe yourself an instrument of fate guided by God, rather than merely an intelligent ape left to fend for itself in a concrete jungle.

Indo-European traditions teach that when a civilization is rising it is guided by an invisible metaphysical principle, and when it is declining people lose all access to spiritual reality, and life degrades into a nihilistic battle for resources. And so the civilizational cycle descends through the three stages of spirit, or higher principles; soul, or culture; and finally, a hollowed-out body called homo economicus scavenging for money.

Those who follow the doctrine of awakening, however, evade this gravitational pull downward, climbing upwards through gradual revelations of the spirit. Material reality becomes increasingly supplanted by the soul’s inner reality, which eventually comes to view even itself as subject to earthly conditioning. One then begins to reorient with a supra-personal sense of participating in the timeless realm of Being itself.

The Jungian journey is also divided into three, beginning in a childlike state of unconscious perfection in which everything you feel and think is good, and everything you don’t like is bad. One is then expected to mature through a state of conscious imperfection, realizing there is good and bad in ourselves and others, and that we live in a gray area of conflict within and without. A few will go on to the stage of conscious perfection in which the divisions between good and evil, masculine and feminine, and inner and external reality are transcended by a higher vantage point that accepts and reconciles all opposites. 

After all this work, one is liable to be hungry, and so we return to the number three, not for three square meals a day, but for this instead: A simple person comes home and wonders what’s for dinner. The complex person comes home burdened by a thousand conflicts.

And the enlightened person? They come home and wonder what’s for dinner.

BYOB: New Film Finds Heroes Among Flames

-
0
BYOB: New Film Finds Heroes Among Flames

For the past five years, residents in the North Bay and throughout the state of California have lived with the fear and horror of wildfire threats and disasters.

So, it may sound strange to recommend a movie that brings those horrors to the big screen. Yet, the new documentary, Bring Your Own Brigade, is a film that captures more than the flames. Instead, it finds and celebrates the heroes who risk their lives to battle the recent string of fire catastrophes while examining the root causes of the now-seasonal plight facing the state.

Helmed by two-time Oscar-nominated filmmaker Lucy Walker, Bring Your Own Brigade begins its story in early November 2018, when several wildfires—including as the Woolsey fire and Camp fire that together killed 88 people and destroyed tens of thousands of homes in the communities of Malibu and Paradise—engulfed the state.

Born in England, Walker now lives in Venice, California. Already, her film work has been compared to documentary masters like Errol Morris, and Bring Your Own Brigade contain a similar cinema verité style and character-driven stories that Morris pioneered in his documentaries of the late ’70s and early ’80s.

Drawing on hundreds of hours of frightfully stunning video footage shot by fleeing residents who found themselves surrounded by walls of flames, the film offers a palpable “you-are-there” intensity that serves to highlight the severity of the crisis.

Accompanying the raw fire footage, Bring Your Own Brigade contains candid interviews with shell-shocked survivors, firefighters and rescue workers directly impacted by the wildfires, as well as with scientists and historians studying the causes of these fires, and indigenous tribal leaders who may hold the keys to solving the wildfire puzzle in their generational knowledge.

Among these compelling characters, audiences learn of Fire Battalion Chief Maeve Juarez, whose courageous efforts saved countless lives; bulldozer operator Joe Kennedy, who risked death to clear an evacuation path for trapped residents; and Paradise-resident Brad Weldon, who opened his house to 20 neighbors left homeless in the aftermath of the Camp fire.

As a result, Bring Your Own Brigade works as both an eyewitness account of the fiery devastation wreaked upon California communities, and as an investigation into the causes of—and potential solutions to—the global wildfire epidemic that’s engulfing the West Coast and, more recently, igniting in countries like Turkey and Spain.

While the film finds that climate change and forest mismanagement made the situation worse in the past several years, there is also hope. In the end, Bring Your Own Brigade offers simple steps that can be taken to not only lessen the death and destruction caused by wildfires, but to help balance and revitalize natural woodlands and wilderness for future generations. If only we as a society can come together to confront the crisis together.

‘Bring Your Own Brigade’ opens on Friday, Aug. 6, at select theaters including Century Regency 6, 280 Smith Ranch Rd., San Rafael (Cinemark.com); and Rialto Cinemas, 6868 McKinley St., Sebastopol (Rialtocinemas.com). The film will be available for streaming on Aug. 20 via Paramount+ and CBS News.

Marin Cities Extend Pandemic Parklet and Street Closure Programs

-
0
Marin Cities Extend Pandemic Parklet and Street Closure Programs

Businesses have struggled mightily to stay afloat during the Covid-19 pandemic, and as the fourth wave of the virus impacts Marin, they’re not out of the woods yet.

Cities around the county implemented temporary downtown street closures and parklets to help drive foot traffic to retailers and restaurants. Now, some Marin cities are making these measures long-term—and not all businesses are onboard.

A street closure involves placing barricades to prevent vehicles from entering an area, opening the streets to pedestrians. Parklets convert vehicle parking spaces into seating, usually intended for a restaurant to expand their dining capacity outdoors.

While the public generally finds it appealing to mill about or dine on a closed street without concern for vehicular traffic, some retailers aren’t convinced the concept benefits their businesses. Shop owners are hesitant about displaying their merchandise outside, and don’t make use of the sidewalk or parklet space. Customers complain to retailers about the lack of nearby parking, and having to carry packages several blocks to their cars.

Conversely, restaurants and bars increase their footprint, adding tables and chairs on the sidewalks, parking spaces and streets, which allows customers concerned about Covid to dine al fresco. Some restaurants have invested a substantial amount of money in semi-permanent parklets, creating a comfortable atmosphere with decorative dividers, plants, heaters and soft lighting.

Novato, San Rafael, San Anselmo, Fairfax, Mill Valley, Tiburon and Sausalito are among the Marin cities that experimented during the pandemic by closing streets and/or designating parking places for parklets. Whether or not the programs were a success depends on who one asks.

In Novato, the program has run in fits and starts since it began last year. From June to November, two blocks of Grant Avenue, from Reichert to Machin, were shut down every weekend, from Friday at 1pm through Sunday evening. The program stopped during the winter months, resumed in March and then was abruptly suspended in April due to feedback from the downtown business community.

Still, the City Council voted unanimously last month to adopt the “Living Streets” program, which closes the same two blocks of Grant Avenue, although an adjustment was made on the closure times. Rather than remaining closed for the entire weekend, the street will shut down on Friday, Saturday and Sunday evenings, from 5pm to midnight. Swinging iron gates will soon be installed in three locations to keep vehicles out during the designated hours.

However, some Novato retailers aren’t pleased with the plan and the way Novato handled the decision-making process, even claiming city staff was not forthright when discussing the results of a survey of downtown businesses and assessing public demand about the closure.

The city sent a survey to approximately 300 downtown Novato businesses in September to gauge their interest in continuing the street closures. Fifty businesses completed the survey, with two of those responding that they had already shuttered their doors permanently. Some owners complained they never received the survey.

Documents released in response to a public records request reveal that one of the survey questions asked whether the business would be interested in a seasonal or permanent closure of Grant Avenue, given that the community had expressed interest in the idea. Of the 48 respondents, 46% said “yes,” 26% replied “no” and 28% answered “maybe.”

In November, the city presented the survey results at a Downtown Novato Business Association meeting. For the question regarding the interest in the street closure, the “yes” and “maybe” responses were combined for a total of 74%.

In future references, the “maybe” was dropped from discussions and the 74% statistic was used as the percentage of respondents who replied positively, even though the actual figure was 46%.

“The City reminded everyone there had been an extensive survey done in the fall, where 74% of the respondents indicated they were in favor of the street closure. At that time, it had been in place for five months,” according to the DNBA meeting minutes from March 2021. Two city staff members were present at the meeting.

While the city declared in the September survey that the community expressed interest in the downtown street closures, it appears no letters of support were received by the city until the following February, when five emails arrived. In June, when Finnegan’s Marin, a downtown Novato restaurant and bar, requested on social media that patrons send favorable emails to the city—an additional 38 emails were received.

Dan Maher, owner of Sustainable Exchange, a retail store in the downtown Novato closure area, has been a vocal opponent of the program, claiming his business suffered financially. 

“The expressed character of the support for these [street closure] events is fraudulent or not supported with evidence,” Maher said.

Beauty Heroes, another shop in the closed portion of Grant Avenue, stays open until 6pm on Friday and Saturday. Owner Jeannie Jarnot has expressed concern about the 5pm start time for the program.

“I think it trains customers to stay away during that time,” Jarnot said. “We provide beauty services in our store, and the street closure adds a level of complexity with people needing to move their cars. It doesn’t benefit everyone.”

Other Novato businesses express enthusiasm for Living Streets. Village Child, one of the largest retailers in the closure area, plans on staying open later during the weekends, in order to take advantage of the foot traffic.

“I have nothing but positive things to say about the program,” Village Child owner Emily Rich said. “I think that the street closures are a very easy scapegoat for why some people’s businesses aren’t doing well.”

Henry Hautau, owner of Finnegan’s Marin, believes the city came up with a satisfactory compromise by limiting the closures to weekend evenings. Restaurants and bars were pushing for a 4pm street shutdown because of the amount of time necessary to move tables and seating outdoors.

Novato isn’t the only city trying to meet the needs of all downtown businesses. The Mill Valley City Council considered rescinding its ordinance allowing outdoor dining in parklets and the Downtown Plaza, but after an outcry from restaurants, it voted unanimously on Monday to extend the program through June 2022.

San Rafael approved its parklets through November 2022. Its Dining Under the Lights program closes a considerable length of 4th Street, from Lincoln Avenue to the West End, on Thursday and Friday nights, from 5–9pm, through September or October.

“There’s general concern about the delicate balance of parking and street closures,” Danielle O’Leary, City of San Rafael economic development director, said. “There are people who feel passionate on all sides of the issue.”

Bay Area Health Officials Issue New Indoor Mask Mandate

-
0
Bay Area Health Officials Issue New Indoor Mask Mandate

Health officials in seven Bay Area counties and the city of Berkeley issued a new indoor mask mandate Monday as the region faces a wave of new Covid-19 cases due to the more infectious delta variant and the remaining swath of unvaccinated residents.

The mandate will take effect Tuesday at 12:01 a.m. in Alameda, Contra Costa, Marin, San Francisco, San Mateo, Santa Clara and Sonoma counties as well as Berkeley and require residents to wear a mask indoors in public settings like retail stores, regardless of whether they’re vaccinated or not. 

Health officials in the seven counties also urged residents to get vaccinated as soon as possible if they have yet to do so, noting that the prevalence of the delta variant puts unvaccinated people at even higher risk of infection, serious illness and death.

While so-called breakthrough cases in fully vaccinated people are possible, the health officials noted they remain exceedingly rare and the three available vaccines also significantly reduce the chance of developing serious illness or dying from Covid-19.

“While most Covid-19 exposures in Marin County are due to household transmission and gatherings in non-public indoor settings with unvaccinated persons, we’ve also seen a significant increase of clusters of Covid-19 cases, among both vaccinated and unvaccinated persons, in public settings including outdoor and indoor events and performances where masks were not worn by vaccinated persons,” Dr. Lisa Santora, Marin County’s Deputy Public Health Officer, said in a statement on Monday.

‘I’ of the Beholder

“What do you mean,” a Spirit reader asked, “when you say the ego feels deeply threatened by the so-called sacred marriage of the sun and moon?” It’s quite simple: The ego—or what our conscious mind thinks it means when it says “I, Joe,” or “I, Jane”—views certain qualities as belonging to itself but not to others. It classifies that...
Read more

Genre Saves: Zombies Don’t Read

Do you know how to survive a zombie apocalypse? I don’t—despite the fact that genre fiction has been teaching how to for the past 30 years. Like every self-respecting ’80s-era bohemian, I nurtured a healthy disrespect for any notion of “genre.” While my plebeian friends devoured Stephen King horror novels, I choked down Existentialism from Dostoevsky to Sartre and contemplated...
Read more

Eyes on Change: Artist Tess Felix Reflects

Tess Felix
It was the fall of 2020, and I was on the phone with longtime Stinson Beach resident and celebrated environmental artist Tess Felix. Our conversation ranged from her creative endeavors to the immediate context—the upcoming presidential election, the most critical in American history; the cost of living, or not, in a place like Marin for her children’s generation; and...
Read more

Marin Nonprofit Distributes Batteries as Part of Emergency Preparedness Effort

Clint Patterson/Unsplash
With another fire season underway, it's high time to get disaster plans ready for you and your loved ones. As has become abundantly clear in recent years, a wildfire or even a power outage, can be disruptive—or even deadly—especially for people who rely on electronic medical devices. To help fill the need, Marin Center for Independent Living (MCIL), a nonprofit...
Read more

Marin Sheriff’s Office Arrests Suspected Tire Slashers

Flat
Two San Rafael men were arrested last week for slashing the tires of over a dozen motorhomes and other vehicles belonging to homeless people parked on Binford Road in unincorporated Novato. James Michael McNair, 19, and Nathan Kaemon McDonald, 20, were booked into the Marin County jail on suspicion of felony vandalism, according to the Marin County Sheriff’s Office. Interviews with...
Read more

Golden Gate Village Residents Push for Representation on Housing Board

Golden-gate-village-marin-August-2021
Neither of the appointed incumbent members reside in public housing, let alone Golden Gate Village, the county's largest publicly-owned development.
Read more

Three’s a Charm

Three is a special number, for it transcends two opposing paths by offering a third alternative. Every time you think you’re caught between the devil and the deep blue sea, remember there’s always a third way you have only to imagine. Those who answer the call of awakening, repeatedly come up against the tertiary structure. The traditional division of a...
Read more

BYOB: New Film Finds Heroes Among Flames

Firefighter Film - CBS News
For the past five years, residents in the North Bay and throughout the state of California have lived with the fear and horror of wildfire threats and disasters. So, it may sound strange to recommend a movie that brings those horrors to the big screen. Yet, the new documentary, Bring Your Own Brigade, is a film that captures more than...
Read more

Marin Cities Extend Pandemic Parklet and Street Closure Programs

Outdoor dining - Pixabay
Businesses have struggled mightily to stay afloat during the Covid-19 pandemic, and as the fourth wave of the virus impacts Marin, they’re not out of the woods yet. Cities around the county implemented temporary downtown street closures and parklets to help drive foot traffic to retailers and restaurants. Now, some Marin cities are making these measures long-term—and not all businesses...
Read more

Bay Area Health Officials Issue New Indoor Mask Mandate

Adam Niescioruk/Unsplash
Health officials in seven Bay Area counties and the city of Berkeley issued a new indoor mask mandate Monday as the region faces a wave of new Covid-19 cases due to the more infectious delta variant and the remaining swath of unvaccinated residents. The mandate will take effect Tuesday at 12:01 a.m. in Alameda, Contra Costa, Marin, San Francisco, San...
Read more
1...234235236...639Page 235 of 639
3,002FansLike
3,850FollowersFollow
Pacific Sun cover
CURRENT ISSUE & ARCHIVES
Pacific Sun cover
Pacific Sun cover
CURRENT ISSUE & ARCHIVES
Newsletters Subscribe Advertise Contact Us Letter to the Editor Press Release Obituaries Find a Paper Distribute Pacific Sun Vote for Best Of
win free stuff
Features Local News News Upfront
Arts Culture Food & Drink Movies Music Theater
Astrology Columns Editor's Note Letters Opinion Spirit
Arts & Culture Beauty, Health & Wellness Cannabis Everyday Services Family & Pets Home Improvement Recreation Restaurants Romance Shopping
All Upcoming Events Today's Events Submit an Event Promote Your Event

FOLLOW US

Copyright © Weeklys All rights reserved.

OUR PUBLICATIONS

ADVERTISING Advertise Legal Submit an Obituary Legal Notices Fictitious Business Name (FBN) Statements Doing Business As (DBA) Notices Trustee Sale Notices Order to Show Cause for Change of Name

COMPANY INFO Job Opportunities Journalism Awards Privacy Policy

Support Local Journalism