NorBays Celebrate Local Musicians

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NorBays Celebrate Local Musicians

Each year since 2005, the North Bay Music Awards, a.k.a. the NorBays, have recognized and celebrated dozens of North Bay bands in many genres as voted by the readers of the Bohemian and Pacific Sun.

In this unprecedented year of 2020, as North Bay musicians and bands continue to safely create excellent music online and on record while they endure a pandemic that wiped out live indoor concerts and events, it’s more important than ever to recognize and support the creative folks who make the North Bay special.

Without further ado, here are the winners of the 2020 NorBays.

Americana: Sean Carscadden

The Sonoma singer-songwriter kept busy in 2020, performing solo and full-band shows when outdoor performances were permitted in Sonoma. Currently, Carscadden can be seen virtually as part of Sebastiani Theatre’s online musical holiday special streaming free right now.

Blues: Coyote Slim

The Sonoma County guitarist has played a blend of Delta blues and California soul since 2006, and while his live shows have been on hiatus since the pandemic’s onset, he’s uploaded past performances and at-home jam sessions on Facebook and Youtube.

Country: David Luning

North Bay rocker David Luning took home the NorBay’s Singer-Songwriter award last year, though local voters now recognize Luning for his heartfelt and rollicking full-band country-rock efforts, which can be heard on his latest release, a somber, countrified cover of “You’ve Got Another Thing Coming.”

Electronica: Eki Shola

In 2020, classically trained pianist and songwriter Eki Shola concluded a musical journey that began after losing her home in the 2017 Tubbs Fire with the release of her full-length electronica-jazz album, Essential.

Folk: Dave Hamilton

North Bay veteran Dave Hamilton, who continues his long running NorBays-winning streak with this year’s recognition, kept the music alive this year at outdoor spots in Sebastopol and Petaluma when he could, and posted living room recordings of some of his favorite tunes on Youtube.

Hip-Hop: Kayatta

Returning NorBay Award-winner Kayatta released her debut album, Beautiful and Messy, on Juneteenth, the oldest nationally-celebrated remembrance of the ending of slavery in the United States. The album features infectious beats and socially-conscious lyrics that entertain and empower local audiences.

Indie: Ellie James

A California native and graduate of the Berklee College of Music in Boston, Ellie James now makes music from her homebase in Santa Rosa. Since the onset of the pandemic, James has taken to the web for live streaming events. She goes outdoors for socially distant performances when possible. She’s also gearing up for a big 2021 and recently hit her crowd-sourced fundraising goal for recording a debut studio album next year.

Jazz: Nate Lopez

The eight-string guitarist takes the NorBay Award for Jazz once again, proving himself to be a prolific and popular one-man jazz band even during the pandemic. While Lopez stayed at home for most of 2020, fans kept up with him online through his regularly streaming jam sessions and performances.

Metal: Hellbender

For North Bay audiences that like their heavy metal to thrash, Petaluma-based four-man musical wrecking crew Hellbender delivers the old-school riffs and pounding rhythms on their new album, American Nightmare, released this summer.

Punk: Kurupi

When Kurupi performed virtually as part of a Halloween Covers Show for Petaluma’s Phoenix Theater this past October, Theater talent buyer Jim Agius called the four-piece punk band, “One hundred percent the next generation of young musicians in our scene.”

R&B: The Soul Section

For more than a decade, The Soul Section has packed North Bay venues with high-energy funk and soul revues. With no venues in 2020, the band was able to virtually get together for several socially distant video performances this summer.

Reggae: Dan Martin & the Noma Rocksteady Band

Sonoma native Dan Martin first put together the Noma Rocksteady Band in 2010, and the ensemble has been a regular part of the North Bay music scene ever since. Keeping the jams steady, Martin is pumping out the tunes in outdoor settings and offering shelter-in-place streaming performances when he’s able to.

Rock: The Bluebyrds

The seasoned musicians who make up folk-rock group the Bluebyrds take it back—way back—to the music of groups like Lovin’ Spoonful and Buffalo Springfield. While the set lists may feature well-known classics, the Bluebyrds showcase why these songs stand the test of time.

Singer-Songwriter: Sebastian Saint James

North Bay audiences first became enamored with Sebastian Saint James as the frontman of soul-powered rock band The Highway Poets. More recently, Saint James is popping up online everywhere during the pandemic, with virtual solo performances for North Bay series like “Social Distance Live” and “Living Room Live.”

How to Have a Virtual New Year’s Eve

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How to Have a Virtual New Year’s Eve

Normally, when the clock strikes midnight on New Year’s Eve, crowds of friends and strangers gather together to celebrate.

In the North Bay, those gatherings usually include concerts, gala dinners, masquerade balls and more. Yet, 2020 is determined to go out kicking and screaming, and with the Covid-19 pandemic still firmly spreading in the region, this year’s parties will all be virtual events.

Luckily, several local organizations and entertainers are going digital to ring in the new year, and the public can join in the New Year’s Eve festivities from home.

The Charles M. Schulz Museum in Santa Rosa is the first stop for families celebrating the New Year with young ones, as the museum annually hosts afternoon balloon drops with root beer and activities. While the museum remains closed to the public due to the pandemic, the staff has kept the events going online, and this year, the Charles M. Schulz Museum presents a virtual version of its beloved “Happy New Year, Charlie Brown!”

The special “Noon-year’s-eve” event meets online Thursday, Dec. 31, at 11am. Snoopy and Woodstock will be there, and kids can enjoy partaking in “Peanuts”-themed craftings. Pre-registration is required at schulzmuseum.org.

North Bay music lovers have several virtual options for ringing in the New Year. First, a North Bay icon will broadcast live from San Rafael when Bob Weir and Wolf Bros play a New Year’s Eve concert on Dec. 31. The show will stream from Weir’s Tamalpais Research Institute (TRI Studios), a world-class streaming venue and recording facility, at 7pm. A rebroadcast will follow at 10pm. Tune in at Fans.Live.

Weir needs no introduction, but for the record: He is a founding member of Bay Area legend Grateful Dead, and his musical resume includes bands like Kingfish and Ratdog. In the Wolf Bros, Weir teams up with bassist Don Was and drummer Jay Lane to perform songs by the Grateful Dead and more.

For this live-streaming show, fellow musicians Jeff Chimenti and Greg Leisz join the trio on piano and pedal steel respectively for a high-energy performance. Tickets for Bob Weir and Wolf Bros’ New Year’s Eve show and more are available online at Fans.Live.

“We’re back and we’re here to light y’all up,” Weir says in a statement.

One of the North Bay’s best online summer concert series was Living Room Live. The weekly streaming showcase premiered in May as a virtual alternative to the annual Rivertown Revival in Petaluma. Presented by nonprofit group The Friends of the Petaluma River, Living Room Live featured local bands and artists performing from their homes, with host Josh Windmiller—founder of the Railroad Square Music Festival—acting as a Johnny Carson–style host on the couch.

Now, Living Room Live returns for one final concert to help ring in a new year. “Living Room Live: the New Year’s Eve Edition” streams on Rivertown Revival’s Facebook and Youtube pages on Dec. 31 at 7pm. The show will once again feature Windmiller as the musical master-of-ceremonies, with performances by Royal Jelly Jive, Sebastian St. James and other local favorites.

“Music will always find a way, and it rises to the challenge wherever we find adversity and a need for spirit,” Windmiller says in a statement. “I love to shine a light on the music emerging from the community because it gives me hope.”

“Living Room Live: the New Year’s Eve Edition” is free to watch, and audiences are encouraged to make donations to support Friends of the Petaluma River’s conservation and environmental education programs that range from outdoor nature programs for local youth to cleanup outings that have helped remove over 7,000 pounds of trash from Petaluma’s waterways this year.

“A core part of Friends’ work in the Petaluma Watershed is around celebration, celebrating the River and the natural world, our community and coming together,” Stephanie Bastianon, executive director of Friends of the Petaluma River, says in a statement. “If there is ever a time when our community needs lifting up, it is now. We felt it was important to bring back the Living Room Live concerts to offer some joy and light during this dark winter.” Facebook.com/RivertownRevival.

For those looking to jazz up New Year’s Eve, Santa Rosa’s 6th Street Playhouse will virtually host “Barbara Dixon’s New Year’s Eve Jazztacular” on Dec. 31 at 8pm and 11pm. The online show features “Broadway legend” Barbara Dixon, a.k.a. Los Angeles–based actor and writer Leah Sprecher, hosting a cabaret-style evening of musical comedy that satirizes the song-and-dance days of the past.

In addition, 6th Street Playhouse artistic director Jared Sakren and managing director Anne Clark will host a live fundraising event for the theater, which continues to offer online performances and a socially distanced school of drama while working to make the space safe for in-person events once gatherings begin again. Facebook.com/6thStreetPlayhouse.

Letters to the Editor: Dec. 23

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Letters to the Editor: Dec. 23

Point Reyes & Trivia

Thank you for publishing Peter Byrne’s reporting on the years of disastrous overgrazing and subsidized dairy cow ranching on this beautiful peninsula (“Apocalypse Cow,” News, Dec. 9).

I visited it on several occasions in 1968–1970, but haven’t yet had the opportunity to revisit since arriving here in September. Oyster farming in the Tomales Bay was just beginning in the ’60s and it is good to know that water quality degradation has not spoiled it. I don’t look forward to seeing the erosive effects of overgrazing in Point Reyes. It is evident elsewhere in Marin County, however, and shockingly evident on public lands in New Mexico, Arizona and Colorado that I saw on my recent road trip from North Carolina to Mill Valley.

Three observations on Trivia Café, which entertained us yesterday evening at the dinner table: 

#2 Green is not a primary color, even though television, etc. screens apply it that way (RBG). The primaries are red, blue and yellow. Blue and yellow mixed = green, as school children know.  #7 suggests that the pancreas and gallbladder are together known as glands. This cannot be. The gallbladder is not a gland. #9—the designation “camping” applies to different arrangements whereby folks enjoy the outdoors, whether hiking into wilderness areas to camp out or, more commonly, pitching tents in campgrounds where their vehicles are parked nearby. #9c should have read “backcountry camping gear retainer,” assuming you wanted to obfuscate by using the word retainer.

Peter H Freeman

MA Geography 1970

UC Berkeley 

Open Mic: Bedford Falls Revisited

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Open Mic: Bedford Falls Revisited

By E. G. Singer

Bedford Falls is the fictional, idyllic town that the beloved Christmas movie, It’s A Wonderful Life, is set in. The Frank Capra–directed movie features actor James Stewart as George Bailey, a “poor” everyman constantly challenged by life’s unforeseen circumstances.

We in the North Bay, like Mr. Bailey, have faced life’s slings and arrows in the last few years; political turmoil, floods, fires and now a pandemic. We all carry these traumatic events within us, and have suffered the ongoing physical and psychological wounds that accompany such stressful situations.

Mr. Bailey, distraught, without hope and “wishing” he was never born, contemplates suicide while standing on a bridge. Fate now enters the story, in the guise of an elderly angel, Clarence Odbody, who George sees “drowning” in the waters below. Diving in to save him (and himself), he will learn the lessons of what it really means to have his “wish” granted as his hero’s journey begins.

In conversations with the townspeople, family and friends he has known all his life, George is now a stranger, because he was never born, right? The past events he took as personal history also have now never occurred. Finally, with his guardian angel’s wisdom and words, he awakens and embraces the impact he has had on others and is able to acknowledge he has had and still has a wonderful life!

It is appropriate at this time of the year—and especially this year—we remember who and where we are in our own personal lives in response to what life throws at us. Yes, we surely must grieve our losses, but we can also rejoice and look around with gratitude at what we still have; and to know that this too shall pass—that we can find our own personal angels, to lift us up.

We only have to awaken and realize that Bedford Falls is still within each of us—it is a state of mind, if we take the time to look.

E.G. Singer lives in Santa Rosa. To have your topical essay of 350 words considered for publication, write le*****@********un.com.

Novato Nonprofit Gets a Boost in Rebuilding Camp Lost to Wildfire

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Novato Nonprofit Gets a Boost in Rebuilding Camp Lost to Wildfire

While there may not be a place to get coffee and doughnuts from a Dunkin’ (formerly Dunkin’ Donuts) franchisee in Marin County, the company’s foundation is making a mark locally.

As 2020 comes to a close, the Dunkin’ Joy in Childhood Foundation– which provides financial support to health and hunger organizations across the country–has granted and delivered $25,000 to the Okizu Foundation, a Novato-based childhood cancer organization.

The grant to Okizu is part of the Dunkin’ Joy in Childhood Foundation’s recent outpouring of $67,500 in support of California health and hunger relief organizations. The Foundation has provided more than $2.25 million in emergency relief grants this year in response to the significant increase of people who are facing unprecedented and costly challenges in the wake of the pandemic.

The grants are making a difference for organizations like Okizu Foundation, who is using the funds to rebuild its Butte County campgrounds. These camps, which offer recreation and respite for families affected by childhood cancer, burned down in the Bear Fire in September.

“We’re so grateful for this donation and are honored that the Dunkin’ Joy in Childhood Foundation stands behind our mission to help all members of families affected by childhood cancer through peer support, respite, mentoring, and recreational programs,” Suzie Randall, Interim Executive Director at Okizu, says in a statement. “As Camp Okizu is the only one of its kind in Northern California, it was absolutely devastating when our facilities were damaged by forest fires earlier this year. Thanks to the Dunkin’ Joy in Childhood Foundation, we have a renewed hope for the future and our programs for children with cancer and their siblings will continue to be offered free of charge, as we develop a plan for recovery.”

Camp Okizu in Berry Creek was designed to give families dealing with childhood cancer a chance to enjoy activities like archery, fishing and stargazing while they build friendships with other families.

These weekend camps are offered free of charge and come with medical supervision and a full kitchen and camp staff. The camp can also specialize its outings for families dealing with a specific diagnosis. There are also camps for Spanish-speaking families and camps for bereaved families.

While Camp Okizu is repaired and Covid-19 keeps social distancing a must, Okizu Foundation is creating new and exciting virtual programs to continue to offer peer support and other means of respite for families in need, free of charge.

The other organizations in California to receive grant funding from Dunkin’ includes Jacobs & Cushman San Diego Food Bank in San Diego, which received $15,000 for the purchase and distribution of food for the Food 4 Kids Backpack Program, supporting 75 local children for the 2020-2021 school year.

The Los Angeles Regional Food Bank received $20,000 to support operating costs for the Children’s Nutrition Program, including purchasing food, trucking supplies and program staff salaries.

The West Valley Boys and Girls Club in Canoga Park received $5,000 to help support the organization’s Grab N Go meal program which provides free breakfast and lunch meals to youth 6-18 years old.

Finally, West Valley Community Services of Santa Clara County Inc., based in Cupertino, received $2,500 to support local food pantry programs for low income and homeless area residents.

This latest round of funding follows on the heels of the Foundation’s $2.25 million in emergency relief grants distributed in March and September to support health and hunger relief organizations impacted by the pandemic.

In 2020, the Joy in Childhood Foundation will grant more than $4.5 million and has granted over $26 million since its inception.

Several Marin Arts Groups Receive Recovery Funds from Grant Program

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Several Marin Arts Groups Receive Recovery Funds from Grant Program

Fifteen Marin County nonprofit arts organizations are getting an early holiday gift from the Marin Cultural Association this year.

The Marin Cultural Association–a nonprofit under the umbrella of the county’s department of cultural services–recognized that other Marin arts organizations were being adversely impacted by the Covid-19 pandemic. In response the MCA launched an Arts & Culture Recovery Fund to provide financial support in the form of grants to help these groups stay afloat during the economic downturn that’s come from shelter-in-place orders.

Now, after an application process overseen by a diverse panel of Marin artists and arts leaders, the MCA has awarded 15 Marin County arts organizations with grants totaling $51,575. According to the MCA, these grants will enable Marin’s creative professionals to recover from pandemic-related financial losses and help the culturally-rich arts community to survive in Marin.

“Art teaches us empathy, understanding and appreciation for those who have had different life experiences. The arts reflect not only who we are, but who we aspire to be,” Gabriella Calicchio, Director of Marin County Cultural Services and MCA Executive Director, says in a statement. “Even before Covid-19, the arts in Marin were threatened by the reality of surviving in a community that has huge disparities racially and economically.”

The Arts & Culture Recovery Fund began with initial contributions from the California Arts Council, the Marin Community Foundation, the Fenwick Foundation, private donations and a separate $15,000 from CARES Act funding. Grants were awarded to arts organizations that reflect and serve Marin’s diverse communities.

The CARES Act grants were awarded to Surviving the Odds Project, Enriching Lives Through Music, Marin Theatre Company, Marin Shakespeare,
MC Arts & Culture, Youth In Arts and AlterTheater.

“This grant from the Marin Cultural Association will enable us to begin ways of creating online approaches to what we are now up against during these tough times,” says John Wallace, Founder/CEO of Surviving the Odds Project, in a statement.

Marin Theatre Company, MC Arts & Culture and Youth In Arts also received separate pandemic recover grants from the MCA. The remainder of the Arts & Culture Recovery Fund grants were awarded to Mountain Play, Bread & Roses, Gallery Route One, O’Hanlon Center for the Arts, Mill Valley Philharmonic, MarinArts, Marin History Museum and the Mill Valley Fall Arts Festival.

According to a Covid-19 Arts & Culture Sector Impact Survey conducted in by the California Arts Council in March, California’s creative sector has suffered the highest job losses of any industry due to Covid-19. This is due to the widespread cancellation of performances, events and educational offerings as well as venue closures. In addition, a great majority of creative workers do not qualify for safety net protections such as paid family leave, disability insurance, paid sick leave, or worker’s compensation.

Formed in 2015, Marin Cultural Association is leading the development of a comprehensive arts and culture master plan for Marin that was born out of data that showed diminishing performance and exhibit opportunities in the county, especially for low-income and minority communities.

Before the pandemic, MCA annually presented over a dozen art exhibits by local creatives as well as performing showcases. Now, with the current outpouring of recovery funds and a second round of funding to come in early 2021, MCA hopes to keep the arts culture alive in Marin County until Covid-19 is eradicated.

College of Marin Joins Statewide Virtual Campus Program, Hosts Online Open House

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College of Marin Joins Statewide Virtual Campus Program, Hosts Online Open House

Based in Kentfield and Novato, the College of Marin remains committed to providing a diverse community with affordable education, even during a pandmeic.

With that in mind, the college is joining a statewide movement known as the California Virtual Campus Online Education Initiative.

At the same time, the College of Marin launching three entirely online career pathway programs in Business, Multimedia and Hospitality for Marin County residents, especially those who lost their jobs due to the pandemic.

The California Virtual Campus Online Education Initiative is a collaborative effort by several California community colleges that offers online courses to students from these colleges on a shared website.

This initiative aims to provide students the chance to enroll in online courses that might not offered at their home college. All courses in this platform are offered asynchronously, meaning while students have deadlines to meet, there are no set class times they must attend to complete the course.

There are currently around 30 colleges in the shared program, and eventually the state’s community college system would like to see all of California’s 116 community colleges participating in it.

College of Marin began expanding online courses in 2019, and its Career Education programs became the first to be included in the initiative, and students can earn a certificate or degree for Business, Multimedia, and Hospitality with online courses.

“Career and technical education happened to be one of the areas where we had the most developed online courses that lead to complete degree and certificate pathways, and faculty who completed online training in Online Learning,” says Stacey Lince, College of Marin’s instructional designer.

Along with getting more courses certified, Lince and College of Marin’s Assistant Vice President for Instruction Cari Torres-Benavides are also making online learning more accessible. They, along with the college’s Guided Pathways Committee members, will be overhauling the academics webpages to add interest clusters as a way to introduce students to academic majors, instead of using program names they may not be as familiar with.

Additionally, in an effort to assist with retraining Marin County residents who lost jobs due to COVID-related layoffs, College of Marin’s Career Education and Workforce Development Department customized its career courses for online delivery, and created new 12-week trainings that will run March 1 through May 28, 2021.

Job seekers can learn about the host of trainings offered at the college by attending a virtual open house on January 6 at 5:30pm.

According to recent labor market data from the Employment Development Department (EDD), Marin’s most impacted industry sectors are hospitality (3,800 losses), transportation and trade (2,000 losses), and professional services (1,200 losses). A growing number of laid-off workers across the U.S. in these hard-hit industries are switching to new careers or occupations. Many are transitioning to sectors that have thrived during the pandemic, such as technology, health care, real estate, banking, and warehousing and delivery.

“We dove into local labor market information, polled Marin business owners, met with Chamber of Commerce and Workforce Investment Board executives, as well as several directors of community-based service programs to make sure we were hitting the mark on our offerings,” says Katheryn Horton, College of Marin’s director of workforce programs. “Our goal is to provide in-demand skills training that will help folks get new jobs or promotions in an evolving job market.”

New Joan Baez Art Exhibit Coming to Mill Valley

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New Joan Baez Art Exhibit Coming to Mill Valley

In an iconic career spanning six decades, Joan Baez has done it all. She’s a Rock and Roll Hall of Fame inductee who helped define the coffeehouse folk scene in the 1960s; and her musical spirit is matched by an activist mentality that has put her on the forefront of major nonviolent social movements since she walked arm-in-arm with Martin Luther King Jr. in Mississippi civil rights marches and spent time in jail for protesting the Vietnam War.

In the last few years, another side of Baez’s creative force has emerged in the form of solo art exhibitions that showcase her portrait paintings and drawings of some of her personal heroes and famous friends who’ve brought about positive social change over the last half-century.

Baez’s first solo exhibition, “Mischief Makers,” debuted at Mill Valley’s Seager Gray Gallery in 2017. Now, Baez returns to the gallery with a new batch of art for “Mischief Makers 2,” once again showcasing her portraits of people making the world a better place.

“Mischief Makers 2” opens Wednesday, January 6, and runs through February 14 at Seager Gray Gallery and online, and the gallery is hosting a live streaming art reception for the show on Saturday, January 9, which also marks Baez’s 80th birthday.

Following in the artistic footsteps of her debut solo exhibit, “Mischief Makers 2” features a new cast of social justice activists, progressive political figures and other notable historic faces from the worlds of literature, sports, music, environmentalism, spirituality and the counterculture.

One such painting is Baez’s portrait of Vice President-elect Kamala Harris, which went viral when she posted it on social media with the word “Badass” as part of her get-out-the-vote campaign for the 2020 presidential election.

Her portrait of Dr. Anthony Fauci, the doctor at the head of the U.S’s Covid-19 response, also ignited the Internet when she posted the painting online and added the word “Trust” alongside the image, offering a strong a rebuke of right-wing political attacks on Fauci.

The new show also features portraits of figures like singer-songwriter Patti Smith, teenage climate activist Greta Thunberg, filmmaker Michael Moore, former NFL quarterback and activist Colin Kaepernick, hippie icon Wavy Gravy and Pulitzer Prize-winning author and activist Alice Walker.

As she did in the first “Mischief Makers” exhibit, Baez includes a self-portrait. Limited edition prints of the self-portrait as well as portraits of Bob Dylan, Ruth Bader Ginsburg, Anthony Fauci and Emma Gonzalez will also be available and on display in the gallery.

Seager Gray Gallery, established by partners Donna Seager and Suzanne Gray in 2005 and located on the square in Mill Valley, is one of the most accomplished and acclaimed gallery spaces in the North Bay. The gallery specializes in contemporary fine art from both established and up-and-coming talents. During the Covid-19 pandemic, the gallery is open for abbreviated hours from Wednesday to Sunday, noon to 4pm, or by appointment.

In addition to its in-person hours, the gallery will present “Mischief Makers 2” online and art lovers can virtually join the show’s digital reception that includes an interview with Baez, a virtual tour of the art and more on Saturday, Jan 9, at 5:30pm. Ticket are $15 and can be purchased in advance at bit.ly/JoanBaezLiveStream.

The darkest hour is just before dawn

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The darkest hour is just before dawn

“The darkest hour is just before dawn.” Like many Gen Xers, I was introduced to this concept in a Mamas and Papas lyric crackling away on an FM station on a Volvo car radio. It was the ’70s, and the aftermath of Watergate and the war in Viet Nam hung pungently in the air like a great cloud of skunk weed. In California, there was a relative dearth of precious fluids—a simultaneous drought of water and gasoline, and our wine ran off to France and won the “Judgement of Paris.” 

Jesus was both everywhere and nowhere at that time, though rumor was he was in Guyana, desperately trying to turn Kool-Aid back into water. Meanwhile, movie musical fans were singing “This is the dawning of the Age of Aquarius,” but when the dawn finally came it was Reagan’s “Morning in America.” 

This is all to say, the kids my age have seen variations of our apocalyptic moment before. So, forgive us if we’re dubious that the light at the end of the tunnel is anything other than the Great Eye of Sauron. Though the electoral college has theoretically put an end to the current Whitehouse occupant’s Reign of Error, I no longer believe Otto von Bismarck’s assertion that “There is a providence that protects idiots, drunkards, children, and the United States of America.” There’s still ample opportunity for us to mess this up. I have met the enemy and he is us. 

As George Carlin once opined, “When you’re born you get a ticket to the freak show. When you’re born in America, you get a front-row seat,” to which I’ll add that sometimes you’re also onstage. This is our moment to take a bow, go backstage and wipe off the damn clown makeup. 

Perhaps it’s Dec. 21, the Winter Solstice and the longest night of the year, which has caused my skeptical frame of mind. If only by dint of duration, Monday will be the darkest night before the dawn. The winter solstice also denotes the onset of winter, which begs the question for our country—will this be “the winter of our discontent?” Let’s hope not. All together now: “Tell all the stars above, this is dedicated to the one I love.”

Editor Daedalus Howell is dark before the dawn at DaedalusHowell.com.

Marijuana Scarecrows

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Marijuana Scarecrows

First off, there’s Cannabis for Dummies, a paperback that presents gobs of information about the marijuana plant that even a dummy can understand. Then there are “dummies for marijuana.” They’re scarecrows that look like people, especially in the dark, and are meant to deter thieves from ripping off a crop.

Marijuana growers will do almost anything to protect their beloved weed. They will build fences, rely on watch dogs and patrol gardens with flashlights and guns, especially at harvest. They will also buy dummies and place them at strategic points to fool wannabe thieves.

Johnny Green (not his real name) bought a half-dozen dummies online at Halloween. They ran on batteries, and as Johnny says, “they were a very talkative group at one time.” Now the batteries are dead. The crop has been harvested and dried, much of it sold, while the dummies have nowhere to go.

For years, black market growers have been more afraid of rip-offs than police raids. Thieves can arrive at any time of day or night. Cops travel conspicuously. Sometimes a grower on a mountain top can see them coming and get out fast with some of the crop. Farmers also band together, pool resources and take turns patrolling dirt roads.

Smart Dummies

Years ago a grower in the hills above Cazadero captured a thief, tied him up, beat the shit out of him and then released him. Turns out a relative was a cop. The Cazadero grower was arrested and sent to jail.

Also, in Cazadero, a cannabis consultant was promised a share of the crop come harvest. When the guys reneged on the deal, the consultant showed up with friends and took what he thought was rightfully his. The sheriff and several deputies arrived on the scene, asked questions and let everyone go. It was a lazy Sunday afternoon. The deputies didn’t want to make arrests, book the suspects and watch them post bail and walk away.

One of the best movies about wannabe thieves is The Treasure of the Sierra Madre. Mexican bandits show up in the mountains, where four gringos are panning for gold, and claim to be Federales. When one of the prospectors asks for badges, the actor played by Alfonso Bedoya says, “We don’t need no stinkin’ badges.” The gringos hold off the desperados until the real Federales arrive and save the day.

In California, cops have in fact occasionally protected legitimate growers against thieves. What the long arm of the law hasn’t been able to do is protect them from property owners armed with lawyers and money. For the last several years, they’ve carried out aggressive campaigns meant to ban cannabis. Might they be frightened by dummies? It’s unlikely but worth a try.

Jonah Raskin is the author of “Marijuanaland: Dispatches from an American War.”

NorBays Celebrate Local Musicians

Each year since 2005, the North Bay Music Awards, a.k.a. the NorBays, have recognized and celebrated dozens of North Bay bands in many genres as voted by the readers of the Bohemian and Pacific Sun. In this unprecedented year of 2020, as North Bay musicians and bands continue to safely create excellent music online and on record while they endure...
Read more

How to Have a Virtual New Year’s Eve

Normally, when the clock strikes midnight on New Year’s Eve, crowds of friends and strangers gather together to celebrate. In the North Bay, those gatherings usually include concerts, gala dinners, masquerade balls and more. Yet, 2020 is determined to go out kicking and screaming, and with the Covid-19 pandemic still firmly spreading in the region, this year’s parties will all...
Read more

Letters to the Editor: Dec. 23

Point Reyes & Trivia Thank you for publishing Peter Byrne’s reporting on the years of disastrous overgrazing and subsidized dairy cow ranching on this beautiful peninsula (“Apocalypse Cow,” News, Dec. 9). I visited it on several occasions in 1968–1970, but haven’t yet had the opportunity to revisit since arriving here in September. Oyster farming in the Tomales Bay was just beginning...
Read more

Open Mic: Bedford Falls Revisited

By E. G. Singer Bedford Falls is the fictional, idyllic town that the beloved Christmas movie, It’s A Wonderful Life, is set in. The Frank Capra–directed movie features actor James Stewart as George Bailey, a “poor” everyman constantly challenged by life’s unforeseen circumstances. We in the North Bay, like Mr. Bailey, have faced life’s slings and arrows in the last few...
Read more

Novato Nonprofit Gets a Boost in Rebuilding Camp Lost to Wildfire

While there may not be a place to get coffee and doughnuts from a Dunkin’ (formerly Dunkin' Donuts) franchisee in Marin County, the company's foundation is making a mark locally. As 2020 comes to a close, the Dunkin’ Joy in Childhood Foundation– which provides financial support to health and hunger organizations across the country–has granted and delivered $25,000 to the...
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Several Marin Arts Groups Receive Recovery Funds from Grant Program

Fifteen Marin County nonprofit arts organizations are getting an early holiday gift from the Marin Cultural Association this year. The Marin Cultural Association–a nonprofit under the umbrella of the county’s department of cultural services–recognized that other Marin arts organizations were being adversely impacted by the Covid-19 pandemic. In response the MCA launched an Arts & Culture Recovery Fund to provide financial support...
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College of Marin Joins Statewide Virtual Campus Program, Hosts Online Open House

Based in Kentfield and Novato, the College of Marin remains committed to providing a diverse community with affordable education, even during a pandmeic. With that in mind, the college is joining a statewide movement known as the California Virtual Campus Online Education Initiative. At the same time, the College of Marin launching three entirely online career pathway programs in Business,...
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New Joan Baez Art Exhibit Coming to Mill Valley

In an iconic career spanning six decades, Joan Baez has done it all. She’s a Rock and Roll Hall of Fame inductee who helped define the coffeehouse folk scene in the 1960s; and her musical spirit is matched by an activist mentality that has put her on the forefront of major nonviolent social movements since she walked arm-in-arm with...
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The darkest hour is just before dawn

Dark Dawn
“The darkest hour is just before dawn.” Like many Gen Xers, I was introduced to this concept in a Mamas and Papas lyric crackling away on an FM station on a Volvo car radio. It was the ’70s, and the aftermath of Watergate and the war in Viet Nam hung pungently in the air like a great cloud of...
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Marijuana Scarecrows

Marijuana Scarecrow
First off, there’s Cannabis for Dummies, a paperback that presents gobs of information about the marijuana plant that even a dummy can understand. Then there are “dummies for marijuana.” They’re scarecrows that look like people, especially in the dark, and are meant to deter thieves from ripping off a crop. Marijuana growers will do almost anything to protect their beloved...
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