Q: I am almost 50 but look much younger, and I’m noticing that a number of the guys who are pursuing me are in their early 30s. I’m flattered but not really interested, as I want to get married again and I’m thinking that these guys are too young to consider that and probably want to have babies. Am I a magnet for guys with mommy issues? What gives?—Puzzled
A: Nothing like rolling up to your guy’s band’s gig and having everybody be all, “Mike, your mom’s here!” As for these young whippersnappers’ intentions, chances are the only “aisle” they’re looking to walk down with you is the one from the front door to their bedroom. Of course, men, just like women, can get to a point where they’re ready for cuddlyschmuddlywuddly forever—which is to say, a relationship.
However, evolutionary psychologist David Buss explains that there’s strong evidence from a good deal of research that men evolved to “have a greater desire for short-term mating”—casual sex with a variety of partners. Buss notes that there are some stumbling blocks for men in short-term mating mode. A major one is “the problem of avoiding commitment.” That’s where you older-but-still-hot ladies sometimes come in.
Older women are less likely to demand a relationship with an age-inappropriate partner. Of course, older women are also likely to be sexually experienced and sexually adventuresome in a way younger women aren’t. And, unlike younger women, who are often shy about expressing what they want in bed, older women can stop just short of going all Gunnery Sergeant Hartman: “Faster, you maggot, faster! And three millimeters up and a centimeter to the left!”
The thing is, sometimes two people with the most casual of sexual intentions unexpectedly fall for each other. But if you and the young hardbodies can stay in the sex-only lane, your having regular sex might help you take your time getting to know dates with real partner potential for you rather than flying right into bed.
Q: I’m a woman with a male business partner. He just got a new girlfriend, and he pretty much goes MIA whenever he goes to visit her. It can take him up to two days to return my phone calls, and I’ll have to call or text two or three times to get him to respond. (I’m contacting him about business, not social stuff.) He is usually—well, used to be—very available by phone. His disappearing act when he’s with the girlfriend is really annoying and detrimental to our business and, frankly, pretty disrespectful. I’ve made jokes about it, but nothing’s changed. Help.—Annoyed
A: “Hello, Search and Rescue? Can you send out a team? I think my business partner is lost in his girlfriend’s pants.”
Tempting as it must be to blast your partner for constantly leaving you in the telephonic lurch, you’d be better off simply telling him that it feels really crappy to have your calls and texts go ignored for days; you feel disrespected. Research by social psychologist C. Daniel Batson and his colleagues suggests that we have an evolved motivation to try to alleviate others’ pain. However, there’s a caveat: If a person’s pain or need is expressed with an attack on our behavior, we’re likely to go into fight-back mode instead of “there, there, lemme see what I can do to make things better” mode.
As for why you have yet to get through to him, you write, “I’ve made jokes about it, but nothing’s changed.” Jokes are just the thing if you’re putting on a show with a two-drink minimum—not so much if you’re trying to communicate your needs (especially to a man). The same goes for hints. Instead, opt for healthy assertiveness—from the start. Figure out what you need—how soon you’d like to have a callback—and then express that.
You may not get exactly the timetable you want, but this at least opens up a discussion: “Call you back within three hours?” he responds—countering with “Ehh . . . how about five hours?” You should ultimately find this approach vastly more productive than going snarky and, say, suggesting that he and his girlfriend make love like they do in the movies—specifically, the video in which Paris Hilton answers the phone in the middle of having sex.
Sausalito possesses a rich and colorful history. It served as the summer home of well-heeled San Franciscans in the 19th century, a depot for Prohibition-era bootleggers (including Baby Face Nelson) and the site of a busy World War II shipbuilding operation.
Today, its stunning vistas attract tourists from around the world. But there’s a side to Sausalito that most sightseers never experience: the places where the locals play, dine and shop. As a resident of this eclectic city for almost 30 years, I’ve dropped anchor at most of them.
I usually start off the day with a hike in the Marin Headlands, home to gun batteries dating back to the late 1800s and a Cold War Nike missile site. To access the hills of the Headlands, I begin at the north end of the trail system by driving up Donahue Street to the cul-de-sac, where there’s plenty of parking. The Alta Trail begins there and, after just a few steps in, delivers the magnificent scenery of Richardson Bay, Sausalito and Tiburon. Farther out, it hooks up with trails that wind down to Tam Valley or Fort Cronkhite. If I’m lucky, I might catch a glimpse of a coyote, fox or bobcat crossing my path.
For a more strenuous workout, I ascend the hidden stairways of Sausalito. More than 20 sets of stairs lead up the hills from one charming residential street to another, and there’s even a route that leads to the Headlands. The longest jaunt, the Excelsior staircase, starts on Bridgeway next to the Wells Fargo Bank in downtown Sausalito. The descent provides views of the bay and pristine Angel Island. With the internet, the stairways aren’t so secret anymore: just search for them on Google maps and start climbing.
Another great way to greet the day is taking my dogs to the completely fenced in and well-manicured Sausalito Dog Park. There’s always a friendly pack of pooches running and wrestling, and plenty of tennis balls around for a game of fetch. The people are genial, too. I’ve met some of my closest friends while sitting at the picnic tables bonding over our dog tales.
To refuel, I often head over to Divino, which is on Caledonia, the street that locals consider the main drag. The coffee is first-rate, and the healthful breakfasts boast organic ingredients. My favorite is the fiorentina omelette, made with sautéed spinach, tomatoes and ricotta. On a warm day, I sit outside and people watch. Live music entertains dinner guests Tuesday through Sunday evenings.
Or I could go to Fred’s. Open since 1966, it serves up a hearty breakfast and lunch. When my mouth isn’t full of deep-fried French toast, I chat with the other patrons seated with me at the large communal dining tables. (At the very least, I eavesdrop on their conversations.) Though I haven’t tried it, folks swear by the sweet bacon.
A visit to the Bayside Cafe guarantees great service and another large menu filled with tasty breakfast and lunch options, as well as a fresh juice and smoothie bar. I spy the legendary comedian Mort Sahl there frequently on weekend mornings.
Belly sated, I typically take a lazy walk along the docks to admire the picturesque houseboats, situated mostly on the north end of Sausalito. The beautiful setting inspired Otis Redding to write the first verse and chorus of “(Sittin’ on) the Dock of the Bay” while sitting on Bill Graham’s houseboat at Waldo Point.
The noon hour represents decision time. Sausalito is chock-full of restaurants with delicious lunch menus. Kitty’s Place, a family-owned restaurant, features freshly prepared California cuisine with a Thai influence. My friend Margie is addicted to their Asian chicken salad.
Avatar’s, run by Ashok Kumar, serves healthful Cali-Indian fusion fare. I never order off the menu, because Ashok suggests special dishes based on vegetables that just came out of the garden. Everything I’ve tried is flavorful, unique and delicious. Sausalito adores the Kumar family, and they return the love by hosting a complimentary feast for the community on Thanksgiving eve. Hundreds of people partake each year.
A popular afternoon activity is paddling a kayak along Sausalito’s waterfront. My passion for kayaking started when I took my first class at Sea Trek, located behind the Bay Model. This Sausalito institution rents kayaks, gives lessons to kids and adults, and organizes trips, including the full-moon kayak tour. I like the daytime tours, because I never tire of the Mount Tam views and the thrill of seeing a seal swim by. Sea Trek also gives stand up paddle board lessons. Anyone up for trying that out with me?
I can’t believe I’m talking about food again, but kayaking works up an appetite and gets me thinking about Fish, fins down the top seafood restaurant in Marin County. On the water at the end of Harbor Drive, Fish knows the name of the boat that caught the seafood it dishes up and the manner in which it was caught. It’s all about commitment to fresh and sustainable seafood, as well as locally sourced organic produce. Dog-friendly with a large outdoor seating area, this casual eatery’s line goes out the door on a sunny Sausalito day. It’s worth the wait.
I don’t spend every moment eating out; sometimes I shop for food. Driver’s Market carries items not found in ordinary grocery stores. The selection of artisan chocolates from around the globe will entice even the most discerning chocaholic. I sampled a dark chocolate bar with fermented cocoa beans from the Davao region in the Philippines, which tasted amazingly rich and creamy. Other interesting finds include a refrigerator case filled with probiotics, three kinds of kombucha on tap and organic vegetables with labels indicating where the produce was grown.
One way I de-stress is with a spa day pass at Cavallo Point in Fort Baker. For $65, I enjoy a morning yoga class, soaking in the heated meditation pool and entrée to the fitness suite and eucalyptus steam room. Cavallo Point also houses the Murray Circle Restaurant. The ambience, with the cozy fireplaces and Golden Gate Bridge view, is spectacular. It’s the perfect setting for a special occasion dinner. Farley Bar, next door, is a lovely place to unwind and have a nightcap.
Also in Fort Baker is the delightful Bay Area Discovery Museum for children up to age 10. The exhibits change regularly and museum educators lead the daily programs. Right now, kids can cook up a mud pie in the mud kitchen, and it’s hands-on at the Harley-Davidson exhibit. This is a must-see for folks with little tykes.
For adult programs, I stop by Studio 333. An art gallery, event venue and co-op work space, it also offers art and craft workshops, including shibori indigo dye techniques, book binding and paint pouring.
Studio 333 is the backdrop for Why There Are Words, an award-winning literary reading series that happens on the second Thursday of every month. Peg Alford Pursell, founder of the nonprofit series, selects six authors to read from their works. Well-known and not-so-known writers participate, but all meet strict standards of excellence. I almost behaved like a paparazzo when Amy Tan sat next to me in the audience, but I controlled myself. The $10 admission is the best bargain in the county.
After the readings, I like to step into the historic No Name Bar to have a glass of Cabernet and listen to jazz. Established in 1959, the No Name presents live music nightly. There’s usually no cover charge; instead, the band passes around a hat for donations.
The art scene continues at Tivoli Decor, a vintage and modern home store focusing on local artists. Prices run the gamut from low to luxe, and owner Teri Lang curates a vast collection of furniture, art and knickknacks. I was enamored by a charmant French bureau and Debra Allen’s driftwood creations made of materials she gathers from Muir Beach.
We’ve reached the end of our journey and I didn’t even get to the Bay Model, Seahorse supper club, Poggio, Smitty’s, Sausalito Gourmet Deli, Waterstreet Hardware, Rodeo Beach and the Marine Mammal Center. I know I’m biased, but Sausalito is unsurpassed in its beauty and places to visit. Come to this alluring city by the bay to experience its bountiful gifts, and let me know what you discover.
After AIDS demonstrators shut down the Golden Gate Bridge during the morning commune, directors said they would get tougher in the future. They couldn’t agree how.
—Feb. 10–16, 1989
Forty Years Ago This Week
Plans to turn the former Knights Bridge nightclub at 1618 Second Street in San Rafael into a discotheque have been approved by the San Rafael City Council despite objections from residents in the area. Owner Iraj Bahmanzadh was told Monday night he has 120 days to prove he can provide enough soundproofing and parking to operate the disco without annoying his neighbors.
—Feb. 9–15, 1979
Fifty Years Ago This Week
Girls at Drake High may wear corduroy, striped and flowered boys’ jeans, but not bell bottom trousers. That’s the ruling that is being enforced with the start of the spring semester.
The weight of living as a low-income single mother can be crushing. Surviving below the poverty line (i.e., no savings to dip into or family members to borrow money from) can mean spending every waking second hustling to simply scrape by.
The type of soul-sucking poverty that one can’t see a way out of—drinking coffee to quell hunger because you have to choose between feeding yourself or feeding your kid—can feel like a constantly shifting puzzle, never quite fully constructed and constantly at risk of collapse. Each bit of income, every expense, and each spare moment, is held in a fine balance. Faced with an unexpected expense like a car repair can mean going without meals, losing gas money and therefore missing more desperately needed work shifts, and risking water or electricity being shut off.
It can feel like running uphill through mud. In the dark. With no cash to buy batteries for your flashlight.
In Maid: Hard Work, Low Pay and a Mother’s Will to Survive (Hachette Books), Stephanie Land carries readers through the exhaustion of living below the poverty line. The memoirpaints a candid picture of parenting while poor, and the stigma of being a public-assistance recipient in “pull up your bootstraps” America.
“People who have lived in poverty or very low income, they’re always scrambling for the next thing,” says Land by phone from her home in Montana. “I think it’s just ingrained in you to not really relax, because you’re always looking at the next thing and what you can do to keep the income coming in.”
And Land certainly knows a thing or two about scrambling. “As a poor person, I was not accustomed to looking past the month, week, or sometimes hour. I compartmentalized my life in the same way I cleaned every room of every house—left to right, top to bottom,” she writes.
As a young mother, Land fled an abusive relationship and found herself and her infant daughter Mia in a homeless shelter. From there she trudged along a rocky maze of transitional housing, community college, countless mounds of paperwork for public assistance like SNAP (Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program, what used to be known as “food stamps”), low-income housing and a stint as a landscaper before arriving in a drafty studio apartment that she paid for by cleaning houses.
Land first published a story about her house-cleaning experiences for Vox in 2015. The viral essay, “I Spent 2 Years Cleaning Houses. What I Saw Makes Me Never Want to Be Rich,” eventually led to a proposal for Maid. The book takes a deeper look at the issues addressed in the Vox story, and chronicles Land’s long hours of schlepping mop buckets and cleaning supplies into the homes of relatively wealthy strangers.
Land describes the sometimes eerie sense that settles across an empty home that maids visit for deep cleanings. The owners know little to nothing about the cleaners; many didn’t even know Land’s name. She was like a ghost to them. Yet, after spending up to three hours alone in the homes on a regular basis—scrubbing bodily fluids off of bathroom surfaces, tucking sheets into beds and transporting trash to outdoor bins—Land developed an intimate understanding of who the homeowners were and what their lives were like.
She knew how much alcohol they drank and where they stashed their cartons of cigarettes. She knew the types of pornographic magazines they preferred. She knew about their physical and mental-health issues from the various prescription pill bottles lined up in medicine cabinets and clustered on bathroom counters. She knew about their relationships and how much they spent on groceries and household items.
Housecleaning work is physically and sometimes emotionally taxing—there is a reason people hire help to do the cleaning for them: it is really hard work—especially for domestic workers with chronic health issues.
Though I’d never tell my manager about it, nerve damage in my spine prevented me from gripping a sponge or brush with my right, dominant hand. I’d had scoliosis, a condition that made the spine curve from side to side, since I was a kid, but recently due to the cleaning work it had pinched a nerve that went down to my right arm. . . . My left hand took over whenever the right one got too tired, but in those first months of six-hour days, when I got home I could barely hold a dinner plate or carry a bag of groceries.
Most people don’t realize that after paying for a cleaning service, workers themselves often receive close to minimum wage for their labor. Land’s first cleaning jobs in 2009 earned her $8.55 to $10 an hour. For cleaners with only one income-earner at home (and children to support), this clearly isn’t enough to live on; low-wage earners often need the safety net of public assistance to make ends meet.
Yet public assistance can be problematic. Contrary to popular myth, being on public assistance is no easy ride and can be discontinued if paperwork isn’t completed accurately, or if monthly income exceeds the allowed amount—even by a few dollars. Land describes that at one point she was on seven types of assistance, from a low-income energy bill program to low-income housing. The requirements and piles of paperwork were daunting.
And yet despite receiving various sources of government support to fill in financial gaps while working up to 25 hours a week (she wasn’t paid for travel time or for washing her cleaning rags at home), Land still barely kept her head above water. The stigma of her circumstances also brought an unwavering sense of shame; spending a few extra dollars treating herself and her daughter to a meal at a restaurant on a rare occasion made her feel reckless; allowing herself any time to relax evoked guilt and anxiety.
“I think the legislators and the general voting public are obsessed with whether or not poor people work for their benefits, and so I think a lot of the paperwork that’s required is just proving not only how poor you are, but proving how much you do work,” says Land. “Even if you do prove it, you have to prove it even more, on a sometimes monthly basis, and it’s degrading. I don’t think people really understand that part of it either. There’re a lot of things about the system that work against poor people and just make it harder for them.”
Land points to the proposed changes to the Farm Bill as an example of increased requirements for SNAP benefits. Although Congress voted for an $867 billion Farm Bill in December, just a week later the Trump administration declared that it would continue seeking more stringent regulations on who can receive SNAP benefits, including increasing work requirements for older workers between ages 49 and 59, and for workers with young children ages 6 to 12. The proposed changes would affect over 1 million households nationwide.
The perpetual fear of living with financial instability and working hard—while constantly proving how hard she worked—wasn’t the only thing that weighed on Land. In Maid, she opens up about living in a state of shame for receiving benefits, and the stereotypes and resentment often projected on to poor people, even by friends. She describes people commenting with snide voices, “You’re welcome” when they’d spot her using food stamps at the checkout line.
“It seemed like certain members of society looked for opportunities to judge or scold poor people for what they felt we didn’t deserve,” Land writes. “They’d see a person buying fancy meats with an EBT card and use that as evidence for their theory that everyone on food stamps did the same.”
For many, the mere idea of public assistance certainly evokes stereotypes and raises questions about who deserves help (and for those that are deemed worthy of help, how much support they deserve also comes into question). And of course, there’s a classist assumption that all moms use their food stamps strictly to buy junk food for their kids, which Land—unapologetically—said she did on special occasions.
“I used to do that for Christmas. I bought candy with food stamps,” she says. “I used to buy treats for my kid because that was all I could get her. I couldn’t afford to get her a toy or a lot of stuff, but I could buy her a piece of candy with food stamps. To me, I’m giving my child a moment of joy.”
In addition to the stress of financial insecurity and the grueling, often degrading experience of scrubbing other people’s toilets that Land addresses in Maid, she offers a glimpse into the isolation she often felt raising Mia alone:
Sometimes just walking behind a two-parent family on a sidewalk could trigger shame from being alone. I zeroed in on them—dressed in clothes I could never afford, diaper bag carefully packed into an expensive jogger stroller. Those moms could say things that I never could: “Honey, could you take this?” or “Here, can you hold her for a second?” The child could go from one parent’s arms to the other’s.
Land eventually left Washington and completed her English degree at University of Montana’s creative writing program. She continued cleaning houses until her last year in school, when her second daughter was just a baby. Since graduation, her career path has taken an upward swing; in addition to getting Maid published, Land now works as a full-time writer.
She’s been a fellow at Center for Community Change and the Economic Hardship Reporting Project, and has published in the New York Times, the Washington Post, The Guardian, Salon, The Nation and elsewhere.
“I felt like I had to hold myself accountable to the degree, and I stubbornly kept myself to that—not that there’s anything wrong with side gigs or having to go back into cleaning,” she says.
According to a report issued by the U.S. Census Bureau in September 2018, there are 39.7 million people living in poverty across the country, and based on the Bureau of Labor and Statistics, there are over 900,000 house cleaners nationwide in 2017, earning an average of $11 per hour. Maid takes these impersonal statistics and the topic of income inequality and gives them a face. Her voice represents millions who are attempting to survive on low wages—and reveals the truth of what it’s like for so many single parents struggling to get by, one day at a time:
I would hear the same thing again and again: “I don’t know how you do it.” When their husbands went out of town or worked late all the time, they’d say, “I don’t know how you do it,” shaking their heads, and I always tried not to react. I wanted to tell them those hours without your husband aren’t even close to replicating what it is like to be a single parent, but I let them believe it did. Arguing with them would reveal too much about myself, and I was never out to get anyone’s sympathy. Besides, they couldn’t know unless they felt the weight of poverty themselves. The desperation of pushing through because it was the only option.
Land says her book is succeeding, in part because “people are more apt to listen to someone who is on the other side and who is a success story, and I cringe at that, because the system is not a successful system.”
In a perfect world, Maid would become required reading in schools across the country. In the very least, it should evoke compassion and stir empathy in people who have never walked in Land’s shoes. And hopefully that empathy can lead to big changes in how poor people are treated in America.
“I’m really hoping that my book changes the way people think about the lower classes and working classes,” she says, “and I’m hoping it increases their view of humanity, and gives them more compassion. I hope it sets up the stage for more books like mine to come out, from women of color and from more people in the margins.
“I think the world should be ready to hear from angry poor people.”
Stephanie Land reads from ‘Maid’ at Copperfield’s Books on Friday, Feb. 15, at 7pm (140 Kentucky St., Petaluma; 762.0563), and at Book Passage on Sunday, Feb. 17, at 7pm (51 Tamal Vista Blvd., Corte Madera; 415.927.0960.
In an “era of limits,” it’s time to limit official travel to states that have not ratified the Equal Rights Amendment (ERA), the Board of Supervisors reiterated on a split vote this week. Robert Roumiguiere voted against the renewal motion as “superfluous.” The discussion arose because the supervisors approved a trip to Georgia for the county coroner to attend a conference on forensic science.
—Feb. 2–8, 1979
Fifty Years Ago This Week
For the first time in human history, the female of the species can decide when and if she wants to become pregnant. She can operate on the same sexual basis as the male without having to risk the burden of an unwanted pregnancy. This is a fact of our time that many individuals seem not to have absorbed.
This technological innovation must underline any discussion of sexual morality. We too soon forget the lessons of the past that often taught that it was the survival of the species that dictated morals, and vice-versa. In the nomadic struggle for existence of Biblical times, a large tribe meant a powerful one; and a populous nation meant more soldiers. Large families were a national asset. Today, they are in grave danger of becoming a national burden.
Russians hack Ukraine’s electricity network, turning lights off and on at will, rendering the country’s best tech hands helpless to intervene. North Korea takes over the controls of a South Korean nuclear power plant. Snipers with high-velocity rifles unleash a fusillade on a transmission station near San Jose, inflicting $15 million in damage.
It’s not the plot of the latest spy novel. Rather, it’s small sampling of actual attacks, the kind of sabotage against vulnerable energy systems that can cut off power with the click of a mouse and bring officials to their knees.
Experts say energy grids are the new front in cyber-terrorism. Although the wildfires that periodically dominate the news are a serious threat to California’s power supply, cyber-invaders are an around-the-clock danger, trying to penetrate grid security every minute of every day. An all-hands-on-deck battle is being waged against them, and the network that serves nearly 40 million people’s homes, industries and public-safety agencies depends on a successful defense.
Should the grid be hijacked, the entire state could be held hostage, experts say. Can the state prevent what one utility executive likened to “a hostile takeover”?
Never has California’s aging electricity infrastructure been more vulnerable, even as the government plans to rely on it more completely with 5 million electric cars and, eventually, to fully operate the world’s fifth largest economy. Moreover, fire and sophisticated hacking aren’t the only risks to the consistent flow of electrical power; the grid can also be undone by California’s formidable natural forces—wind, earthquakes, floods—and the most humble of creatures.
Gnawing squirrels have brought stock trading to a halt more than once by chewing electricity lines and disrupting NASDAQ computers. Rodents also interrupted some operations at Los Angeles International Airport on Thanksgiving Day in 2015, briefly stopping elevators, baggage screening and other functions.
A widespread, sustained power outage is frightening to contemplate: no lights, telephone service or charging capacity; no heating or cooling; no computers, working gas pumps or ATMs.
“Think of the internet as a weapon of mass destruction,” says former news anchor Ted Koppel, whose book Lights Out explores threats to U.S. electricity grids.
The scale of the challenge to keep the lights on was drawn in sharp relief in November at Stanford University, where experts gathered to peer into the energy future. Hint: it’s murky and potentially dark, including ransom schemes and even grid attacks intended to sow chaos ahead of terrorist ground assaults.
“Our adversaries are advancing at a rapid clip,” said Sue Gordon, principal deputy director of national intelligence, the federal government’s leading cybersecurity agency and a conference participant. “Within a few years, Russia and China will have the ability to conduct on-demand, localized disruption of service, including of control systems in multiple sectors, simultaneously.”
California’s vulnerable electricity infrastructure has the attention of lawmakers in Sacramento. Some have faulted the oversight of safety procedures at power companies, a displeasure that has brought new scrutiny to the Public Utilities Commission, which regulates those businesses.
A new state law requires utilities to undertake broader, more aggressive planning for reducing fire risks associated with utility equipment, though regulators say they have neither funding nor technology to comprehensively monitor even the measures companies already have in place.
In addition, the state operates two entities tasked with analyzing and addressing potential hacking threats, particularly to critical infrastructure such as power stations and the dams where hydroelectric power is generated, and coordinating their efforts with utility companies.
Still, State Sen. Bob Hertzberg, who has an extensive background in the power sector, worries that California is underprepared.
“It’s unbelievable, oh my God—there are so many things that can go wrong,” says the Democrat from Van Nuys, who authored a law last year pinpointing threats to the grid from electromagnetic attacks. “Security is a big deal, and it’s become a big deal because we rely on electricity for everything.”
The California Independent System Operator, the private company that is the state’s grid overlord, is obsessed with security. A spokeswoman said it has significantly increased investment in cybersecurity in recent years and regularly conducts internal testing. It even relocated its fortress-like facility to cocoon its operations against harm—sited on high ground, away from known seismic faults, close (but not too close) to Sacramento and a highway.
Like every utility and power company in the state, the grid operator has marauders at its cyber-gate every minute of every day.
“We are always being attacked,” said Mark Rothleder, a CAISO vice president, gazing down at the gymnasium-size control room where electricity supply and demand are constantly monitored. “We have mechanisms in place, but it’s constantly changing. It’s a constantly evolving threat we have to defend against.”
Security managers universally seem to adopt a “security through obscurity” approach, not wishing to discuss specific strategies other than to say they are in place. Attacks can come from an unknown source, anywhere in the world. Some hackers gain access to a host system and do nothing more than hide in the figurative bushes, getting to know the lay of the cyber-land and biding time. Malware lurks in dark corners.
It can take three to six months to detect a computer breach, according to David Goeckeler, executive vice-president of San Jose–based CISCO, the computer networking giant with cybersecurity expertise.
Just as often, hackers bang on the digital front door, on the off-chance it will be mistakenly opened. Goeckeler, speaking at the Stanford energy forum, said saboteurs attempt to hack CISCO’s systems 20 billion times a day. Yes, billion.
Such threats have become a priority for the federal government. California utilities participate with those of other states in federal exercises such as GridEx, a war game that simulates grid attacks and coordinates potential responses with local and state emergency agencies, law enforcement, the Department of Defense and telecommunications and banking firms.
At San Diego Gas & Electric, which has 3.6 million electricity customers, “there’s always some type of an intrusion attempt daily,” said Zoraya Griffin, the company’s emergency operations manager. “It’s not a matter of if we have them, but how many.”
In addition to threats that are difficult to see, such as those posed by hackers, some vulnerabilities are literally before our eyes. Aging equipment. Poorly maintained circuits and other key equipment. Miles of wires surrounded by overgrown vegetation and tinder-dry trees that can ignite in a flash.
The state’s response to the issue has been accelerated by the wildfire threat.
Officials have ordered utilities to “harden” their equipment with such measures as replacing wooden power poles with metal or composite ones, swathing lines in more robust insulation and wrapping other equipment in metal or other fire-resistant material.
The Public Utilities Commission is awaiting companies’ specific fire-mitigation plans, due in early February. Those reports are to detail how the utilities will construct, maintain and operate their equipment to minimize its risk of causing catastrophic blazes.
The work will carry a sobering price tag. For example, a federal judge has proposed that PG&E inspect its entire transmission system—including nearly 100,000 miles of power lines—and make its equipment more fire-safe. The utility balked, saying the work would cost $150 billion.
But why expose equipment and circuits to fire danger in the first place? Money. It makes the most financial sense for utilities to traverse California’s steep mountain passes and broad deserts by erecting power towers that march with giant steps across those vast landscapes.
And although companies tend to locate power lines underground in new housing tracts, relocating above-ground lines under the earth is expensive—as much as $3 million a mile. In addition, digging new trenches in established neighborhoods and congested areas typically meets local resistance.
David Nahai is the former head of the Los Angeles Department of Water and Power, the largest municipal utility in the United States. He said keeping the lights on requires investment, planning and constant vigilance.
“You think about natural disaster all the time. You think about fires all the time. It’s an everyday priority,” Nahai said. “That doesn’t mean you can withstand everything that we are vulnerable to.”
Source: CalMatters. CalMatters is a nonprofit, nonpartisan media venture explaining California policies and politics. This article was prepared in partnership with the ‘Sacramento Bee.’
Cupid’s big day is coming up, and hearts will be fluttering all week in the North Bay, where a plethora of Valentine’s Day events dominate the calendars through Thursday, Feb. 14.
While candlelit dinners and heart-shaped boxes get some folks in the mood, others prefer to put on their dancing shoes and party for Valentine’s Day, and there are several local concerts in the coming days that are sure to conjure up some close encounters of the romantic kind.
Music lovers will be feeling the love all week at Sweetwater Music Hall in Mill Valley, where tribute shows to Bob Marley and Prince commence on Feb. 7 and 8 respectively. Platinum-selling singer Joan Osborne shows her love for Bob Dylan by singing his songs for two already sold-out shows, Feb. 9 and 10. Finally, eclectic guitarist Steve Kimock (Zero) takes over for three nights of spirited jams featuring several special guests, Feb. 12–14.
For couples looking for a more intimate experience, KWMR-West Marin Community Radio presents “Sweethearts of the Radio,” its annual fundraising concert at the Dance Palace in Point Reyes Station this Saturday, Feb. 9. This year’s lineup includes Bolinas acoustic trio LoWatters, singer-songwriter Rainy Eyes and fingerstyle guitarist Teja Gerken.
On Feb. 14, several Marin venues present their Valentine’s events. Rancho Nicasio welcomes Rhumba Bums bandleader Steve Lucky and vocalist Carmen Getit for a special night of dancing. Fenix in San Rafael hosts blues and Gospel star Lady Bianca for a special dinner show. At the Station House in Point Reyes Station, Our Fireside Romance, featuring Oakland duo Larrie and Lisa Noble, share signature harmonies and unique arrangements of classic hits, standards and originals.
Up in Petaluma, the Mystic Theatre gets an early start on the holiday on Saturday, Feb. 9, when it hosts “Whole Lotta Love,” a Led Zeppelin–themed night of rock-’n’-roll burlesque. Set to classic Zep songs performed live by Scarlett Siren & the Howlin’ Tramps, the show boasts several risqué performers from the Bay Area and beyond, such as Sebastopol’s Bella Dukess, Oakland’s Bunny Pistol and Portland, Ore.–based Eva D’Luscious. The show supports charitable group the Russian River Sisters of Perpetual Indulgence with an awesome raffle.
In Napa, five-man a cappella sensation Rockapella lights up the Napa Valley College Performing Arts Center on Valentine’s Day for an evening of doo-wop, pop and R&B created without instruments or backing tracks, but with plenty of heart and harmony.
For more info on these and other shows, see calendar listings, p23.
When Joe Orton’s Loot opened in Cambridge, England, in 1965, it created such a scandal that the Lord Chamberlain, England’s official theater “censor” until 1968, ordered revisions and deletions before it could run on London’s West End. It’s running now at the Novato Theater Company through Feb. 10.
Orton’s look at the savage hypocrisy beneath Britain’s outward aura of propriety may have been shocking for its time, but nowadays it seems quaint to suggest that corruption and brutality might be problems present in a police force or that the pious may not act as such behind closed doors or that two men may be engaged in a sexual relationship.
“Friends” Hal (James Gregory) and Dennis (Peter Malmquist) have knocked off the bank next door to the funeral home where Dennis is employed. Seeking a place to hide the loot, they return to Hal’s home where his late mother lies in state under the watchful eyes of Hal’s father, Mr. McLeavy (Keith Jefferds), and her scheming attending nurse, Fay (Haley Bertelsen). Realizing that a coffin makes a great hiding place, Mrs. McLeavy is soon relocated to an armoire while the loot is stashed in her place.
Things get complicated with the arrival of Inspector Truscott (Johnny DeBernard), ostensibly of the water board, but in reality a less-than-savory police inspector hot on the trail of the bank robbers and maybe a “black widow” killer.
Trevor Scott Floyd’s lackluster direction of Orton’s script gives it the look and feel of a lesser Monty Python skit without the necessary comedic pacing. The show, which runs only one hour and 50 minutes (with intermission), feels much longer, though having the actors speed it up might make the often unintelligible dialogue even less intelligible. While DeBernard certainly has the right idea about pacing, even he tripped over his dialogue in spots.
Actor Keith Jefferds has the look and vocal intonations of British satirist/comic actor Peter Cook, which lends some authenticity to the production, but overall the performances are pretty drab.
Loot is a distinctly British play that, while it hits on issues that could be considered contemporary, seems awfully dated. That it never hits the heights of absurdity and lunacy required of a successful farce is a double-whammy.
‘Loot’ runs Friday–Sunday through Feb. 10 at the Novato Theater Company, 5420 Nave Drive, Ste. C, Novato. Friday–Saturday, 8pm; Sunday, 2pm. $21–$27. 415.883.4498. novatotheatercompany.org.
Thanks for publishing the review of the Joni Mitchell concert documentary by Richard von Busack (“Lifesaver,” Jan. 30). Now informed, I will attempt to attend the not-sold-out screening.
But one statement by Mr. von Busack is wrong on two different counts—that Joni “was one of two female performers” in 1978’s Last Waltz, by which it appears he meant the movie, not the original concert, which was filmed in 1976 at Winterland. This is not true on several levels. First, there were two post-concert inserts featured in the movie filmed on sound stages. One featured Emmylou Harris, as noted in the review, but the other featured Mavis Staples, albeit not solo, but as the primary lead singer in this joint vocal and instrumental effort between the Staples Singers and the Band. I found Mavis’ rendition of “The Weight” in the movie unforgettable.
As for the concert itself, Joni was the only lead female performer, period, an omission of fact that, if mentioned, would have strengthened the author’s point about her status as the most important female popular-music artist of her generation.
Finally, I would guess the author didn’t personally attend the Woodstock gathering. Because, as an attendee, I’d say Joni nailed the spirit of the gathering in her song, and thus did not, per the author’s claim, write something “airy-fairy”—at least not in the context of what actually happened there. That not enough folks subsequently lived up to the vision of a better world which was directly espoused at Woodstock does not seem relevant to the merits of the song. I’d say it still captured the moment very well, and thus was quite good poetry.
Art Barton, Tiburon
Script Notes
Thanks for such a sharp and thoughtful review, Harry (“Technicolor Trap,” Jan. 30). Just to clarify: We made a conscious choice not to change the reference to Sleuth. We wanted to keep the playwright’s words intact, adjusting the Johnny Carson reference (Merv Griffin in some drafts of the script) only because we thought the majority of audience members might remember the timeline of these talk show hosts to the point of distraction, more so than they would remember the year a play was published.
We value the script as written, and were not trying to backdate the story in a literal sense so much as we wanted to, from a design perspective, give it the overall “feel” of a technicolor Hitchcock film, most of which took place in the early 1960s. We also made this choice with blocking, often going for more stylized, subliminal and filmic movement choices over realism.
I’ll be the first to admit it doesn’t work 100 percent of the time, but I am pleased with the overall emotional reality it helped create. (For example: We made a point of Helga never touching anything or anyone in the room, until the end of the play, when she falls into the “trap” herself!)
Chloe Bronzan, director of ‘Deathtrap’, Via PacificSun.com
Hero
Two Marin teenage filmmakers are remembering a neglected cemetery in Lucas Valley. Georgia Lee and Mitchell Tanaka learned about the county graveyard from a park ranger and became intrigued with its numbered graves and the long-forgotten stories of the dead laid to rest there. More than 280 indigent people were buried in the plots from 1880 through 1955, mostly residents of a nearby poor farm and patients that passed away in the county hospital.
The site currently contains no signage, and Lee and Tanaka want Marin to recognize and mark the area with an information placard. To promote their cause, they produced an award-winning documentary, A Silent Legacy, about the cemetery. Watch their fascinating film on YouTube by searching for “A Silent Legacy” and sign their petition at Change.org by searching for “Marin County poor farm.” Bravo, Georgia and Mitchell!
Zero
This week we bring you yet another chapter in the ongoing saga between bicyclists and hikers on Marin trails. The setting is Mount Burdell Open Space in Novato, and the players are a woman and her dog and a mean man on a bike. The action begins when the off-leash dog barks at the man and the man yells at the woman and the dog. The man then proceeds to get off his bicycle and kick the dog. The woman attempts to stop the violence by pushing the man away from her dog, and the man knocks her to the ground and chokes her. Scary stuff. Once the attack ceases, the man flees in a van, forgetting his bike and personal items. The Marin County Sheriff’s Department responds to the scene, deputies identify a suspect and they locate him the following day in Novato. Although he accuses the hiker of assaulting him, Jeffrey W. Skelton, 63, a Novato transient, is booked into the Marin County Jail on suspicion of assault likely to produce great bodily injury, cruelty to an animal and violation of probation. Fortunately, the woman and her dog are doing fine.
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When Joe Orton’s Loot opened in Cambridge, England, in 1965, it created such a scandal that the Lord Chamberlain, England’s official theater “censor” until 1968, ordered revisions and deletions before it could run on London’s West End. It’s running now at the Novato Theater Company through Feb. 10.
Orton’s look at the savage hypocrisy beneath Britain’s outward aura of propriety...
Quite Good Poetry
Thanks for publishing the review of the Joni Mitchell concert documentary by Richard von Busack (“Lifesaver,” Jan. 30). Now informed, I will attempt to attend the not-sold-out screening.
But one statement by Mr. von Busack is wrong on two different counts—that Joni “was one of two female performers” in 1978’s Last Waltz, by which it appears he meant...
Hero
Two Marin teenage filmmakers are remembering a neglected cemetery in Lucas Valley. Georgia Lee and Mitchell Tanaka learned about the county graveyard from a park ranger and became intrigued with its numbered graves and the long-forgotten stories of the dead laid to rest there. More than 280 indigent people were buried in the plots from 1880 through 1955, mostly...
