Letters

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Road Rage Redux

Well, I could not have said it better than Russ Young did (Letters, Nov. 14). I live in Novato, and I drive a lot up to Petaluma and over to Sonoma each week, and I make every effort to obey the speed limits and rules of the road. However, what this seems to do is aggravate many of the other drivers out there. I seem to be always dealing with tailgaters, and they always look at me as they pass on the right like, “What is your problem, stupid?” I guess I am, but it has become a real problem for me. Where is the highway patrol these days? Think of the money it would bring in for them! I don’t have a good suggestion as to how to monitor this problem and survive, and I’m not sure if Russ’ idea is the answer. Anyone got a good thought?

Trent Anderson

Novato

New New Deal

In the last two years, we’ve watched wildfires sweep through our state and devastate communities. The smoke alone has become a national health issue. We must acknowledge the relationship between these massive fires and climate change. For our health and our safety, Californians must demand legislation, at all levels of government, that eliminates our structurally engrained dependence on fossil fuels and carbon emissions. Fortunately, an opportunity has presented itself at the national level via Representative-elect Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez. The purpose of this letter is to spur readers to learn about her Green New Deal proposal and contact elected officials to demand change.

I support Rep. Ocasio-Cortez’s resolution to create a House Select Committee for a Green New Deal in Congress because its scope matches the urgency of the task at hand. United Nations climate scientists tell us we have just 12 years to move our country off fossil fuels, to avoid catastrophic climate disaster. We need a Green New Deal to create millions of green jobs, move our country off fossil fuels, and protect working people of all backgrounds. Climate change impacts every part of our lives, and we should demand that our representatives support each other to deliver solutions that recognize it.

Buddy Burch

Santa Rosa

Face It: We’re Screwed

The current state of our country presents a challenging opportunity to integrate an autocratic president and a democratic citizenry. No problem for dictatorship countries where dissidence is forbidden; dissidents are imprisoned, tortured and/or murdered, and the only recourse “the people” have is to violently rebel. No problem for truly democratic countries where dissidence is allowed and dissenters are able to voice their dissatisfaction and disagreement in peaceful protest marches and demonstrations.

In our current autocratic democracy, the president “deals” with opponents through fear-inducing and fear-based sanctions, tariffs, border walls, firings, censure, criticism, judgment, blame, threats, untruths and unilateral decisions and behaviors that only create a false “oneness” through separatist and exclusionary one-sidedness—rather than achieve a true unifying relationship between parties. Yet we, “the American people,” may have some hope of unitedness through real legislative representation, governmental checks and balances, and a nonpartisan investigation of the presidency. That all may mitigate the rising and deplorable occurrences of civil rights violations, hate crimes, gun violence and mass murders.

Raymond Bart Vespe

Santa Rosa

Dept. of Corrections

In last week’s news story, “Paradise Glossed,” we errantly reported that PG&E had been found liable for the 2017 Tubbs fire. PG&E has been found liable for 11 of the 16 wildfires fires that broke out in California in late 2017, but no determination has yet been made as to the cause of the Tubbs fire. We regret the error.

Life Saver

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Life Saver

Folk sensation Mary Gauthier is in the business of telling stories. Usually, they’re her own, and for over 20 years, Gauthier has turned her struggles with childhood abandonment, drugs and other issues into somber and introspective songs that regularly brings audiences to tears.

Now Gauthier is using her gifts to tell a different set of stories. Her 2018 album, Rifles & Rosary Beads, was co-written with U.S. military veterans and their families as part of SongwritingWith:Soldiers, a nonprofit program that facilitates retreats where professional songwriters and wounded veterans collaborate to create music.

“We bear witness and turn their stories into songs,” says Gauthier of SongwritingWith:Soldiers, which she has been active in for over four years.

“I reached a place where I realized these are really good songs, I think I should make a record,” she says. “I got the blessing of the organization to put these songs out in the world.”

Each of the 11 songs on Rifles & Rosary Beads delivers a gut-punch of emotion. Opening track “Soldiering On” juxtaposes a soldier’s mental state on the battlefield with once he’s returned home. “Bullet Holes in the Sky” uses images of color guards and tiny American flags waving in parades to expose a soldier’s loneliness in a society that cannot relate to his wartime service.

“A lot of our veterans feel invisible now; they feel unseen and they feel removed,” Gauthier says. “We call it the civilian-military divide. These songs help bridge that. It gets civilians into a place of empathy with what our veterans and their families are going through.”

About 22 veterans commit suicide every day in the United States. Gauthier hopes to shine a light on their struggles and help them heal.

“When you’ve been traumatized, as so many of our soldiers have been, what happened to you, there’s no words for,” she says. “But this is where music can pick up the thread. I can play the melody and see the tears and know the melody is reflecting how they feel, and then you use metaphor to access what’s inside of them. The song becomes a reflection of their soul, and they suddenly don’t feel so alone. Somebody sees them, somebody understands.”

Mary Gauthier performs Thursday, Dec. 6, at Freight & Salvage, 2020 Addison St., Berkeley. 8pm. $22–$26. 510.644.2020.

Forever New

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Forever New

In 2016, the Marin Theatre Company participated in the “rolling” world premiere of Lauren Gunderson and Margot Melcon’s Miss Bennet: Christmas at Pemberley. The “continuation” of Jane Austen’s Pride and Prejudice was born, according to Gunderson, of the playwrights’ desire “to write something fun, grand, female-driven and hopeful, but with that wonderful wit and complication of a good family holiday gathering. The world of Jane Austen felt perfect for this.” This year brings a sequel to the sequel of sorts with The Wickhams: Christmas at Pemberley, running in its world premiere through Dec. 16.

Was a sequel always in the plan? “We had no idea about a second play when we started Miss Bennet’,” says Gunderson, “but as we worked on the story, and in their world, we realized that Pemberley was full of other people and other stories to tell.”

Melcon agrees. “The lovely thing about Pride and Prejudice,” she says, “is that there are five sisters. Lizzy and Jane already had their story pretty well told, but that leaves three sisters ready for their stories to extend past the end of the novel.”

This time it’s sister Lydia’s turn. “As the title betrays, we’re going to focus on Lydia Wickham and her complicated marriage,” says Gunderson, “but we’ll also meet two new characters that are servants at Pemberley.” The servants? “The introduction of the world of the below-stairs staff of Pemberley gives us a balance to the merriment of upstairs at the holidays,” says Melcon. “It is still filled with generosity and holiday cheer, but happy endings look different upstairs than they do downstairs.”

The introduction of some of the downstairs characters is one of the things that attracted director Megan Sandberg-Zakian to the project. “The chance to be part of the development of a new Christmas classic with these two amazing women was too good to pass up,” says Sandberg-Zakian. “I was also intrigued by the fact that the playwrights said they wanted to address the two things that had always bugged them about Pride and Prejudice—that Lydia ends up with Wickham, and that we never hear the stories of the servants.”

What about the challenges of following up a success? “It’s definitely challenging to make the characters recognizable but still fresh and interesting,” says Sandberg-Zakian. “Luckily, in the immortal words of Jane Austen herself, ‘people themselves alter so much that there is something new to be observed in them forever’—which makes for good drama.”

‘The Wickhams: Christmas at Pemberley’ runs Tuesday–Sunday through Dec. 16 at Marin Theatre Company. 397 Miller Ave., Mill Valley. Times vary. $25–$60. 415.388.5208. marintheatre.org.

High Tides

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High Tides

Here’s a question for budding chemists in the land of milk and marijuana: What do you get when you mix water and THC extracted from weed? Answer? You get cannabis-infused water, of course.

Carbonate the water and now you’ve got a cannabis spritzer. A cannabis cocktail. A bud-based bevie.

Now there’s a local company, Occidental Power, creating THC-infused water that will be on shelves in the New Year. The company uses Russian River tap water that’s filtered before the cannabis is added. Then comes the fizz.

Next year, the folks at Occidental Power plan to buy from local growers, but right now, they’re using their own organic cannabis that they grow outdoors. Only the choicest flowers go into the cocktail. The extracted psychoactive component is added to the water and becomes Mountjoy Sparking Water, which will be available in local dispensaries starting in January 2019, in a childproof, 16-ounce plastic bottle.

The beverage will come in several flavors, including blackberry, lemon, lime, peach and natural—which offers a mix of herbs from the Sonoma County Herb Exchange in Sebastopol. Occidental Power won’t say exactly what herbs go into the mix. The company doesn’t want to give away its secret formula.

Alex Mountjoy is a familiar face in Occidental in Sonoma County. He’ll soon be famous all over town for his cocktail. “For a long time, I wanted a cannabis beverage,” he says. “I developed it as much for myself as for the market.

“I know this might sound clichéd, but our cannabis beverage is a thinking person’s tool that helps balance your life,” he adds. “It certainly balances my life. It’s good for cooking, sleeping and working; it increases productivity.”

Mountjoy and his wife and business partner, Jenny, are no strangers to manufacturing and marketing. For years, they sold clocks, mirrors and picture frames all over the United States. Their factories were located in the East Bay. In addition to the cannabis cocktail, they have a body-care line. Right now none of those products contain cannabis product, but they will in the near future.

They also offer bottles of Mountjoy Sparking Water infused with CBD. Sip the CBD product to help with anxiety and without any psychoactive effects. It’s shipped around the country and also available in local supermarkets.

Advice Goddess

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Advice Goddess

Q: I’m a recovering addict, five years sober. My ex-boyfriend was a “normie” (12-step slang for someone who hasn’t had addiction issues), and there were definitely things he just didn’t get. Do I need to date another recovering addict to feel understood? I’ve done that before, and I really don’t like it. It’s like living in a recovery bubble 24/7.—Sober

A: A person who doesn’t have a history of addiction can understand the need to take the edge off. They’ll even admit to doing it themselves—with a cup of chamomile tea. Though “normies” tend to view addicts as lazy, an addict’s shame sometimes comes out of typically impressive qualities—like creativity and industriousness—being applied to getting loaded.

Take author and former comedian Amy Dresner. In her addiction memoir, My Fair Junkie, she writes about suffering a grand mal seizure while shooting cocaine. Realizing that she could’ve cracked her head open, she had an epiphany—not to stop shooting coke, but to strap on a bike helmet before doing it.

As shocking as this would be to most normie men, there are those who could still be a good partner to someone in recovery—if they’re willing to put some work into empathizing. However, it turns out there are different kinds of empathy. In short, “I feel ya” empathy is different from “I understand you” empathy. “I feel ya” is dumb empathy, the kind that just pops up automatically. Researchers call this auto-empathy “affective empathy,” because “affect” is researcher-speak for the observable expression of emotion. Affective empathy involves “emotional contagion,” in which you “catch” and then automatically experience somebody’s emotion to some degree.

“I understand you” empathy, on the other hand, is “cognitive empathy,” a psychological skill that psychologists call “perspective-taking.” It involves a conscious mental effort to put yourself in another person’s shoes—to understand another’s point of view, motivations and/or emotions. Research by business school professor Cynthia Wang and her colleagues finds that an ability for perspective-taking correlates with reduced prejudice and stronger social bonds. This suggests that a man who engages in it might be more likely to see you as, well . . . rehabulous—sober and fabulous—a person who overcame her addiction issues instead of a bunch of addiction issues with a person attached.

Finally, because you’ve probably done serious soul-searching and character correction in getting and staying sober, a man who’s a good match for you is one who’s taken some hard looks at himself and worked to remodel where necessary. Ideally, he’ll help you feel comfortable opening up to him by being open about his own current and former shortcomings. (Try not to laugh when he reveals deeply shameful lapses—like once stress-eating five cookies at a party.)

Q: In a documentary on Lady Gaga, she talked about how whenever she reached a new pinnacle of success, her boyfriend or fiancé left her. It happened three times. My most recent boyfriend couldn’t handle it when I started to become successful. Are my options to be successful and alone or unsuccessful and loved? How do I find someone who won’t feel threatened?—Disturbed

A: Wave hello to “precarious manhood,” a term coined by psychologists Jennifer Bosson and Joseph Vandello for how a man’s social status must be continually earned and “can be lost relatively easily” through public failures and the exposure of his shortcomings. We rack up our social standing in comparison with others. So, not surprisingly, Bosson and Vandello write that “feelings of masculinity can be undone” by “being outperformed by a woman.”

The reality is, the world is not our dating oyster. (Atheists have to take a pass on the hot churchgoers. The teetotalers go poorly with the “social crack smokers.”) Accept that success narrows your options, and concentrate on meeting men in places the honchos (or at least the highly successful ones) hang out. (Price points—like costly admission to a charity event—are one way to weed out many of those of middling achievement.) Narrowing the field this way should make you less likely to hear dismaying parting words from a man—those that basically translate to “I have mad respect for your success. My penis, unfortunately, has some ambivalence.“

Horoscope

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Horoscope

ARIES (March 21–April 19) Every year the bird known as the Arctic tern experiences two summers and enjoys more daylight than any other animal. That’s because it regularly makes a long-distance journey from the Arctic to the Antarctic and back again. Let’s designate this hardy traveler as your inspirational creature for the next 10 months. May it help animate you to experiment with brave jaunts that broaden and deepen your views of the world. I don’t necessarily mean you should literally do the equivalent of circumnavigating the planet. Your expansive adventures might take place mostly in inner realms or closer to home.

TAURUS (April 20–May 20) When the American Civil War began in 1861, the United States fractured. Four years later, the union was technically restored when the Northern states defeated the Southern states. At that time, African-American slavery became illegal everywhere for the first time since the country’s birth decades earlier. But there was a catch. The Southern states soon enacted laws that mandated racial segregation and ensured that African Americans continued to suffer systematic disadvantages. Is there a comparable issue in your personal life? Did you at sometime in the past try to fix an untenable situation only to have it sneak back in a less severe but still debilitating form? The coming weeks will be an excellent time to finish the reforms; to enforce a thorough and permanent correction.

GEMINI (May 21–June 20) Does an elusive giant creature with a long neck inhabit the waters of Loch Ness in northern Scotland? Alleged sightings have been reported since 1933. Most scientists dismiss the possibility that “Nessie” actually exists, but there are photos, films and videos that provide tantalizing evidence. A government-funded Scottish organization has prepared contingency plans just in case the beast does make an unambiguous appearance. In that spirit, and in accordance with astrological omens, I recommend that you prepare yourself for the arrival in your life of intriguing anomalies and piquant mysteries. Like Nessie, they’re nothing to worry about, but you’ll be better able to deal gracefully with them if you’re not totally taken by surprise.

CANCER (June 21–July 22) Does moss really “eat” rocks, as Cancerian author Elizabeth Gilbert attests in her novel The Signature of All Things? Marine chemist Martin Johnson says yes. Moss really does break down and release elements in solid stone. Gilbert adds, “Given enough time, a colony of moss can turn a cliff into gravel, and turn that gravel into topsoil.” Furthermore, this hardy plant can grow virtually everywhere: in the tropics and frozen wastes, on tree bark and roofing slate, on sloth fur and snail shells. I propose that we make moss your personal symbol of power for now, Cancerian. Be as indomitable, resourceful and resilient as moss.

LEO (July 23–August 22) Let’s shout out a big “THANKS!” and “HALLELUJAH!” to the enzymes in our bodies. These catalytic proteins do an amazing job of converting the food we eat into available energy. Without them, our cells would take forever to turn any particular meal into the power we need to walk, talk and think. I bring this marvel to your attention, Leo, because now is a favorable time to look for and locate metaphorical equivalents of enzymes: influences and resources that will aid and expedite your ability to live the life you want to live.

VIRGO (August 23–September 22) “Every dreamer knows that it is entirely possible to be homesick for a place you’ve never been to, perhaps more homesick than for familiar ground,” writes author Judith Thurman. I’m guessing you will experience this feeling in the coming weeks. What does it mean if you do? It may be your deep psyche’s way of nudging you to find an energizing new sanctuary. Or perhaps it means you should search for fresh ways to feel peaceful and well-grounded. Maybe it’s a prod to push you outside your existing comfort zone so you can expand your comfort zone.

LIBRA (September 23–October 22) Venice, Italy, consists of 118 small islands that rise from a shallow lagoon. A network of 443 bridges keeps them all connected. But Venice isn’t the world champion of bridges. The American city of Pittsburgh, Penn., holds that title, with 446. I nominate these two places to be your inspirational symbols in the coming weeks. It’s time for you build new metaphorical bridges and take good care of your existing metaphorical bridges.

SCORPIO (October 23–November 21) To aid and support your navigation through this pragmatic phase of your astrological cycle, I have gathered counsel from three productive pragmatists. First is author Helen Keller. She said she wanted to accomplish great and noble things, but her “chief duty” was “to accomplish small tasks as if they were great and noble.” Second, author George Orwell believed that “to see what is in front of one’s nose” requires never-ending diligence. Finally, author Pearl S. Buck testified that she didn’t wait around until she was in the right mood before beginning her work. Instead, she invoked her willpower to summon the necessary motivation.

SAGITTARIUS (November 22–December 21) Blackjack is a card game popular in gambling casinos. In the eternal struggle to improve the odds of winning big money, some blackjack players work in teams. One teammate secretly counts the cards as they’re dealt and assesses what cards are likely to come up next. Another teammate gets subtle signals from his card-counting buddy and makes the bets. A casino in Windsor, Ontario, pressed charges against one blackjack team, complaining that this tactic was deceptive and dishonest. But the court decided in the team’s favor, ruling that the players weren’t cheating but simply using smart strategy. In the spirit of these blackjack teams, Sagittarius, and in accordance with astrological omens, I urge you to better your odds in a “game” of your choice by using strategy that is as good as cheating but isn’t actually cheating.

CAPRICORN (December 22–January 19) What has become of the metaphorical seeds you planted around your last birthday? Have your intentions flourished? Have your dreams blossomed? Have your talents matured? Have your innocent questions evolved into more penetrating questions? Be honest and kind as you answer these inquiries. Be thoughtful and big-hearted as you take inventory of your ability to follow through on your promises to yourself. If people are quizzical about how much attention you’re giving yourself during this time of taking stock, inform them that your astrologer has told you that December is Love Yourself Better Month.

AQUARIUS (January 20–February 18) If you want to play the drinking game called Possum, you and your friends climb up into a tree with a case of beer and start drinking. As time goes by, people get so hammered they fall out of the tree. The winner is the last one left in the tree. I hope you won’t engage in this form of recreation anytime soon—nor in any other activity that even vaguely resembles it. The coming weeks should be a time of calling on favors, claiming your rewards, collecting your blessings and graduating to the next level. I trust your policy will be: no trivial pursuits, no wasted efforts, no silly stunts.

PISCES (February 19–March 20) In his song “Happy Talk,” Academy Award-winning lyricist Oscar Hammerstein II offered this advice: “You gotta have a dream. If you don’t have a dream, how you gonna have a dream come true?” Where do you stand in this regard, Pisces? Do you in fact have a vivid, clearly defined dream? And have you developed a strategy for making that dream come true? The coming weeks will be an excellent time to home in on what you really want and hone your scheme for manifesting it. (P.S.: Keep in mind Antoine de Saint-Exupéry’s idea: “A goal without a plan is just a wish.”)

Guesthouse Attendant

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Guesthouse Attendant

To many locals, Picco tops the list for best restaurant in Marin. Under the talented eye of Real Restaurants Group’s chef Bruce Hill, Picco delivers exquisite food, professional service and well-made cocktails. It’s one of the few North Bay establishments that provides the high-caliber dining experience most frequently encountered on the other side of the Golden Gate Bridge. So when Jared Rogers, who spent over a decade as executive chef at Picco, decided to open his own place in Kentfield, expectations were high.

Rogers, a former San Francisco Chronicle Rising Star Chef, left Larkspur and Picco for the American South in 2016, and ran a tapas restaurant in Charleston. He also did a stint at Brass Rabbit in Healdsburg before heading back to Marin, where he opened the Guesthouse in October. Marinites are lucky to have Rogers back in-county.

The Guesthouse space, most recently occupied by Ambrosia and, before that, the long-running Pacific Cafe, has been utterly transformed. The once casual open space is now all grown up with various gradations of gray painted walls punctuated by blue accents, floral wallpaper and tan banquettes that give the place a sophisticated, be-on-your-best-behavior vibe. The kitchen is open, and the 110-seat dining area shares space with a long concrete-topped bar that makes for a sometimes noisy experience.

There is a reason Rogers gets the attention he does—not to mention that his food is a perfect fit for Marin. His food is refined without being fussy, and his handle on ingredients and knowledge of how they do and don’t work together is beyond impressive.

A recent crudo of the day made for elevated bites of fresh fish prepared with spicy jalapeno, watermelon and avocado. An inspired roasted-squash bisque prepared with tahini and yogurt was sublime with crunchy everything-spice, cilantro and hints of citrus. A black truffle agnolotti pasta was a triumph of the fall season, with earthy, rich flavors and a creamy ricotta filling. Grilled kurobuta pork chop featured a spiced apple compote; amid a medley of roasted Brussels sprouts and potatoes were some red radishes. The simplicity of a roasted radish that tasted much like a turnip or a rutabaga was surprising and tasty, and something I had never encountered on a restaurant menu.

Wine and spirits are taken just as seriously as the food at Guesthouse. Roger’s partner, Dustin Sullivan (he’s also a Real Restaurants alum), heads up the beverage program and has created a wine list that offers unusual wines, such as a Markus Huber rosé from the Traisental region in Austria. Instead of focusing only on the Sonoma and Napa California wine regions—Santa Barbara, Lodi and the North Coast are also featured.

Cocktails play it safe with classics like a properly made martini, rye Manhattan and a house old-fashioned. That said, a dry mezcal negroni with a grapefruit twist and a sunburn cocktail with blanco tequila, cucumber and cayenne showed some creative license.

While the space can get noisy and the décor feels a bit too formal and out of sync with the chef’s joyful and inventive food, there is no question this newcomer is a welcome addition to Marin’s restaurant landscape. It’s just a matter of time before all of the restaurant’s elements come together for this culinary wizard.

Guesthouse, 850 College Ave., Kentfield. 415.419.5101.

Should I Stay . . .

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Should I Stay . . .

So where is Gavin Newsom, his wife and four young children going to live when he becomes governor next month? Turns out it’s kind of a question in need of an answer, just a short month before he assumes office.

Word from his transition team after the long Thanksgiving weekend? Newsom is still not sure where his head will hit the pillow once he’s sworn in.

Several stories about Newsom’s eventual neighborhood choice popped up in state papers in the immediate aftermath of his crushing defeat of Republican John Cox. Most reports intimated that he’d likely stay in Marin with the family, given that he’s got a cool house and four kids under the age of 10.

Earlier in November, Newsom told reporters he hadn’t yet wrapped his mind around whether to move or not. He and his family live in a 1,800-square-foot Kentfield home, purchased for $2.2 million in 2011, that’s pretty swanky by outside appearances. There’s an in-ground pool and views of Mt. Tamalpais, to go along with what looks to be a lush, green lawn.

Friends and associates of Newsom interviewed for the where-will-he-live round of stories pretty much all concluded that he’d likely stay in Marin.

So that’s what I figured, too, when I asked about it before the Thanksgiving break took hold. Newsom’s press office in Sacramento off-loaded the inquiry to Nathan Click on the transition team. Click forwarded the Sacramento Bee quote Newsom gave after the election and said that’s still the operating posture being taken by the governor-elect, barely a month before he assumes office in a state with the fifth largest economy in the world.

The question of whether Newsom would move to the governor’s mansion in Sacramento became less moot after Jerry Brown and his wife moved there in 2015, following a taxpayer-funded upgrade of the hoary governor’s pad.

Stories about Brown and Newsom inevitably mentioned that Jerry Brown was the first California governor to occupy the Sacramento mansion since his father Pat Brown lived there in the 1960s. So there’s a recent precedent, set by Brown.

Still, here are a few good reasons for Newsom to stay put and turn the Kentfield compound into a Marin governor’s mansion:

  • The Guesthouse. Why would you move to the veritable food-desert of Sacramento when a swank new restaurant just opened down the street that’s perfectly well-suited for meetings with Pacific Sun reporters (see Dining, p15)?
  • San Quentin’s death row. The prison is right down the street and Newsom could use the Marin Mansion as bully pulpit to push for an end to the death penalty, if he’s so inclined. Jerry Brown squared up personal objections to capital punishment with the facts: It’s the law of the Cali-land; there are nearly 800 inmates on death row; and serious questions around cruel-and-unusual constitutional standards regarding the execution protocol have stymied the state’s pro-death posture. If Newsom’s looking for a Big Issue to latch on to early in his term—on the order of gay marriage, legal pot or gun control, issues which put him in the national spotlight—ending the death penalty in California seems like a pretty good one.
  • Cannabis. Newsom led the way to legalization with his Blue Ribbon Commission on cannabis legalization, which set out the parameters of the legal-weed regime now afoot in the state. Curiously, Marin County has kind of lagged behind the region when it comes to a full-on embrace of the economic opportunities extant under Proposition 64. A pro-legalization governor operating in the cool mists of Marin could lend a helping hand to easing the way for legal pot-shops to open in the county. Or not.
  • Pool party at the Newsoms’! In our dank reverie, the media’s invited, the shindig is clothing-optional, the spread is delicious and locally drawn, and the pot-delivery services in the county are showing up in droves in the driveway. Oh, don’t tell me those drivers don’t know where Newsom lives. Anybody who thought it was a good idea to marry Kim Guilfoyle (Newsom’s ex-wife, who is now dating Donald Trump Jr.)—well, jeez, he must have been high at the time or something.

Don’t leave us, Gav-Gov! We’re just starting to get to know you!

 

Sing to Us, Dingus!

Well, we don’t know whether Newsom will remain in Marin, but we do know of one grateful Marin County resident happy to be home in the county. Dingus has been found!

“Bring us Dingus” was the cry heard from Bolinas for the last seven months, ever since the two-year-old dog went missing in April. Unbelievably, the pit bull and German shepherd mix made his way home on Thanksgiving Day, after an incredible, thousand-mile journey.

The story begins with his disappearance in April, which baffled Bolinas residents. A surveillance video from Smiley’s Saloon caught the last known-images of 65-pound Dingus walking on Wharf Road around 8pm that night. Then he was gone.

Dingus resided happily in one of the most dog-friendly places in America—dog-friendly, that is, until one disappeared without a trace. Since then, the West Marin townsfolk have grown more wary and protective.

The pup’s people, Azi Lynman and his mother, Katie Weber, began one of the biggest dog hunts in Marin. They distributed hundreds of flyers in the North Bay, East Bay and San Francisco; placed dozens of ads online; and launched #bringDingushome on social media.

False sightings were abundant, with Lynman and Weber traveling around the state to check them out. The heartbreak after each disappointment was almost unbearable. On Thanksgiving eve, Lynman, 24, received yet another call that Dingus had been found, this time in San Diego.

“I believe I might have your lost dog,” the message said.

Lynman phoned back and spoke with Tanner Kuljian, 21, a University of San Diego football player. He sounded certain he had Dingus. The two young men video-chatted, and when Kuljian showed him the pooch, Lynman saw the telltale mole on his face. It was Dingus, indeed.

Soon, Lynman, Weber, her daughter and Dingus’ dog sitter were making the 525-mile drive to Kuljian’s home in San Diego. How did Dingus get so far away? Where did Kuljian find him? There were so many questions to be answered, and plenty of time to ponder them on the 13-hour trip in the pelting rain and heavy holiday traffic.

At 1:15am on Thanksgiving morning, the eager foursome arrived at Kuljian’s door for the long-awaited reunion with Dingus. A video post on the Dingus Khan Facebook page shows him prancing joyfully and jumping from person to person as he greets his family.

What led up to this moment, seven months after Dingus vanished from Bolinas? Kuljian filled us in: “I was at a friend’s party and someone I’d never met before was there with a dog. He said he got him from a dog-fighting place, but that didn’t seem right, because the dog was goofy and friendly.”

As the man with the canine continued to talk, he admitted that the tale about the fighting dog was untrue. Actually, Dingus walked up to him while he hiked in Bolinas last April. Since he was sans collar, the man took him. (Dingus is microchipped, and any animal shelter or vet could pull up Lynman’s current contact information.)

“The guy showed us a newspaper article [“Where’s Dingus?,” Pacific Sun, Sept. 5] and a Facebook page about a lost dog,” Kuljian said. “He was super-drunk.” Kuljian read the story and online posts. Clearly, the inebriated fellow knew the pup’s people wanted him home desperately, but he never contacted them. “I thought, ‘Wow, this isn’t your dog,’” Kuljian said. “It was fucked-up.”

That was all the impetus he needed. “My friend and I snatched Dingus and ducked out of the party,” Kuljian recalls. The thief was too drunk to notice. The college student called Lynman the next morning, and the tearful reunion soon followed.

The family’s first stop once back in Bolinas was Smiley’s. Applause rang out from the 30 or so customers inside the bar as they called out, “Dingus, Dingus!” That night, Lynman and Weber feasted on Thanksgiving dinner and had a few extra reasons to be grateful.—Nikki Silverstein

Front Row

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Front Row

If you’re trying to avoid attending the umpteenth production of The Nutcracker in your lifetime, Marin theater companies are providing several other entertainment options for this holiday season.

Last year, the Marin Theatre Company (marintheatre.org) was one of the participants in the rolling world premiere of Lauren Gunderson and Margot Melcon’s Miss Bennet: Christmas at Pemberley, a smashing success that continued Jane Austen’s Pride and Prejudice and featured the folks celebrating Christmas “upstairs” at the manor. Gunderson and Melcon have created a companion piece titled The Wickhams: Christmas at Pemberley, more of a “downstairs” piece focusing on the estate’s staff as they deal with an unwelcome visitor and a potential holiday disaster.

The College of Marin Performing Arts Department (pa.marin.edu) will be presenting the musical comedy Nuncrackers in the Kentfield Campus Studio Theatre. Nunsense creator Dan Goggin’s Little Sisters of Hoboken return to the stage for a Christmas special in their new basement cable access TV studio to raise funds for the Mount Saint Helens School. The nuns will be singing songs like “The Twelve Days Prior to Christmas” and “Santa Ain’t Comin’ to Our House,” dancing in their habits and handing out fruit cake. I think Sister Amnesia makes a return appearance, but I can’t remember.

Actors Basement is staging Pac Sun contributor David Templeton’s one-man holiday show Polar Bears at the Belrose (thebelrose.com) in San Rafael. It’s the autobiographical tale of a father’s attempt to keep his children’s belief in Santa Claus alive way past the point most others do.

The Ross Valley Players (rossvalleyplayers.com) are giving audiences the chance to completely forget about the holiday season with their production of The Odd Couple. The Neil Simon classic comedy about a mismatched pair of middle-aged roommates has been a proven laugh-getter since its 1965 Broadway premiere.

There’s nary a Sugar Plum Fairy in sight on these North Bay stages.

Barefoot Shakespeare

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Barefoot Shakespeare

In Shakespeare’s greatest tragedy, Hamlet’s chief counselor, Polonius, gives him the advice, “to thine own self be true.”

If there was ever a mantra that Chris Robinson embraced fiercely, this is it. While he found enormous commercial success alongside his younger brother, Rich, in the rock band the Black Crowes, personal dynamics and expectations fueled by the corporate music industry fractured the band in 2002 and eventually led to its breakup in 2015 after several attempts at regrouping.

For the elder Robinson, the Chris Robinson Brotherhood, which formed in 2011, has been an escape from commercial expectations and a chance to satisfy his creativity.

“I had this music, and the songs were piling up,” says Robinson. “[Keyboardist] Adam MacDougall and I were on the Black Crowes tour putting together a little repertoire of songs. We did this knowing that the Black Crowes were this dysfunctional weird thing, which was nothing new.

“I wanted to get out and do something new and different,” he continues. “I’m a different person. I wanted my presentation to be different. Luckily, we got in with a group of people and made a sound that we liked, and we can exist in our little utopian music bubble.”

The Chris Robinson Brotherhood, which found a home in the hills of West Marin that Robinson refers to as “Unicorn, California,” and which solidified into a lineup that includes guitarist Neal Casal, MacDougall, bassist Jeff Hill and drummer Tony Leone, is currently touring in support of 2017’s Barefoot in the Head. For Robinson, the band’s fifth full-length studio album was a chance to get rootsy with material he was penning while on previous tours.

“I just had my acoustic guitar and these more folky/country [tunes], and that was the idea. When we went in to make Barefoot in the Head, I didn’t want any instruments that we used before or anything that we played on tour,” he says. “We had different amps and guitars and I wanted us to play a lot of acoustic instruments.”

The band’s been playing the new songs live for over a year and excels at creating a communal, musically satisfying experience for all. “That’s what we shoot for,” says Robinson. “Where everyone is involved.”

Chris Robinson Brotherhood plays Wednesday, Dec. 5, at Gundlach Bundschu Winery, 2000 Denmark St., Sonoma. 7pm. $45 and up. gunbun.com.

By Dave Gil de Rubio

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Road Rage Redux Well, I could not have said it better than Russ Young did (Letters, Nov. 14). I live in Novato, and I drive a lot up to Petaluma and over to Sonoma each week, and I make every effort to obey the speed limits and rules of the road. However, what this seems to do is aggravate many...
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Folk sensation Mary Gauthier is in the business of telling stories. Usually, they’re her own, and for over 20 years, Gauthier has turned her struggles with childhood abandonment, drugs and other issues into somber and introspective songs that regularly brings audiences to tears. Now Gauthier is using her gifts to tell a different set of stories. Her 2018 album, Rifles...
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Forever New

In 2016, the Marin Theatre Company participated in the “rolling” world premiere of Lauren Gunderson and Margot Melcon’s Miss Bennet: Christmas at Pemberley. The “continuation” of Jane Austen’s Pride and Prejudice was born, according to Gunderson, of the playwrights’ desire “to write something fun, grand, female-driven and hopeful, but with that wonderful wit and complication of a good family...
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High Tides

Here’s a question for budding chemists in the land of milk and marijuana: What do you get when you mix water and THC extracted from weed? Answer? You get cannabis-infused water, of course. Carbonate the water and now you’ve got a cannabis spritzer. A cannabis cocktail. A bud-based bevie. Now there’s a local company, Occidental Power, creating THC-infused water that will...
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Q: I’m a recovering addict, five years sober. My ex-boyfriend was a “normie” (12-step slang for someone who hasn’t had addiction issues), and there were definitely things he just didn’t get. Do I need to date another recovering addict to feel understood? I’ve done that before, and I really don’t like it. It’s like living in a recovery bubble...
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ARIES (March 21–April 19) Every year the bird known as the Arctic tern experiences two summers and enjoys more daylight than any other animal. That’s because it regularly makes a long-distance journey from the Arctic to the Antarctic and back again. Let’s designate this hardy traveler as your inspirational creature for the next 10 months. May it help animate...
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To many locals, Picco tops the list for best restaurant in Marin. Under the talented eye of Real Restaurants Group’s chef Bruce Hill, Picco delivers exquisite food, professional service and well-made cocktails. It’s one of the few North Bay establishments that provides the high-caliber dining experience most frequently encountered on the other side of the Golden Gate Bridge. So...
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Should I Stay . . .

So where is Gavin Newsom, his wife and four young children going to live when he becomes governor next month? Turns out it’s kind of a question in need of an answer, just a short month before he assumes office. Word from his transition team after the long Thanksgiving weekend? Newsom is still not sure where his head will hit...
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Front Row

If you’re trying to avoid attending the umpteenth production of The Nutcracker in your lifetime, Marin theater companies are providing several other entertainment options for this holiday season. Last year, the Marin Theatre Company (marintheatre.org) was one of the participants in the rolling world premiere of Lauren Gunderson and Margot Melcon’s Miss Bennet: Christmas at Pemberley, a smashing success that...
Read more

Barefoot Shakespeare

In Shakespeare’s greatest tragedy, Hamlet’s chief counselor, Polonius, gives him the advice, “to thine own self be true.” If there was ever a mantra that Chris Robinson embraced fiercely, this is it. While he found enormous commercial success alongside his younger brother, Rich, in the rock band the Black Crowes, personal dynamics and expectations fueled by the corporate music industry...
Read more
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