Heroes & Zeroes

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Heroes & Zeroes

Hero
The president of the Novato Chess Club, Christopher Major, teaches an after-school chess program for 50 kindergartners through eighth-graders to share life lessons and help improve academic performance. As a retired special-education teacher and founder of two nonprofits for children, including the Novato Chess Club, Major recognizes the need to keep students productive after school, rather than sending latch key kids home alone. He’s also a member of the San Rafael Harbor Rotary Club, which helps support his Marin chess activities. The success of his chess club prompted him to start a similar program in Uganda, where he taught chess to teachers from 10 Ugandan primary schools. We’ve established that Major is a major hero—but there’s more. He also developed a plan to motivate at-risk youth to attend college by taking them on day-long college tours. Thank you, Mr. Major, for your dedication to children in Marin and around the globe.
Zero
A white van drove up to an elderly man’s home in Sausalito and two hustlers jumped out of the vehicle. Did the pair know that the homeowner suffers from dementia? Were they giddy about their easy mark or did they just get lucky? Either way, their con cup runneth over, because the gentleman was home alone while his caregiver was away. The fraudsters explained they were from Global Smog and were there to maintain the heating ducts. After they tinkered with the furnace, they presented the homeowner with an invoice for more than $8,000. They were oh-so-helpful by writing out the check themselves and having him sign it. Apparently, that was so simple they decided to write out another one, this one bearing the name or an alias of one of the culprits. That check was cashed right away. It takes a special kind of wicked to take advantage of the elderly, so let’s look out for our neighbors.
Got a Hero or a Zero? Please send submissions to ni***************@***oo.com. Toss roses, hurl stones with more Heroes and Zeroes at pacificsun.com.

Harvest of Redemption

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Harvest of Redemption

Jail can be hell. But not many people know that jail cells can also be a place of rebirth. Yarrow Kubrin lives in San Francisco with his wife and children. A longtime marijuana grower and dealer, he knows the two extremes that exist behind bars and inside thick walls.

Kubrin will not harvest a crop this year, though he has a bumper crop of memories in his head. As a religious Jew, he knows the joy and the sadness of Sukkot, the Jewish holiday celebrated at the end of September that traditionally marked the end of the harvest time and the culmination of the cycle of the agricultural year.

“I understand why people connect to spirituality while in jail,” Kubrin says. “Spirituality is a natural reaction to depravity.”

Locked up for a year, Kubrin saw the kind of depravity he had never seen before. He also experienced a sense of spiritual uplift.

Kubrin’s life crashed all around him in 2010 when he was arrested and charged with possession of marijuana with intent to sell. It was the third time he was busted on pot charges. In 2010, Sonoma County police found the three big no-no’s—cash, cannabis and guns—in his house. District Attorney Jill Ravitch depicted him as a threat to public safety and a menace to his own family. Local media wrote damning articles. The stories about him continue to haunt him.

What about the guns?

According to Kubrin, the weapons that the police confiscated—many of then unfired collectables intended for sports hunting—were legally acquired, legally registered and locked away. He says he did not have the key to unlock the cabinet were they were kept.

“I come from a family in which guns were part of our heritage,” Kubrin says. “My father, David Kubrin, helped to register black voters in the Deep South in the 1960s. The KKK pursued him. He raised me with the idea that every family should have a rifle.”

Prosecutors say Kurbrin had assault rifles, flak jackets and a shrine to the Sopranos.

What’s also significant in Kubrin’s case is that none of his or his father’s guns were at the site where cannabis was cultivated, though a friend who was also a deputy sheriff was living at one of his properties. That deputy had a gun, a snub nose .38.

“He was not a member of our collective or our operation,” Kubrin says. “He was a pal who needed a place to stay.”

A longtime Sonoma County marijuana activist who spoke in confidence told me, “Every American has the right to have guns. That right applies to marijuana growers.”

Kubrin echoes that sentiment. “Jewelers can have guns to protect their diamonds,” he says. “Cannabis cultivators should have the same constitutional right.”

After his arrest, Kubrin was lucky to be able to rely on his wife, Heather, his kids, his friends who showed up in court to lend their support, and his lawyer, Chris Andrian, who has defended marijuana growers and dealers for decades. Kubrin also had the backing of a rabbi named George Gittleman and the congregation at Shomrei Torah in Santa Rosa.

“It was a hard time for Yarrow,” Gittleman says. “His whole life was turned upside down. Prison wasn’t on his agenda.”

Gittleman pauses for a few moments and then adds, “Most of us don’t know what it means to go to jail. You lose your time and you can lose your humanity.”

Gittleman’s comments come just after the celebration of Rosh Hashanah and Yom Kippur at Shomrei Torah, which were followed by Sukkot. Thousands of years ago, Sukkot was the most important Jewish holiday because it was the time of the year when people found out whether they had enough food for the year ahead, or would starve.

“Sukkot is about the fragility of physical existence,” Gittleman says. “Yarrow Kubrin came to understand that fragility when he went to jail. After visiting him, I knew he’d be OK and would likely go on to counsel others. He had a great attitude.”

Jews like Kubrin, who observe Sukkot, Rosh Hashanah and Yom Kippur, and who worship at synagogues, don’t ordinarily find themselves in handcuffs and in court facing years behind bars.

Judge Rene Chouteau sentenced Kubrin to six months in jail and four years under supervision. Before he surrendered to the authorities, Kubrin gave up his real estate license, said goodbye to everyone he loved and entered Sonoma County’s North County Detention Facility, where he served his term. He has until October 2019 before his four years of supervision are over. He still spends time in Sonoma County, just not in jail.

“My sentence felt like a bullet coming at me in slow motion,” Kubrin says, adding, “It injured my soul, but there was a silver lining to my experience. I shawshanked my conviction.”

In the movie The Shawshank Redemption, two convicts, played by Tim Robbins and Morgan Freeman, are redeemed by their acts of human kindness.The characters in the film inspired Kubrin. But he was also disappointed by the realities of the criminal justice system

“Unfortunately, the emphasis in the probation department, here and elsewhere, is on punishment, not on rehabilitation,” Kubrin says.

Behind bars, Kubrin—who grew up and went to public schools in San Francisco—made the best of a bad situation. It helped that Rabbi Gittleman visited him regularly. It helped, too, that Kubrin signed up for classes, studied the Old Testament, wrote letters for inmates who needed a bit of his poetic license, befriended “men with terrible addictions” and steered clear of trouble.

“I was the only openly practicing Jew in the jail,” Kubrin says. “If you’re a Jew behind bars, you’re a distinct minority and you’re viewed as the enemy by many of the other prisoners who think Jews are inferior human beings.” He adds, “I saw more swastikas while in jail then while watching the History Channel for years. Most of the swastikas were tattooed on white inmates as a symbol of white pride.”

Kubrin was released on Halloween 2015. That night, he went out trick-or-treating with his son and daughter in Sebastopol. This September, he celebrated the Jewish New Year. Then it was on to Sukkot.

Six months after he was released from jail, Kubrin began to volunteer with the Sonoma County Growers Alliance. Soon afterward, he became a cannabis-industry consultant. Later, he returned to the Healdsburg real estate office where he had worked for years and where he had built up an extensive clientele. But he returned as an unlicensed associate and as a marketing manager, not as an agent.

Since his release from jail, Kubrin has also talked to his congregation about cannabis and shared his experiences behind bars.

California Assembly Bill 1793, which has passed both house of the California State Legislature, but has not been signed by Gov. Brown, would allow for some marijuana convictions to be expunged from the record. Kubrin thinks he won’t be eligible. After all, he deposited large amounts of cash from the sale of marijuana in an Exchange Bank account. In the eyes of the law, he was guilty of money laundering. He said he was trying to be transparent.

“We’re going to have to deal with the whole banking issue if we want to change the law and keep people out of jail,” Kubrin says. “We’re also going to have to address the problem of police misconduct. It’s not about one bad apple, but about a whole system that’s bad.”

On the earthly scale of saints and sinners, the old Kubrin falls somewhere between the two. In jail, among men with criminal records, he was delivered from the unthinking, risk-taking life he’d been living and became aware of his own flawed humanity. Out of denial came acceptance.

Editor’s note: An earlier version of this story contained several reporting errors that have been corrected. Kubrin lives in San Francisco, not Sonoma County. He was released in 2015, not 2017. He spent six months in jail, not a year. We regret the errors.

Market on Wheels

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Market on Wheels

To bridge the gap between farmers markets and those who don’t live near one, the Agricultural Institute of Marin (AIM) launched the Rollin’ Root this past month. A mobile farmers market of sorts, Rollin’ Root is a truck packed with fresh produce and dairy products from local farmers and artisans, traveling through various Marin locations on Thursdays.

Focusing on low-income communities of older adults, the refrigerated truck, stocked with goods from the Civic Center farmers market, stops at Whistlestop Active Aging Center in San Rafael, the Marin Valley Mobile Country Club in Novato and the Maria B. Freitas Senior Community in San Rafael. As of Sept. 27, a fourth stop at the Marin City Community Development Corporation in Marin City will be added.

“Many people in Marin are interested in visiting the farmers market,” says AIM CEO Naja-Riese says, “but have transportation hardships. We’re combining the convenience of the food truck with the freshness of the farmers market.”

The Rollin’ Root—formed through AIM’s partnership with the Healthy Eating Active Living Community Health Initiative, a partnership between the League of California Cities and the Public Health Advocates—emphasizes healthful food and everyday mobility, but Naja-Riese says anyone can shop from the truck. For the communities it visits, the Rollin’ Root truck has become, he says, “a real event, something our senior communities are able to look forward to each week, a place to connect with their neighbors and learn about seasonal products.”

Alongside the vegetables, fruit and yogurt, Rollin’ Root hands out recipe cards and educational materials. Building on the warm welcome the program has received so far, Naja-Riese carefully plans the future.

“Given it’s a new initiative, we want to be thoughtful on how we expand,” he says. “We’re looking into West Marin, and even San Francisco and Oakland. We’re looking to fill a need.”

Visit agriculturalinstitute.org/mobile-market for more information.

Real World Astrology

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Real World Astrology

 

ARIES (March 21–April 19)  Do you have any skills at living on the edge between the light and the dark? Are you curious about what the world might look like and how people would treat you if you refused to divide everything up into that which helps you and that which doesn’t help you? Can you imagine how it would feel if you loved your life just the way it is and didn’t wish it were different from what it is? Please note: people less courageous than you might prefer you to be less courageous. But I hope you’ll stay true to the experiment of living on the edge between the light and the dark.

TAURUS (April 20–May 20)  According to Popbitch.com, most top-charting pop songs are in a minor key. In light of this fact, I encourage you to avoid listening to pop songs for the next three weeks. In my astrological opinion, it’s essential that you surround yourself with stimuli that don’t tend to make you sad and blue, that don’t influence you to interpret your experience through a melancholic, mournful filter. To accomplish the assignments that life will be sending you, you need to at least temporarily cultivate a mood of crafty optimism.

GEMINI (May 21–June 20)  Gemini regent Queen Victoria (1819–1901) wore crotchless underwear made of linen. A few years ago, Britain’s Museums, Libraries and Archives Council accorded them “national designated status,” an official notice that means they are a national treasure. If I had the power, I would give your undergarments an equivalent acknowledgment. The only evidence I would need to make this bold move would be the intelligence and expressiveness with which you are going to wield your erotic sensibilities in the coming weeks.

CANCER (June 21–July 22)  I’ve taken a break from socializing, my fellow Cancerian. In fact, I’m on sabbatical from my regular rhythm. My goal for the coming days is to commune with my past and review the story of my life. Rather than fill my brain up with the latest news and celebrity gossip, I am meditating on my own deep dark mysteries. I’m mining for secrets that I might be concealing from myself. In accordance with the astrological omens, I suggest that you follow my lead. You might want to delve into boxes of old mementoes or reread emails from years ago. You could get in touch with people who are no longer part of your life even though they were once important to you. How else could you get into intimate contact with your eternal self?

LEO (July 23–August 22)  Here’s a quote from A Map of Misreading, a book by renowned literary critic, Harold Bloom: “Where the synecdoche of tessera made a totality, however illusive, the metonymy of kenosis breaks this up into discontinuous fragments.” What the cluck did Harold Bloom just say? I’m not being anti-intellectual when I declare this passage to be pretentious drivel. In the coming days, I urge you Leos to draw inspiration from my response to Bloom. Tell the truth about nonsense. Don’t pretend to appreciate jumbled or over-complicated ideas. Expose bunk and bombast. Be kind, if you can, but be firm. You’re primed to be a champion of down-to-earth communication.

VIRGO (August 23–September 22)  A data research company, Priceonomics, suggests that Monday is the most productive day of the week and that October is the most productive month of the year. My research suggests that while Capricorns tend to be the most consistently productive of all the signs in the zodiac, Virgos often outstrip them for a six-week period during the end of each September and throughout October. Furthermore, my intuition tells me that you Virgos now have an extraordinary capacity to turn good ideas into practical action. I conclude, therefore, that you are about to embark on a surge of industrious and high-quality work. (P.S.: This October has five Mondays.)

LIBRA (September 23–October 22)  Biologists are constantly unearthing new species, although not new in the sense of having just appeared on our planet. In fact, they’re animals and plants that have existed for millennia. But they’ve never before been noticed and identified by science. Among recent additions to our ever-growing knowledge are an orchid in Madagascar that smells like Champagne, an electric-blue tarantula in the Guyana rain forest and a Western Australian grass that has a flavor resembling salt and vinegar potato chips. I suspect you’ll be making metaphorically comparable discoveries in the coming weeks, Libra: evocative beauty that you’ve been blind to and interesting phenomena that have been hiding in plain sight.

SCORPIO (October 23–November 21)  There is no such thing as a plant that blooms continuously. Phases of withering and dormancy are just as natural as phases of growth. I bring this fact to your attention to help you remain poised as you go through your own period of withering followed by dormancy. You should accept life’s demand that you slow down and explore the mysteries of fallowness. You should surrender sweetly to stasis and enjoy your time of rest and recharging. That’s the best way to prepare for the new cycle of growth that will begin in a few weeks.

SAGITTARIUS (November 22–December 21)  If you were ever going to win a contest that awarded you a free vacation to an exotic sanctuary, it would probably happen during the next three weeks. If a toy company would ever approach you about developing a line of action figures and kids’ books based on your life, it might also be sometime soon. And if you have ever had hopes of converting your adversaries into allies, or getting support and backing for your good original ideas, or finding unexpected inspiration to fix one of your not-so-good habits, those opportunities are now more likely than they have been for some time.

CAPRICORN (December 22–January 19)  An 81-year-old Capricorn man named James Harrison has donated his unique blood on 1,173 occasions. Scientists have used it to make medicine that prevents Rhesus disease in unborn babies, thereby healing more than 2.4 million kids and literally saving thousands of lives. I don’t expect you to do anything nearly as remarkable. But I do want to let you know that the coming weeks will be a favorable time to lift your generosity and compassion to the next level. Harrison would serve well as your patron saint.

AQUARIUS (January 20–February 18)  On a spring morning some years ago, a smoky aroma woke me from a deep sleep. Peering out my bedroom window into the backyard, I saw that my trickster girlfriend Anastasia had built a bonfire. When I stumbled to my closet to get dressed, I found my clothes missing. There were no garments in my dresser, either. In my groggy haze, I realized that my entire wardrobe had become fuel for Anastasia’s conflagration. It was too late to intervene, and I was still quite drowsy, so I crawled back in bed to resume snoozing. A while later, I woke to find her standing next to the bed bearing a luxurious breakfast she said she’d cooked over the flames of my burning clothes. After our meal, we stayed in bed all day, indulging in a variety of riotous fun. I’m not predicting that similar events will unfold in your life, Aquarius. But you may experience adventures that are almost equally boisterous, hilarious and mysterious.

PISCES (February 19–March 20)  I’ve got three teachings for you. 1. Was there a time in your past when bad romance wounded your talent for love? Yes, but you now have more power to heal that wound than you’ve ever had before. 2. Is it possible you’re ready to shed a semi-delicious addiction to a chaotic magic? Yes. Clarity is poised to trump melodrama. Joyous decisiveness is primed to vanquish ingrained sadness. 3. Has there ever been a better time than now to resolve and graduate from past events that have bothered and drained you for a long time? No. This is the best time ever.

Advice Goddess

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Advice Goddess

Q: My girlfriend, who’d been traveling, lost track of what day it was and was surprised when I showed up on the usual night I come cook her dinner. She was happy to see me but said she needed to finish this one “urgent work email.” How nice. Dinner would get cold while she took forever. Instead of getting started in the kitchen, I sat down angrily on the couch. “What’s wrong?” she asked. I said, “I’ll just sit here till you’re ready!” She got angry, saying that I should have just asked her how long she’d be or told her I felt bad. She then went on about how I have a “toxic” habit of this sort of “passive-aggressive” behavior, and I need to stop “acting out” before it ruins our relationship. I love her and don’t want to lose her. Help!—Doghouse

A: There will sometimes be reasons you are unable to communicate using the spoken word: Your jaw is wired shut. You are gagged with duct tape. A wizard has turned you into a cocker spaniel. Otherwise, when you’d like another person to do something, it’s best not to express this to him or her in code: “I want you to meet my needs—right after you guess what they are!”

Passive-aggressiveness is a kind of coded communication, a form of “indirect speech,” which is a way of saying something without flat-out saying it. The term “passive-aggressive” was coined by a military psychologist, William Menninger, during World War II. He used it to describe soldiers who instead of saying no to a direct order (hello, ugly consequences!) wiggled out through “passive measures,” including “procrastination, inefficiency and passive obstructionism.”

Menninger’s term was useful in military memos because, as historian Christopher Lane puts it, the Army couldn’t exactly issue a directive against “pouting.” However, there was no research to support it as anything more than a tactic in a certain situation as opposed to a “personality disorder.”

Yet, in the 1950s, a group of psychiatrists writing the first edition of the mental disorders bible, the DSM, took a big, unscientific leap. They willy-nilly added passive-aggressiveness to the list of personality disorders in the book, perhaps because without an official “disorder” label (and diagnostic codes that go with it), health insurance companies wouldn’t pay therapists to treat it.

But consider the weaselly, “passive-aggressive” tack those soldiers took. Though their indirect approach to getting their way was militarily unhelpful, it was anything but “maladaptive” for them personally. In other words, indirect communication like theirs is often adaptive. As I pointed out in a recent column, per psychologist Steven Pinker, it’s a crafty way to communicate a potentially inflammatory message without causing offense, the way baldly stating one’s feelings would. For example, there’s the social relationship-preserving hint about table manners, “Wow, Jason, you’re really enjoying that risotto!” instead of the more honest “Gross! You eat like a feral hog on roadkill!”

Thing is, avoiding causing offense can go too far, like when it’s driven by a long-held and unexamined belief that you’re offensive simply by existing and having needs. Understanding that, explore the root of your own passive-aggressive behavior. My guess? It’s fear of conflict, or fear of the results of conflict. At some point it was probably protective for you to avoid conflict and the direct engagement that could lead to it, like if you had a volatile and abusive parent. But as an adult, indirect communication should be a tool you use when it suits the situation, not a behavior you robotically default to.

Consider that conflict, when expressed in healthy, non-inflammatory ways, can be a positive thing, a source for personal and collective growth and deeper relationships. But to take advantage of this after years of auto-burying your feelings, you’ll need to start by articulating to yourself what you want in a particular situation. Next, while ignoring the protests of your fears, express your needs and/or feelings to the other person with healthy directness: “Hey, can you guesstimate how many minutes till you’re done with your work?” and maybe add, “I have a special dinner planned, and I don’t want it to get cold.”

Admittedly, some conflicts end up in gridlock. However, you’re far more likely to get your needs met if you don’t just fester with resentment or turn every relationship interaction into an intricate game of charades: “Sorry, honey. Still don’t get it. Are you angry or doing a rain dance?”

Got a problem? Write Amy Alkon at 171 Pier Ave. #280, Santa Monica, CA 90405, or email ad*******@*ol.com. @amyalkon on Twitter. Weekly radio show, blogtalkradio.com/amyalkon.

This Week in the Pacific Sun

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This Week in the Pacific Sun

Octoberfest isn’t until, well, October but that’s not stopping us from putting out our annual beer issue. This week we’ve got a report on beer from Russia, the rise of brut IPAs and the fusion of beer and bike culture at Split Rock Tap & Wheel in Fairfax. If beer isn’t your thing, we’ve got the latest in music, film stage and of course trivia and the Advice Goddess. My advice: read this week’s issue for more!

—Stett Holbrook, editor

Movie Reviews

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Movie Reviews

Alpha (1:37) A young Ice Age–era hunter befriends and tames a lone wolf, kicking off several millennia of boy-and-his-dog stories.

An American in Paris: The Musical (2:20) Direct from London’s West End it’s the Tony-winning stage production of the beloved Gene Kelly movie musical; the Gershwin boys provide the tunes.

Assassination Nation (1:35) Twenty-first-century horror flick in which bloody Salem witch trial–esque retribution is exacted through texts, posts and selfies.

Bad Reputation (1:32) Documentary tribute to punk-rock superstar Joan Jett features insights from Iggy Pop, Debbie Harry, Pete Townshend and others, plus lots of raucous concert footage.

BlacKkKlansman (2:15) Rollicking Spike Lee comedy tells the true story of a black Colorado cop who infiltrated the local chapter of the KKK; Topher Grace co-stars as David Duke.      

The Bookshop (1:53) Award-winning tale of a free-spirited widow who opens a bookstore in a coastal English village; Emily Mortimer stars

The Cakemaker (1:45) Acclaimed drama about the complex relationship between an Israeli widow and the German baker still yearning for her dead husband.

Crazy Rich Asians (2:00) A provincial New Yorker heads to Shanghai with her boyfriend only to discover that the guy’s one of China’s wealthiest and most eligible bachelors.

Dog Days (1:52) Ensemble comedy about the dovetailing lives of assorted canines and their owners.

Eighth Grade (1:34) Coming-of-age comedy focuses on a supposedly unremarkable 13-year-old girl as she navigates the fraught final week of middle school.

Fahrenheit 11/9 (1:13) Rambunctious Michael Moore documentary about the absolutely imperative necessity to get politically involved and the strange new world we awoke to on Nov. 9, 2016.

Filmworker (1:34) Acclaimed documentary about Leon Vitali, a rising star of ’70s cinema who gave it all up to become Stanley Kubrick’s indispensable, obsessive and largely unsung right-hand man.

Hell Fest (1:29) A group of clueless teens are terrorized by a serial killer at a horror-themed amusement park.

John and Yoko’s Imagine (1:22) Remixed and remastered edition of the 1972 “cinema collage” features the iconic couple in a mystic mashup of documentary, fantasy and music.

Juliet, Naked (1:38) The Nick Hornby novel hits the big screen with Ethan Hawke as a reclusive rocker, Chris O’Dowd as his No. 1 fan and Rose Byrne as his long-suffering girlfriend.

Laurel and Hardy Shorts (1:25) Catch Stan and Ollie in four newly restored mini-masterpieces: Berth Marks, Brats, The Chimp and the legendary, long-lost Battle of the Century.

Life Itself (1:57) Rambling look at a young couple’s courtship and marriage stars Oscar Isaac, Olivia Wilde, Annette Bening and a host of others.

Lizzie (1:45) Chloë Sevigny stars as legendary axe murderer Lizzie Borden in a modernist retelling of the 19th-century true-crime corset-buster.

Love, Gilda (1:26) Documentary explores the life and work of Gilda Radner through clips from her Saturday Night Live heyday, interviews with old cronies like Chevy Chase and Laraine Newman, and narration by the late Gilda herself.

Manhattan Short Film Festival (1:30) You’re invited to watch nine unique short subjects and vote for your favorite. Finalists will be eligible for next year’s Oscars!

McQueen (1:51) Striking documentary portrait of Alexander McQueen, the tortured, controversial fashion designer who took his own life at age 40.

National Theatre London: King Lear (3:40) Ian McKellen delivers an acclaimed performance as the aging, deluded monarch in Chichester Festival Theatre’s contemporary retelling of the Bard’s timeless tragedy.

Night School (1:51) Comedy stars Kevin Hart as the leader of a group of misfits who take adult ed classes in pursuit of a passing GED.

The Nun (1:36) Two Vatican agents take on an evil force inhabiting a cloistered abbey in ever-spooky Romania.

Operation Finale (1:49) Historical thriller about the Israeli Secret Service plot to abduct Adolf Eichmann from Argentina to stand trial for Nazi war crimes; Ben Kingsley stars.

Peppermint (2:00) Death Wish redux as Jennifer Garner transforms herself into a lean, mean vigilante machine to avenge the murders of her husband and daughter.

Pick of the Litter (1:21) Inspiring documentary follows a litter of puppies on their two-year odyssey to become guide dogs for the blind.

The Predator (1:41) Those intergalactic bounty hunters are back, bigger, badder and more genetically enhanced than ever; thank goodness there’s a ragtag group of Earthlings to take them on!

Saving Brinton (1:27) Documentary focuses on Iowa film collector Mike Zahs and his amazing stash of 1890s celluloid, including two long-lost Georges Méliès masterpieces.

Searching (1:41) Twenty-first century century thriller stars John Cho as a distraught dad who tries to track down his missing daughter through the cookie-crumb clues on her laptop.

A Simple Favor (1:56) Twisty postmodern noir stars Anna Kendrick as a suburban mom searching for her mysteriously missing BFF (Blake Lively).

Smallfoot (1:36) Cartoon comedy about a Yeti community’s astonishment at the discovery of a tiny-toed human being.

White Boy Rick (1:51) True story of a Detroit police snitch-cum-drug dealer who was abandoned by the system to a life in prison.

The Wife (1:40) An old married couple look back on their eventful life as they travel to Stockholm to pick up hubby’s Nobel Prize; Glenn Close and Jonathan Pryce star.

Movie Times

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Movie Times

 

Alpha (PG-13) Northgate: Fri-Wed 12:10, 2:35, 5:15, 7:55, 10:20

An American in Paris: The Musical (NR) Lark: Sat-Sun 1

Assassination Nation (R) Northgate: Fri-Wed 11:30, 2:10, 4:45, 7:20

Bad Reputation (NR) Rafael: Wed 7

BlacKkKlansman (R) Fairfax: Fri-Sat 12:40, 3:40, 7, 9:50; Sun-Wed 12:40, 3:40, 7 Regency: Fri-Sat 12:30, 3:40, 6:50, 9:50; Sun, Wed 6:50; Mon-Tue 12:30, 3:40, 6:50; Thu 12:30, 3:40 Sequoia: Fri 3:50, 6:50, 9:50; Sat 12:50, 3:50, 6:50, 9:50; Sun 12:50, 3:50, 6:50; Mon-Wed 4, 6:50; Thu 4

The Bookshop (PG) Rafael: Fri, Tue 8:15; Sat-Sun 1:15, 8:15; Wed-Thu 8:30

The Cakemaker (NR) Lark: Fri 12:15; Sat 6:20; Sun 10:15; Mon 6:40; Tue 1:40; Wed 9

Christopher Robin (PG) Northgate: Fri-Wed 12, 2:40, 5:20

Crazy Rich Asians (PG-13) Fairfax: Fri-Sat 1, 4, 7, 9:50; Sun-Wed 1, 4, 7 Northgate: Fri-Wed 1:15, 4:15, 7:25, 10:15 Sequoia: Fri 4:20, 7:20, 10:05; Sat 1:20, 4:20, 7:20, 10:05; Sun 1:20, 4:20, 7:20; Mon-Wed 4:20, 7:20; Thu 4:20

Dog Days (PG) Lark: Fri 2:30; Mon 4:15; Thu 10:30

Eighth Grade (R) Lark: Sun 6:20; Mon 10:15; Tue 4

Fahrenheit 11/9 (R) Fairfax: Fri-Sat 12:20, 3:30, 6:50, 9:55; Sun-Wed 12:20, 3:30, 6:50 Regency: Fri-Sat 10:50, 1:40, 4:30, 7:20, 10:10; Sun-Thu 10:50, 1:40, 4:30, 7:20

Filmworker (NR) Lark: Sun 8:30; Wed 2:15

Hell Fest (R) Northgate: Thu 7, 9:20

The House With a Clock in Its Walls (PG) Fairfax: Fri-Sat 12:50, 3:30, 6:30, 9:20; Sun-Wed 12:50, 3:30, 6:30 Larkspur Landing: Fri, Mon-Wed 7:15, 9:45; Sat-Sun 11:15, 1:40, 4:10, 6:45, 9:15 Northgate: Fri-Wed 11:20, 12:30, 1:55, 3:10, 4:35, 5:45, 7:15, 8:20, 9:55 Playhouse: Fri 4, 6:45, 9:30; Sat 1, 4, 6:45, 9:30; Sun 1, 4, 6:45; Mon-Wed 4, 6:45 Rowland: Fri-Sun 11, 1:40, 4:20, 7, 9:50

John and Yoko’s Imagine (NR) Lark: Sun 4:20

John McEnroe: In the Realm of Perfection (NR) Rafael: Fri, Mon-Wed 8:30; Sat 1:15, 8:30; Sun 1:15 8:45

Juliet, Naked (R) Regency: Fri-Sat 11:50, 2:15, 4:45, 7:10, 9:35; Sun-Thu 11:50, 2:15, 4:45, 7:10

Laurel and Hardy Shorts (G) Rafael: Sun 4:30; Thu 7

Life Itself (R) Fairfax: Fri-Sat 12:30, 3:50, 6:45, 9:40; Sun-Wed 12:30, 3:50, 6:45 Larkspur Landing: Fri, Mon-Wed 6:30, 9:15; Sat-Sun 11, 1:45, 4:30, 7:15, 10 Northgate: Fri-Wed 11, 1:50, 4:50, 7:35, 10:20

Lizzie (NR) Regency: Fri-Sat 10:55, 1:30, 4:15, 7, 9:40; Sun-Wed 10:55, 1:30, 4:15, 7; Thu 10:55, 1:30, 4:15

Love, Gilda (NR) Rafael: Fri 4:30, 6:30, 8:30; Sat 2:30, 4:30, 6:30, 8:30; Sun, Tue 6:30, 8:30; Mon 8:30; Wed-Thu 6:30

Mamma Mia! Here We Go Again (PG-13) Lark: Fri 4:45; Sat 8:40; Tue 11:15

Manhattan Short Film Festival (NR) Lark: Thu 3:15

McQueen (NR) Lark: Sat 10:15; Mon 9; Thu 12:50

National Theatre London: King Lear (PG-13) Lark: Thu 6:30 Regency: Thu 7

Night School (PG-13) Northgate: Thu 7, 9:45

The Nun (R) Northgate: Fri-Wed 11:50, 2:30, 5:10, 7:50, 10:15

Peppermint (R) Northgate: Fri-Wed 8, 10:30

Pick of the Litter (NR) Rafael: Fri 4:15, 6:15; Sat-Sun 2:15, 4:15, 6:15; Mon-Tue 6:15; Wed-Thu 5

The Predator (R) Larkspur Landing: Fri, Mon-Wed 7, 9:35; Sat-Sun 11:10, 1:50, 4:25, 7, 9:35 Northgate: Fri-Wed 11:45, 12:45, 2:25, 3:20, 5:05, 5:55, 7:45, 8:30, 10:25

Rebel Without a Cause (PG-13) Regency: Sun, Wed 2

Saving Brinton (NR) Rafael: Sun 2

Searching (PG-13) Northgate: Fri-Wed 7, 9:30

A Simple Favor (R) Fairfax: Fri-Sat 1:10, 4:05, 6:55, 9:45; Sun-Wed 1:10, 4:05, 6:55 Larkspur Landing: Fri, Mon-Wed 6:45, 9:30; Sat-Sun 11:05, 1:55, 4:35, 7:20, 10:05 Northgate: Fri-Wed 11, 1:45, 4:55, 7:40, 10:25 Playhouse: Fri 4:15, 7:15, 9:50; Sat 1:15, 4:15, 7:15, 9:50; Sun 1:15, 4:15, 7:15; Mon-Wed 4:15, 7:15

Smallfoot (PG) Northgate: Thu 5, 7:25, 9:50; 3D showtimes at 6:15, 8:40 Rowland: Thu 4, 6:40; 3D showtime at 9:20

The Transformers: The Movie (PG) Northgate: Thu 7

Unbroken: Path to Redemption (PG-13) Northgate: Fri-Wed 11:35, 2, 4:30

White Boy Rick (NR) Northgate: Fri-Wed 11:05, 1:50, 4:40, 7:30, 10:10

The Wife (NR) Playhouse: Fri 3:45, 7, 9:35; Sat 12:45, 3:45, 7, 9:35; Sun 12:45, 3:45, 7; Mon-Thu 3:45, 7 Rafael: Fri-Sun 3:30, 5:45, 8; Mon-Thu 5:45, 8

News Briefs: Novato Delays UGB Vote

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The Novato planning commission on Monday delayed a decision supported by city leaders that critics say would have jeopardized the city’s urban growth boundary (UGB) ordinance re-enacted last year.

The commission was set to vote on a development proposal which would see a new luxury home built on a vacant lot in the rural Black Point part of town—a tract that is beyond city limits and the urban growth boundary. The planning commission was encouraged to adopt the resolution to extend the UGB to encompass the proposed building site by Novato community development director Robert Brown and city attorney Jeff Walter.  

The lot is currently undevelopable given that there are no sewer or septic systems in place—and not enough space to accommodate them. The owner, Victoria Granucci, proposed to build a sewer system in the StoneTree Golf Course, which is inside the UGB line. That proposal was first made in 2005, before Granucci bought the property, and consisted of an “easement in the golf course property which allowed the installation of leach fields to service a septic system built on the property,” according to city documents related to the years-in-the-making proposal.

“Lacking access to the adjacent golf course property for a leach field, the Granucci parcel is not developable,” the city averred as it downplayed any potential for sprawl to break out because of the Granucci build-out: “Granting of the UGB extension would allow only one single-family dwelling (and possible accessory dwelling unit) since, under county zoning regulations, the parcel cannot be further subdivided and is not zoned for or of sufficient size to allow multiple dwellings.”

The Greenbelt Alliance fears a development exemption for this parcel could lead to “more houses and developments outside the UGB, leading to more sprawl and congestion,” according to Teri Shore, North Bay regional director at the alliance.

The contentious proposal hit a wall Monday night as the planning commission voted to push off a decision until Oct. 15—despite a 142-page staff report in support of the proposal.

“Greenbelt Alliance has many questions and concerns,” says Shore, “including that this exemption to the UGB could set a precedent, as it would be the first time that the clear line between the city of Novato and the Black Point community would be blurred. Given that the UGB boundary is voter-approved, a significant change like this should at least go to the voters.”

In 2017, voters in Novato overwhelmingly agreed to extend the original 1997 UGB ordinance for another 20 years—73 percent of Novato citizens signaled ongoing support for the boundary, which is designed to prevent sprawl.—Tom Gogola

 

Upfront: Beer Forecast

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Upfront: Beer Forecast

Even though the weather was clear and sunny last Saturday at the Petaluma River Craft Beer Festival, things seemed hazy.

The event had 22 breweries pouring their beers and several brought hazy-style IPAs. Hazy IPAs, also known as New England IPAs, are straw- to deep gold-colored. The IPAs have a low to moderate level of bitterness and are known for the flavor and fruitiness imparted by the hops. IPAs can be made hazy by adding hops after brewing or by adding just enough yeast before a beer appears murky. Some hazy IPAs may even appear opaque like orange juice.

Volunteer Ken Weaver handles the event’s social media and public relations. He mentioned the popularity of hazy IPAs. This is the first year that the Great American Beer Festival competition, taking place this week in Denver, will have a hazy IPA category.

“Hazy IPA saturation is pretty high throughout the country right now,” Weaver says. “In the Bay Area, we’re also seeing the inevitable pendulum swing back to IPAs that are drier.”

But brut IPAs, he says, are on the rise. These beers use an enzyme to ferment through residual sugars and ideally give them a bit of a Champagne-like feel. “They’re sort of a reaction against all of the hazy stuff that’s been taking over Instagram and everything else.”

Sebastopol’s Crooked Goat Brewing, Marin Brewing Company in Larkspur and a few others served bruts at the Petaluma River Craft Festival. Plenty of hazy IPAs were on tap as well, including beers from Bear Republic Brewing Company in Sebastopol, Cotati’s Grav South Brew Co. and Laughing Monk Brewing in San Francisco.

Friends Mike Riboli and James Mentch of Petaluma attended the beer fest and they lean toward IPAs. “If somebody is putting out a hazy, I’m going to try it and see how they’re doing it,” Riboli says. “This winter, I’ll probably be drinking stouts, but for now [hazy IPAs are] kind of my go-to thing. I’m hopping on the bandwagon.”

Aaron Foster from Bear Republic acknowledges the haze craze. “The hazy thing just kind of came in,” he says. “It’s still to be seen where it’s going to go, but we like to stick to our traditional West Coast roots, even with our new hazy [Thru the Haze].”

“Sours have always been popular with us,” says Riboli’s co-worker Dustin Wallace. “People have always loved our sours, and people are going to love our new Sonoma Tart.”

Crooked Goat Brewing’s assistant brewer Rich Jeter has noticed the popularity of bruts. “I feel like I’ve seen almost every brewery around us is doing that,” he says. “We actually have two bruts on tap right now. I don’t think it’s going to be as big as the hazies, but everyone is just putting it out there and trying their hand with it.”

The beer fest is run by volunteers, as well as the Petaluma Valley Rotary Club and the Petaluma Chamber of Commerce. The two groups split the proceeds for use in community projects, such as constructing paths along the Petaluma River and putting in a park at nearby C Street. This year’s totals aren’t in yet, but last year organizers raised $40,000.

The event will be back next year, and Weaver can’t wait.

“I am so pumped to be at this festival,” he says. “This is my favorite fest of the year.”

 

 

Heroes & Zeroes

Hero The president of the Novato Chess Club, Christopher Major, teaches an after-school chess program for 50 kindergartners through eighth-graders to share life lessons and help improve academic performance. As a retired special-education teacher and founder of two nonprofits for children, including the Novato Chess Club, Major recognizes the need to keep students productive after school, rather than sending latch...
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Harvest of Redemption

Jail can be hell. But not many people know that jail cells can also be a place of rebirth. Yarrow Kubrin lives in San Francisco with his wife and children. A longtime marijuana grower and dealer, he knows the two extremes that exist behind bars and inside thick walls. Kubrin will not harvest a crop this year, though he has...
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Market on Wheels

To bridge the gap between farmers markets and those who don’t live near one, the Agricultural Institute of Marin (AIM) launched the Rollin’ Root this past month. A mobile farmers market of sorts, Rollin’ Root is a truck packed with fresh produce and dairy products from local farmers and artisans, traveling through various Marin locations on Thursdays. Focusing on low-income...
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Real World Astrology

  ARIES (March 21–April 19)  Do you have any skills at living on the edge between the light and the dark? Are you curious about what the world might look like and how people would treat you if you refused to divide everything up into that which helps you and that which doesn’t help you? Can you imagine how it...
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Advice Goddess

Q: My girlfriend, who’d been traveling, lost track of what day it was and was surprised when I showed up on the usual night I come cook her dinner. She was happy to see me but said she needed to finish this one “urgent work email.” How nice. Dinner would get cold while she took forever. Instead of getting...
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This Week in the Pacific Sun

Octoberfest isn't until, well, October but that's not stopping us from putting out our annual beer issue. This week we've got a report on beer from Russia, the rise of brut IPAs and the fusion of beer and bike culture at Split Rock Tap & Wheel in Fairfax. If beer isn't your thing, we've got the latest in music,...
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Movie Reviews

Alpha (1:37) A young Ice Age–era hunter befriends and tames a lone wolf, kicking off several millennia of boy-and-his-dog stories. An American in Paris: The Musical (2:20) Direct from London’s West End it’s the Tony-winning stage production of the beloved Gene Kelly movie musical; the Gershwin boys provide the tunes. Assassination Nation (1:35) Twenty-first-century horror flick in which bloody Salem witch...
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Movie Times

  Alpha (PG-13) Northgate: Fri-Wed 12:10, 2:35, 5:15, 7:55, 10:20 An American in Paris: The Musical (NR) Lark: Sat-Sun 1 Assassination Nation (R) Northgate: Fri-Wed 11:30, 2:10, 4:45, 7:20 Bad Reputation (NR) Rafael: Wed 7 BlacKkKlansman (R) Fairfax: Fri-Sat 12:40, 3:40, 7, 9:50; Sun-Wed 12:40, 3:40, 7 Regency: Fri-Sat 12:30, 3:40, 6:50, 9:50; Sun, Wed 6:50; Mon-Tue 12:30, 3:40, 6:50; Thu 12:30, 3:40 Sequoia:...
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News Briefs: Novato Delays UGB Vote

The Novato planning commission on Monday delayed a decision supported by city leaders that critics say would have jeopardized the city’s urban growth boundary (UGB) ordinance re-enacted last year. The commission was set to vote on a development proposal which would see a new luxury home built on a vacant lot in the rural Black Point part of town—a tract...
Read more

Upfront: Beer Forecast

Even though the weather was clear and sunny last Saturday at the Petaluma River Craft Beer Festival, things seemed hazy. The event had 22 breweries pouring their beers and several brought hazy-style IPAs. Hazy IPAs, also known as New England IPAs, are straw- to deep gold-colored. The IPAs have a low to moderate level of bitterness and are known for...
Read more
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