Making Plans

Very interesting (“A Man, a Van, a Plan” Features, March 11). I have often thought of adopting a life on the go in some kind of RV or converted bus or vehicle, but haven’t had the nerve to do it.

Having to do so because I’d be obligated to is altogether another story and reality I haven’t had to face yet (knock on wood).

Alejandro Moreno S.
Via bohemian.com

More Questions

Very good point (“A Man, a Van, a Plan” Features, March 11); the lack of input from the homeless, including on the policies that affect them!

Some questions you might ask, please:

How are they coping with the virus lockdowns? Do they manage to vote in elections or contact elected officials? What is the best & worst thing about this way of life?

Good work, this project—looking forward to reading more about it.

Leslie Ronald
Via bohemian.com

Public Relations

“Warts and all”??? (“Goldilocks” Film, March 18). It’s a slick PR move by the Clintonistas to rehab the image of what’s become a lost soul.

I supported her twice, but the warts (trashing other women, being a doormat for Bill, Walmart Board, influence peddling) aren’t really covered in this unneeded opus.

Peter J Logan
San Francisco

Digging Dirt

A difficult part of this quarantine stems from an essential loss of American identity: If you’re not working, and you can’t buy things, who are you?

“Your job is your life, here in the U.S.,” says Kilian Colin in season two’s first episode of Dirty Money (Netflix), “The Wagon Wheel.” He was one of the original whistleblowers in the Wells Fargo scandal concerning the “cross-selling” of phony accounts that led to then-CEO John Stumpf receiving a $17.5 million fine.

Colin, an Iraqi immigrant turned bank teller, soon found out the real motto was “eight makes great”—tellers needed to wrangle eight new accounts every day.

Fellow whistleblower Yesenia Guitron, of Napa County’s St. Helena branch, calculated that a bank with several tellers in a town of 5,000 would run out of citizens quickly. She was sent to recruit grape-pickers from the local labor exchange, her manager allegedly telling her to “unbutton your shirt and shake your skirt.”

Alex Gibney, the Oscar-winning director of Taxi to the Dark Side, co-produces the six-part series.

The story is deftly told. It explains a complicated grift with pointed visuals, a clip of “The Wells Fargo Wagon” number from The Music Man (1962), wrenching personal stories and an interview with The Wall Street Journal’s Emily Glazier, who wrote 250 articles about the bank. And Krauss gives Woody Guthrie the last word.

Another Dirty Money episode, “Slumlord Billionaire,” by Daniel DiMauro and Morgan Pehme, is about Jared Kushner, who came from a family of New Jersey developers and is now an adviser on numerous U.S. policies.

Jared’s Damien-like smoothness suited the equally kneecap-faced Ivanka Trump, and his fortunes have increased since their marriage. Still, his 666 5th Avenue building required investments from Russians and Persian Gulf potentates, creating a situation that looks awfully like influence-peddling.

Jared’s illegal business practices as a landlord are illustrated in stories about his New York City buildings, where he pressures rent-controlled tenants with horrible neglect and ’round-the-clock construction crews.

For some reason, Kushner refused interviews, and his underlings excuse what they did as “Fiduciary duty.” That’s today’s version of, “We were only following orders.”

‘Dirty Money’ is streaming on Netflix.

Napa County Gathers Gear for Healthcare Providers

While most North Bay residents are sheltering in place, doctors, nurses and healthcare staff across the region are on the front lines of fighting the spread of coronavirus, and they are having to do it without the aid of basic supplies like surgical masks and disinfecting wipes.

In Napa County, a new coalition of volunteer organizations is gearing up to offer a helping hand to those on the front lines with a one-day Community Donations Drive on Saturday, March 28, of much needed Personal Protective Equipment (PPE) items and goodie-boxes for local hospitals, clinics and public healthcare providers.

Spearheaded by Napa-based Operation: With Love From Home, which sends care packages to US soldiers serving overseas, as well as local organizations such as Napa Valley CanDo, Teens Connect Napa and Alaina’s Voice, the March 28 donation drive is popping up at several locations in Napa County between 9am and 6pm, and the public is encouraged to drop off donations such as masks, sanitizers and other items.

This call to action is also directed at local businesses and organizations including paint stores, hardware stores, dentist/orthodontic offices, and non-healthcare businesses that may have the sought-after supplies.

In addition to medical gear, the donations drive is asking for the public’s help in making caregiver packages with items like granola and protein energy bars, beef jerky, peanut butter cups, cans of caffeine-free beverages and handwritten thank you cards addressed to “Dear Caregiver.”

Find the full list of items and drop-off locations below:

Items needed are (ranked in order of importance):

Facemask N95, any size
Eye protection goggles
Eye protection safety glasses
Disposable latex gloves all sizes: x-small, small, medium, large, x-large
Non-latex disposable gloves all size: x-small, small, medium, large, x-large
Disinfectant wipes
Thermometers with covers
Hand sanitizer
Facemask, Shield & mask combo
Paper Gowns
Eye protection shield
Surgical Masks, Adults
Surgical Masks, Child

Locations for drop off are:

American Canyon Food Pantry, 4225 Broadway Ave., American Canyon.
CrossWalk Community Church, 2590 First St., Napa.
Yountville Community Center, 6516 Washington St., Yountville.
Grace Church,1314 Spring St., St. Helena.
Calistoga Elementary School, 1327 Berry St., Calistoga.

For more information visit the event page on Facebook.

Two Santa Rosa Police Officers Tested Positive for COVID-19

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Two Santa Rosa police officers have tested positive for COVID-19 according to a video released by Chief of Police, Rainer Navarro.

The Santa Rosa Police Department (SRPD) increased safety precautions and implemented employee education at the onset of the coronavirus in the community a few weeks ago. Despite these efforts, not only have the two officers come down with the illness caused by the novel coronavirus, a third officer sought medical treatment this week after exhibiting flu-like symptoms. That officer is currently awaiting test results to see if they are also positive for COVID-19.

The Santa Rosa Police Department (SRPD), along with other essential City Service Departments, continue to follow enhanced protocols to protect staff and the community from getting sick from the coronavirus.

“We continue to take every precaution we can both in the field with personal protective equipment and around the department with only essential staff reporting for duty,” Chief of Police Rainer Navarro says in the video. He adds that when the shelter in place order went into effect on March 18, “We closed public access to our police station lobby and expanded the use of our online reporting system.”

News of the COVID-19-positive officers should not dissuade Santa Rosa residents from reaching out to the police when necessary says Navarro.

“The police department will continue to answer calls for service and meet the needs of our community,” says Navarro.

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State Support Deployed to Assist Homeless Residents

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Less than a week after Assemblymember Marc Levine (D- Marin County) joined a bipartisan coalition making emergency funding available to address the COVID-19 pandemic in California, the first grants to local governments have been made to assist people experiencing homelessness.

The North Bay’s Sonoma County will receive over $1.1 million and the County of Marin will receive over $386,000 to address the immediate needs of homeless individuals at risk of COVID-19 and prevent the spread of the virus in this highly vulnerable community. Funding levels were based on homeless population data from the 2019 Point in Time counts of homeless individuals in counties across the state. Funds can be used to provide immediate shelter for individuals, increase sanitation or provide other relevant support services during this emergency.

In total, Governor Gavin Newsom has been authorized to spend over a billion dollars statewide to lead state efforts to prevent the spread and treat those determined to be COVID positive. Specifically, the Legislature last week appropriated up to one billion dollars to support Governor Gavin Newsom’s emergency declaration to address the COVID-19 pandemic and gave the Governor significant resources to both increase the capacity of our healthcare system while supporting preventative efforts to reduce transmission of the coronavirus across the state. These funds will also be used to begin a conversation about the long recovery period the state will likely experience after this crisis has abated – particularly ways to support small business, non-profits and other individuals that experience economic hardship as a result of the COVID-19 pandemic.

Additionally, Levine supported legislation to waive the current Average Daily Attendance requirement in K-12 public schools for the remainder of this academic school year. With the governor’s Stay at Home declaration impacting over 6 million students in California’s K-12 public schools, this legislation will ensure that all school districts receive their full enrollment funding for the year and makes an additional $100 million available to school districts to purchase personal protective equipment or for supplies and labor costs necessary to conduct additional deep cleaning of school sites.

Earlier this year, Levine introduced AB 2646 to permanently eliminate ADA and fund K-12 public education based upon enrollment, not attendance. That legislation will be considered later this year.

“California is taking bold action to address and prevent the spread of COVID-19,” said Assemblymember Levine. “Governor Newsom’s leadership is helping the state work around the clock to address immediate and long term needs arising from this pandemic. We will make every resource of the State of California available to curb the COVID-19 pandemic and its impact on our society and economy. When we protect the homeless, we protect everyone – including ourselves.”

“As a father, I know what a stressful time this is for families in the North Bay and across California,” continued Levine. “This is a public health crisis that impacts us all and I am here to support you and your family during this difficult time. There will be a number of difficult days in the weeks ahead, but we must shelter in place in order to save lives. By listening to public health officials and by banding together, we will get through this.”

Sonoma County Pride Cancels 2020 Festival & Parade

Sonoma County has been ordered to shelter-in-place until at least April 7, meaning all concerts, festival, events, conferences and other social gatherings have been canceled. Though, event organizers throughout the North Bay are looking ahead and canceling events through May, and now into June, as the coronavirus continues to spread in the Bay Area.

Sonoma County Pride is the latest group to change it’s summer plans, officially announcing the cancellation of the 2020 Pride Festival & Parade that was scheduled for June 6.

The decision came after a meeting on March 20, in which the Sonoma County Pride Board of Directors stated they would “focus our efforts on helping those in need as a result of this terrible pandemic.”

Other summer events, such as the Pride Youth Picnic in July, are still on the books, though details are subject to change. Read the full statement below:

We have all been watching the rapidly deteriorating situation caused by the recent global outbreak of the COVID-19 virus. We have been monitoring local, state and federal announcements and guidelines encouraging hand washing and social distancing.

No one knows how long this emergency will last, but it is certain there will be significant disruption and pain inflicted on many in our community. We also know the public, our sponsors, our vendors, and our parade participants depend upon us to produce a safe and healthy Pride for the whole community, including those in people in vulnerable risk categories.

We are saddened by the fact that our community is forced to endure yet another emergency and realize that many of our Sonoma County friends and neighbors are facing unemployment and many of our local businesses are temporarily forced to close and may never reopen.

With so many headwinds and unknowable factors before us, we have determined that the best for Sonoma County Pride and for our community is to align with public health policy and official health agency guidelines and take a proactive, responsible stance in support of those efforts.

The Sonoma County Pride Board of Directors met on March 20, 2020, and made the difficult decision to cancel the 2020 Pride Festival & Parade scheduled for June 6, 2020, and focus our efforts on helping those in need as a result of this terrible pandemic.

Despite our disappointment, LGBTQI+ Pride is not just a weekend party, it’s a state of being that never ends. Even now we are planning a new community event with hope for the future. Assuming the situation allows for events by early summer, join us as we all celebrate and renew our spirits together:

· July 26: Pride Youth Picnic and Pet Parade at Rincon Valley Community Park – Great food and drink, games, entertainment, pet contests, and adoption

· October 10: SCP Wine Festival in Old Courthouse Square – Food, music, silent auction and 100+ wineries pouring some of the best wines produced in Sonoma County

· October 11: National Coming Out Day Party & LGBTQI+ History Celebration in Old Courthouse Square AIDS Quilt display, SC LGBTQI history exhibit, music, food, entertainment, community speakers and more. 

Surviving the ‘Shelter-in-Place’ Weekend

Sonoma, Marin and Napa County are all under ‘Shelter-in-Place’ orders due to the Coronavirus pandemic, keeping most of us at home for the first weekend in Spring. Here’s a couple ways to spend the next two days from the comfort of your couch.

Access the Library from Home
All branches of the Sonoma County Library and Marin County Library are closed and programming at Napa County libraries is suspended due to health concerns.

If you can’t go to the library, you can bring the library to you. A quick trip to sonomalibrary.org, marinlibrary.org or countyofnapa.org will guide you to a collection of digital materials and online services that includes eBooks and audiobooks, digital magazines, streaming movies and TV, and online learning services that are all free with your library card.

Don’t have a library card yet? Apply for a card online and start using digital services immediately.

Streaming Movies Online
Now is not the best time to be out and about, though locals can see some of their favorite Sonoma and Napa County spots in several movies, some of which are available to watch online. For wine connoisseurs, two movies in particular are perfect to put on while pouring a glass of Cabernet.

On Netflix, the 2019 comedy Wine Country (pictured), starring “SNL” alums Amy Poehler, Maya Rudolph, Rachel Dratch and others, shows off Calistoga in style. On Amazon Prime, the 2008 feel-good true story of Napa Valley’s entry into the world of winemaking, Bottle Shock, features locations in both counties.

For fans of science fiction, action and horror, Marin is on the scene in two particularly great flicks. First, sign up for a free trial of horror movie streaming service Shudder to see John Carpenter’s The Fog, filmed entirely on location in Point Reyes and Inverness. Over on Amazon Prime, the surprisingly heartfelt 2018 Transformers spin-off Bumblebee rolls through locations such as the Marin Headlands.

Podcasts
If podcasts are still foreign to you, now is the perfect time to start listening to one of the millions of free online shows, and three North Bay podcasts demonstrate the breadth of content within the medium.

The Wine Country Women Podcast is an inspiring conversation show in which Michelle Mandro talks to ladies like winemaker Heidi Barrett and Charter Oak Winery proprietor Layla Fanucci.

Web series The Cult Show celebrates classic horror and sci-fi films with filmmaker guests and loads of fun at thecultshow.com.

Award-winning podcast Ear Hustle tells stories from inside San Quentin to reveal the nuanced life inside and the journey for those who must reintegrate to society once they are released.

Clean Your Room
There is much to learn about the novel coronavirus that causes COVID-19, but based on what is currently known, transmission occurs via respiratory droplets and coronavirus may remain on surfaces for hours or even days.

That means it’s time to not only wash your hands with soap, it’s time to start cleaning surfaces you may touch around the house. Don’t forget to use disinfectants on tables, doorknobs, light switches, handles, remote controls, desks, toilets, faucets, sinks and anything that may come in contact with your hands.

For instructions on cleaning products and further preventative measures, visit cdc.gov/coronavirus.

Failed Goldilocks

It’s fair to describe Hillary as a warts-and-all portrait. The four-part documentary shuttles between the 2016 presidential campaign and Hillary Rodham Clinton’s life. The title montage of photos shows her aging from child to grandmother, set to a rave-up by the Interrupters.

Hillary as punk rock? It’s a hell of a story, how the daughter of a maid who left home at 14 became one of the world’s most powerful women and endured a 2016 presidential campaign that seemed impossible to lose. The consequences of that loss are perhaps obvious to a nation now housebound and hoarding toilet paper.

Hillary’s life exemplifies the Goldilocks test: you’re always either too this or too that. Every episode begins with her being dolled up for the camera—she once calculated she spent 26 days in the cosmetician’s chair during her campaign.

Her life proves you can graduate from Yale law school and still be asked by an Arkansas judge to do a twirl in the courtroom. You can be secretary of state for four years and still have a male passerby tell you to smile more. During her failed 2008 run, men heckled her with signs that read, “Iron My Shirt.”

Facebook seethed over a passage where Hillary described Bernie Sanders as a man nobody likes: “Honestly, Bernie drove me crazy.” Perhaps director Nanette Burnstein was a little too won-over by HRC to acknowledge the public good Sanders did by holding Hillary’s centrist feet to the fire. At the end, the failed candidate lists the should’ve-beens, the reason for her 2016 loss: “Maybe I should have talked more about the economy.” You think?

But again, who knows the key to her defeat. Was it anything more complicated than the factors that dogged her forever, the problem of her being too sweet or too shrill, as well as emails and Benghazi skullduggery?

Of the covertly-gathered clips here, maybe the best is Obama warning her by phone that she had to succeed in 2016 or we’d have “a fascist in the White House.” This is intensely watchable work. It’s an invaluable study not just of a pioneering political career, but of the mistakes that were made and may be made again.

‘Hillary’ is streaming on Hulu now.

Interesting Times

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May you live in interesting times” is an English expression which purports to be a translation of a traditional Chinese curse. While seemingly a blessing, the expression is normally used ironically; life is better in “uninteresting times” of peace and tranquility than in “interesting” ones, which are usually times of trouble.

The Chinese word for “crisis” is frequently invoked in Western motivational speaking as being composed of two Chinese characters signifying “danger” and “opportunity” respectively.

It is a foregone conclusion that we in America live in interesting times, with events that contain both danger and opportunity, and have been for much of the 20th century, and into the first two decades of the new millennium.

Wars, fires, floods and now various plagues, worldwide, are seemingly the order of the day—nothing new here. To want situations to be other than they are—to make sense of what appears to be the “reality”—is wishful thinking. Yet, we are all human beings, with the need (perhaps fantasy) that we can actually control our environment, no less our thoughts and behaviors. It is wired into us, it is our survival instinct. If it has not yet become apparent throughout history that all civilizations have been the “victims” of these occurrences, then perhaps now a lesson can be learned.

But to focus only on the crises these events fostered, rather than to see the opportunities that developed as a result of them, would be a mistake. Simply stated: no wars, no peace treaties; no floods, no dikes; no illnesses, no cures; no poverty, no social and economic reforms; etc., etc. …

We will get through this. But it will take its toll, no doubt, in peoples’ lives in countless ways. There will be blame enough to be shared by all looking back, and presently. The question is not whether we will live in interesting times in the future—we will! The answer will be that we see this event and future events not as crises, but as opportunities!

E.G. Singer lives in Santa Rosa. We welcome your contribution.
To have your topical essay of 350 words considered for publication,
write [email protected].

Coastal’ Error

I was reading the Feb. 12 issue with the article “Going Coastal” and I wanted to bring to your attention some errors in your reporting.

The article references and erroneously credits Mark Malicki as the chef of the menu on Monday night, when in fact the chef on Mondays is Holly Carter, and has been for many years. She posted the same menu that you referenced on her Instagram page that very day.

Mark, while a really great guy and a wonderful chef, is not the head chef as a typical restaurant would have. He creates the nightly dinners on weekends only. The Casino hires out different chefs on a contractual basis; it is not technically a restaurant.

Thank you for highlighting our wonderful and vibrant local culinary scene, but please check your sources and give credit where credit is due!

Follow @theHollyAndTaliShow on Instagram for Monday–Thursday dinners.

Santa Rosa

To Your Health

School closings, sports event cancellations, food hoarding … . We live in a new, coronavirus-induced world. Yet some personal health facts remain unchanged.

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) offer good advice for preventing community spread and personal infection: apply social distancing, sanitize surfaces, wash your hands, don’t touch your face. But, there’s more …

Does anyone wonder why uncounted numbers of infected people develop no symptoms and only 20 percent of symptomatic people require hospitalization? It’s because they have an effective immune system able to fight off the virus. But the CDC does not talk about that, perhaps for fear of offending powerful animal food industries.

Fortunately, good advice on boosting our immune system is readily available on the internet from trusted sources like WebMD and Healthline. And the advice is always the same.

Increase consumption of fruits and vegetables, including citrus fruits and leafy greens. Refrain from dairy, other fatty animal products and sugar-laden foods. Maintain daily exercise of 30–60 minutes. Minimize your stress level and get adequate sleep.

Did I mention that this advice works great for all other nasty bugs as well?

Santa Rosa

Sports Talk

I read with amusement Mr. (Barry) Bonds’ lament about not getting into the Hall of Fame.

I grew up in the City and saw Barry Bonds’ father Bobby play. Bobby Bonds had class and never cheated in baseball. Barry has a long way to go before he approaches the status of his father. Keep him out of the Hall.

Santa Rosa

Write to us at [email protected].

Making Plans

Very interesting (“A Man, a Van, a Plan” Features, March 11). I have often thought of adopting a life on the go in some kind of RV or converted bus or vehicle, but haven’t had the nerve to do it. Having to do so because I’d be obligated to is altogether another story and reality I haven’t had to...

Digging Dirt

A difficult part of this quarantine stems from an essential loss of American identity: If you’re not working, and you can’t buy things, who are you? “Your job is your life, here in the U.S.,” says Kilian Colin in season two’s first episode of Dirty Money (Netflix), “The Wagon Wheel.” He was one of the original whistleblowers in the Wells...

Napa County Gathers Gear for Healthcare Providers

Donation drive set for Saturday, March 28

Two Santa Rosa Police Officers Tested Positive for COVID-19

Two Santa Rosa police officers have tested positive for COVID-19 according to a video released by Chief of Police, Rainer Navarro. The Santa Rosa Police Department (SRPD) increased safety precautions and implemented employee education at the onset of the coronavirus in the community a few weeks ago. Despite these efforts, not only have the two officers come down with the...

State Support Deployed to Assist Homeless Residents

Less than a week after Assemblymember Marc Levine (D- Marin County) joined a bipartisan coalition making emergency funding available to address the COVID-19 pandemic in California, the first grants to local governments have been made to assist people experiencing homelessness. The North Bay’s Sonoma County will receive over $1.1 million and the County of Marin will receive over $386,000...

Sonoma County Pride Cancels 2020 Festival & Parade

June celebration is latest to cancel in wake of coronavirus fears.

Surviving the ‘Shelter-in-Place’ Weekend

Locally-made podcasts, movies and library services are available online.

Failed Goldilocks

It's fair to describe Hillary as a warts-and-all portrait. The four-part documentary shuttles between the 2016 presidential campaign and Hillary Rodham Clinton's life. The title montage of photos shows her aging from child to grandmother, set to a rave-up by the Interrupters. Hillary as punk rock? It's a hell of a story, how the daughter...

Interesting Times

May you live in interesting times" is an English expression which purports to be a translation of a traditional Chinese curse. While seemingly a blessing, the expression is normally used ironically; life is better in "uninteresting times" of peace and tranquility than in "interesting" ones, which are usually times of trouble. The Chinese word for "crisis" is frequently invoked in...

Coastal’ Error

I was reading the Feb. 12 issue with the article "Going Coastal" and I wanted to bring to your attention some errors in your reporting. The article references and erroneously credits Mark Malicki as the chef of the menu on Monday night, when in fact the chef on Mondays is Holly Carter, and has been for many years. She posted...
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