Pete Kronowitt Gets Political

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San Francisco–based musician Pete Kronowitt combines playful folk melodies with serious political messages in his new album, Do Something Now.

The music is inspired by the folk songs of the late ’60s and lyrically touches on timely topics, though Kronowitt doesn’t simply talk the talk; he takes action as the founder of Face the Music Collective, which mixes music and fundraising for progressive political candidates throughout the country.

Kronowitt—a longtime professional in the tech industry—originally pursued his music as a purely personal endeavor.

“I was just playing guitar and writing songs, I didn’t have a sense that I could sound like those folks on the radio,” he says.

When Kronowitt decided to record his first album some 25 years ago, he worked with producer John Alagia (Dave Matthews, John Mayer). That experience gave Kronowitt the confidence to do more with his music, and he produced several more albums in the years since.

“I continued to write and record while I was working in tech,” he says. “I interpret life through writing songs, whether it’s something eternal or something personal. I wasn’t writing for other people, I wasn’t writing to sell music.”

Kronowitt moved to San Francisco in 2012 and soon after, he left his job in tech to focus on songwriting, recording an album in Nashville and touring a bit. Then, Donald Trump got elected in 2016.

“I had been writing political songs because of the environment we were in,” Kronowitt says. “When Trump got elected, my wife and I decided we were going to dedicate more of our lives to grassroots activism.”

Earlier this year, Kronowitt formed Face The Music Collective to help foster civic engagement through music and art. Before the Covid-19 pandemic ended social gatherings, Kronowitt was taking Face The Music on the road and touring places including Virginia to fundraise for progressive political candidates.

“It was heartening and fun and all the things you would want in a music tour,” Kronowitt says. “We were playing for people who cared about the cause that we were dedicating ourselves toward, and we got new people to get engaged.”

When the pandemic hit, Kronowitt and Face The Music Collective began organizing and performing online shows for progressive candidates that still featured local guest performers and artists in those markets.

“In each of these shows, there is definitively hope,” Kronowitt says. “The enthusiasm to make a difference right now is visceral.”

For his own new record, Do Something Now, Kronowitt worked with engineer Spencer Hartling at Tiny Telephone Studios in San Francisco and employed several of his closest musician friends—including bassist John David Coppola, drummer Darian Gray, guitarist Justin Kohlberg, steel-guitarist Tim Marcus and vocalist Veronica Maund—to fill out his studio band.

“I was really moved by the musicians who played on the album,” Kronowitt says. “It was a small group of people who were phenomenal, it was a joy to record the album.”

While Kronowitt is not planning any large album-release party, he and Face The Music Collective are staying busy on the performance front.

“We have maybe 10 more shows in the queue before the election,” Kronowitt says. “I wanted to encourage people at this moment. It’s the action that is meaningful.”

“Do Something Now” is available at petekronowitt.bandcamp.com, and Face the Music Collective concerts can be found at facebook.com/FacetheMusicCollective.

Open Mic: The Wrong Dam Way

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Climate change is real, and now. In California, every year this century was hotter than last century’s average. Overall precipitation is trending down, including the reservoir-busting 2012–2016 drought. As history goes, that drought was short—tree rings and lake-bottom stumps show droughts here can last decades.

To put it bluntly, a decade-plus drought would bring catastrophe. With rain rates like 2012–2016, the Golden State’s reservoirs would provide for us for about eight years. California’s mountain snowpack historically provides a third of our summer water (when agricultural demand is highest), but times are changing and this century’s April 1 snowpack is 41 percent below last century’s average. The pitiful 2012–2016 snowpack? A whopping 81 percent below normal, including one year 99 percent below. Aquifers provide the last third of our supplies, but muddled water rights policies and overuse are depleting the Central Valley.

An irony of climate change is that hot air holds more moisture, but not all precipitation is equal. Increasingly common atmospheric rivers inundate and then drain to the Pacific, reducing time for aquifers to recharge and causing mayhem for low-lying communities.

The trend is … not great. How do we balance this?

I propose three solutions, all of which take public willpower: build reservoirs, recharge groundwater and re-calibrate water rights.

For $130 billion, one year’s budget, we could double our reservoir capacity with medium-sized hydroelectric dams. Strategically placed statewide to mitigate flooding, these would supplement dry years and provide emergency power when needed. Every autumn, reservoirs release vast quantities of water downstream preparing for worst-case rain—instead, let’s pipe it to depleted regions and pump that water underground to recharge aquifers.

Most significantly, fresh water is a precious, finite resource and needs to be treated as such. Farms use four times as much water as California’s homes but only pay 10 cents per 1,000 gallons; since we provide half the country’s fruits, vegetables and nuts, we are exporting water. A rapid transition to market rate on water would force agriculture to economize and adapt like people and industries have.

The next mega-drought is coming. Let’s do the dam thing and get ready.

Iain Burnett lives with his wife and daughter in Forestville.

Culture Crush: Five Ways to Stay Busy Virtually This Weekend

Half way through October and virtual events in the North Bay show no sign of slowing down as social gatherings remain perilous in the face of a pandemic. Events boasting music, film, theater and other delights are happening online this weekend, and here’s a round up of what’s worth looking forward to.

Stay Out
The annual OUTwatch Film Festival–dubbed Wine Country’s LGBTQI Film Festival–features empowering movies that showcase LGBTQI-related themes and figures. This year’s OUTwatch moves online for a virtual version of the event, and the festival’s organizers have named this year’s theme as “Looking Back; Moving Forward.” The virtual festival will stream four enlightening, empowering and entertaining documentaries that honor those who fought for LGBTQI rights and who still struggle to keep those civil rights. OUTwatch is live online beginning on Friday, Oct. 16. $12 per screening. OUTwatchfilmfest.org.

Go Wild
The Community Child Care Council of Sonoma County (4Cs) marks 48 years of community service in 2020, and the nonprofit has had to pioneer new ways to provide resources for families and care providers during this year’s pandemic. Appropriately, 4Cs is adopting an adventurous theme for its upcoming Wild Wild West Virtual Gala, and the online silent auction that is open now includes spa-day packages, delivered cocktails, handmade jewelry and more. Bid now and bid often, then dust off the cowboy boots and don those spurs to virtually attend the gala event on Friday, Oct. 16, at 6pm. Free registration. Sonoma4cs.org.

For the Shore
In an uncertain and stress-filled year, Point Reyes Books continues to offer insightful and hopeful words for West Marin with virtual author events that feature celebrated writers and new literary releases. This week, award-winning author Terry Tempest Williams joins the bookstore via the internet to talk about her new book, Erosion: Essays of Undoing. The book is described as a call to action, with Williams contrasting the environmental erosion around us with the weakening of social and political landscapes. The online event, benefitting the Point Reyes National Seashore Association, happens on Friday, Oct. 16, at 7pm. Registration required, admission by donation. Ptreyesbooks.com.

Mystery on Board
The Santa Rosa Junior College Theatre Arts department originally planned to stage “Murder on the Orient Express” this past spring to celebrate the 100th anniversary of Agatha Christie’s first book publication. When they learned they would still be working online this fall due to Covid-19, they moved their production of the classic detective Hercule Poirot mystery to an online format. The young cast, under the direction of SRJC instructor-educator Laura Downing-Lee, takes on the beloved play during four live-streamed performances on Fridays and Saturdays, Oct. 16–17 and 23–24, at 7:30pm. Sliding-scale tickets available. Theatrearts.santarosa.edu.

Rock ‘n’ Roll Crash Course
Guitarist and songwriter Steve Conte has a diverse musical career spanning four decades. His first gig was a tour with jazz-rock band Blood, Sweat & Tears, and his rock-and-roll resume includes fronting the band Company of Wolves and playing in the New York Dolls. Beyond rock-and-roll, Conte has worked on soundtracks to popular anime television shows and movies, and he’s lent his talent to composers such as Danny Elfman and legends such as Chuck Berry. Conte appears online for a songwriting workshop and Q&A via Novato’s Strawberry Hill Music on Saturday, Oct. 17, at noon. $150. Space is limited, advanced registration required. Strawberryhillmusic.com.

Sonoma County Virtual Jewish Film Festival Opens Online and On Demand

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The Jewish Community Center, Sonoma County shares a world of cinema with the North Bay each fall with the annual Sonoma County Jewish Film Festival.

Like most things in 2020, this year’s Sonoma County Jewish Film Festival is now an online affair, with several films available to watch on-demand through Nov. 16.

Despite the new format, the JCC’s commitment to presenting a diverse and culturally rich array of movies remains strong, with six feature-length films and an exciting short-film program that virtual attendees can stream on a user-friendly digital platform.

“It’s a labor of love, and I’ve learned more and more what that phrase means,” says Festival Director Irène Hodes. “It sounds silly, but working has sometimes been a godsend while sheltering-in-place.”

Last March, Hodes and the JCC experienced their first virtual undertaking when the springtime Israeli Film Festival was moved online as the Covid-19 pandemic hit the North Bay.

“I was determined to make it happen,” Hodes says of that first virtual fest. “We had a mini test run of what a virtual festival could be, and people loved it.”

After that initial success, Hodes and her film committee knew they could make the fall Jewish Film Festival accessible to the online community. Open now, the Sonoma County Jewish Film Festival lets users purchase individual films or a season pass to watch the entire program.

Embracing the new medium, the festival hosts four live filmmaker talks where the community can interact with the creative minds behind the works. There is also an Audience Award for best feature and best short film that users can vote on.

Cinematic highlights of the festival includes the documentary They Ain’t Ready For Me, about Tamar Manasseh, an African American rabbinical student and mother who is leading the fight against violence on Chicago’s South Side through peaceful sit-ins.

“It’s an astonishing documentary,” Hodes says. “People need to know about (Manasseh) and people should see it.”

Hodes is also excited for audiences to see the documentary The Passengers, about two members of the Ethiopian Jewish community who travel to America to appeal for entrance into Israel. Director Ryan S. Porush will appear online for a filmmaker talk on Oct. 27.

The festival is also offering several new fictional films, such as the Israeli LGBTQ drama Sublet, starring Tony Award–winning actor John Benjamin Hickey, and the comedy Mossad, described as the Israeli version of the Naked Gun movies.

Hodes also encourages the virtual audience to screen the festival’s short-film program featuring four international selections that touch on topics such as performing comedy in the West Bank and confronting anti-Semitism in high school.

As with past years, Hodes notes that the festival offers something cinematically for everyone in the North Bay, not just the Jewish community.

“It’s for Sonoma County, it’s for the North Bay, it’s for everything that we’ve been dealing with,” Hodes says. “These are incredible movies. It’s an honor to be able to share them, and everybody can see them at home.”

Sonoma County Virtual Jewish Film Festival is live now through Nov. 16. Season passes, $80–$100; single-film passes, $14–$24. www.jccsoco.org.

Petaluma Valley Hospital Staff Unions Caution Voters about Proposed Sale

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This election, Petalumans will vote on Measure CC to decide whether the 80-bed Petaluma Valley Hospital (PVH) will be sold to Providence St. Joseph Health subsidiary NorCal HealthConnect. The public hospital has been privately operated by St. Joseph Health or its affiliates since 1997. Current owner Petaluma Health Care District (PHCD) and those who endorse the sale say it will ensure the hospital remains open for at least 20 more years, but hundreds of hospital employees across two unions aren’t satisfied with the terms.

A “NO” vote would prohibit PHCD from proceeding with the sale, however, the hospital will continue to operate for two and a half more years, during which time another buyer or operator could be sought. While NorCal HealthConnect claims the hospital has “struggled to remain viable for the future,” PVH operates at a profit to its operator. Union organizers at the hospital believe that the prospective buyer, who has been involved as an operator for years, has effectively and intentionally made PVH look undesirable to others to drive down the hospital’s sale value.

Petaluma Staff Nurse Partnership (SNP), a union of about 150 bedside nurses who work at PVH currently, doesn’t endorse Measure CC. It invites voters to visit its website, where a large image of a thumb indicates how it wants the community to vote. As of Oct. 8, it’s a red thumb-down. SNP writes, “We would love to see that thumb move in the right direction, but only Providence/St. Joseph Health can make that happen. If you don’t see it go green and upright, please DO NOT vote yes.”


SNP President Jim Goerlich says, “No one is going to know if the deal Providence is offering will keep them safe more than the bedside caregivers. We are the ones who see how profit motives and predetermined budgets affect our ability to care for our patients and will be the ones most responsible in advocating for their safety going forward.”

Both SNP and the hospital’s chapter of National Union of Healthcare Workers (NUHW) detail myriad ways they feel the hospital’s operators—all St. Joseph Health by one name or another—have failed to show continuing investment in PVH. This includes union fights for competitive wages, infrastructural needs and more. In August 2019, parts of the hospital had to close temporarily when mold was discovered.

One of the biggest concerns in the sales agreement is the future of the Family Birth Center at PVH. While the terms of sale commit to operating other branches of the hospital for at least 20 years, NorCal HeathConnect only commits to five years of operation of the OB/GYN services.

Steve Buck, director of communications for Northern California Region at Providence St. Joseph Health told The Bohemian, “The commitment is for a minimum of five years, but does not preclude operation of the Family Birthing Center for a longer term.”

However, Goerlich, who has been a nurse at PVH for more than 20 years, says that such a short commitment would be a death knell for the unit.

“[OB/GYN] Nurses can see the writing on the wall,” Goerlich says. “They’re saying, ‘I might as well go and start my tenure at another place so that I can get my seniority as I move toward retirement.’”

Buck says, “[NorCal HealthConnect] understands the community desire and need for these services and a thorough review process will occur as to the long-term determination of the Family Birthing Center.”

But hospital employees say that the prospective buyer should commit to operating the Family Birth Center for at least 20 years if they want voters to approve the sale.

NUHW created a petition to save the hospital’s Family Birth Center. Their website reads, “Bringing babies into the world isn’t a big money-maker for hospital chains like Providence, but it shouldn’t have to be. It’s an essential service of any community hospital—and one that Providence can easily afford to provide. Providence has $12 billion in cash reserves and made a $20 million profit operating Petaluma Valley in Fiscal Year 2019.”

Goerlich reiterates how impactful it is for a small community hospital to have OB/GYN services. “Most of our nurses in OB live in Petaluma … their kids go to school with kids that they helped birth. People connect to this little hospital throughout their lives; it’s a nice, tight community.”

In July, Newsweek named PVH one of the Best Maternity Care Hospitals in 2020. The study, a partnership with The Leapfrog Group, featured 231 hospitals throughout the country.

Goerlich says, “There is a possibility of losing something very, very special if it all becomes corporatized.”

Both SNP and NUHW confirm that Providence St. Joseph Health refuses to meet with both unions together, despite frequent requests.

“Right now is their opportunity to put their best foot forward, to show the Petaluma community what they’re getting,” Goerlich says. “[NorCal HealthConnect] should be selling themselves! Not making empty promises—they need to put their commitments in writing.”

While NorCal HeathConnect’s website says that PHCD’s board unanimously supports the sale, NUHW Organizer Tyler Kissinger says that the Healthcare District—who relies on rent that the hospital operator pays to them—was put in a difficult position because Providence St. Joseph has acted like a bully.

“Members of the Health Care District have worked as hard as they could to make the deal as good as possible,” Kissinger says. “They have put forward tentative terms of sale and we live in a democracy, so now it’s on us and members of the community to say either, ‘We like this,’ or ‘Here’s what we think could be better.’’’

Providence St. Joseph’s handling of Covid-19 has also been a major concern at PVH. Goerlich said the two unions pushed to meet with the hospital operator together at the beginning of shelter-in-place orders to anticipate needs. Nearly seven months later, they say that the operator has refused to meet with both unions at the same time and has failed to protect the safety of their employees and patients.

Buck says, “… the current operator has regularly met with NUHW leaders to discuss its ongoing Covid-19 response. That response includes: personal protective equipment for caregivers, hospital-paid testing for caregivers with potential workplace exposures, multiple emergency pay programs, 100 percent in-network coverage of Covid-19 conditions by the Providence St. Joseph Health group health plans, and additional childcare resources.”

But Kissinger and Goerlich both attest that many of these claims are not accurate. As of Oct. 8, NUHW has not received a response to a collective bargaining agreement they sent the operator in late August concerning PVH’s treatment of Covid-19 cases. Goerlich says that he has witnessed chaotic nights with PPE shortages and compromised negative-pressure rooms.

Kissinger says, “I think it speaks to them as a corporation [that they won’t meet with our unions together]. It’s shocking anytime, given that healthcare relies on teamwork, but it’s particularly shocking that they’ve chosen to lean into keeping us separate during a pandemic.”

On Saturday, Oct. 10, SNP and NUHW organized a rally at Walnut Park to push NorCal HealthConnect to increase their commitment to keeping the Family Birth Center open. Speakers included healthcare workers as well as candidates for Petaluma City Council Brian Barnacle, Dennis Pocekay, and Lizzie Wallack.

North Bay Youth Are Ready to Succeed

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Life has not been easy for Generation Z, the title given to the young people born between 1996 and 2015. They’ve seen fire and rain, for sure, but they’ve also known war, social unrest and the increasingly obvious threat that climate change is about to unleash on them.

Still, according to studies carried out by groups such as the Pew Research Center, Gen Z is already coming out strong. They are described as pragmatic yet creative; obsessed with social media but also socially active. They are educated, they are progressive and they are fearless—as highlighted by these three Gen Z members in the North Bay.

The Athlete

Fourteen-year-old Minna Stess doesn’t remember a time when she was not skateboarding. The Petaluma native took after her older brother Finley, and she hopped on a board before she was in preschool. When she began winning skateboarding competitions in Kindergarten, things got interesting.

“It’s my entire life,” Stess says of skateboarding. “I’ve always been skating and it’s just so fun. I love meeting new people, exploring new things and learning new things.”

“It’s become such a big part of our family,” her father, Andrew Stess, says. “If we wanted to be together as a family we had to go to the skatepark. Minna, even when she was little dragging a board around, she would just smile on the board. That was always a big thing, seeing her smile. And it’s still a big thing.”

Stess’s passion for skating is matched by her prodigious talent, which is turning heads across the skating world. Her list of competitive accomplishments includes becoming the first female to compete in all three finals (street, mini ramp and bowl) during the King of Groms Championship hosted by Quicksilver and taking first place at the Northern California Amateur Skateboard League street series at age eight; and taking first place during the Mystic Skate Cup Ladies Bowl in Prague in 2018.

“I’m kind of used to it now,” Stess says of competing on big stages. “I still feel like I have to do my best and prove myself, even though I’ve proved myself over the years. I still feel like I need to do something to make myself feel accomplished in skating.”

Most recently, Stess made her X Games debut in 2019, and she took third place in the 2019 USA Skateboarding National Championships Women’s Park Finals. Now a bonafide, and sponsored, star in the world of skateboarding, Stress is also a member of USA Skateboarding. Next on her list of goals is the Olympics, and she was in the running to represent Team USA in skateboarding’s Olympic debut in Tokyo this summer, before Covid-19 canceled the games.

“I’m an Olympic hopeful,” Stess says. “But right now everything’s backed up (due to the pandemic). They only take top three in your gender and discipline. I’m in fourth right now, so I need to make it to third, but I can’t do that when there’s no contest going on.”

While forced to wait for the return of public competitions, Stess is busy starting her freshman year of high school remotely as she attends a special school in the Petaluma school district that caters to young people with unusual obligations. She also stays busy in the family’s custom-made backyard skate park, where she and her brother practice daily.

“Right now, I’m practicing on going faster,” Stess says. “I actually rolled my ankle a few weeks ago, so I’m just trying to come back from that.”

Injuries come with the territory in skateboarding, especially on the ramps and bowls that Stess maneuvers over while she grinds rails and gets air; and she suffered her biggest injury when she broke and dislocated her elbow in January of 2019. Stess required two surgeries during her rehabilitation.

“I was super impressed with how she went from two surgeries on that elbow, to coming back and doing all those Olympic qualifiers by the end of that season,” her mother, Moniz Franco, says.

“As a parent, you’re always thankful when you leave the skate park and nobody’s hurt,” Andrew says. “But she just came back so strong from that (injury). She won’t brag about it herself, but to see her go through the injury, find herself and come back even stronger; Moniz and I were proud to watch that.”

Since achieving success even after a major injury, Stess is now more focused than ever on the Olympics and skating as a career. “Just don’t let any injuries stop you from pursuing what you do,” she says. “They set you back a little bit, but you have to keep going.”

“This is just what we do,” Moniz says. “It sounds insane to other people and all that, but skateboarding has a long history and now it’s becoming more open to the rest of the world, and the opportunities that allow those athletes is really important. I’m happy we have the chance to be a part of it.”

“Moniz and I are more proud of her and Finley as people, as kids, than we are of anything athletic they do,” Andrew says. “But for them to achieve these dreams and be humble and cool; it’s fun to watch.”

The Activist

Fifteen-year-old Sarah Goody is on strike. Specifically, the Corte Madera youth strikes every Friday throughout the Bay Area to bring awareness to climate change and to inspire other young people to take up the cause of confronting and overcoming the challenge that climate change is already presenting.

More than just a weekly outing, Goody has turned her activism into an internationally-recognized movement as the founder of Climate Now, a youth-led, Marin-based nonprofit that has educated over 500 local students about the urgency of the climate crisis. Climate Now also provides high school environment groups with resources and connections and helps local student organizations fight for composting and recycling programs on their campuses.

 Goody’s introduction to climate change came about in a sixth-grade science class.

“It was the first time I felt connected to a social-justice issue and could see its direct effects on my life,” Goody says.

From there, she began joining youth-led organizations such as Greening Forward, which took her to a conference in New York City last year. That is where Goody met fellow youth activist Alexandria Villaseñor, who at the time was on her 18th week of striking outside the United Nations as part of the Fridays for Future movement, in which students participate in demonstrations to demand action from political leaders and the fossil-fuel industry to prevent climate change and promote transition to renewable energy.

“I went out and joined her and was so inspired by the message she was able to convey,” Goody says. “I decided to bring that back to the Bay Area; and began striking outside San Francisco City Hall and the San Francisco Ferry Building.”

Those early strikes in the city, with Goody standing with a sign reading “School Strike 4 Climate,” attracted a lot of curiosity.

“It was definitely intimidating at first,” she says. “I remember the first day I striked was outside of San Francisco City Hall, I had no idea what I was doing. My dad drove me in because he worked about two blocks away. I sat along the steps, I had police officers come over to me many times asking me what I was doing, it took me a few weeks and months to feel comfortable and grounded in what I was doing.”

Currently Goody is more than 60 weeks into her Friday strikes, and she now regularly strikes in places like Mill Valley to make her cause more accessible to other local youth. In doing so, Goody recognized a need for more youth-led climate initiatives in Marin.

“I saw that there was a way to bring the climate movement to young people across Marin County, and I could do that through Climate Now,” she says.

Goody also recently started an organization called Broadway Speaks Up, where performers from more than 50 Broadway productions share messages about climate action with young people, and Goody regularly speaks at public events and contributes articles to publications including Teen Vogue and Forbes on the topic of climate activism.

Goody’s work with Climate Now began with monthly meetings for young people in Larkspur and grew into a school-based system that regularly visited classrooms to talk about climate change and explain how students can take action.  The organization also works with a coalition of environmental clubs from around Marin County to create a community of climate activists. During Covid-19, Climate Now has transitioned to online alternatives to in-person action, such as virtual classroom presentations.

“As young people, we’re not taught how to fundraise, do outreach, how to learn more about issues we are passionate about,” Goody says. “We are told that we can’t really make a difference because we don’t have the power to vote or have jobs. What I try to show young people through my work is that we can create that change and it’s up to us to stand up for our climate and take action before it’s too late; before we see the existential threats that climate change is posing. We are already seeing them now with the Northern California wildfires.”

Climate Now is being recognized locally and globally. In January, Goody was awarded the Marin Youth Volunteer of the Year Award. More recently this year, she was recognized with The Diana Award, established in memory of Diana, Princess of Wales, for her “social action and humanitarian efforts,” and she was honored by Action for Nature (AFN) as a 2020 International Young Eco-Hero.

“As an activist, sometimes you get into this robotic process of doing things, all people can get that way,” Goody says. “So getting this recognition has been a way to reinstate what I’m doing and to reground myself in this work and the values I believe in.”

The Artist

Twenty-two-year-old Stav Mcallister belies his youth with his exceptional musicianship and insightful songwriting. The Sebastopol-based artist, who performs under the singular pseudonym Stav, has been on stage for half of his life and has been writing music since high school.

“Music has always been that thing I haven’t been able to not do,” Stav says. “There was always music playing at home or in the car. I always had music and always had that vision that my best friends could all play instruments and we’d all have a band one day.”

This year, even as Covid-19 shut down live music, Stav has remained busy. He just started his first year (remotely) at Boston’s Berklee College of Music, where he is adding skills like music theory to his musical repertoire.

“I’d like to get more tools under my belt,” he says. “I’d like to understand music as deeply as I can, and I want to be able to do things like produce my own stuff. It’s like learning a new language and getting better at a new language so you can better communicate and collaborate with other artists.”

This month, Stav is also busy musically with a live-streaming performance on Saturday, Oct. 10, at 3pm through stavmcallister.com. For that online show, Stav will perform songs off his forthcoming EP, Borders, which is being released via North Bay–based label Love Conquered Records on Oct. 23.

On “Borders,” Stav presents his own freewheeling blend of folk-pop melodies, delivered with a sonorous voice. Throughout the record, his lyrical empathy shines through; Stav writes storyteller songs about topics like friendship, social division and addiction.

“I’ve always been an empathetic person,” he says. “I have a hard timeZ—when someone else is feeling something, I have to feel it too, sometimes to a fault. And, yeah I’ve had some stuff happen in my life that is ahead of the game maybe for a typical 22-year-old, but I also have a lot of work to do on myself, too. I hope that never stops.”

One of the things that Stav has struggled with in the last six months is the role of the artist in the face of global events like a pandemic. “Every time I promote my music, I feel like I’m taking up too much space,” he says. “I am passionate about human rights and equality, and I want to highlight other people’s voices, people who are not as heard in society. That’s a hard line to walk, but I realize that I still do have to pursue my passion. I feel like if I don’t do this, if I don’t do music, then my ripple effect in the world just becomes more negative than positive. So, if anything, me doing this is making me feel that I’ve made some good in the world.”

Letters: Point Reyes Shame

The updated “plan” for Pt. Reyes is a cynical way to give the 24 ranchers (who were paid for their land over 20 years ago) more latitude to graze even more livestock, to put slaughterhouses on federal land, and to kill native tule elk.

Don’t fall for the National Park Service’s calling these ranches our “cultural heritage,” any more than killing off native people and native species can be called “cultural heritage.” The cattle destroy coastal scrub habitat and pollute the limited water. Veal crates with babies taken from their mothers and piles of old tires are prime features of the dairies.

Please contact Woody Smeck ([email protected]), our governor, state senators and Jared Huffman (who FAVORS this “plan”) and demand that this disgusting expansion of business rights be scrapped now. We made the oyster people leave. Now make the ranchers do the same.

Nancy Hair

Sebastopol

MALT Shame

So shameful (“MALTED Millions,” News, Sept. 30). I donated for years thinking my money was keeping open space for public use, not providing loan money for board members. I won’t donate further until changes are made.

Patminorcpa

Via Bohemian.com

Yes, shame on MALT for straying so far from the original intention(“MALTED Millions,” News, Sept. 30); saving these beautiful lands from developers—not enriching themselves! Especially disappointing to read they refused an easement to support an organic farming project.

Looking forward to reading about “the federal government paying millions of dollars to dairy ranchers who agreed to leave after 25 years, but as of yet are still there.” Thank you for the investigative reporting.

Leslie2

Via Bohemian.com

Sonoma Community Center Makes Fall Events Accessible to All

Sonoma Community Center was one of the North Bay’s early leaders in offering quality virtual programming when the Covid-19 pandemic halted in-person events and gatherings in the North Bay this past March.

For the last six months, art enthusiasts from around the world have Zoomed in on the center’s digital platform, and the Fall series currently underway covers an array of subjects including ceramics, culinary, fiber, painting, drawing, printmaking, mixology, music and more. These classes and programs are designed to serve everyone from youth to seasoned artists; and the center is also hosting its Dia de los Muertos programming virtually through the month of October.

“This series is friendly to all budgets and is not to be missed,” Creative Programs Manager Eric Jackson says in a statement.

To that point, the Sonoma Community Center is offering the grassroots-funded Equity in Arts Scholarships to provide workshop space at a reduced cost to anyone who self-identifies as an underrepresented or marginalized individual.

To get the discount, self-identified marginalized individuals simply register for the events on Sonoma Community Center’s website using the code EQARTS20. The classes and programs will then be available at a minimal fee that covers the cost of the ticketing software and licensing to run the class.

In conjunction with the Equity in Arts Scholarships, the Sonoma Community Center is offering fall youth classes at a sliding scale for anyone under 18 with funding by a grant from the Sonoma Plein Aire Foundation.

“We are committed to making change that bolsters our educational programming and accessibility,” Kala Stein, Director of Sonoma Ceramics, says in a statement. “Through virtual programming and our scholarships, we are able to reach a broader audience than ever before”

That virtual audience is also invited to celebrate Dia de los Muertos at the Center through the month of October with a series of online art classes, altar tours and more that are also available at a pay-what-you-can sliding scale.

Acclaimed artist Diego Marcial Rios, whose work has been featured in International museum and public collections, helps open the center’s celebrations with his online exhibit, “Fine Art of DIEGOMARCIALRIOS.” The online exhibit features intricate and colorful masks and woodcuts that are inspired by Latin history including Aztec and Mayan symbols, and the show will be available online during the month of October with the option to reserve a time to visit the center’s Gallery 212 in person.

Rios will also be an Instructor for two of the center’s four upcoming bilingual cultural art classes being offered on a “pay-what-you-can” sliding scale, including a Mexican Sugar Skull Art Class on Tuesday, Oct. 13, and a paper-mache Sacred Heart and Mask Making Class on Monday, Oct. 19.

Mexican-born artist Ernesto Hernandez-Olmos leads the other two virtual art classes, opening the series with a paper-cutting Papel Picado Class on Saturday Oct. 10, and concluding the series with an Altar Making Class on Saturday, Oct. 24.

“I find pride in the fact these classes are truly affordable to everyone,” Jackson says in a statement. “What excites me the most is that both of this year’s Instructors, Diego Rios and Ernesto Hernandez-Olmos, not only teach specific Day of the Dead crafts but also integrate the historical and cultural background behind each project.”

In following another tradition, the center will erect its 12-foot Dia de los Muertos Public Altar, designed by local sculptor Jim Callahan, at the end of October. The public altar will be decorated in lights and will feature portraits of recently-passed Sonoma Valley loved ones and lost “heroes.” Anyone who would like to contribute to the altar’s portraits can do so by submitting a scanned photograph to the center by Wednesday, Oct. 14. The person’s birth and death dates as well as a brief description of their life should accompany the mailed or emailed photos.

To view the Sonoma Community Center’s current online art exhibit and register for a virtual class with the code EQARTS20, visit sonomacommunitycenter.org or call 707.938.4626 x1, Mon–Fri, 10am to 4pm.

Pete Kronowitt Rallies on Record and Online

San Francisco–based musician Pete Kronowitt combines playful folk melodies with serious political messages in his new album, Do Something Now.

The music is inspired by the folk songs of the late ’60s and ’70s, and the messages touch on timely topics, though Kronowitt doesn’t simply talk the talk; he is taking action as the founder of Face the Music Collective, which mixes music and fundraising for progressive political candidates throughout the country.

Before Kronowitt—a longtime professional in the tech industry—moved to San Francisco from the East Coast in 2012, his music was largely a personal endeavor.

“I was just playing guitar and writing songs, I didn’t have a sense that I could sound like those folks on the radio,” he says.

Once Kronowitt decided to record his first album some 25 years ago, he was introduced to producer John Alagia (Paul Simon, Dave Matthews, John Mayer) and suddenly Kronowitt’s hobby became more than that.

“I continued to write and record while I was working in tech,” he says. “It’s something that became part of me. I interpret life through writing songs, whether it’s something eternal or something personal. I wasn’t writing for other people, I wasn’t writing to sell music.”

Fast forward to 2016. Kronowitt had recently left his job in tech to focus on songwriting, recording an album in Nashville and touring a bit. Then, Donald Trump got elected.

“I had been writing political songs because of the environment we were in,” Kronowitt says. “When Trump got elected, my wife and I decided we were going to dedicate more of our lives to grassroots activism.”

In learning how grassroots activists organized and accomplished their goals, Kronowitt wondered how to combine his music and his newfound activist spirit. Earlier this year, Kronowitt formed Face The Music Collective to help foster civic engagement through music and art.

Before the Covid-19 pandemic ended social gatherings, Kronowitt was taking Face The Music on the road and touring places including Virginia to fundraise for progressive political candidates.

“It was heartening and fun and all the things you would want in a music tour,” Kronowitt says. “We were playing for people who cared about the cause that we were dedicating ourselves toward, and we got new people to get engaged.”

When the pandemic hit, Kronowitt and Face The Music Collective began organizing and performing online shows for progressive candidates that still featured local guest performers and artists in those markets. Recently, popular Wisconsin-based singer-songwriter Willy Porter headlined “Songs for Robyn Vining” to raise $7,000 for the re-election campaign for the Wisconsin State Assembly District 14 representative.

Other artists who have joined the collective include Nashville-based singer-songwriter Will Kimbrough, who says the collective, “is providing the tools and resources to inspire action, one event at a time.” Bay Area artists participating in the endeavor include Vicki Randle of Oakland alt-rock band Skip The Needle, indie-pop songwriter Dawn Oberg, Americana artist Jesse Brewster, and longtime songwriter and producer Scott Mickelson, among others.

“In each of these shows, there is definitively hope,” Kronowitt says. “The enthusiasm to make a difference right now is visceral.”

For his own new record, Do Something Now, Kronowitt worked with engineer Spencer Hartling at Tiny Telephone Studios in San Francisco and employed several of his closest musician friends—including bassist John David Coppola, drummer Darian Gray, guitarist Justin Kohlberg, steel-guitarist Tim Marcus and vocalist Veronica Maund—to fill out his studio band.

“I was really moved by the musicians who played on the album,” Kronowitt says. “It was a small group of people who were phenomenal, it was a joy to record the album.”

Many songs on the album take shots at the current political moment, with titles like “Are We Great Yet?” and “Truth Will Set Us Free.” Other tracks, such as “Roly Poly” and “Stay Safe,” touch on issues like climate change and the pandemic, though the album is not all gloom-and-doom. In fact, many songs take a light-hearted approach to the melody, and Kronowitt admits he gets lyrically “sarcastic and obnoxious in some songs on purpose.”

While Kronowitt is not planning any large album-release party, he and Face The Music Collective are staying busy on the performance front. This weekend, Kronowitt and award-winning bilingual singer-songwriter Nancy Sanchez will lend their support to Kathy Knecht’s campaign for the Arizona state House in Legislative District 21 with a virtual concert on Saturday, Oct. 3, at 7pm; Kronowitt will also perform alongside banjo-master Joe Newberry in a online fundraising concert for Jeanne Supin’s campaign for North Carolina State Senate, District 45 and Jenna Wadsworth’s campaign for Commissioner of Agriculture on Sunday, Oct. 4, at 4pm.

“We have maybe 10 more shows in the queue before the election,” Kronowitt says. “I wanted to encourage people at this moment. It’s the action that is meaningful.”

Listen to “Do Something Now” at petekronowitt.bandcamp.com, and get details on Face the Music Collective virtual concerts at facebook.com/FacetheMusicCollective.

Letters: On the Grange

In a recent article titled “Cannabis Growers Revive the Hessel Grange” (Rolling Papers; Sept. 23), it was erroneously mentioned that Community Alliance with Family Farmers (CAFF) “steers clear of anything that smells or smacks of cannabis and hemp.” Not true. While our organization does strive for a strong local food system, we promote any crop grown by family farms using practices rooted in healthy soils, ecological stewardship and equity. 

Diversity is what makes an agricultural community resilient. For the North Bay, that means working to ensure our farmland can sustain a myriad of food crops alongside more lucrative medicinal or recreational crops such as cannabis and wine grapes. Even better is when farmers can integrate holistically, rotating crops year-to-year, grazing sheep through vineyards, even subsidizing lower-profit carrots with higher-margin cannabis. Whether it’s dairy, hemp or wine, the question really ought to be how we grow, not just what we grow. 

Evan Wiig

Director of Membership & Communications

Community Alliance with Family Farmers

Tale of Two Centers

Read your article (“RH’s New Rooftop Restaurant,” Sept. 23), starting with “After months of construction at the North end of the Town Center of Corte Madera’s parking lot…” Only problem is you got the wrong shopping center! 

I drove twice around the Town Center of Corte Madera today, couldn’t find RH. Decided to check the internet and found RH is located in the Village at Corte Madera. The Town Center is on the west side of 101; the Village on the east side.

Have you been? Check them out. Two shopping centers with a somewhat different flavor. The Village caters to more upscale tastes, the Town Center more to practical needs.

Margaret Schlachter

Mill Valley

Pete Kronowitt Gets Political

San Francisco–based musician Pete Kronowitt combines playful folk melodies with serious political messages in his new album, Do Something Now. The music is inspired by the folk songs of the late ’60s and lyrically touches on timely topics, though Kronowitt doesn’t simply talk the talk; he takes action as the founder of Face the Music Collective, which mixes music and...

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Sonoma Community Center Makes Fall Events Accessible to All

Scholarships, sliding scales available for Dia de los Muertos art classes and more.

Pete Kronowitt Rallies on Record and Online

San Francisco singer-songwriter mixes music and politics with a new album and Face The Music Collective.

Letters: On the Grange

In a recent article titled “Cannabis Growers Revive the Hessel Grange” (Rolling Papers; Sept. 23), it was erroneously mentioned that Community Alliance with Family Farmers (CAFF) “steers clear of anything that smells or smacks of cannabis and hemp.” Not true. While our organization does strive for a strong local food system, we promote any crop grown...
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