Sep/Oct 2021
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Letter from the Editor
I’m writing this on a scorching mid-August afternoon, the peak of naked ladies season here in Sonoma County. Those lovely leafless bubblegum-colored flowers bobbing along the roadsides always remind me of the bittersweet transition from the freedom of summer vacation to the routines of going back to school. I love a fresh notebook and sharpened…
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Meet a Local Artist
Tru Lyric Born and raised in Santa Rosa, Mickale Jones (aka Tru Lyric) has come a long way from making music with friends while attending Analy High School. He found refuge in writing lyrics while battling his depression and anxiety, and is grateful to have grown as a musician while helping others who face similar…
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Día de los Muertos Rises Again
Petaluma SUNDAY, OCTOBER 3, 12:00 PM – 4:00 PM Opening Day Celebration and Health Fair St. Vincent’s Church Plaza 35 Liberty St, Petaluma SATURDAY, OCTOBER 9, 6:00 PM – 8:00 PM Artist Reception Petaluma Arts Center 230 Lakeville St, Petaluma Art and artists, community altar, Ballet Folklorico Paquillotzin, food vendors THURSDAY, OCTOBER 14, 6:30 PM…
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On the Silver Seas with Shane Lucas of Fishetarian
After a blustery hike on the bluffs of the fickle Northern California coast, as is our tradition, we claim the picnic table closest to the small cove next to Fishetarian Fish Market, legs nearly lapped by the gentle water. My kids dip sweet potato fries into their clam chowder-filled bread bowl while I peer through…
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Adventures in Drinking: Wine Country Rambler
James Knight on the possibilities and pitfalls of vineyard-hopping. Back in 2019, I planned an ambitious hiking trip that I’ll call “The Great Wine Country Trek that Sort of Was, and Mostly Wasn’t.” Like many a fiasco, it began as a really great idea. I was approaching a major milestone (some call it “the new…
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Potent Profit
Farmers reap the benefits of cannabis cultivation. Of the many cannabis stereotypes that Aaron Keefer fights against, a predilection for cookie dough, Funyuns and Nutella-spooned-straight-from-the-jar may be the most stubborn. With prohibition over, Keefer and his partners are betting their business on a new appreciation for marijuana’s farm-to-table potential. If they succeed, it could help…
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Blue Anon
The Velvet Bandit Strikes Again! Just two days after her 42nd birthday early in the spring of 2020, The Velvet Bandit pasted her first piece of street art, along the Santa Rosa Creek Trail: a toilet paper roll with the words “Let’s Roll,” a nod both to the hawkish era of George Bush, and, of…
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Snared
Drummer Dan Ford Plays at a New Craft. Most people in Sonoma County know Dan Ford as the lanky, quiet, Dave Grohl-resembling drummer with a sly Sagittarius grin who backs multiple musicians like Emily Jane White, John Courage, Frankie Boots, The Ironsides, and others. His employers know him as a skilled and dedicated woodworker who…
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Meet a Local Farmer
Miranda Forni, Forni Farm & Nursery I grew up in the garden. My Dad started his farm, Forni Brown Gardens in Calistoga, with his partners just after I was born. My career as a farmer has happened kind of organically (pun intended!). After working as an elementary school teacher for a couple of years and…
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Locavore – Eating Local | Cooking Local
Guest Columnist Erin Axelrod Prepares a Backyard Feast from the Sun. Hold the Fossil Fuels, Please If you are reading this from the traditional lands of the Coast Miwok and Pomo (so-called Sonoma County), chances are high that the sun is SHINING. Since we live in a region ranked by NASA and CDC as in…