Round figures

Find a need, and fill it –- but leave a hole in the middle. Congratulations and a golden schmear for Stuart Teitelbaum, who has operated Homegrown Bagels for 35 years. The milestone was noted by the city council, which proclaimed September 1 as “Homegrown Bagel Day.” Teitelbaum was raised in New York, “where bagels are a way of life,” but once in Sonoma, there were none to be found. So he opened the county’s first bagelry, which is now the oldest continuously operating bakery in Sonoma. “My dad made more friends than money,” he said. “I’m continuing that tradition.” Part of the success: Angela Wilson, for 30 years the store manager and “bagel goddess,” and master baker Tony Pena, who in over 30 years has never missed a day of work… Teitelbaum told the council he’ll be back in 15 years for another proclamation. Meanwhile he’ll continue to enjoy “a city that cares about itself and the quality of life.”

Speaking of rounds… When Congressman Mike Thompson met with gun owners and law enforcement types last week to chat about his work on the House Gun Violence Prevention Task Force, he gathered the group at… a shooting range, for a sport shoot. Not completely similar to holding an AA meeting at the Blue Moon Saloon, but an incongruous setting nonetheless.

Rhea Phillips, of Glen Ellen and the University of Illinois at Chicago, is a Fulbright Scholar, which is a very big deal. Early next year, she will instruct Brazilian university students studying to become English teachers.

Mayor Ken Brown has canceled his ‘office hours’ at the Tuesday night Farmers’ Market. He’ll be there, but as a civilian, so let him squeeze his vegetables in peace. If you want to talk officially, drop by City Hall on Tuesdays from 1 to 2 p.m.

Still lots of grumbling about how Sonoma Clean Power is being forced on the citizenry “without a choice.” Yes, like all the choices that used to be available: PG&E, candles and darkness. You can switch back to those, too, at any time.