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Legal brief, then pie

Posted on October 17, 2013 by Sonoma Valley Sun

Shareholders suing officers and board members of the failed Sonoma Valley Bank for driving $70 million in stock value into the ground will have to wait in line. The FDIC has filed its own lawsuit to maximize any recoveries, and it takes precedence. The feds have the juice to sue anybody who played a role in the failure of the institution, to include officers and directors, attorneys, accountants, appraisers, brokers, or others, and personal assets are definitely on the table.

Gary Angell’s Concord Grape Pie won the pie contest at the Harvest Festival at Sonoma Garden Park. He picked the grapes himself, just like he did as a kid back in New England. “My mother, who is now 101, made this pie,” he said. “She still lives in our childhood home outside Boston. That her pie had won the Sonoma contest broke her into delightful laughter.” Much credit also goes to “my well-practiced crust maker wife, Susan.” Look for the recipe in next week’s Sun, after which “perhaps many more Sonomans will be smacking satisfied lips and sporting purple tongues.”… By the way, pie contest judges do not take a bite and then spit into a cup, even if it is grape flavor. And as for that Bourbon Chocolate Pie, squeeze the booze out of one and bring me a glass.

In Glen Ellen, it was all about the Village Fair, where the parade is longer than the town. This year’s parade winners include Neil Shepard and the Swan for the Judge’s Choice Award, with Dunbar School the runner-up. Best Theme/Decorations: Lee Family Wagon; Dave Stollmeyer Tractor, honorable mention. Best Costume: Tasha Drengson & the Big Heads; Yeti Dancers, honorable mention. Best Spirit of Glen Ellen: Dunbar School Dolphins; Glen Ellen Fire Department, honorable mention. It was a fine, sunny, charming afternoon, as homey as a hand-sewn quilt, made possible by Leslie Vaughn and a batch of volunteers. The only people working harder were the bartenders at the Jack London Saloon.

A la Sante de Sheana, the party at Masonnave House to raise money for Sheana Davis’ medical bills, was a wonderful outing. The popular cheesemaker and business owner was joined by about 150 guests, including friends from New Orleans, New York and North Carolina. The bash raised about $15,000, but the bills keep stacking up. To spread the wealth, not unlike artisan cream cheese on a fresh baguette, visit Sheanadavisfund.com.




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