Don’t give cops the finger, Levine local, and more

As of last Friday, the Sonoma Police Department crackdown on distracted driving had resulted in 39 tickets for talking on a cell phone, and 13 for texting while at the wheel. The tickets will run from $161 to $251, but if you’re going to call your lawyer, please pull over first.

A staffer for Assemblymember Marc Levine took issue with the crack in this space last week about Levine’s scarcity of visits, in non-election years, to our humble little Valley. Turns out he was here six times in 2013. Meeting the SV Democrats, and mingling with Green Drinks Sonoma were good shows of public access; a committee meeting, dairy tour, SDC visit and pharmacy convention, not so much… Then again we haven’t seen candidate Erin Carlstrom shaking hands in front of Safeway, either. Then there’s Diana Conti, who, with the pugnacious flair particular to longshots, underdogs and dark horses, entered the race swinging. Unlike the other two she’s “not beholden to big agriculture, the Chamber of Commerce, or development interests in the district.” And so the gloves begin to slip off.

Creekside teacher and art provocateur Walt Williams is soon to unleash a cadre of student artists in a citywide creative onslaught. “There will be giant paintings, environmental messages, community support, community outrage, beautiful and powerful stuff,” he said, with Sonoma as the canvas. Each day a fresh instillation will appear around town paired with a student write-up about the art piece at Creeksidehs.org. “We will not write on walls, we will deface nothing; we are artists, not vandals.” The project is a final Performance Task for four-week cross-curricular unit about social responsibility.

Congratulations to Jennifer Yankovich, stepping down after 15+ years as director of the Sonoma Valley Chamber of Commerce. She was feted Wednesday night at a chamber party at Envolve Winery. Now, safely retired, she can finally start shopping out of town.

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