Music for Tim; road repairs; Yamada’s plan; and more
Musician Tim Casey moved here from Nashville about a year ago to make a new life for himself. He picked up gigs in Napa and around Sonoma County, often with the Mark Larson Band. On January 5, he was involved in a horrific head-on crash on River Road in Sonoma County. The accident caused severe enough injuries that medical personnel, family and friends weren’t sure if he was going to make it. Somehow, shares friend and band mate Ed Dufault, Tim came through the first critical period (more than one month in the ICU at Stanford Hospital with numerous surgeries and procedures). Though he is out of ICE, months more in the hospital stay are expected, with physical therapy and recovery will undoubtedly go on for years. As a fundraiser for Tim, his old band – Larson on guitar, Default on drums and John Arntz, bass, with special guests dropping in – will play the Annex Wine Bar on Saturday, March 21. All proceeds from the band and tip jar will go to benefit Tim, as will as a percentage of Annex sales. Meanwhile, find the online campaign at http://timcaseysrecovery.mydagsite.com.
The board of supervisors has come up $22.4 million to fix 89 miles of bad road around the county. On the list for Sonoma Valley, in order or decrepitude: Aqua Caliente Road, from Highway 12 to Anrold (.49 miles); East Napa Street, from city limits to Eighth Street East (.33 miles); two portions of Warm Springs Road (3.1 miles total) and Watmaugh Road, from Arnold Drive to Highway 116 (.93 miles). May the orange flags fly high!
Former Assemblymember Mariko Yamada, recently termed out of her Fourth District seat, will run for the State Senate in 2016 to represent the Third District. That’s Lois Wolk’s seat, but she herself will be termed out come election time. Sonoma is in a corner of the district; the rest is comprised of Solano and Napa counties, and portions of Contra Costa, Sacramento, Sonoma, and Yolo counties. It covers a lot of the Delta, so will be a key vote as state water issues intensify. Yamada says she’s “an outspoken advocate for the protection of agriculture and water resources, and an insistent voice on the preservation of prime farmland” She is opposed to the Delta tunnels. As L.A. gets thirstier by the minute, whoever is elected will need their own supply of water to keep cool.
Britta Johnson is the newest member of the Sonoma Valley Unified School District board, picked to fill the Prestwood vacancy created when Helen Marsh retired. A sales and marketing rep, Johnson, volunteering locally, she created the Sonoma Valley High School IChoose Campaign, Prestwood Direct, and the Love Our Libraries committee. She co-chaired the Prestwood Jog-A-thon and led the upgrade of the SVHS, the Adele Harrison Middle School and Altimira Middle School websites.
ARTescape wonders, “Where Can Van Gogh?” The program has a donated truck van on its hands, which will be converted to a mobile art studio, but that boring white paint job has got to go. Do you have a great design idea? Proposals for a new paint job or ‘wrap’ will be accepted through May 18. Other than proportions of the design area (62” x 115”).
