School bond money; a Broadway crescendo; and a nonprofit Oscar
The Sonoma Valley School District board of trustees voted unanimously to approve a plan to spend the first chunk, $30 million, of the $120 million in Measure M bond revenue. The meeting room was packed to overflow; interest was high, fueled in part by Gary and Marcia Nelson’s open letter to the community questioning the proposal to spend $30 million on athletic fields, a line item they felt wasn’t fully explained in the campaign literature. “The Measure E campaign was overwhelmingly focused on improving existing (buildings) to meet safety and academic standards,” they argued. Board President Dan Gustafson acknowledged that the large turnout reflected response to the Nelson letter, mentioning the 85 emails about the issue received by trustees in recent days. Several speakers reiterated the concern that the bond campaign did not focus on athletic facilities. But a number of high school coaches, former and current Dragon athletes and their families spoke of the importance of athletics and the dire need for new facilities. As District chief Chuck Young outlined, the first-phase plan will include a football and soccer all-weather field and spectator stands at the high school, and an all-weather track at Altimira… Gustafson justified the investment in athletic facilities because they were “a can we’ve kicked down the road too long.” He also noted that the plans for a new athletic center had been reduced by 50 percent and all signage costs halved for a $250,000 savings, dropping the total cost to $27 million. He promised that the community may now look forward to deciding how to spend the remaining $93 million.
The early word is that Teen Services Sonoma has been honored with a 2017 Jefferson Award by the County. It’s a very big deal, part of a national recognition program that brings attention to contributions in public service and unsung heroes around the country. The nonprofit was nominated for demonstrating “Excellence in Community Leadership and Civic Engagement.” Congratulations to Cristin Felso and the entire hard-working team!
Transcendence Theatre Company just completed another phenomenal summer season of Broadway Under The Stars concerts, entertaining — if not completely blowing away — over 17,000 attendees at Jack London State Park. “We shared so many magical moments with the Sonoma community this summer and cannot thank enough all of the patrons, sponsors, donors, volunteers, partners, and supporters that made Broadway Under The Stars possible,” says company co-founder Stephan Stubbins, the co-executive director and, where does he find the time, a featured performer. Of the summer’s many, many highlights, he names the show-stopping “My Shot” from “Hamilton,” and “Cell Block Tango” done dynamically by women in the first show, then powerfully by men in the season finale. Another: “You Will Be Found” from the show “Dear Evan Hanson” crafted in memory of Transcendence community members who have been lost this year.” Next up: the Holiday Spectacular, at Luther Burbank Center for the Arts, December 1-3.
Jody Purdom is onboard at the Sonoma International Film Festival as its Director of Sponsorship & Development. Purdom worked for a certain media company here in Sonoma, but is of course best remembered, at least to us, as a writer and editor of The Sonoma Valley Sun. So you’ll know when she calls, the event is March 21-25, 2018. Good luck, Jody!
— Val Robichaud
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