From the compost heap
The 1st Supervisor District race, to represent Sonoma Valley, is getting toxic. The Sierra Club says candidate John Sawyer is using the organization’s name in his campaigning without authorization, and has demanded he cease using the Sierra Club moniker immediately. “This is nothing less than an attempt to mislead the voters,” reads a statement from the Club, which has “enthusiastically” endorsed Susan Gorin. Joining the fray, Gorin said, “Sawyer can say anything to make himself look ‘green’, but he can’t hide his lack of an environmental record.”
Nothing like the slinging of a little mud (pesticide-free, one hopes) to liven up a campaign. And, apparently, it’s sustainable… Valerie Brown is stepping out of the job but will likely have a big influence on the race. Sawyer, who has Brown’s endorsement, says ‘Supervisor Brown…. is exactly the kind of Supervisor I will be.’ Gorin holds Brown’s record in considerably less regard. She says Sawyer “would replicate the worst of Brown’s tenure: an allegiance to moneyed interests, a disdain for public input and a preoccupation with outside lobbying contracts.” … Neither candidate excites Gina Cuclis, who finished third in the June primary. “ I don’t believe either candidate is more prepared than the other to represent Sonoma Valley,” she said, “One would have to be much more knowledgeable than the other to get my endorsement.” For Cuclis, the race will go to the candidate who does the better job of convincing Sonoma Valley residents they won’t lose representation at the County level.
Spencer Rank is an ambitious guy. He’s a graduate student at Dell’Arte International School of Physical Theatre (in Humboldt County), which is kind of like studying culinary arts in France or getting coding lessons from Bill Gates. To raise money for more schooling, and to have some fun with his actor and musician friends, Rank wrote and will present and appear in the live production of “The Malevolent Mischief of Admiral Squeesh,” Monday night at the Sebastiani. Tickets are $12 the door and, as with all college students, additional donations are welcomed. Rank calls it “an opportunity to support an aspiring artist and help to squish, squash, and squelch the dire straights of student loan purgatory.”
On Tuesday (8/28), catch the band Ten Foot Tone in a free outdoor show at the Grinstead Auditorium on the Plaza. The 5:30 p.m. gig adds to the Farmers’ Market fun and is the last outdoor show of the season.
Construction continues at the old Sonoma Rental location across the street from Maxwell Village. Palm trees and a corner tower bring to the minds of many the emerging likeness of a Trader Joe’s. Alas, wishful thinking. After multiple phone calls to TJ’s corporate, a woman with a fancy job title – one certainly longer than her attention span –said Sonoma was a no-go. “If a store was coming in there, I’d know about it. And I don’t know about it.”
