BohoBlog, North Bay Bohemian

What Can—and Can't—be Known by a Short Video Clip

Jenna Loceff — Thu, 23 May 2013 10:35:00 -0700

Anyone who goes near the internet or a television has at least heard of the Cotati police who kicked the door down at James and Jennifer Woods' house after being called on a domestic disturbance charge and tased Jennifer.

Crime reporter for the Press Democrat Julie Johnson wrote a story about the video going viral, and a follow-up that went a little more in depth about the incident and addressed the use of tasers.

All of these things are relevant and worth discussing.…

Sonoma County Book Festival Launches a Kickstarter Campaign

Leilani Clark — Mon, 20 May 2013 13:09:34 -0700

It's official. Books are still rad.…

Extended Play: Direct Energy

Rachel Dovey — Fri, 17 May 2013 11:43:00 -0700

In this week's news story, we reviewed the final four contenders for Sonoma Clean Power. Direct Energy, especially, might raise the green-leaning eyebrow.…

Five best Time Magazine millennial spoofs

Rachel Dovey — Thu, 16 May 2013 21:20:00 -0700

Maybe you've read the recent, controversial Time Magazine cover story about how the Millennial generation (hey, that's me!) is made up of a bunch of lazy, unemployed narcissists who live with their parents. I haven't.…

Maybe the Whistles Will Keep on Blowing

Jenna Loceff — Thu, 16 May 2013 11:48:00 -0700

The New Yorker just launched a pretty awesome tool called Strongbox intended to allow people to anonymously send tips to the newsroom. Though this isn't in direct response to the recent Department of Justice subpoena of Associated Press phone lines—the New Yorker has been working on this for several years—it certainly could not have come at a better time.…

Watch Cotati Police Kick Door In, Tase Resident

Gabe Meline — Thu, 16 May 2013 08:36:00 -0700

Just how private is your private life?

A video of Cotati police kicking in a door and tasing a man filming them has spread like wildfire around the internet, raising questions about citizens' Fourth Amendment rights and excessive use of force.

Last week, when a neighbor called to alert Cotati police about an alleged domestic disturbance incident between James and Jennifer Wood, officers arrived at the couple's front window.…

News Agencies Fight Back

Jenna Loceff — Wed, 15 May 2013 14:54:00 -0700

It's hard enough to get someone to pick up the phone when you're a regular reporter. But what will happen now that the Associated Press has announced the Department of Justice has subpoenaed phone records from its reporters?…

There's Something Happening Here

Jenna Loceff — Tue, 14 May 2013 16:43:00 -0700

A media interest group has recently formed in Sonoma County. They have dubbed themselves The Sparky Project, a "group of local media thinkers seeking a vibrant and sustainable multimedia ecosystem for Sonoma County and the North Bay," according to the group's website.…

Dramatic Duckling Rescue in Marin

Rachel Dovey — Fri, 10 May 2013 16:40:00 -0700

According to this Marin IJ story, a deputy sheriff rescued six ducklings from a storm drain yesterday using a handy device made of string and a shoebox.

While this may not exactly be hard-hitting news, it does include a video of the duckling rescue, during which the box is lowered into the drain and tiny, chirping fluff balls are lifted out.…

Around the Office: Lip Syncing Makes a Comeback

Leilani Clark — Fri, 10 May 2013 14:54:00 -0700

Don't say we don't work hard around here. The buzz around the office today was all about the Lip Sync-Off between John Krasinksi ("Jim" on the Office) and Jimmy Fallon.…

A Little Oversight Goes a Long Way

Jenna Loceff — Fri, 10 May 2013 12:21:00 -0700

The internet: A glorious place where everyone is connected to everyone and anyone can say anything. Arguably the best expression of freedom of speech the world has ever known.…

Dierk’s Midtown Now Open

Nicolas Grizzle — Thu, 09 May 2013 11:05:03 -0700

Fans of the always crowded but always delicious “parkside” location now have another option for upscale breakfast at decent prices. Dierk’s Midtown Café (1422 Fourth St., Santa Rosa) is now open for breakfast and lunch.…

Taking Plagiarism Out of Journalism, One Story at a Time

Jenna Loceff — Tue, 07 May 2013 17:08:00 -0700

This is pretty freaking brilliant.

In newsrooms all over, reporters get press releases by the bushel.…

'20 Feet From Stardom' Augments BottleRock

Christina Julian — Fri, 03 May 2013 17:43:00 -0700

With BottleRock just about ready to boom, Napa’s other wide-eyed fest, the Napa Valley Film Festival, is getting in on the action early with some music-centric sneak peak screenings. Monday, May 6, taps the organization’s alliance with BottleRock for a fundraiser/screening and Q&A of the documentary Sound City, Dave Grohl’s (of Nirvana and Foo Fighters fame, who will be in attendance) directorial debut.…

Zach Braff Saves the Rio Theater in Monte Rio

Gabe Meline — Wed, 01 May 2013 22:18:00 -0700

You might think Zach Braff is a destitute hobo, the way he was begging for money on the internet last week. But no! Zach Braff is in fact a very famous and wealthy actor, screenwriter, producer and director, and Zach Braff is also the donor who just pitched in enough money to save the Rio Theater in Monte Rio.…

Award Tour

Gabe Meline — Wed, 01 May 2013 11:35:00 -0700

At the annual California Newspaper Publishers Association awards luncheon on April 27, the Bohemian was honored to take home two awards. Competing in a category with 35 other weekly newspapers statewide, staff writer Leilani Clark won second place in the Best Feature Story category for her cover story detailing the crackdown on medical marijuana growers and dispensaries ("Smoked Out," May 2, 2012).…

Lynn Woolsey and the UFOs

Rachel Dovey — Tue, 30 Apr 2013 15:42:46 -0700

Bay Area News Group reported yesterday that former North Bay congresswoman Lynn Woolsey is part of a public hearing on the government and extraterrestrial life.

According to the story, the hearing was organized by Paradigm Research Group, which it calls "a UFO conspiracy-theory group in Bethesda, Md., founded by activist Stephen Bassett, which invited the former lawmakers to use their House-honed skills in interviewing witnesses."

It also features a 2011 quote from the White House in response to Bassett's information requests: "the U.S. government has no evidence that any life exists outside our planet, or that an extraterrestrial presence has contacted or engaged any member of the human race.…

Mother Jones covers Herczog family

Rachel Dovey — Tue, 30 Apr 2013 15:02:00 -0700

Several weeks after our story on the Herczog tragedy, in which an allegedly schizophrenic son killed his father, Mother Jones has written a much longer, more comprehensive piece on the incident, as well as some of the systemic issues that cause us to criminalize instead of treating our mentally ill.

You can read the piece here.

The trial for Houston Herczog began Monday.…

Maliciously Unflushed

Nicolas Grizzle — Tue, 30 Apr 2013 12:25:00 -0700

Flying in a commercial plane sucks so much nowadays, even the BEST airlines inspire acts of defiance and rudeness from passengers.

Virgin America, recently rated highest in terms of customer satisfaction in an Airline Quality Rating (AQR) study conducted by researchers at Purdue University and Wichita State University, is finding itself in hot water after a man filed a $500,000 lawsuit on Thursday in U.S. District Court in San Franisco.…

Moonlight Brewing + Spoonbar = BFF 4 EVER

Nicolas Grizzle — Mon, 29 Apr 2013 11:33:00 -0700

Spoonbar is a wonderful restaurant on its own. The place is beautiful and the food just as pleasing.…

An NGI Trial Resolved

Rachel Dovey — Fri, 26 Apr 2013 15:38:00 -0700

The same week we ran our tragic story about the Herczog family, This American Life also ran a story about a son who killed his father. He pleaded NGI (Not Guilty by reason of Insanity) like the Herczog case.…

Sonoma Clean Power: Good or Bad for the Community and Environment?

Jenna Loceff — Wed, 24 Apr 2013 12:23:00 -0700

This week, both the Press Democrat and the North Bay Business Journal published opinion pieces written by community members on the potential benefits and pitfalls of Sonoma Clean Power, a "community choice program" designed to provide "green electricity at competitive prices to the residents and businesses of Sonoma County," according to the program's website.

The program, if approved by the Sonoma County Board of Supervisors, who unanimously approved to launch the program in December of last year, will provide energy to current PG&E customers who choose not to opt out and stay with PG&E.

Today in the Press Democrat, county supervisor Efren Carrillo and Public Utilities board member Dick Dowd co-authored YES ON SONOMA CLEAN POWER: Give Residents Control, Choice (all-caps theirs, incidentally) arguing that "Sonoma Clean Power will deliver greener power at a competitive price while creating a new permanent source of income to run local programs."

Also in the Press Democrat today, Hunter Stern, business representative with the International Brotherhood of Electrical Workers Local Union 1245, argues in NO ON SONOMA CLEAN POWER: Higher cost, more greenhouse gases, that public power will bring higher costs and less "green energy" with the onset of this program.…

Imaginists Receive Grant to Fund Summer Show

Nicolas Grizzle — Tue, 23 Apr 2013 12:27:00 -0700

Santa Rosa's Imaginists theater company announced today it's touring summer show will be fully funded thanks to a $10,000 grant from the National Endowment of the Arts.

Imaginists Artistic Director Amy Pinto is excited about the possibilities this funding opens up.…

Academic self-selection

Rachel Dovey — Mon, 22 Apr 2013 17:02:03 -0700

This weekend, Mother Jones posted an article entitled "Yes, Liberals Rule the Ivory Tower—But Why?"

It examines a new book by sociologist Neil Gross, "Why Are Professors Liberal and Why Do Conservatives Care?" which debunks that old myth that professors are brainwashed, radicalized lefties who want to do the same to impressionable freshman. Advanced academia, it points out, is hardly a mill in which corn-fed, constitution-lovers go in and tattooed Marxists come out.…

Huey Lewis' Laptop Still Missing

Nicolas Grizzle — Mon, 22 Apr 2013 12:20:00 -0700

There’s a couple things about the Huey Lewis car theft story that caught my interest. The gist of it is a 31-year-old woman stole his rental car, which contained his laptop, from a Holiday Inn Express in Mill Valley.…