News: BohoBlog, North Bay Bohemian

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.…

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.…

Mortgage Modifiers under federal investigation

Rachel Dovey — Fri, 19 Apr 2013 13:23:00 -0700

The Press Democrat reports that a Petaluma-based mortgage company is currently under investigation by the Department of Justice. According to the article, several people who were in the midst of foreclosures claim they were swindled by owner Miguel Lopez, who allegedly charged an up-front fee to restructure their mortgages.…

Jimmy Carter is Literally Saving the World

Nicolas Grizzle — Fri, 12 Apr 2013 10:00:00 -0700

Can you believe Jimmy Carter was President? Of the United States of Deadlocked Congress, nonetheless?…

Misappropriation of Funds at SRJC

Jenna Loceff — Wed, 10 Apr 2013 15:32:00 -0700

An inquiry into the alleged misuse of two student funds at Santa Rosa Junior College has spurred questions that could turn into a statewide investigation at the community college level.

On Easter, the Associated Students, in concert with Director of Student Affairs and New Student Programs Robert Ethington, sent questions to the district counsel, the School and Colleges Legal Services of California, about the legality of the current use of some of these student funds to pay salaries.…

Affordable Housing Forum Fizzles in Marin

Kelly O'Mara — Thu, 21 Mar 2013 13:35:00 -0700

The 100 people protesting on Wednesday night outside the Pickleweed Community Center—and the three cops patrolling the parking lot, with four more officers inside the meeting room—appeared prepared for a fight Wednesday night at Citizen Marin’s first-ever town hall meeting on Bay Area planning and affordable housing.

Instead, they got a nearly hour-long presentation from real estate financier, media activist and community organizer Bob Silvestri on the history of regional planning and housing development.…

Schroeder Hall Gets $1 Million Boost—Maybe

Nicolas Grizzle — Wed, 13 Mar 2013 15:15:00 -0700

Fundraising for the unfinished student portion of the $150 million Green Music Center at Sonoma State University is getting a kickstart, thanks to a $1 million pledge by Sandy and Joan Weill.

The Weills, who donated $12 million toward the completion of the main hall now named in their honor, will give $1 million toward the completion of the 250-seat Schroeder Hall.…

Oops...

Nicolas Grizzle — Tue, 05 Mar 2013 14:41:50 -0800

A newsroom typically has a few people look over a printed proof page before it’s sent to the printer. This is used to check for copyediting errors, headline typos and layout mistakes.…

Extended Play: Mr. Reich

Rachel Dovey — Thu, 21 Feb 2013 13:18:54 -0800

This week, we wrote about Secretary of Labor during the Clinton administration Robert Reich, who will appear at the Glaser Center on Feb. 25.

Reading Reich's writings (say that three times quickly) is addictive.…

Extended Play: Local Postal Service Union Reacts to Saturday Cuts

Nicolas Grizzle — Wed, 20 Feb 2013 17:00:00 -0800

If the proposed plan to cut Saturday service by the United States Postal Service goes through, letter carriers will lose jobs, delivery will be delayed and the budget problem might not even be solved. The problems locally will mirror those being faced on the national level.…

Russian Meteorite Impact a Wake-Up Call

Nicolas Grizzle — Fri, 15 Feb 2013 16:42:02 -0800

A meteorite struck the Earth this week, injuring over 1,100 people near the Russian city of Chalyabinsk, which has a population over 1 million. It weighed 10 tons and lit up the sky, streaking through the atmosphere on its way to impact.…

Darius Anderson Wants to "Rape and Pillage Other Publications"

Rachel Dovey — Wed, 13 Feb 2013 21:21:00 -0800

Sonoma West Times and News reports that (in)famous lobbyist Darius Anderson gave a keynote speech at a recent California Newspaper Publishers Association event in Sacramento.

"Anderson said he is not done buying newspapers yet," the articles reads.…

One Billion Rising

Nicolas Grizzle — Tue, 12 Feb 2013 13:35:00 -0800

Ever seen a flash mob in person? Want to show support for the movement to end violence against women?…

Pope Resigns Due to Poor Health

Nicolas Grizzle — Mon, 11 Feb 2013 09:40:28 -0800

Something that hasn’t happened in 600 years has finally happened: the Pope resigned.

Pope Benedict XVI will step down at the end of the month due to his inability to perform duties because of failing “body and mind.” He is 85 years old and was elected Pope in 2005. The last time a Pope resigned was in 1415.

The announcement was a shock, to say the least.…

The Marijuana Clusterf*$k, Take 500

Rachel Dovey — Thu, 07 Feb 2013 12:45:58 -0800

No doubt you've seen the slew of headlines positing that a Supreme Court case this week could clarify the federal/state/local muddle about who-if anyone-is actually regulating dispensaries.

The City of Riverside vs. Inland Empire Patient's Health and Wellness Center has been making its way through the court system for over a year now.…

Same Track, New Name

Nicolas Grizzle — Thu, 24 Jan 2013 11:19:32 -0800

Erasing the worrisome burden of what to call that place near Sonoma where the really fast cars try finish a certain amount of laps before everyone else, it was announced today the place will officially be called Sonoma Raceway.

Seems obvious, right?…

Extended Play: Heavy Lifting Videos

Nicolas Grizzle — Sat, 19 Jan 2013 08:00:00 -0800

It's fascinating to watch Olympic weightlifting. Just a few sends of action and with much practice having gone into it, and just one tiny flaw will throw everything off.…

Will leaving nudists alone cause cancer?

Rachel Dovey — Fri, 18 Jan 2013 12:30:01 -0800

Not according to Christina DiEdoardo.
The San Francisco-based lawyer doesn't just sport a friendly emoticon on her LinkedIn page, she's also defending your right to be naked in San Francisco before a federal judge.

According to an article published yesterday by the Chronicle, the case challenges an ordinance scheduled to go into effect on Feb. 1.…

Mourning the Loss of Mr. Teeth, Pot-Guarding Gator

Nicolas Grizzle — Thu, 10 Jan 2013 12:31:14 -0800

Mr. Teeth, a jovial caiman who worked as a security guard at a local residential marijuana distribution center died this morning. Though it is uncertain, Mr. Teeth is thought to have been 16 years old.…

Giant Squid vs. Giant Douche

Nicolas Grizzle — Tue, 08 Jan 2013 20:56:00 -0800

A giant squid was finally captured on video in its natural habitat. Why is this news?…

Vets Home Mostly Unoccupied

Rachel Dovey — Fri, 30 Nov 2012 10:20:00 -0800

As storms rage across Sonoma County, a shelter for homeless veterans that celebrated its grand opening in June remains empty.

Hearn Avenue Veteran Housing was given a Certificate of Occupancy on June 26, meaning that on that date, the duplex located on West Hearn was physically ready for vets to move in.…

Supervisor Efren Carrillo Arrested for Battery

Gabe Meline — Wed, 05 Sep 2012 10:58:00 -0700

According to official arrest records, Sonoma County Supervisor Efren Carrillo was arrested in San Diego Monday night for "Battery with Serious Bodily Injury" and "Disturbing the Peace by Fighting."

In a report by Jenna Lane on KGO this morning, Carrillo stated he was protecting some female acquaintances.

We contacted Carrillo's office, which confirmed the arrest, and released Carrillo's following statement:

“I was in San Diego for Labor Day weekend on my own personal business.…

Extended Play: Talking with Apollo 9 Astronaut Rusty Schweickart

Nicolas Grizzle — Thu, 03 May 2012 12:21:21 -0700

Our recent news story about Apollo 9 astronaut Russell “Rusty” Schweickart’s presentation at the Smith Rafael Film Center in San Rafael focused not only on the event, but on Schweickart’s work preventing asteroids from colliding with Earth. The nature of this work is worth taking a closer look, and here are some key points, illustrated by Schweickart himself as recorded during our interview.…

Judi Bari, the FBI, and the Press Democrat: Reporter Mike Geniella on an Unsolved Case

Leilani Clark — Mon, 19 Mar 2012 17:15:00 -0700

Mike Geniella, former reporter for the Press Democrat, moved to Ukiah in 1985, where he began covering the timber beat. Before his retirement in 2008, he wrote about everything from sawmills to tree-spiking.…

PG&E Hacks Trees Again

Leilani Clark — Tue, 28 Feb 2012 11:44:00 -0800

Alma Shaw
A hacked redwood tree outside a house in Southwest Santa Rosa

Last year, in the article Hack Job, we wrote about concerns over the implementation of PG&E's reliability pruning program. Critics like Forestville tree service company owner Darryl Sukovitzen accused the new "trimming regime" of being irresponsible and corrupt, and arborists and homeowners shared stories of trees being cut within an inch of their life, without regard for the health of the tree or the safety of homes below.…