Why Buy Local?
So goes the rant—buy local! But what’s in it for the local buyer, if it’s not a true local economy? Take local beer and wine, for instance. Why does beer imported from Germany or Ireland sell at the same price as beer made in Healdsburg or Petaluma? Why does wine from Italy and France sell for the same price—or less—as wine from Napa? This doesn’t happen in European cities, where the local economy is truly local; there, it benefits buyer and seller alike, where local products such as beer, wine, cheese and produce typically sell for one-fifth the cost of imports. The same goes for farmers market vs. store-bought goods: the price difference greatly benefits the local consumer buying from local independent merchants.
Until that happens in the United States, until it happens here in Sonoma County, why pretend that local economy is great for everyone?
Sebastopol
Butter & Eggs Mania
Highlights of working at a bar on Butter and Eggs Day? Where do I begin? (1) Dude getting knocked out by a kick to the face; (2) dude performing a not-so-subtle handjob on his girlfriend on the couch in front of, like, 50 people; (3) me catching two dudes doing cocaine in the emergency exit hallway while I was taking out the trash, and, when I asked, “Hey, how’s it going?” them responding, “Oh, you know, just doing cocaine” (I kid you not); (4) person in a Chewbacca costume ordering drinks; (5) seeing a guy walk up to a girl at the bar, say something apparently very rude, and her immediately turning around and hitting him as hard as she could.
I feel like I have a much better idea of what people mean now when they talk about “small-town values.” Basically, they mean handjobs, drugs and punching.
Petaluma
For the Birds
“When the Swallows Come Back to Petaluma,” sung to the tune of “When the swallows Come Back to Capistrano”:
When the swallows come back to PetalumaThat’s the time you need to take down all those netsWhen you look at the bridge in PetalumaYou will see poor little birds killed in the netsAll the people on the ground are calling all aroundThe cruelty it astounds even hearts made of lead.When the swallows come back to PetalumaThat’s the time you need to take down all those netsIf you care about birds in PetalumaPlease sign on, raise your voice, save the birds.
Via online
I have pledged $100 to Native Songbird Care & Conservation to help Veronica Bowers, her staff and her mission (“Bird Call,” April 24). I have signed the petition to remove the nets on the NSCC website. I have shared this horrible problem with over a hundred conservationists. If you can, please help. Please sign the petition at www.nativesongbirdcare.org, and please spread the word.
West County Hawk Watch
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