Old theaters are famously fire traps. Newspaper archives are full of tragic accounts of people trapped in some antiquated movie palace or dance hall as it crumbles in flames around them. Preserving Petaluma's Phoenix Theater is important to lots people who value it is an historical building and/or a hip/modern venue. Legend has it that the mythical Phoenix rose from its own ashes. Let's not find out if Petaluma's Phoenix can do the same.
I attended the Candidates Forum last night and was awed by a spectacular display of populist demogogery worthy of the great Huey Long. This candidate laid claim to every good deed and positive action that has occurred in our fair city since before he was born. A repeat winner of the Janice Cader Thompson Award for repeatedly stonewalling development, he nonetheless claims be solely responsible an economic revival in P-town, the benefits of which (he promises) WILL come. A vote for this individual is evidence that the particular voter... A) has amnesia, B) lacks the basic cognitive skills required to participate in electoral politics, C) would really prefer to live in Venezuela.
Tomorrow is the Petaluma Poetry Walk. Whether you skip in iambic or wander in free verse get your couplets downtown and share the day with your fellow language lovers. English is a magical and wondrous tool with which to express oneself. Revel in it.
Having worked with quite a few non-profit organizations in my (other) checkered career as a marketing consultant, it's my opinion that all non-profits are dysfunctional. In some cases it's ditsy board members, or the director who's supposed to make bricks without straw, or the unqualified, minimum-wage staffers forced to wear multiple hats and doing jobs for which they have no experience. Add to that the frequent occurrences of directors caught with their hand in the cookie jar. Amazingly, few of these thieves are prosecuted as they would be in a for-profit business, which I think strongly supports my opinion about non-profits.
Salmonella is another good reason to buy local food. At least if you get sick you can go throw up on their doorstep. Seriously, I believe that the closer one is to the source of the food, the healthier the food is likely to be. Or at least, the least adulterated, mishandled or misrepresented. I only wish that farmer's markets were more frequent, and that local farmers were better compensated for their investment in sweat and cash. You can thank our nanny-state progressives for the restrictive laws and regulations that have made local small (e.g., non-agribusiness) farming increasingly a rich man's hobby.
Well, race fans, it's a crowded field for the upteenth running of the biannual Petaluma Freakness. Got to love the free-for-all nature of participatory democracy.
I looked at the cover of the Argus this morning and realized that the Mayor's race is getting to be as crowded as our beloved river. Though, I hasten to add, there is no credible evidence that other municipalities are dumping their excess, or discarded, mayoral candidates in this fall's race.
Word has it that after the city raised some of the speed limits without regard to the condition of the affected roads, the organizers of the Baja 500 - a celebrated off-road endurance race that has been known to destroy the most durable of vehicles - have contacted city officials about the possibility of staging the the Petaluma 100: 10 laps around the city with the winning driver taking home the prize - a new spine.
Well, the anti-growth city council majority is setting a dangerous precedent by inciting frivolous, nuisance litigation against the Regency Center (apparently to appease it's NIMBY base), while at the same time pretending to support growth to replenish the empty city coffers and, the mind boggles, takes credit for bringing the Regency Center to town. Anyone who really believes the Hon. Mr. Glass when he takes a bow for the Regency Center needs adult supervision, or is off their meds.
A year ago we were told that, without the vast Stimulus package, unemployment might rise to the (gasp) unacceptable height of 8%. Well the package stimulated...unemployment, which is now at 9.5%. When it comes to the current administration's policies, doing nothing is actually preferable.