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Posts published in “Essays”

The First Harvest Ball

Though we didn't know it at the time, the bustling Emerald Cup held at the Sonoma County Fairgrounds in December, 2019 — just before Covid-19 hit and the so-called Legal Cannabis Industry got undermined by…

The Murder of Cain

In 1859 Mendocino split off from Sonoma, forming a county of its own. In the first year of its existence marauding militias, like the one led by Walter Jarboe, murdered hundreds of Native Americans in…

Anderson Valley’s Dump Heroes

Rural America’s local dumpsites have always been a magnet for me, partly because of their fairly convenient accessability  compared to city and suburbia’s formal garbage pickup services, partly because they also are serendipitous social centers,…

Remembering Charlotte Mailliard

My encounter with Charlotte Mailliard Schultz was brief but spectacular. The legendary San Franciscan and I had two long telephone conversations 30 plus years ago. I have never forgotten them.  The first was brief, and…

Why Nicole?

Why would Nicole Glentzer, a hitherto invisible Ukiah Unified School District administrator, suddenly decide to run against incumbent Michelle Hutchins for Mendocino County School Superintendent, especially since Ms. Hutchins has established the agency as effectively…

The Misguided Financial Consolidation Proposal

The Auditor-Controller calculates the property tax rates, the distribution factors for ad valorem taxes, and distributes $160 million dollars to the County, Schools, School Districts, Colleges and Special Districts. The Controller is the chief accounting…

A Tale of Two Trees

One of the most famous trees in music is the one hymned by the title character in the opening scene of Handel’s 1738 opera Xerxes. The Persian King—in the original production sung by a male…

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