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Posts published in “Essays”

Assemblyman Wood: Trump Election Sparks Marijuana ‘Uncertainty’

State Assemblymember Jim Wood has told the Humboldt County Board of Supervisors that the presidential election of Donald Trump has brought “uncertainty” to California, with health care and marijuana regulation being two main aspects. Wood…

HumCo Ponders Pot Tax Evasion Loophole

Humboldt County has set its state and federal lobbying priorities for the coming year and one of the top-ranking items identifies a significant obstacle to collecting marijuana grow taxes. The county’s Board of Supervisors considered…

A Note From The Emerald Cup

MaryLynn Mathre chaired a panel on “Medical Access for Veterans”  at the Emerald Cup in Santa Rosa on Sunday.  MLM was a lieutenant in the Navy Nurse Corps during the Vietnam War era.  She married…

Brahms & The Tears of Britain’s Oppressed

London — ‘Tis the season to think about the next season. Before letting the wave of Christmas gifts crash of over their heads and/or into the digital stockings, and before undertaking their own yuletide retail…

Give Thanks For The Golden State

For over a month now, at least half of the nation has been suffering from PTSD: Pre-Trump Stress Disorder. Our nation has self-inflicted a very serious sickness - actually, a relapse of a recurring, chronic, ugly syndrome. And when Patti Smith, standing in for Bob Dylan at the recent Nobel ceremony, sang his "A Hard Rain's a-Gonna Fall," I could only think, Alas, yes indeed.

The Season Of Giving

The holidays loom again, and isn't it funny how we use the word “loom,” with its slightly dire connotation, to describe the approach of this most joyous of seasons. You know what else “looms”? Giants,…

Vina Revisited

My late friend Ernest Peninou wrote four books on vineyards and wineries in California. I met Ernie in 1977 when he co-owned a grapevine nursery in Winters. Grape vines were in short supply and my…

Local Impacts of Standing Rock

On Sunday, November 6, in Redwood Valley, several hundred people gathered to listen to activists report back from Standing Rock where they had stood in solidarity with Native American Tribes, known as Water Protectors, opposing…

Vernon & Charlene, Take Two

The Mail Tribune, an Oregon newspaper, published a long story last week on Vernon and Charlene Rollins. The Rollins’ are retiring after a presumably lucratively long run as proprietors of a famous restaurant just north…

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