Sebastappeal

By Shepherd Bliss

On Christmas Eve, when most were at home with family and friends or out-of-town, a summons was served at the Sebastopol City Hall. The giant CVS Pharmacy sued the City and its elected officials. 

Sebastopol’s recently elected City Council voted unanimously, 5-0, on Dec. 18 to enact a temporary, 45-day moratorium against drive-through operations. CVS seeks to nullify that moratorium and proceed with plans that it has been working on since 2009, but which have not been fully approved and permitted, to build two stores with drive-throughs.

CVS, its partner Chase Bank, and their Pennsylvania-based developer Armstrong have been trying to convince Sebastopol to allow them to move their two stores, now located at the edge of town, to a prominent downtown corner. A super-majority have opposed that move, for various reasons; only a few have supported it, mainly because of financial gain and family loyalties.

By Melissa Hatheway

Rialto Cinemas™ Proprietor Ky Boyd announced today that Rialto Cinemas has purchased Sebastopol Cinemas from Dave Corkill.  Ky Boyd remarked, “We are thrilled to have found a new home and we can’t wait to return to our core business of bringing the best films in the world to Sonoma County.  Additionally, we are delighted to come off the road and have a permanent home in Sebastopol’s vital downtown to continue bringing unique events like London's National Theatre Live, The Metropolitan Opera Live in HD as well as many of the special events that Rialto Cinemas has been home to throughout our history. We look forward to meeting our new neighbors and seeing all our movie-going friends again as well as our loyal National Theatre and Metropolitan Opera patrons.”

Sebastopol Cider Makers Rescue Backyard Apples for Charity 

Apple Sauced Cider™, a Sebastopol-grown cidery, is seeking north bay residents to donate apples from their backyard for a community cider blend called “Backyard” cider. Apple Sauced Cider will donate 100% of the profits from this batch of cider to Slow Food Russian River and its Apple Core project, which is responsible for raising awareness of and preserving the county’s apple heritage through marketing the region.

Mothers and Allies Challenge Wine Industrialist

By Shepherd Bliss

Half a dozen mothers from Sebastopol and its countryside quickly rallied hundreds of people to their side to challenge Sonoma County’s Paul Hobbs Winery. He wants to convert a 40-acre apple orchard into a vineyard that would use pesticides; it borders five schools on Watertrough Road, including Apple Blossom and Orchard View. Together they have around 700 children. 

The Core Project is a grassroots effort by a group of designers, artists and business professionals who live or work in Sebastopol. Their goal is to help make Sebastopol a better place to live, work and visit, while not forgetting the qualities that make the town unique and special. The group hosted an international design competition in 2011-2012 that received dozens of professional and student entries from Sebastopol and around the world.

First Arts and Maker Space Downtown

This month, Chimera Art Space opens 5,000 square feet at the former Ford dealership property at 6791 Sebastopol Avenue.  The location will house an electronics lab, photography studio, metal shop, ceramic studio, and open work areas.

If you’ve been following The Core Project, you probably already know that we applied for, and secured, an SDAT (Sustainable Design Assessment Team) grant for our community from the AIA (American Institute of Architects).  If this is news to you, you can find complete details here.  

Looking for a new pedal-powered ride and the chance to practice your bike skills? Try your luck on Saturday, April 27^th, when Sonoma County Bicycle Coalition’s Safe Routes to School program hosts a Bicycle Swap and Bike Skills Rodeo at Brook Haven School (7905 Valentine Ave), from 9am-1:30pm. The Bike Swap goes from 9-12noon (bikes must be brought in between 9 and 10:30am and swapping takes place from 11-12noon). The Bike Skills Rodeo goes from 11-1:30pm. The event is free and open to the public.

Starting on April 6 and continuing on every first Saturday thereafter through August, the Western Sonoma County Historical Society [WSCHS] will lead a casual walk through Sebastopol Memorial Lawn where many local historical figures are buried.  Tour guides will share 60 stories about our notable ancestors.  These vignettes have been developed over the last ten years for the Cemetery Walk, an annual event in early October.  

Apple Sauced Cider™, a Sebastopol-grown cidery, is seeking local residents to donate apples from their backyard for a community cider blend called “Backyard” cider. Apple Sauced Cider will donate 100% of the profits from this batch of cider to Slow Food Russian River and its Apple Core project, which is responsible for raising awareness of and preserving the county’s apple heritage through marketing the region. 

Have you filed your taxes yet? We can help!

Please unite with us in celebrating a very positive Occupy outcome this Tuesday, March 19, 2013 at the Sebastopol City Council meeting.
The Vice Mayor of  Sebastopol Robert Jacob will introduce a resolution commemorating the national and local Occupy Movement. 
This will include plans to create a permanent  free speech meeting area that will replace The OS Information Tent  in the Sebastopol Plaza

Organizers of The Core Project (www.the-core-project.org) announce that its application, entitled “SebastopolConnect,” has garnered a Sustainable Design Assessment Team (SDAT) grant from the American Institute of Architects. The AIA will contribute $15,000 to cover expenses and an estimated $250,000 to $300,000 in donated consulting time to help define a vision for Sebastopol’s Downtown Core and to create an achievable plan to implement that vision. 

“It takes stamina to make democracy work,” said Michael Jacob, Sebastopol Planning Commissioner, in his opening remarks at the Community Workshop on Saturday, February 23, 2013, titled “Common Ground: Building a Shared Vision for Sebastopol.”  Commissioner Jacob was addressing 30-35 participants, many of whom he identified as active twenty years ago when the current General Plan was updated. 

Welcome to the new column, The Best of Sonoma! Each month I will be highlighting one unique business in the categories of Gourmet Foods, Wine/Ale, Dining, Specialty Services, Hotel/Spas and Recreation in a specific Sonoma county town or city. We start off in Sebastopol.

Some folks would suggest that it’s held in our identity, as we are known to ourselves and to others as Sebastopolians, Sebastopudlians, or Seb-Towners.  

We’ll have a report about our “Community Identity,” arising from a meeting held on January 31, 2013, and posted soon after that date on the City’s website.  This is one in a rigorous schedule of meetings held in January and February to conduct qualitative research to learn about the concerns and priorities of our residents.  

Sebastopol Picket and Boycott, Jan. 19, Sat., 2-4 p.m.

A peaceful picket will occur at CVS Pharmacy at 788 Highway 116 (Gravenstein) North in the Redwood Shopping Center on Sat., Jan. 19, from 2-4 p.m. Occupy Sebastopol, with the support of other groups and individuals, is organizing the protest.

If you’ve ever attended events at the Veteran’s Memorial Building in Sebastopol, you know that the main hall is large, loud and drafty. Built decades ago for events and meetings, it functioned as an acoustically-challenged room with adjacent rooms for small gatherings.  As the building wore, it was used less and less and was in need of maintenance and repair.  Rather than dress up the existing structure, the Sebastopol Center for the Arts took over the building to transform it into West County’s mecca for creative arts in all media.

Transition US, headquartered in town, celebrates its fourth anniversary.  The Transition Movement is dedicated to creating thriving communities, as people take the future into their own hands and take action, together, to foster local sustainability and community resilience in the face of economic instability, climate change, and fossil fuel depletion. Transition US supports these actions through education, training, and networking.