Roundup: 200 pounds of chestnuts
A chestnut bonanza at Burbank Heights, a sad hiring notice, and a use-it-or-lose it appeal for Rialto Cinemas.
Burbank Heights and Orchards, a senior living facility, is home to a huge and beautiful chestnut tree that is rumored to have been planted by Luther Burbank. According to Burbank Heights resident Lauralee Aho, the tree usually yields about 100 pounds of chestnuts a year. This year it’s producing double that, and Aho, who sells the chestnuts to benefit to the Burbank Heights Residents Forum, is drowning in chestnuts.
“This is just such an unusual year! I’ve sold to all of these people, and I just keep getting more. I’ll call back and say, ‘Do you want some more?’ They’re like, ‘No, I'm saturated.’ And the nuts just keep coming. I’ve never seen so many,” said Aho, who’s storing them in her car.
Dealing with the chestnuts is kind of a community effort. Resident Maureen O’Connell has been gathering the chestnuts, Aho is packaging and selling them, and Randy McKinney is composting the spikey husks.
You can get a 10 lb. bag for $25 or take away all 40 lbs. of them for $90. Contact Lauralee Aho, 707-696-0572.
Sonoma County Library Seeks New Director for Sebastopol
Sad to see this posting by the Sonoma County Library for a Branch Manager. They are seeking a replacement for Mathew Rose who was let go on September 12, as we have reported here.
Meanwhile, Rose may not go quietly. He set up a GoFundme page to raise money for his legal fees, saying he was “wrongfully terminated.” He adds: “I have loved every minute of being the branch manager of the Sebastopol Regional Library for nearly 12 years.” He has raised a little over $1,000 so far.
A Love Letter to the Rialto Theater
Joan Levy sent us this letter in praise of seeing movies at your local movie theater.
I just had the immense pleasure to see for the second time, the spectacular film “Whiplash”. I first saw this powerful and riveting film when it came out in 2014. To have the opportunity to see it again on a big screen was truly a gift! I don’t know what possessed you to screen this film again but I seriously THANK YOU! There were 3 other people in the audience this Thursday night at 7:35pm.
Last night your Rialto showed a wonderful documentary on the majestic coastal redwoods, “Giants Rising”. You can see filmed NY Metropolitan Opera productions there. And so many fabulous independent films as well as mainstream films like “Beetlejuice 2”.
I live on Kauai but I am here again for the second time since July. Sebastopol calls to me. Even without the cinematic pleasures of the Rialto, I would be quite happy here. But the Rialto and nearby Santa Rosa Summerfield theaters are a super treat for me.
Covid killed our fourplex cinema on Kauai but streaming had already left it a sickly skeleton of its former self. In the couple years before its demise, often just like tonight, only a handful of fellow movie watchers were there with me- sometimes it was just me. Berkeley Ca, where i just was, has lost ALL of its cinemas except for their Elmwood Rialto.
This is a critical time for cinemas. They cannot survive if we don’t get off our recliners and couches, buy a ticket and fill their auditoriums. No matter how you tell yourself how you like watching at home on your TV screens; no matter THE SIZE of your home screen, IT CANNOT COMPARE to the auditory and visual experience you will have on a cinema screen. Don’t be seduced by the hypnotic pull of “it’s not so bad, it’s just as good on my smart Tv, it’s easier and cheaper to stay home…”
Sure money does matter. But some of those times with a little push you can give yourself the treat of the big screen!
The Summerfield cinema is being bought and turned into a gym. Does Santa Rosa really need another gym?
And right here in your own back yard, I URGE YOU TO GO OUT, buy your tickets and go to your Sebastopol Rialto Cinema. With their wide range of offerings, you are sure to find something you like! If you don’t start going now, YOU WILL LOSE THE OPPORTUNITY to go at all. And then it will be too late!
Thank you Sebastapol Rialto Cinema for keeping on keeping on! I am so so grateful.
With Aloha…. Joan Levy
Sebastopol Police Logs, September 16-22
The following are crimes excerpted from Sebastopol Police Department daily crime log entries and listed at the time the alleged violation was reported.
MONDAY
12:51 p.m. Shoplifting (misdemeanor) at Sebastopol Avenue and Morris Street. Pending further investigation.
1:18 p.m. Served a misdemeanor arrest warrant for an outside agency at McKinley Street and Laguna Park Way. Suspect arrested.
11:07 p.m. Served a misdemeanor arrest warrant for an outside agency at McKinley and Morris streets. Suspect arrested.
TUESDAY
7:50 p.m. Disobeying a court order (misdemeanor) at Michael Place and Valentine Avenue. Suspect arrested.
WEDNESDAY
11:04 p.m. Vandalism involving property damage (misdemeanor) at Sebastopol Avenue and Morris Street. Cleared by circumstances beyond police control.
FRIDAY
8:34 a.m. Served a misdemeanor arrest warrant for an outside agency at Morris Street and Sebastopol Avenue. Suspect arrested.
2:47 p.m. Possession of a narcotic controlled substance (misdemeanor) at South Main and Burnett streets. Suspect arrested.
2:47 p.m. Being under the influence of a controlled substance, possession of a controlled substance, violation of probation (misdemeanors), and served with a misdemeanor arrest warrant for an outside agency at South Main and Burnett streets. Suspect arrested.
SATURDAY
1:38 p.m. Failure to appear in court after making a written promise, at Morris Street and Laguna Park Way. Suspect arrested.
SUNDAY
9:53 p.m. Violation of probation (misdemeanor) at Bodega Avenue and High Street. Suspect released for insufficient proof, medical care needed, or only intoxicated.
OTHER POLICE ACTION
The Sebastopol Police Department also recorded 150 other events requiring police action during the period, such as lost animals, assisting citizens, parking violations, foot patrol, traffic hazards and reckless driving.
Note: September 18, Hit And Run was listed on a different report as “Felony Occurred on Gravenstein Hwy N. Disposition: Report Taken 2409180058.”
More on the Sebastopol Spire
Jeff Stucker, a member of the Public Arts Committee, added a comment to our story about challenges of working with CalTrans to place the sculpture near the entrance to town on Hwy 12.
As Ned Kahn says, "This meadow is a beautiful setting for the Spire", which I agree with. However, as a Public Arts Committee member, I know firsthand how frustrating it was to work towards art sitings which are 'controlled' by CalTrans. It's a wonderful sculpture to experience, and was intended as an "Entry sculpture", where both drivers and pedestrians/bikers would be able to enjoy it upon entry/exit from Sebastopol. As it is now, both pedestrians and those using the nearly completed Americorps Trail will be the primary benefactors of Kahn's piece. It's unfortunate that CalTrans' stringent 'safety' rules are so black and white, with no consideration for the enjoyment, artistic value, and investment, of a community.
Quoted: Talking Oranges and Apples
“(The orange) was more than food — it was the symbol of the California lush life, a divine talisman of an otherworldly place. And in this oversold earthly Eden, the fruit of pleasure and delight was the orange, not the humdrum apple.”
“Where Have All the Orange Groves Gone?” by Patt Morrison in the Los Angeles Times.
Wednesday, while it was hot outside, I went to a 12:10 mover at the Rialto with a friend. What a great place to hide out from the heat!! We had an excellent little lunch and laughed our heads off. Great funny movie!! I'd forgotten how wonderful it is to see a movie on the big screen. And the reason we went is because of Joan Levy's letter about the Rialto. Come on people, let's make sure this local treasure doesn't go away!!!!!
I love that we have a movie theater in our backyard and I would enjoy going to see movies there more often. My issue is that it is the same price as a movie at the Roxy in Santa Rosa and the Roxy has the comfy reclining seats.
We like to watch movies at home because it’s convenient, comfortable, and cheaper. If you can’t replicate one of those things in the theater, it’s tough to want to go.
I know it’s tremendously expensive to renovate, so I doubt it will happen. But, that is why I chose another theater over the Rialto.